Carson Wood Lands Tenth in Second Thunder Valley Moto: “I definitely learned a lot. It was sick”
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing had some highs from the Thunder Valley National. Although the team did not land a rider on the overall podium for a second straight weekend (which has not happened since the 2022 season), the team saw some youngsters land some strong results.
In a very deep class filled with talent, there is a ton of inconsistency throughout the entire field from moto one to moto two and from week to week. This team is no different, with five of the six active riders at Thunder Valley with less than six Pro Motocross starts to their name (only Michael Mosiman was on the gate in Colorado with multiple years of racing the full series). Nate Thrasher, Max Anstie, and Pierce Brown—the three most experienced Pro Motocross riders on the team—were all sidelined for the third round due to injury.
The highlight for the factory BluCru squad was rookie Carson Wood landing tenth in his second Pro Motocross moto ever in his debut race. At 16 years old, the Florida native finished 27-10 for 17th overall in his Pro Motocross debut.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Results at Thunder Valley
| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |  Kayden Minear | Western Australia  | 13 - 6 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 9 |  Michael Mosiman | Sebastopol, CA  | 5 - 14 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 10 |  Cole Davies | Waitoki, New Zealand  | 6 - 15 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 11 |  Landen Gordon | Murrieta, CA | 15 - 7 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 13 |  Caden Dudney | Des Moines, IA | 8 - 18 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 17 |  Carson Wood | Zephyrhills, FL | 27 - 10 | Yamaha YZ250F |
Wood said the following in the team’s post-race release:
“The day went really well. I qualified 13th and then was 27th in my first moto, and 10th in my last moto. I was really excited for my pro debut, and I definitely learned a lot. I was having a good time and learning from everyone. It was sick.”
In terms of overall finishing position, the team was led by Kayden Minear, who brought home 13-6 moto finishes for a new career best overall finish. His sixth in a moto also tied a career best from last weekend. Oddly enough, Minear’s 6-13 at Hangtown was tenth overall and a reverse of finish of 13-6 at Thunder Valley was eighth overall as Caden Dudney’s 8-18 was 13th overall.
Said Minear:
“I started off a little slow in qualifying. The first moto, I didn't execute my start. That was my mistake, but I fought my way through to 13th. So it was a rough start, but in the second moto, I bounced back, got a good start, and ended up sixth. So, it was a good day.”
Next on the overall results was Michael Mosiman’s 5-14 finishes for ninth overall, followed by Cole Davies (6-16 for tenth overall), Landen Gordon (15-7 for 11th overall), and Wood.
Said Mosiman:
“In the first moto, I didn't get the best start, but I was able to work my way up to third and held it for a while. Then I made a silly mistake, down the stretch, with two laps to go, and ended up fifth. The second moto was a little bit messy. I was just really depleted all day. I wasn’t feeling well, and my stomach was upset, and it caught up to me in the second moto. I was just a bit flat, but even still, I was pushing to the end.”
Mosiman continued:
“It was massive progress. I'm really thankful for the team. We put in a ton of work over the past three weeks – testing and developing the bike – and it got me a lot happier. Just from press day on, it was a pretty good feeling. There were a couple of laps where I was fast on track, and you really wouldn't have expected that a couple of weeks ago. Coming back from injuries is a process, and the process has gone well. Overall, I'm gonna look fondly on this weekend with the progress made, and I’m looking forward to High Point to move on and be a little bit more solid.”
Said Davies:
“I started the weekend strong, qualifying fastest, but bad starts in both motos made the races challenging from the beginning. In Moto 1, I worked my way from 20th to sixth, which showed the pace is there. In Moto 2, a crash pushed me down the field, and I finished 15th for 10th overall. It’s not where I want to be or where I feel I belong. I’ve got work to do to claim back points and get back in the fight for the championship. Eyes forward to High Point.”
Said Gordon:
“I was 11th overall at Thunder Valley. I’m stoked on the second moto, and there were definitely a lot of positives to take from the weekend. I’m excited to keep building these next few weekends.”
Said Dudney:
“The day was good, overall. Qualifying was all right. I need to work on that a little bit more, but the first moto was good. Then the second moto, I got a bad start, and just tried to push my way up there. Overall, there are a lot of positives to take away, and I'm happy with it.”
Said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 team general manager:
“It was definitely an up-and-down day for what seemed like the entire class. Cole had a really good second moto going. He was going to the front pretty quick and then crashed. Unfortunately, it broke some throttle cables, and the front brake went out, so that was a shame. We had a lot of good results for the guys, and with some of the young guys, like in Moto 2, with Landen and Minear getting their best results of the year, and a top 10 for Carson in his pro debut. Then Dudney and Mosiman in Moto 1. We’ve just got to get the overall results better, but a good weekend overall.”
