The season opener took place over the weekend at Fox Raceway in Pala, California, and there plenty of, we-didn't-see-that-coming, moments! To make sense out of what happened at the first round, we fired off a list of questions former pro and NBC on-track analyst, Jason Thomas.
How were the conditions at Fox Raceway for the season opener? This track can get pretty dry and hardpack sometimes.
This track is always brutal. What starts as soft, loamy conditions in the morning (even muddy) turn into crusty, dry conditions. It’s a very difficult transition to decipher with the motorcycle. It’s even more difficult to find comfort on as a rider. This is not a racetrack I would enjoy riding. Hard pass on the racing for me.
The 250 Class is wide open. Did you see anything at Fox Raceway that would lead you to believe otherwise?
No, I think you’re spot on with the thought there. Seth Hammaker won the overall by a big margin but I do think there will be a lot of up and down in this class. I don’t see anyone with the ability to just put up 45+ weekends consistently. Maybe I’m wrong and this is the breakout season for Hammaker but history tells me that’s unlikely. I think Hammaker, Levi Kitchen, Jo Shimoda, Chance Hymas, and more will have their day in the sun followed by some less stellar variance.
Nick Romano was tremendous, especially in the first moto. He went 5-11 for ninth. Did you see this coming?
I was shocked at how good it went. He’s been riding that track quite a bit so it makes sense on a familiarity level, but his ability to push the pace at the front was notable. For a fill-in guy, this was a home run. I was very happy for him. He hasn’t had it easy and most wrote him off for good. This is a great comeback story in the making.
Julien Beaumer went 11-2 for fifth overall. Why was he so much better in the second moto?
The starts are really important at Pala. Beaumer has ridden this track a lot and also grew up on this type of blown out, crusty dirt. He was very good in 2025 at Pala so none of this should come as a shock other than the injury factor. It’s incredible that he’s even racing, let alone leading a national.
Michael Mosiman was ripping early in the second moto, but was on the unfortunate end of a dustup with Seth Hammaker. Who was at fault in that situation?
It was mostly just racing. Hammaker had the inside leverage in that corner and Mosiman either didn’t know he was there or disregarded it. That outside line cut back across the inside, which put him in a vulnerable position. In the end, the lines came together and the inside line is going to win most times in that equation.
Speaking of Hammaker, did you see this coming? He tore a muscle in his back in Salt Lake City, then won at Pala!
I did believe he would be a contender but did I think he would win? No, I didn’t. I thought Hymas, Shimoda, or Kitchen would win. I was way off with everyone but Kitchen. Hammaker got starts and just managed the situation well at every turn. Seth is incredibly likable so this was easy to smile about.
What happened in the first moto with Eli Tomac and Garrett Marchbanks? They came together pretty hard.
The first lap is always chaos. There are riders switching lines and cutting across ruts in every corner. That’s just the nature of it and unfortunately, things go bad sometimes. This was one of the worst outcomes I have seen for that scenario. They likely had no idea each other was there or at minimum, headed the direction each was. The lack of hesitation or any pause at all indicates the element of surprise. This caught them out and in a bad way.
Hunter Lawrence was incredible, going 1-1. Did you think he’d be this good after he lost the supercross title in a heartbreaking manner just a few weeks prior?
No, no I did not. I did think he would be on the podium but I wondered if he would have the intensity needed to win after a heartbreaking end to SX. He showed an incredible amount of resilience and heart at round 1. He was lights out good.
Haiden Deegan made his 450 debut. Did you think he would be better or worse than his 5-4 for fifth overall?
This is a tough question. I have to say I expected better. The starts were not any help, though. It took him a while to dial in his 250 starts but once he did, it was big trouble for everyone else. I think the 450 class will be a similar learning curve. 5-4 for his first ever race is nothing to sneeze at. I think it’s only up from here. The Deegan program focuses on eliminating weaknesses and they will be hard at work to do just that.
We’ve been hearing all week that Jett Lawrence is good to race. How’d he look to you at Fox Raceway?
My take after the race is that he’s much more injured than I assumed. He’s healing, yes, but I did believe he was much further along. He’s still limping badly and I would guess he was in a lot of pain Saturday. I have no idea what the timeframe looks like to be 100 percent but he’s not close yet, in my opinion. He was protecting it on Saturday and couldn’t or wouldn’t take any outsized risk. The plan seems to be in managing the situation until he is healthy enough to really push. I don’t know if that’s a championship winning strategy against these heavy hitters, but I think it’s the only one he can employ.
