The historic RedBud MX facility will be celebrating 50 years of AMA Pro Motocross at the venue, with a bunch of legendary riders returning to celebrate as a part of the Fourth of July weekend. Not only will the fifth round of the season take place with legends, but the first 2023 MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combine event, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, will take place on Friday (June 30) as well. MX Sports Pro Racing, promoters of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship (and sister company to Racer X), introduced the Scouting Moto Combine events at two rounds of Pro Motocross in 2021, and returned the program with three rounds in 2022. The 2023 program will have two events: one at this weekend’s RedBud National and then at the Ironman National finale in late August.
“Amateur racing has been a cornerstone element of American motocross for more than 40 years and has contributed to the development of multiple generations of superstars and the majority of the most successful athletes in motocross history,” said Jim Perry, Program Director for the Scouting Moto Combine. “Since the introduction of the Scouting Moto Combine in 2021, we at MX Sports Pro Racing have worked in partnership with the sport’s competing manufacturers to invest even further into motocross’ future, making a concerted effort establish a progressive path to the professional level that aims to benefit the very athletes poised to carry the torch in the years to come.”
The Scouting Moto Combine provides attendees the chance to learn what a typical race day is like for professional racers. The program pulls together A and B-level amateur riders an opportunity to race long motos (25 minutes plus two laps) on a professional-level track, and also provides off-track opportunities as well, such as riding technique from legendary riders of yesteryear, off-bike training tips, media training, podium interviews, and more. Results are a focus at every race, but this race is more about experience. No trophies are handed out and these races don’t pay championship points.
Per an MX Sports Pro Racing press release:
In conjunction with the factory-supported efforts from GASGAS, Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, and Yamaha, a hand-selected group of aspiring young racers were invited to participate in the season’s first gathering of the Moto Combine, which will consist of 24 of the top A & B class riders at the amateur level. While many of the riders slated to line up on the starting gate Friday afternoon bring Combine experience into RedBud, more than half will be new to the program, which provides an increased level of excitement and anticipation to see who will emerge at the forefront of the pair of 25-minute-plus-two-lap motos that await.
Additionally, the Moto Combine will welcome its largest contingent of international racers to date, further signifying the influence and importance of the program on a global scale. A pair of Canadians will be joined by a duo from New Zealand along with one Australian, resulting in representation from four different countries.
This group of five international prospects and the remaining 19 participants will be guided by an acclaimed lineup of Rider Coaches who will look to mentor these aspiring racers in areas both on and off the track. Spearheading this four-coach group will be six-time Pro Motocross Champion and AMA Hall of Famer Broc Glover, who has been a staple of the Combine since its inception and has continued to serve as a dedicated and gracious mentor. At RedBud he’ll be joined by fellow coaches Buddy Antunez, an Arenacross icon and current team manager for Toyota of Redlands/BarX/Suzuki, two-time Pro Motocross winner Alex Martin, as well as perennial contender and current Monster Energy Kawasaki test rider Broc Tickle. Each of these battle-tested former racers competed at the sport’s highest level and achieved success, which allows them to provide invaluable insight focused on benefiting each prospect. The Rider Coaches will be accompanied by highly regarded trainer and former pro Gareth Swanepoel, who will shed light on the importance of training, fitness, and nutrition, leveraging his impressive résumé as the riding coach and trainer for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing.
Riders and teams have been asking for a way to close the big gap from amateur motocross racing to racing AMA Supercross and Motocross, and the Scouting Moto Combine hopes to bridge that gap for the next generation, just as the Supercross Future program does in Monster Energy AMA Supercross.
On Friday, riders and teams will get a look at where they stack up amongst other strong competitors, and fans are able to witness a glimpse at some of the next superstars of the sport. Some of these names are well well-known ahead of the combine events, but other names are learned by the end of the day. Last year, Mark Fineis definitely got on people’s radars are he sent LaRocco’s Leap on the first lap. The following day the majority of the pro 250cc riders were not even hitting that jump!
Several riders that have passed through the MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combine are now full-time racers in the pro ranks: Ryder DiFrancesco, Haiden Deegan, Chance Hymas, Talon Hawkins, and Carden Braswell. Matti Jorgensen, who competed in the Scouting Moto Combine event last year, made his pro debut at the High Point National and is set to race his second pro race again in Michigan this weekend. DiFrancesco, Deegan, and Hymas have all won at least one moto combine moto and overall at the events in 2021 and 2022.
And this weekend’s Scouting Moto Combine entry list will be a stacked field! There are a dozen or so names to watch on Friday: Enzo Temmerman, Trevin Nelson, Krystian Janik, Leum Oehlhof, Logan Best, Drew Adams, Preston Boespflug, Julien Beaumer, Noah Viney, Noah Smerdon, Ryder McNabb, Casey Cochran. Viney, who finished 1-1 for the overall win at last year’s final Scouting Moto Combine event last summer (at Fox Raceway) is the only returning race winner to this weekend’s event. Cochran raced the ’22 RedBud combine event aboard a Husqvarna TC 125 two-stroke. The B level, 16-year-old rider claimed the 2023 AMA Supercross Futures Championship in May in his first year aboard a 250F machine. Temmerman, Janik, Oehlhof, Best, Smerdon, and Adams are fast youngsters for their ages. Beaumer, now a member of the KTM Orange Brigade team, has really taken a leap up compared to a year ago at this point. Best is working back from injury in his first year aboard a 250F. McNabb is a fast young Canadian rider, as he claimed the 2022 250cc Canadian Pro Motocross title.
Missing from this entry list are Daxton Bennick (who is making his pro debut in the 250 Class on Saturday), aforementioned 17-year-old Jorgensen (racing the 250 class as a pro), and Avery Long (recently suffered an ankle injury and focusing on Loretta Lynn’s).
Full RedBud Combine Rider List:
#12 Parker Ross / Elk Grove, California / Honda
#17 Cole Davies / Waitoki, New Zealand / Yamaha
#21 Enzo Temmerman / Visalia, California / Kawasaki
#22 Flynn Watts / Pukehina, New Zealand / Kawasaki
#25 Trevin Nelson / Eyota, Minnesota / Yamaha
#27 Krystian Janik / Oak Lawn, Illinois / Kawasaki
#28 Preston Boespflug / Battle Ground, Washington / KTM
#29 Julien Beaumer / Lake Havasu City, Arizona / KTM
#37 Landin Pepperd / Wasilla, Alaska / GASGAS
#41 Nate Freehill / El Dorado Hills, California / Honda
#43 Noah Viney / Morgan Hill, California / Honda
#44 Noah Smerdon / Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia / KTM
#64 Ryder McNabb / Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada / KTM
#66 Casey Cochran / Arlington, Tennessee / Husqvarna
#73 Jace Allred / Riverton, Utah / KTM
#97 Tristan Dalton / Saint Joseph, Illinois / KTM
#105 Mark Fineis / Westfield, Indiana / GASGAS
#121 Lucas Geistler / Newark, Illinois / KTM
#132 Leum Oehlhof / Oak Hills, California / Yamaha
#206 Logan Best / Bourne, Massachusetts / Yamaha
#300 Drew Adams / Chattanooga, Tennessee / Kawasaki
#451 Ryder Thompson / Valparaiso, Indiana / Honda
#800 Preston Masciangelo / Brantford, Ontario, Canada / GASGAS
#826 Talan Zollers / Batavia, Illinois / Yamaha
How can you follow along? If you are at the facility, find a spot along the fence on Friday. Pro Motocross will have live timing up and running during the day and you can check out this American Motocross event page for the final results from the day.
The 2023 RedBud Scouting Moto Combine event will be recorded for a broadcast later this year via MAVTV. Stay tuned to the Pro Motocross social media accounts. And several members of our Racer X Online team will be on hand during the event, follow along with us on Twitter this weekend: @RacerXOnline, @KellenBrauer, and @Mitch_Kendra for some instant news from the track, and stay close to our YouTube Channel as well for some video edits, on top of photo and written recaps.
