Picking Back Up
Right where he left off. Almost, anyway. Ryan Dungey was by far the absolute best we’ve seen him all year in the second moto at High Point, running third at times and even staging a tremendous battle with Thunder Valley winner Ken Roczen. He made up ground on the race winner too. In that second moto he was 11 seconds back of Tomac, but in other motos he’d been closer to thirty to fifty seconds behind the leader. That’s a huge improvement! If he can keep up the pace, he had in moto two at High Point this weekend at RedBud, it’ll make for an awesome chapter in the comeback story Dungey is writing. –Aaron Hansel
Five in Five
If there were odds set for having five 450 winners in the first five rounds, they’d be pretty crazy! After all, even four in the first four seems nuts, but that’s where we’re at. Still, to have yet another winner this weekend would be pretty wild, especially with how fast Chase Sexton, Roczen, Tomac, and Jason Anderson have been going. But hey, sometimes all it takes is a start and some bad luck for the competition, and if that happens maybe we could see an upset win in the 450 Class at RedBud. –Hansel
A Rock and a Hard Place
The battles in the 450 class have been great so far, and we’ve had brilliant rides all over the place, but do you get the sense that Tomac and Sexton are about to put on a surge? Race after race the two have battled, with the advantage shifting from one moto to the next. They even tied for the overall last week! Sexton doesn’t want to give an inch to Tomac, while Tomac is doing his best to try to take some points back out of Sexton, which for the most part, has been a fruitless endeavor for him. With the halfway point of the season not too far over the horizon, look for things between these two to intensify even more with each passing gate drop. –Hansel
![Eli Tomac]()
Eli Tomac Mitch Kendra ![Chase Sexton]()
Chase Sexton Mitch Kendra
Let’s Count the Ways
Jett Lawrence has won every round so far, but he’s done it with different moto scores every single time. He’s gone 1-1, 3-1, 2-2, and 2-1, which is pretty crazy! How many ways are left for him to take a win?! You’ve got to think a 1-3 doesn’t result in a win, considering how well his brother, Hunter, has been riding, but a 1-2? That’s totally within the realm of possibility. Will Jett add another equation to win this weekend, or will we see someone new in the middle of the box at the end of the day? –Hansel
Righting the Ship
Don’t look now but Max Vohland has slowly been stabilizing his results, which have been all over the place this summer, and nearly nonexistent during supercross, thanks in part to injury. But lately it’s been better. After bike problems in the first moto at Thunder Valley he came back for an eighth in the second and went 6-9 for eighth at High Point. That’s a big improvement! We’ll see if Vohland can keep things going in the right direction at RedBud. –Hansel
PC Rising
It’s been a bit of a tough road for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki lately, but things were looking up last week at High Point. Jo Shimoda had a great day, going 3-5 for third overall, his first podium since the opener at Fox Raceway. His teammate, Seth Hammaker, had a solid day too, a 4-6 for sixth overall. With Jett Reynolds, Austin Forkner, and Cameron McAdoo all out with injury, it’s up Shimoda and Hammaker to carry the Pro Circuit flag, and if they keep improving, they’ll be right in the mix. –Hansel
Enzo’s Back
After an exceptional supercross season, Enzo Lopes underwent surgery to deal with pain he’d been experiencing during the races. The procedure caused him to miss the first four rounds of Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross, but he’ll be returning to racing this weekend at RedBud. Don’t expect him to light the world on fire though. As good as his supercross season was, it’s going to take him some time to get back in the flow before he can race to his potential. –Hansel
Carson City
Another rider we haven’t seen compete since supercross is Carson Mumford, who broke his foot in a rhythm section on press day in Salt Lake City. The BarX Suzuki rider has raced RedBud three times, twice in 2020 (RedBud held two rounds that year) and once in 2021, and interestingly enough, has taken 16th, 15th, and 14th, respectively. Does that mean he comes off being injured and keeps the RedBud progression going with a 13th? –Hansel
Putting the Pro in Pro Circuit
Speaking of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team, there will be another rider under the team tent this weekend as amateur racer Ryder DiFrancesco will make his professional debut this weekend. DiFrancesco, a long-time member of the Team Green Kawasaki amateur squad, will race this weekend’s event and the seventh round Spring Creek National on July 16 (skipping the sandy, sixth-round Southwick National). DiFrancesco had a strong showing this year in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Futures program, where he finished second in the finale to Chance Hymas. There is no pressure on the youngster, but he said on Friday he wants to finish inside the top ten in both motos. But remember, if he scores more than 40 combined points at these first two pro events, he will lose his Loretta Lynn’s eligibly and be forced to stay up in the pro ranks. All eyes will be on the #523 Kawasaki this weekend. –Mitch Kendra
Familiar Territory
We saw Levi Kitchen put in his best career moto to date at the Thunder Valley National when he holeshot and checked out for his maiden pro moto win. This weekend, Kitchen will be returning to the site of his first pro race, where he finished 9-19 for 12th overall. He has yet to race Southwick, Spring Creek, and Washougal (he grew up right down the road from the latter) but raced the final four tracks last year. Could returning to familiar tracks bode well for the #59 as the season continues? We will find out starting today. –Kendra
