3. First Champion of 2025 Crowned

Pittsburgh hosted to the SMX Next Supercross Championship round. The Next races do not count for points, and instead the results from the first four rounds serves as a qualifier for the championship at the final round. It was Muc-Off/FXR/Club MX Yamaha’s Alex Fedortsov who took home the SMX Next Title. The Russian/Floridian has been lightning quick all season long but routinely faced tough luck when the opportunity to win arose. Finally at Pittsburgh Fedortsov put together a perfect race when it mattered most and led every lap of the main event. It was the right time to do it!  Over the year we have seen a lot of potential from the likes of Fedortsov, Team Green’s Landen Gordon and Enzo Temmerman, and others. We will see most of these kids outdoors starting at Hangtown, as well as a new crop of riders including Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Caden Dudney and Kayden Minear. This is the final step before these kids jump into the deep end, and it has been really cool to see the growth of the Next program over the past few years.

4. Vohland’s First Podium

Muc-Off/FXR/Yamaha’s Maximus Vohland got his first career podium in Pittsburgh. After a nearly career-ending injury last season, Vohland’s comeback is turning into a bit of a Cinderella story.  It’s been well reported that Maximus lost some feeling in his right foot and is riding with a hand brake. Every week, Vohland is breaking supercross records for “best finish with a hand brake” and it is truly impressive how quickly he has been able to adap. Brandon Haas and the entire Club MX team staff also deserve a ton of credit for working with Max, and working through the trial and error of the system. It also says a lot for Vohland to join the team after previously being at two of the premier factory 250 teams and get his best professional result now.

5. Hammaker Avoids Disaster

 Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker came into Pittsburgh with the Pennsylvania fans on his side and the red plate on his bike. Hammaker has been on a run of solid results and near perfect riding but faced adversity in Acrisure Stadium. He spun off the start and then came together with privateer Lance Kobusch in one of the rhythm sections on the opening lap, nearly going down in spectacular fashion. After the race Hammaker mentioned he had hit his head on the crossbar in that incident and his helmet was down in his vision and he could not see!  Soon after that Hardy Munoz nearly landed on Hammaker in a rhythm section. It was a chaotic start to the race, but he was able to regroup and climb his way back to fifth. Hammaker lost the red plate but only trails points leader Tom Vialle by one point heading into Salt Lake.

6. Vialle Comes through Clutch

Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle came into Pittsburgh with his back against the wall. The defending 250 East champion was in desperate need of a win to assert himself back into the title discussion heading into the finale. The day did not start well in qualifying. Vialle came up short in a rhythm section and went down huge. He was slow to get up, and although he did finish the practice, he did not put in a competitive lap. He followed that up with a subpar performance in his heat. Just when it seemed things were spiraling out of control, Vialle proved why he is a two-time world champion and put in arguably his most clutch performance of his American career. Vialle hounded early leader Nate Thrasher for sixteen laps before finally making the move for the lead and getting his first win of the season. The win gives him a one-point advantage over Hammaker and three over RJ Hampshire. Vialle will need to replicate this performance if he wants to be a back-to-back champion.

7. Coop is a Dawg

We already knew this, but in case anybody forgot, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb reminded us how much of dog he is. One week after getting his doors blown off by title rival Sexton, Coop rebounded with a huge win in Pittsburgh. The win extends his points lead to twelve and puts him in a more comfortable situation to clinch his third supercross title. Just 3-3 scores in the last two rounds will be good enough, but as we have seen time and time again, anything is possible. At the press conference, Coop acknowledged the mathematical situation he is in but was refused to discredit the competition emphasizing that it’s not easy to just show up and get second. Nonetheless, Webb’s Pittsburgh ride could go down as a signature win if he lands a third championship.

8. JCoop’s Best Form Yet

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper has proved himself as a legitimate 450 SX podium threat week in and week out. Cooper had arguably his career best race in 450 SX in Pittsburgh. In the heat, he started second behind Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger but was quickly passed by Sexton. After a few laps Cooper caught fire and charged through both KTM riders and checked out for the heat win.!He picked up on a 2-3-4 line through the whoops and was crushing the inside to outside option of the split lane. Justin’s corner speed may be his biggest asset, and it does not seem to get talked about much. He took that momentum into the main event for his second podium of the season. He got off to a slow start but eventually got by Progressive/ECSTAR/ Suzuki’s Ken Roczen and Plessinger. Cooper even set the fastest lap of the main by four tenths of a second! It sounds like JCoop is close to resigning with the team, which should take some pressure off for the rest of the season. Can he steal a win before it’s over?

9. Career Bests

250 East has been decimated by injuries. What started out as one of the most stacked coasts we have ever seen has been trimmed down to a somewhat average field as far as factory bikes on track. This has created opportunity for privateers to put in career best results. In Pittsburgh, Gizmo Mods/ Rock River Yamaha’s Bryce Shelly, Storm Lake Honda’s Iziah Clark, and HBI Racings Ayden Shive finished 10-11-12 all taking career best finishes. Shelly hadn’t made a main until last weekend in East Rutherford and has now gone 14-10. Not bad for a kid who also owns his own car detailing company!