The Honda RedBud National took place over the weekend and it was one of the wilder rounds we've had in 2025. That's saying a lot too, because this season has been wild! The action left us with plenty of questions, so as usual, we turned to former pro and on-track analyst, Jason Thomas.
The RedBud fans are crazy, and the atmosphere and energy at this race is at a higher level than other races. Are the riders able to feed off the electricity in the air here?
I don’t think they really notice too much while racing because the noise for the leaders is constant at every event. Adrenaline and pressure are always there for this level of racing. Where it’s noticeable is down by the podium. It’s simply different down there.
The heat, and especially humidity, were high at RedBud. How does that affect the motos, and did you notice anyone in specific who was struggling with the conditions?
Well, the easy answer is Aaron Plessinger but that’s unfair because he was sick. The top guys were all fairly strong and they get my attention during the races. I did notice some of the back markers looking worse for wear in the final laps though. On the hottest days there is no hiding your fitness level. You’ve either done the work and prep or you haven’t.
Chase Sexton was back, and he was much better in the second moto than he was in the first. Help us understand how it’s possible to improve that much between motos.
Something was definitely different. Either the rust came off or he snapped out of the funk he was in or they changed the bike, bigly. He was multiple seconds per lap quicker (on a comparative basis to the lead) than he was in the first moto. I don’t know who was riding the bike in the first moto but that was Chase Sexton, 2024 champ, in the second.
Speaking of Sexton, he put a little extra mustard on his passes on Jorge Prado in both motos. Are we overthinking this or do you think there was some extra attitude from Sexton there?
It’s certainly possible that there is something behind the scenes to prompt aggression. I haven’t heard anything of the sort so I can’t speak to it. It’s also possible that he just needed to be aggressive and decisive on a track that’s notoriously difficult to pass on.
Tony Cairoli debuted the Ducati motocross bike in America and he looked pretty good before DNF’ing the second moto. What was your take on the Italian landing in Michigan?
I was very impressed. Many had him finishing further back and after watching him in England a few weeks ago, I thought there might be more possible. He showed his years of experience by getting a good start, putting in solid laps early and then just holding pace on a day where people would struggle late. Knowing how to handle a very hard day is half the battle. If you only have a finite amount of energy to spend on a day, the usage must be methodical. He knew to not go bonkers early because there would be a price paid late. The second moto DNF was unfortunate but that’s normal with a new motorcycle.
Haiden Deegan had an off day. He crashed hard in qualifying and wasn’t able to get good starts like he usually does. He still finished fifth overall though. Good or bad day for Deegan?
There’s no way to say this was a good day. He salvaged it with a gutty second moto but crashing and taking a small injury in qualifying, followed by a terrible first moto, disqualifies any good day talk. The only saving grace was the huge points lead he had coming in. If the title was tight, this would have been a horrific outing.
Mikkel Harrup was fourth overall. Do you think this was on anyone’s Bingo card coming into RedBud?
I thought he would be in the top ten fight all summer so it’s not too far off expectation. Starts were my biggest worry for the larger-than-average Dane, but the riding was never a question. Most of these tracks are new to him so there’s a learning curve but he raced here in 2022 at the Motocross of Nations which would speed up the learning curve for 2025.
Tom Vialle had a spectacular crash off the start in the second moto. Did you see it? If so, can you walk us through it?
The second corner has a wall on the exit and he simply got pushed into it and ran out of real estate (I think Michael Mosiman had a hand in this). Once he started high siding, he was destined to go down. These guys are desperate for track position on the opening lap. That's because of the roost and difficult passing dynamic. His get-off was a bit more spectacular than expected but thankfully he got up and going quickly.
While we’re on the subject of crashes, what on Earth happened to Jordon Smith? He was running second before jumping off the track and tangling with a rope holding up a sponsor advertisement.
He got some serious wheelspin as James Stewart mentioned on the broadcast. The jump faces are hard-packed and they hit them with water before the motos to keep dust down. If you try to scrub or get a little off-line, you can get buck wild. Jordon seems to race in a buck wild way most of the time anyway, so this checks out. Thankfully he didn’t hit anyone because that could have been catastrophic for him and onlookers.
Jalek Swoll went 6-3 for second overall at RedBud. How is he this good at only his third round back since tearing his Achilles?
He has been so impressive since coming back. His first race at High Point was so far ahead of where I expected, it makes sense to take steps from there. Still, this deserves high praise. The difficulty of the day on a physical level should have been much tougher for someone on the comeback trail. Jalek showed he’s been working hard by results alone. You cannot fake fitness on days like that.
