The first round of the 2025 WMX season kicked off on May 23 at Fox Raceway in Pala, California, and the fans in attendance were treated to some very good racing. If the rest of the women’s pro season can deliver the kind of unpredictable results and action we saw in Pala, we’re in for a great WMX season.
In the first moto, Lachlan Turner, better known to her fans as Lala, showed everyone exactly why she’s sporting a big #1 on her Yamaha here at Fox Raceway. When the gate dropped, she shot out like a mortar to take the holeshot. She then put her head down and went to work, and the result was an unchallenged romp to a wire-to-wire win.
Behind her there was a bit more action. Mikayla Nielsen held second early, although early on she was dealing with some pressure from Kyleigh Stallings. Nielsen would eventually motor away from Stallings, and even close in on Turner somewhat toward the end of the race, but Turner’s lead was just too big and she wouldn’t be caught.
Stallings would continue to fade as the race progressed, giving up third to Charli Cannon, and later she found herself in an intense battle with Jordan Jarvis. The two of them were yo-yoing back and forth in different sections of the track, and Jarvis would eventually edge Stallings for fourth. Stallings took fifth, with Sophie Phelps taking sixth.
Cannon was expected to be more of a threat up front, but unfortunately is dealing with a broken finger on her clutch hand, which she had surgery on one week ago. Her index and middle finger were even taped together, which had to make life difficult when navigating Fox Raceway at race pace.
In the second moto Stallings kicked things off with a holeshot, but she had Jarvis and Nielsen right behind her. Cannon held fourth, and after about a lap Turner had moved into fifth following a so-so start. Nielsen didn’t waste time in moving forward, and on the third lap she ripped around Jarvis. Stallings, meanwhile, had made a mistake somewhere and dropped back a few spots.
After a few laps Nielsen was in the lead and ripping, knowing Turner wasn’t far behind. Turner responded by launching past Jarvis in a set of rollers, and for a little while the three were engaged in a battle for the lead. Nielsen had a little something extra, however, and she was able to distance herself from Turner and Jarvis, eventually taking the moto win by a comfortable margin.
The battle for second raged. Jarvis had regrouped after getting passed by Turner and was mounting a counteroffensive. Lap after lap she dogged Turner, and eventually made the pass heading up the face of a step-up. Turner would lose the tow too, and wouldn’t get another shot at second. Nielsen took the moto win with Jarvis, Turner, Cannon, and Stallings rounding out the top five.
Mikayla Nielsen | First Overall
“I got a bad start in moto one. Not too bad, I think I was sixth in the first turn and I went around the outside in that second corner and all of a sudden I was third. I made the pass for second at the end of the first lap, and I knew LaLa [Turner] was going to give me a good run for my money. I just couldn’t crack that gap. But then in the last few laps I reeled her in but just didn’t have enough time. I felt pretty confident going into the second moto, I just needed a start. I didn’t get that [laughs]. I made a lot of passes in that third turn and was trying to be really aggressive. Coming from offroad, you’re more aggressive in the middle or end of the races when you’re going for an hour and a half. I’m just trying to work on that speed early. I got into the lead and next thing you know it was checkers.”
Lala Turner | Second Overall
"We’ve been working a lot on my starts, I’m not the best at them. I just held it on longer in the first moto and got the holeshot. Toward the end of the motos we’ve been struggling with suspension compared to East Coast, and we come here and it’s a totally different ball game. Then in the second moto, the first lap, I could barely hold on. I got arm pump really bad. I’m bummed, I know my speed. I got arm pump halfway through and I was just trying to stay up front. She was riding amazing, this is her home track, so obviously she should win here. She did too, so I’m super pumped for her. She’s my best friend so it’s so fun to see her do so well."
Jordan Jarvis | Third Overall
“I’ve been dealing with some lingering back issues, and my back was really hurting today. I’ve been doing work at the gym and working on my core, and I’ve been hoping it was going to work itself out but it has not so we’re going to go get it checked out as soon as possible so I can work on getting back to where I was. In the first moto I had the second-to-last gate pick, so that wasn’t ideal. I was all the way on the outside. I got a good jump, but I just couldn’t get to the first turn in time. I was a little further back than I wanted to be. I got held up and it took me too long to get going and I got fourth in the moto. I was super frustrated and spent the whole time back in the pits waiting for the second moto with an ice pack on my back. I even stole my dad’s kidney belt, trying everything I could to make it feel better.
“I’m just really frustrated with being sore and not riding how I want to be. I was frustrated because I knew I could do better. So I went out for the second moto and had much more determination. I had a much better gate pick too. I got off to a much better start, I was up to second on the first lap. Mikayla Nielsen ended up getting around me, and I made a slight mistake and LaLa Turner got around me too. I stayed right with her though and made the pass back on her and held second for the rest of the moto. 4-2 for third overall on the day. Not ideal, but it definitely could have been a worse start to the season. We’ll take it and move on to Hangtown. Hopefully we’ll see some progress and get a better result.”
