Needless to say, there are a lot of things happening out here at Fox Raceway, including the return of the Women’s Motocross (WMX) Championship, a heavy emphasis on improving the caution flagging setup across the board, and a fresh influx of international talent. The track itself is getting prepped, as Fox Racing has brought on former pro Nick Wey as a consultant, and the changes we’ve seen so far are impressive.

Chase Sexton and Haiden Deegan will race with #1 and red plates on their respective bikes this weekend at the MX opener.

Tune into today’s pre-race press conference at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern via the Pro Motocross YouTube channel. And tomorrow, qualifying can still be seen on Race Day Live beginning at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Peacock. There will be a pre-race show live this weekend on Peacock, starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT/12:30 p.m. PDT. Live coverage of the points-paying motos will start at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT on Peacock.

The SMX Video Pass broadcast—which is available only outside of the United States—will start at the same time. There are Spanish and French broadcasts as a part of the 2025 SMX Video Pass this year. And viewers can also listen to the full moto broadcast each and every weekend of SMX in its entirety on SiriusXM Radio (with the Fox Raceway National also starting at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT).

Here’s hoping for a great and safe summer as we begin the second leg of the SuperMotocross World Championships. Here’s Matthes.

OUTSIDE! (Matthes)

I'm pretty jaded about things at this point; seen it and done a lot in my time. I don't get that hyped up for the seasons to begin, if I'm being honest, but I can legitimately say that this coming 450MX Class in the Pro Motocross series has me stoked. There's a ton of storylines to follow, from the return of Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence, Chase Sexton being the defending champion, Hunter Lawrence being kind of quietly REALLY good last summer, to the two-time MXGP champion Jorge Prado jumping back in. Like, I'm sure I missed a few at that as well.

I think there are going to be 450 guys at the opening round here at Fox Raceway who have designs on being in the top five and finish, like, ninth and wondering WTF happened? It's that deep.

Looks like we're catching a break with the weather as well; it should be a balmy 78 degrees, which will be a refreshing start to the series, and the guys can gradually work into it. I know the 450SX title is the "biggest" one we have in the sport and maybe the one with the most eyeballs on it, but for my money, winning a Pro Motocross title is more impressive. Two 35-minute motos, weather, different conditions, and if you can be left standing at the end, well sir, you're one gnarly individual, you know?

I think the 250MX series will be Haiden Deegan's to lose; one would think he'll be even better with two seasons under his belt, an SX title in his back pocket, as well as two SMX titles, and the confidence that he thrives on to win back-to-back titles. But the most interesting guy in the class is, without a doubt, UPS worker-turned-Star Yamaha rider Jeremy Martin. In his third go-around with Star Yamaha (approaching Sugar Bear's record!), the two-time 250MX champion has realistic expectations after a few years of injury and performances on the ClubMX bike that left something to be desired. The thing is, though, after being away from it all for a while, J Mart's got the experience of not having racing in his life, and I think he knows this is his last chance at it. He's got a good bike; one last hurrah, I suppose, for the #6. Now, I've been on record as saying that it never really works out when you step away and come back as far as getting back to your old level (see: Mike Kiedrowski and Damon Bradshaw), and I'm not here to tell you J-Mart is gonna put it to Deegs, BUT I do think, a few rounds in, we could see Martin get into the top five or podium. He's got that ultra-rare ability to dig deep into the fitness late in races that will help him. Either way, this Martin return is THE coolest thing about this summer to me.

There's a press conference today at the Pala Casino where the contenders will talk about how they're ready to go, the bike is great, they're great, etc., but I won't be making it. See, my road to Loretta's is continuing on with a regional race at Fox Raceway next weekend, so in order to get some laps in at the track, I'll be at amateur day today getting some practice in. Wish me luck; I'm gonna need it. Whose idea was this anyway?

The #6 is Back! (Mitch Kendra)

As Matthes posted above, Jeremy Martin is returning to racing! Matthes had posted earlier this month that Jeremy Martin had signed a three-race AMA Pro Motocross Championship deal with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. The Minnesota native had stepped away from professional racing and was helping at the Star’s VIP experience at Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Then, he started riding, still showing some impressive speed, and…you guessed it…Bobby Regan signed him back to the team! What was initially expected to be a three-race deal now sounds like it will be for the full 11-round championship since the team has Pierce Brown, Max Anstie, Daxton Bennick, and Cole Davies all out for the immediate future due to their injuries. Martin will join Haiden Deegan, Nate Thrasher, and Michael Mosiman on the starting gate this weekend. The two-time 250 Class Pro Motocross Champion performs better on the tough East Coast tracks anyway and will likely take a few motos to get back up to speed. A lot of eyes will be on the #6 here in his third stint with the Star crew. Could J-Mart be a top-five threat, or even a podium finisher by the East Coast rounds?

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

Insert whatever “let’s take it outside” cliché that suits you, but the simple fact is, things are about to get down and dirty. This Pro Motocross Championship boasts arguably the strongest championship contender lineup we have ever seen. The interesting part is that many of these superstars won’t really be sure what they’ll have to offer come Saturday. With brothers Lawrence, Eli Tomac, and Jorge Prado all coming back from injury, they simply won’t know what condition they’re truly in until they’re in the heat of battle. Is their speed good enough? Is their fitness all the way back yet? Did they get the bike sorted? All three of those questions and more will be running through their minds at around 1:55 p.m. local time on Saturday. I don’t care how confident they may seem at the press conference; the first race back against this field will have their heads in a daze. They’ll learn as we go, and there’s really nothing they can do to change it once the gate drops. They’ll have to play the hand they have dealt themselves and deal with the fallout next week.

I’ve been on both sides of the coin here. The optimal side is being 100 percent sure you’ve done enough and you’re coming in healthy (Sexton). I’ve also come in behind the curve, wondering how I’ll perform and asking those aforementioned questions over and over leading up to Saturday (Prado, Tomac, the Lawrences). How it shakes out is the magic of this sport. The uncertainty and unpredictability are hard to compare to other sports. There’s no one on this planet who can predict how Saturday will go. Some may think they know, but fate usually proves them foolish. So, I won’t fall for that trap. I’m just going to buckle up, grab a microphone, and try to describe exactly how awesome all of this is.

WMX Also Kicks Off! (Sarah Whitmore)

After watching women’s motocross boom in the early 2000s (every racer thinks their era was the best era), it was a sad day when it was announced that WMX would not make a return in 2019. For five long years, women either stuck to amateur nationals (which are not the same in your twenties as they are in your teens), tried their hand at off-road, or went Jordan Jarvis’s route and raced against the men. Then, to everyone’s delight, WMX returned in 2024 with an eight-round series that mostly coincided with amateur nationals.

For 2025, the Women’s Motocross (WMX) Championship will run alongside the AMA Pro Motocross Championship once again, racing on Fridays on the same track as the men (this time a six-round schedule). This is great news, and all of the racers I have talked to are excited to be on the pro tracks. The tracks, in general, are harder, they get rougher, and the lines are better. It may not be on the same day, but there are still plenty of fans who show up early to make an entire weekend of their favorite national. This way, the fans get to watch two days of elite racing.

And the racing will be exciting to watch. Like I mentioned above, Jarvis has raced a few 250 Class Pro Motocross Nationals before, which tells you right there the pace is high. Returning 2024 champ Lachlan Turner has been on fire lately and is really looking forward to adding a second title to her name. Kyleigh Stallings is bound to pull both holeshots, and then there is the wild card: Charli Cannon.

Cannon is the seven-time Australian champion, and when the U.S. girls (Turner, Jarvis, Stallings, Makayla Nielson, and Jamie Astudillo) went down under two months ago for the FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup, Charli put on a clinic, sweeping all three motos. However, anyone who has ever traveled overseas to race knows it's not always easy when you are dealing with jet lag, riding a bike you’ve had one day of practice on, and racing a track you’ve never seen before. This weekend, the tables will be turned, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

This current group of racers has some serious talent, and I am so excited they finally have a series of their own again. It not only gives them a championship to strive for, but also a place to showcase their talents and hopefully get the recognition they deserve. I am also glad for all of the girls out there who will be lining the track this Friday, watching their heroes race. I think of all the moms, girlfriends, sisters, and daughters who have no idea WMX is a thing. For them, we are opening up a door to a future of riding motorcycles, and that makes me truly happy.

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Nominees (DC)

Earlier this week, the AMA released the list of names that made the ballot for the Class of 2025 for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Longtime industry mechanic-turned-KTM-executive Selveraj Narayana is on the ballot, as is Eraldo Ferracci, the road racing guru who also dabbled in SX/MX with his Fast-by-Ferracci Husqvarna brand that saw Travis Preston become the first rider to ever win an AMA 125 Supercross on a European bike. Colin Edwards is a World Superbike Champion from Texas who also raced Loretta Lynn's multiple times in the 1980s as a Yamaha factory minicyclist.

And GNCC ATV legend Bill Ballance, who won an astonishing nine straight overall GNCC Championships.

The most well-known among them from our sport is multi-time Supercross and 450 Pro Motocross Champion Chad Reed, who is almost certainly a lock to get in. Reed, who hails from Australia, moved to America in 2002 after a brief stint on the FIM World Championship circuit. He was immediately successful, winning the 125/250 East Championship in AMA Supercross, and then the next year gave Ricky Carmichael all he wanted in an epic 2003 title bout. One year later, he won the AMA Supercross Championship. Reed would win again in 2008 and then added the 450 Pro MX title the following year. With all of his wins and titles, Reedy must be considered the most successful foreign-born rider in SX/MX history. He’s already a member of the Australian Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Reed was in the news this week as he and his wife, Ellie, have moved their moto-loving family to ClubMX. I called to congratulate him on the nomination, and he laughed and said, "I was wondering why all of these people were congratulating me—no one called or told me!" He was also named to the AMA's Motocross Commission.

Ellie Reed posted, "What an amazing week for our family. Move to a track, Hall of Fame nomination & appointed AMA commissioner. Safe to say we are all in from every direction, including promoting women’s racing, testing and development of safety technology with Alpinestars airbags, and our YouTube channel sharing the family journey of learning to ride and race and promoting people of all ages to ride and enjoy it together."

Chad Reed has our votes.

Lake Elsinore MX Is Back! (Keefer)

Cudby and I had the chance to be invited to a private day out at the newly revamped (and still under construction) Lake Elsinore MX Park. Jason Baker from Dream Traxx and Bryan Wallace from Fox Raceway are handling the duties of getting another Southern California track up and running. When speaking to Jason about the facility, he said it has "been a major undertaking as the facility itself and track need a lot of work," but he was up for the task.

While there is no official opening day yet, Jason, Bryan, and the crew will be working to bring a variety of safe tracks, as well as a schedule that allows all types of skill levels to enjoy a safe day of riding. The track still has that Lake Elsinore dirt, but the layout is different and more fun to ride than the previous one. A lot of the top factory teams were in attendance to shake down their race bikes, as well as to get some last-minute preparation in for this weekend's first outdoor round at Fox Raceway.

Here are some shots from Cudby, and bring on the outdoors!

Foreign Exchange (DC)

An influx of international talent. Top of the list, of course, is multi-time FIM Motocross World Champion Jorge Prado from Spain. Denmark's Mikkel Haarup with Triumph; Italy's Nicholas Lapucci will be with Fredrick Noren and the ISRT Kawasaki team; the Frenchman Benoit Paturel is racing with the Twisted Tea/HEP Motorsports Suzuki team; the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX team has added SMX Next - Supercross Champion Alexander Fedortsov, who was born in Russia but is an American citizen; Latvia's Harri Kullas has also been down at ClubMX getting ready after getting injured at the beginning of supercross. And as Sarah mentioned above, with the revival of WMX, the very fast Australian girl Charli Cannon, who topped all of the U.S. girls at the FIM Oceania Cup recently, is coming for all six WMX rounds.

Lewis Phillips has a more comprehensive article on Mikkel Haarup to check out.

Oh, and speaking of, there is an MXGP race this weekend in France. Tune in via MXGP-TV.com to watch all the action live.

The Legacy of Joel Evans (DC)

There was another international competitor who was planning to race in this weekend's AMA Pro Motocross opener: Joel Evans from Australia. Racing in an AMA National was a huge goal for Evans. Tragically, one week after winning the first round of the Thailand Championship, Evans was killed in a horrific accident on April 27 at the third round of the Australian ProMX Championships at Gillman in South Australia. The 30-year-old rider from Kingaroy, Queensland, was a well-known pro in Australia. He was related by marriage to Dean Ferris and Luke Reardon and was soon to become a father, along with his fiancée, Michaela Hunt. He grew up riding in the same pit that would serve as the crucible for the young Hunter and Jett Lawrence. He also had a vast YouTube audience for his candid and charismatic videos about life as an Aussie MXer.

"My brother-in-law Joel’s passing shook our family and the whole motocross community," said Ferris, the multi-time Australian Champion. "He was the kind of guy who went all in, lived fast, chased his dreams, and left absolutely nothing on the table."

A GoFundMe was set up by Luke Reardon to help Michaela and their coming son, Freddy, in their time of need:

GoFundMe: "Help Support Joel’s Little Family"

"Joel was living his dream that he had worked so hard for; he was racing in Thailand and Australia and was about to take off on a month-long holiday with his fiancée to Thailand and America to pursue his dream of racing in an AMA National before returning home to start preparing for his little son," wrote Reardon. "Joel always worked so hard, and more so this year, to support his little family. Michaela has a long journey ahead of her as she now prepares to embark on this journey as a single mum. As those closest to Joel know, his one wish was to ensure she was supported in every way possible."

It's also worth noting that back in 2015, Evans crashed hard and suffered fractured C5 and C6 vertebrae, temporarily paralyzing him at first. He fought back and defied doctors' expectations, making him an inspiration for any athlete who has undergone such a terrible injury.

Evans was the epitome of Australian motocross: tough, passionate, proud—and a friendly competitor.

Event Sticker

Our 2025 Fox Raceway National Event Sticker can be found at Legends & Heroes of Motocross Tent in the pits. Check out the sticker below, featuring Jett Lawrence, and the full collection below. Shout-out to our guys Garrett Holliday (@garrettdesign_) and Vance Coombs (@vancedesign) for the awesome designs!

Hey, Watch It!

Here's what the Triumph racing HQ in Georgia looks like, via this awesome drone tour.

Last Week Of Outdoor Prep - Time To Go Racing!! ft. Jett Lawrence | Chance Hymas

Fox Raceway National Preview & Injury Updates

And speaking of Fox, Pete Fox was the guest on Gypsy Tales for a very cool sit-down with Jase MacAlpine:

And how cool that the Lake Elsinore MX Track is coming back online, thanks to Bryan Wallace and Jason Baker? Here’s the Swap Moto Live Raw video of a trial practice:

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week 

"California man who used underwater scooter in lake to try to evade arrest pleads guilty to fraud" -AP

"Exploding washing machine surprises South-Central Pennsylvania woman"—WGAL

"A Food Delivery Driver Somehow Ended Up on the Tarmac at O'Hare and Drove Across Active Runways"—Barstool Sports

“Jennifer Lopez sued in copyright case for posting photos of herself”—BBC News

"6 Wienermobiles Will Race for Glory at the Indy Motor Speedway This Friday"—The Drive

Random Notes

Piere Mobility AG has secured a financing package for KTM restructuring in time for today’s deadline of May 23, 2025.

Small world: On the flight out of Pittsburgh I was standing in line behind a guy with an OGIO bag that looked familiar. Turns out it was former Suzuki and Yamaha factory rider Broc Hepler, headed off the races himself, though not in California. Hepler was headed to Georgia for a Sprint Enduro event—he wears the helmet cam and follows the top guys around for TV. Hepler was one of the best riders ever to come out of our area, and he remains a super nice guy. He won several SX/MX races, and had he not had so many injuries I really think he was on his way to some titles.