And then there is the return of Jason Lawrence to the racetrack, which will happen on Sunday morning during the amateur race. J-Law reached out to me last month about wanting to try a GNCC and David Eller’s Phoenix Honda team is taking him under their wing for the weekend. No, I don’t think he’s thinking about a career comeback; I think he just wants to race a dirt bike and have some fun with close to 3,000 other competitors that will be at the Ironman this weekend. Oh, and Justin Starling is racing as well, as something of a wildcard entry for PulpMX. Matthes will have more on that below. You can watch the afternoon races (Pro classes) on Sunday live on racertv.com beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

Next week we will have more racing with the second round of the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) from Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, and more specifically Etihad Arena on Yas Island. Ken Roczen, winner of the first round back in July in Great Britain, has to be the heavy favorite, given how fast he looked not only in the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) rounds, but the Motocross of Nations as well. Roczen was the MXGP class individual overall winner while riding for his native Germany. The third and final round of that series will take place in late November in Melbourne, Australia, at the same time as the 52nd annual THOR Mini O’s will be taking place down in Florida at Gatorback MX Park. Hard to believe that Haiden Deegan was participating as an amateur just one year ago!

Also coming up soon is the Paris Supercross, which is annually the biggest and most prestigious single event of the off-season. With the Lawrence brothers headlining, along with defending champion Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb, Justin Barcia, and more. The two-night event is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and will take place on November 18-19. It will also stream live on www.mxgp-tv.com.

Read the full entry list and preview for the Paris Supercross.

The other big news of the week was the announcement of Jo Shimoda’s return to Honda, and return to being teammates with his longtime friends Hunter and Jett Lawrence. That friendship goes back ten years to when Jett and Jo raced together in the 2014 FIM Junior World Cup in Belgium, with Jett winning the overall and Jo finishing second, but winning the final moto. And finally, there’s the “supercross vacation” that MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado of Spain is enjoying out in California right now. So let me toss it over to Jason Thomas first so he can explain more about what’s going on there…

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

Much ado has been made about Jorge Prado's ongoing trip to America. He announced just after the Motocross of Nations that he would come stateside for supercross testing, alluding to a possible full-time move in 2025. This isn't the first time he's hinted at switching series, but the circumstances may have finally changed. His world championship run in 2023 gives him the necessary cover to follow the path of many world champions before him. He won't live with that asterisk amongst naysayers, those that would say the toughest motocross title wasn't conquered. He has won his MX2 titles, checked the MXGP World Champ box, and can now determine his fate as he sees fit.

The move to America would be a high profile one, indeed. Assuming he stayed with GasGas and Red Bull, the big picture timing could work nicely as Justin Barcia grows long in the proverbial tooth. He is the perfect age and talent to fill that eventual hole, a dedicated one-man 450 team with race-winning capability. Yes, there would be a one-year overlap as Barcia's contract runs through 2025, but that would also give time for Prado to adjust. Prado could test in California with Barcia and adopt the needed supercross skill set. Pipedream that things would go so smoothly? Maybe. But with Barcia likely off into the sunset after 2025, I think he would be open to sharing his experience and expertise.

The real question, in my mind, is how will Prado adapt to supercross. Remember, Prado didn't grow up in the French supercross series a la David Vuillemin, Stephane Roncada, Marvin Musquin, Dylan Ferrandis, etc. He didn't build that early platform in small arenas and largely avoided the races like Paris/Bercy or Geneva subsequently. He would be starting from relatively zero when it comes to supercross experience. It's not something a talent of his magnitude can't overcome, but it is notable to factor in. Supercross pace at the highest levels is not a thing taken lightly. Could he spend the off-season testing and training and be a top ten rider? Likely. But, this is not a rider looking for top tens. He is used to winning and would want to quickly be a podium contender. That is a tall ask when battling riders who have spent their entire life perfecting their supercross form. It's not out of the question but I think it's a tougher dynamic than some would assume. The needed whoop speed to win or contend in the 450 class is absolutely mental. Look at the challenge riders like Christian Craig faced last year after dominating the 250 West Region in 2022. Dylan Ferrandis has one career 450 podium in Monster Energy AMA Supercross (excluding SMX hybrid races). Possible? Yes. An immediate, successful transition? That's a tougher question to answer.

The upside for Prado is that he is truly remarkable at what he does. His technique is beyond reproach. His starting prowess is on a level that the sport has rarely, if ever, seen. His early lap sprint speed gives him a leg up in avoiding the early lap chaos that bogs down many. He is still relatively young, too. He has time to adapt and learn. He would have the full faith and confidence of the Austria Group (KTM/Husky/Gas Gas). There wouldn't be pressure from his employer for immediate SX success. Oh, and there's this thing called motocross waiting, too. He's relatively decent at that discipline (insert heavy sarcasm).

The last factor here is that I believe the Austria Group is tooling up to battle back against the coming Jett Lawrence era. Chase Sexton was the first salvo and will be up for the fight. Flanking Sexton with a talent like Prado brings heavy reinforcement to a conflict that will need back-up. This isn't just a battle for 2024 and 2025. This could be the battle for the next decade. Honda has struck gold with Jett. He's the complete package in every way. Prado is unproven stateside but if you were panning the globe for someone who could possibly counter-punch, he would likely be the top hit. That may be what it comes down to in the end, too. Everyone is scrambling, dare I say rattled, at what Jett could do long term. Prado represents a solution alongside the "Vienna Opening" hire of Sexton. That may be why Prado ends up in America. Not that he is finally ready, per se, but Austria can't chance it without him.

RIDE DAY (Matthes)

Okay, well now that the first ever PulpMX Millville Ride Day is done, the off-season is officially here! We still got Paris SX coming up and the line-up is stacked for that one, as well as the last couple of WSX rounds, but yeah, we're now officially on the countdown until A1. The ride day was fun even though we battled some weather on Friday that didn't make the track as epic as it could be. The Martins, John and Alex and their crew, worked wonders with the place and on Sunday, it was back to its regular self. Super cool that Damon Bradshaw, Ryan Villopoto, Weston Peick, Jeremy Martin, and Phil Nicoletti all showed up to ride. Watching RV and J-Mart ride at a pretty good pace on 250Fs was awesome as was J-Mart and Troll Train on 125s shredding out there. Keefer put in over 100 laps the two days because of course he did.

The live show on Saturday night was fun, thanks to that beer guy for the free suds for everyone also! Yamaha had their Jason Raines BluCru demo rides going on as well, and Fly Racing, EVS, FXR, and Namura all came out to display their goods so thank you to everyone that made the trek out. We're already planning 2024 and working on a weekend a bit earlier.

KevinMoranz.com (DC)

Loved this last part of Mitch Kendra's Conversation w/ Kevin Moranz where the highly-respected privateer is offered a last chance to mention how fans and potential sponsors can get hold of him...

Check out Mitch's full interview with Moranz below:

GNCC (Matthes)

Yeah, I don't write much about GNCC here but this weekend at Ironman is a special one. PulpMX is entering a wild card courtesy of the AmPro Yamaha guys, we're getting SX privateer hero Justin Starling his first taste at woods action! Yep, the Floridian is showing up to get a taste of the Indiana woods! Starling has always wanted to try one of these things so thanks to Randy Hawkins and Yamaha for making it happen, we'll follow up with Justin on a full report on how his day went in the woods. When I asked him how he thought he was going to do, he replied, "I just want to finish."

RIDE DAY PART TWO (Keefer)

Millville! Being that I am always testing (or thinking while riding) or traveling to races with Aden, it was nice just to get to ride with some friends at a track that (to me) is the top three tracks in North America. Sure, I haven't been to every single track in the states, but I have been to a lot and the Martin family knows how to make a track fun to ride. There were all different types of riders that attended from top professional to beginners and ALL of them had a great time. Some attendees drove all the way from California and Washington just to ride the scenic Minnesota facility. I told Matthes that sometimes I think we are jaded because we are entrenched in this sport so much we forget how much fun it is just to go ride with your buddies. The PulpMX Ride Day was a reminder that dirt bikes as well as your buddies go together like peanut butter and jelly. I hope we get to do it again as I am already looking forward to it next year!

350 Or 450 (Keefer)

That title you see above is the title of a thousand emails I have got in the past year or two. Which one is better, Keefer? Well, we took three average riders and put them on each machine then threw the stopwatch at them to see which one they were faster on. The kicker here is they didn't know the times until we revealed them when we did the wrap up portion of the video. It's crazy to see what each time was and which bike they preferred. Watch it here! 

Hey, Watch It! 

Yamaha Presents: Beyond the Gate Episode 9

Haiden Deegan and Brian Deegan sat down together with Jase of Gypsy Tales to talk about the Team USA situation:

Chase Sexton visits his new team's HQ in Austria and gets a very warm welcome from Red Bull KTM:

Check out Sexton's full experience via his vlog.

GoPro: INSANE $33,000 Two-Stroke Race | Battle Cams

GoPro: Alex Martin Still Has It, DESTROYING Spring Creek

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week

"Caitlin Clark Scored More Points In Kinnick Stadium Than Iowa's Football Team Has Scored In A Home Conference Game Since 2021"—Batstool Sports

"A student was excited to move to Florida for college. Then she realized she'd applied to Miami University — in Ohio."—Business Insider

“Georgia man is slapped with $1.4 MILLION speeding ticket after going 90mph in a 55mph zone”—DailyMail.co.uk

"NACHO DID IT AGAIN"—Monster Energy Honda Team Rally PR after Nacho Cornejo finished third in a stage of the Rallye du Maroc, the last stop of the World Rally-Raid Championship.

"Chargers fan goes viral on ESPN's Monday Night Football for her hilarious reactions during loss to the Dallas"—Daily Mail

"Viral Chargers fan insists the zeal was real, asks team to get word out" - NBC Sports

"It’s Getting Too Expensive to Have Fun"
Prices for concert tickets and amusement-park entries have ballooned—The Wall Street Journal

"Pig on the run: Owners say 'Kevin Bacon' is AWOL: A pesky pet pig is running hog wild in Adams County. At almost 200 pounds, Kevin Bacon the pig has been hard to catch."—Fox43.com (Courtesy of the Stump Grinder)

Random Notes