For Starters
Jorge Prado has traditionally been an excellent starter, although it hasn’t shown in the first two rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Word on the dirt is he's wanting more horsepower out of his machine. Well, he's going to want it even more at Thunder Valley. The start stretch is uphill, and the elevation is roughly a mile high, which translates to less power. And hey, for fun let's throw in the righthand first turn at Thunder Valley, which has nothing to do with power but still complicates things if a rider needs to access the rear brake. How will Prado handle the tricky start this weekend? -Aaron Hansel
Battle of the Titans
Eli Tomac handed Jett Lawrence his first moto loss of the season last week at Hangtown, but as far as overalls go, Lawrence is still undefeated in 2025. That could change at Thunder Valley though. Tomac is beloved in Colorado, so he’ll have plenty of support, and while he has had some catastrophic races in his home state, he’s also won at Thunder Valley quite a bit. And after giving up seven more championship points to Lawrence at Hangtown, Tomac really needs to start making things go the other way. -Hansel
- Motocross
- Race Day Live (Qualifying)LiveJune 7 - 12:00 PM
- Race Day Live (Qualifying)LiveJune 7 - 12:00 PM
- All 4 Motos (450 First This Weekend)LiveJune 7 - 3:00 PM
- First 250 Moto and Second 450 MotoLiveJune 7 - 4:00 PM
- MotosLiveJune 7 - 4:00 PM
Cowboy Math
It’s hard to say Aaron Plessinger had a bad day at Hangtown because hey, he ended up second overall against a bunch of the best riders in the world! Then again, he led almost all of the first moto before mistakenly thinking there were two laps left (there were four remaining) and emptied his tank in an effort to hold off Tomac. Coming that close to a moto win and not getting it because of a weird mistake is a tough one to swallow, but the good news is, he’ll have another shot at getting it done this weekend. Bonus points if he shows up with a picture of an abacus for his butt patch. -Hansel
Strong, Silent Type
If you haven’t noticed, Justin Cooper is really good on a dirt bike! He doesn’t always get included when people talk about championship contenders, but he’s consistently putting his Yamaha amongst the riders who are. He was second in the first moto at Fox Raceway, and he was stupid solid for another second in moto two at Hangtown, where he was third overall. He’s also very, very good at Thunder Valley. He was third overall there last year and he’s won there twice in the 250 Class. Heck, the worst he’s ever finished there in his entire career is fourth! Don’t sleep on Cooper in Colorado! -Hansel
Hangovers
We’re not talking about the kind that comes from a long, blurry night, we’re referring to the lasting effects of the Hangtown heat. Most riders will take the necessary steps to make sure they get the recovery they need, but there will be some who still go hard during the week and come into Colorado not fully rested. You WILL hear riders mention Hangtown this weekend at Thunder Valley. Will it make a difference on who lands on the podium? -Hansel
Perfection
It’s not looking great for anyone in the 250 Class right now who isn’t named Haiden Deegan. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider has trounced the field in every single moto so far, and by large margins. And after winning Hangtown he even admitted he was sick! If he can do what he did at Hangtown, in the heat, while dealing with being sick, how is anyone going to stop him when he’s on point? -Hansel
Show Stopper
The answer to the above question might be answered by Jo Shimoda, who’s gone 2-2-2-2 in the first four motos of the season. This is the strongest we’ve seen Shimoda start a championship, and it’s not due to luck either. The Honda HRC Progressive rider has had to ride himself into those positions against worthy competitors, and he even threw up after the second moto at Hangtown. If he’s able to holeshot at Thunder Valley, could it result in an overall win? -Hansel
Rookie
RJ Hampshire has had an incredible start to his 450 Pro Motocross career going 6-12-6-8 in the first four motos. And this was with having wrist surgery less than two weeks before round one. If it wasn’t for Jett Lawrence setting the bar impossibly high for a rookie, more people would be talking about his incredible rides. Especially in a field this deep. He said he’s only going to get better as his wrist heals as well. Do we see him break into the top five this weekend? Sarah Whitmore
Making Strides
Levi Kitchen, who suffered a broken back in a big crash at Daytona, started the season off pretty rough with a 10-38 (when his chain broke in the second moto) for 16th overall at Fox Raceway. He then logged 3-3 moto scores at Hangtown, a significant improvement. Will he continue to improve each week? If so, he could be battling for moto wins soon. -Whitmore
WMX
After the first two rounds of the Women’s (WMX) Motocross Championship, Lala Turner is in the points lead after winning three of the four motos. At Hangtown, she even got mediocre starts but was in the lead by the end of the first lap. Makayla Nielsen was able to steal the overall away from her at Fox Raceway, but that was her hometown track. Will anyone be able to challenge her this weekend? -Whitmore
