Last weekend’s race in Millville, MN had it all—drama, rain, big passes, big crashes, weather delays, a really cool Snowcat tractor that Shane Shaffer and crew put to good use after the rain, and one hell of a big crowd. Chase Sexton once again rose to the top to extend his points lead on Hunter Lawrence in the 450 Class, and Haiden Deegan again extended his points lead in the 250 Class, though without winning the overall. Instead, it was Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen with the win in the 250 Class, with an emphatic 1-1—just in time to roll into his hometown race at Washougal with some real momentum. But Deegan was once again the center of attention, as his rebound from a hellacious first-turn crash in the final moto was downright remarkable. After once again showing cat-like quickness in getting back up after a crash—he was literally running back to his bike before the rest of the pack was done crashing, kicking his bent exhaust back into place and taking off with absolute abandon—Haiden made it up to fourth, and second overall. But then on the podium, he did that other thing he’s becoming known for, which was to suggest that Chance Hymas, who's leg he ran over to start the whole crash, was somehow at fault and out to get him, and that payback was coming… 

I think we all get the concept of finding motivation in your competition. But many weren’t happy to hear Deegan blaming that crash on Hymas, who thought his ankle was broken and, despite having the holeshot, basically rode off the track and straight to the Alpinestars Medical Unit to see if it really was. Thankfully, it was not. But the incendiary nature of Haiden’s podium words are something to keep an eye on. The kid is tough, no doubt, and talented. He also has a Carmichael-esque ability to bounce off the ground and get back in the race quickly. But as some have pointed out, like David Vuillemin in a social media post, Haiden is no victim, and while everyone wants to beat him—he is wearing the red plates and has a massive points lead—not everyone is out to get him.

And here’s a shout out to both Casey Cochran of the Rockstar Husqvarna team, as well as BarX/Toyota of Redlands Suzuki’s Dilan Schwartz, each of whom put in career-best riders on a complicated and dynamic Spring Creek track. Cochran got both starts and led the second moto for much of the way before Kitchen ran him down. After getting second, the kid did not realize he had finished on the overall podium behind Kitchen and Deegan, which was ironic—his mother Amy helps out in the AMA and MX Sports rigs, so all of the other girls who work signup and Will Call were screaming for Casey from the side of the track after he crossed the finish line. As for Schwartz, his top-five finish was the first for Suzuki in a 250 National since Alex Martin and Max Anstie back in 2020…. And believe it or not, it was a career-best AMA Pro Motocross finish for fourth-place Max Anstie too, as the latecomer is still getting up to speed on his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing bike. Granted, Max has won MXGP rounds before, two AMA 250 Supercross races and even did an outright 1-1 at the Motocross of Nations back in 2017, but he hasn’t raced Pro Motocross in America much. He's using this summer to prepare for an all-out assault in 2025.

All in all, it was a very successful Spring Creek National, which has been on the schedule continuously since 1983-they even got the race in during the 2020 COVID crisis. Congratulations to John and Greta Martin, as well as to Alex and Jeremy Martin and their sister Jennifer—who all pitched in to make this race a huge success.

FLY (To Portland) & Then More FLY
(Steve Matthes)

Busy day yesterday for me as the alarm went off at 5 a.m. for a 7 a.m. flight to Portland. Landed at 9:45, jumped in a car and headed to Portland International Raceway for the 2025 Fly Racing gear intro. Before that, I set up my podcast equipment and did my usual 11 a.m. Thursday Fly Racing Moto:60 Show with JT and Kellen Brauer with special guest Andrew Short. After that, we got the info on the new gear and the changes that the guys have made. What’s cool about the Fly guys is they have such a variety of ambassadors hanging out. You had Shorty (going back to Loretta’s this year for the first time since 2001!), Damon Bradshaw, Trey Canard, and Weston Peick all hanging out with the media, and then later on, the fans that started coming in to watch the Thursday night PIR MX race that featured Grant Harlan, Ryan Breece, Harri Kullas, and more. Then we busted out a 90-minute LIVE PulpMX Show talking about the MXdN, we interviewed Harlan after practice, Bradshaw, Canard, Peick, and even Kullas stopped by to chat. After that show, we hung out for a bit longer, grabbed some dinner with Lewis Phillips and hit the sack. All told it was a tidy 16-hour day of travel and talking. Canard gave us a great bit of audio when he talked about hanging it up as a racer and then transitioning into his role with the Honda race team and R&D. Always pretty thoughtful about life, Trey really had us thinking about things afterwards, and how tough it can be for racers. Here’s the link to the audio, Trey comes on about 45 min I think.

As far as the race, Harlan passed Breece for the win and took home a cool $3000 for his efforts at what has been a long running race before the Washougal national. “Well I’m stoked about going back to back on winning PIR. The competition and racing is always gnarly and it’s probably the coolest race I get to do all year with the fans around the track and the podium celebration afterwards,” Harlan told me afterwards via text message.

Czech MXGP (DC)

After a long two weeks in Indonesia, and then a thankful week-long break, the FIM World Championship will commence at the Loket track in the Czech Republic, one of the real pillars of MXGP on the schedule since 1995. It should mark a return to full gates after the sparsely-attended flyaway races that many series regulars pass on, and with five rounds in six weekends, the Grand Prix title chases are about to get very interesting. 

When we last left off Jeffrey Herlings had won his 105th career MXGP, extending the all-time record for race wins. But Tim Gajser remains the points leader, with a 38-point lead over defending MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado. In the MX2 (250) class Dutch rider Kay de Wolf continues to lead the way, ahead of his Husqvarna teammate Lucas Coenen of Belgium by 49 points. Coenen is the 17-year-old with a nearly as fast twin brother named Sacha who races for the Red Bull KTM team and also has won multiple GPs this year. 

Remember, MXGP has qualifying rounds on Saturday and the GP motos on Sunday. You can watch it all on MXGP-TV.com, as well as catch some of the motos on the CBS Sports Network.

Silly Summer?  (DC)

Have we ever had a summer with so many team changes as we've seen in the summer of 2024? So far we've watched Ty Masterpool leave the privateer HBI Racing Kawasaki team for Pro Circuit Kawasaki, for whom he promptly won his first 250 National at High Point, then Max Anstie left the Firepower Honda team for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, for whom he's racing 250 Pro Motocross now, and just this week Colt Nichols just left the Liqui Moly Beta team for HEP Suzuki and will debut the #45 RM-Z450 at Unadilla, according to the team. Also, we just got word that Garrett Marchbanks has parted ways with the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team, though we don't yet know where he's going for the rest of the season, though he's said to be going back to Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki in 2025, a team on which he once won the Daytona 250SX. And earlier in the year Evan Ferry left Triumph and just got his first points ever at RedBud while riding for the Wildcat Racing team on a GasGas.

So what's going on with all of these midseason changes? Part of it has to be the new lure of the SMX Playoffs, and its huge potential for a big payday, as well as the uncertain future of FIM World Supercross, which is where both Anstie and Nichols raced last year. There's also the fact that with nine current OEMs, about to go on 10 when Ducati lines up in 2026, there are more options than there has ever been for a rider and a race team to find the right fit. Plus, guys seem to be racing longer, which also provides more options for midseason switches.

Are we done with changes before the stretch run of nationals and then SMX Playoffs? Stay tuned. 

2025 Honda CRF450R (Kris Keefer)

We can talk about it now! Like I mentioned in last week's RH, we had the chance to ride the 2025 Honda CRF450R at Ironman Raceway in Indiana, but now we can tell you how it was! You can check out the video below to watch what we thought, but the big news is the chassis on the new red machine. 

The meat and potatoes of the 2025 Honda CRF450R is the updated main frame constructed of 70% new components to optimize rigidity and improve handling characteristics. The new subframe mounting point optimizes lateral rigidity and reduces energy transmission from the rear of the bike to the front. The rigidity of the steering stem, triple clamps, outer fork tubes, and front axle have all been revised to match the frame updates. These changes all mean more to me than the engine as this is where I had the most problems when I rode a CRF450R in the past. Creating a stiffer frame actually made the feel on the track softer. In the past, it was tough to decipher when I needed to go stiffer or softer with my suspension because the chassis always gave me a rigid feel. The 2025 chassis window (or track toughness) seems like it is better than the 2024. When making adjustments at Ironman to the suspension the chassis got better and not worse in areas. This is a sign that the chassis has a wider window of adjustments than the previous year. I don’t get as much vibration through my hands/feet, nor do I get as much harshness on slap down landings as I did with the 2024. The bumps weren’t that big at Ironman, so I didn’t get a lot of edge of tire feel like I can back at home, but to me, it already is better than the 2024. I am not saying that it has all of this comfort, but I am saying that the chassis has more compliance than the older Honda model. Cornering is still great and the bike is more neutral feeling through corners rather than having that heavy front wheel biased feel.

With all of that being said, this Honda is much more friendly than ever. Honda was looking for more stability rather than have that mantra of "Razor Sharp Cornering." It still corners really well, but actually has some friendliness to it between those corners now. This is huge! Yes, the engine is great and has plenty of power even for you third gear luggers, but the chassis is the most noticeable change here. If you haven't checked out the video, do it right here, or you can even click this link to read a cliff notes version.

Fly Launch | Aaron Hansel

If motocross gear is something that gets you excited, then this is always a fun time of year, as companies start unveiling their 2025 lineups about this time. As Matthes mentioned, it was Fly Racing lifting the curtain on their latest and greatest at Portland International Raceway. Members of the media were invited to check out the new product, kick back with some lunch, and hang with brand ambassadors Weston Peick, Andrew Short, Trey Canard, and Damon Bradshaw. Chatting with those guys in a relaxed environment is always fun, especially Bradshaw, who has some good stories, including one from a couple of decades ago about putting a ‘Closed’ sign on the front gate of Hangtown being the best way to improve the facility. Good times with The Beast.

As far as the new gear goes, Fly stressed that one of their key focuses with their extensive lineup is to make sure they’ve got a line for every body type, riding level, and type of riding. They also highlighted some upgrades to the BOA Fit System, which now allows for even finer adjustments, and showed us increased abrasion resistant material, in addition to the leather heat shield, on the inside of pant leggings that will boost pant durability. The increased pant durability was something Short was particularly excited about.

I also got a chance to talk a little bit about the Formula S helmet with Peick. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know as much about it as I thought I did. I thought the helmet’s claim to electronic fame was analyzing impacts and being able to alert a third party if you took a hard hit and were unresponsive. Well, that’s all true, but what I didn’t know is that you can also use it for analytics, meaning you can record your rides and track your speed, elevation changes, distance covered, and even things like hard braking and acceleration levels. Peick even showed me how it worked by showing me some of his mapped rides. Not new for 2025, but cool nonetheless!

All in all, it was a fun afternoon checking out the improvements to Fly’s already solid and diverse product line. Check it out at FlyRacing.com or wherever you get your gear.

Junior World Champs (DC)

The FIM Junior World Cup took place last weekend in Heerde, the Netherlands, on a very sandy track. It was a fairly wet weekend, and Team USA, managed by our friend Jeff Cernic, had an up-and-down day. The standouts were Braxton Des, who finished sixth overall in the 85 class, and three very fast 65cc riders in fifth-place Joey Vacari, ninth-place Jaydin Smart, and tenth-place Austin Keller. 

The home team from the Nertherlands won, which isn’t that much of a surprise, given the recent rise of such world-class talent as Kay de Wolf, in the wake of the all-time MXGP winner Jeffrey Herlings. But to me the big revelation was the rapid improvement of Levi Townley, the son of former FIM World Champion and 2007 AMA 250 SX East Region Champion Ben Townley. Levi came to the U.S. last year to participate in the 85cc World All-Stars at the Chicagoland round of SMX and had a decent though not spectacular showing. But last weekend Townley was on fire, finishing 1-3 to take the 85cc world title from Lucas Leok, another second-gen flyer. I sent BT101 a congratulatory message but I have not heard back whether Levi will be at SMX again this year, but don’t forget that name, Townley. It will be in the mix here again soon, just like his dad was in the late ‘00s. 

As for the other champions, Fantic rider Noel Zanocz was the 125 winner, and the Netherlands own Kash Van Hammond topped the 65cc class. Remember these names, because ten years ago the 65cc winner of the FIM Junior World Cup was a kid named Jett Lawrence. 

World All-Star Races (DC)

Why would one expect to see Townley potentially back with a chance to race at an SMX round? The youth and amateur World All-Stars races for 65cc, SuperMini, and 250s are returning to the events this year. Top finishers in the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship from Loretta Lynn's Ranch will be automatically invited to compete in their respective World All-Stars division during the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff in September. 

65cc World All-Stars
September 7: zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC

Top 5 finishing racers from 65cc (10-11) (Class 27) at the 2024 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynns.

Supermini World All-Stars
September 14: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX

Top 5 finishing racers from Supermini 2 (13-16) (Class 33) at the 2024 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynns.

250 World All-Stars

September 21: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV

Top 5 finishing racers from 250 Pro Sport (Class 2) at the 2024 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynns

Top 5 finishing racers from 250 B (Class 4) at the 2024 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynns 

Top 5 finishing racers from 250 Futures class at the 2024 AMA Supercross Futures National Championship in Salt Lake City - These racers already qualified if they remain eligible through date of event:

Cole Davies Waitoki, New Zealand; Drew Adams Chattanooga, TN; Gavin Towers Venetia, PA; Parker Ross Herald, CA; Tyler Mollet Stuart, FL 

 Hey, Watch It!

Tommy Searle’s weekend off after the British National at Foxhill was canceled due to a lack of entries:

Canadian National at Sand Del Lee, featuring #300 Drew Adams: