2. Hunter Lawrence… Man to Beat?

Hunter Lawrence has found a new level this outdoor season. Had it not been for that weirdo tip over in moto one, he would have had his third sweep of the season and nine-point lead in the series.

Hunter did the unthinkable catching, passing and pulling away from his brother in moto one before the fall. HRC Honda team manager, Lars Lindstrom, called into Monday night’s PulpMX Show to clarify that Hunter’s crash was not due to a mechanical, but a rock that got caught in the sprocket and caused the bike to stall.

Lawrence was understandably upset after the moto but bounced back in moto two with an impressive charge to pass Jorge Prado late to secure the moto and overall win, as well as the points lead. Hopefully that six-point swing does not come back to haunt him later in the series, but it is fair to say Hunter Lawrence is the man to beat coming into Southwick.

3. The Legend Returns

Red Bud was the beginning of Ducati’s Antonio Cairoli’s third stint in Pro Motocross. The nine-time world champion had not raced since MXoN but still flirted with the top ten, going 12-13. Cairoli spent the week testing the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull Ducati at Southwick and admitted that the long days in the heat caught up to him on Saturday.

Those long days should help him next weekend as he makes his racing debut at The Wick and then finishes his three-race stint at Millville the following week. Even though the primary objective for Tony is to collect race data for Ducati, he still has the goal of being in the top ten. Not bad for 40 years-old!

4. Best of the Rest

While the Lawrences, Haiden Deegan, and Jorge Prado have established themselves as the clear top four in the series, RJ Hampshire, Garrett Marchbanks, Dylan Ferrandis, and Aaron Plessinger have consistently been fighting for the title of “best of the rest”.

At Red Bud it was RJ Hampshire taking the honors with an impressive 4-4 day. It is easily forgotten after missing the majority of Supercross, but this is exactly where RJ was last summer when he earned a spot on Team USA. He was the top placing American 450 rider this weekend, but it is unlikely he would accept a Team USA invite this year since he will be changing teams for 27’.

Marchbanks and Ferrandis also rode well, but it was another tough blow for Plessinger. AP went down in the first turn of moto one and took a footpeg to the tailbone area. He posted an update with some tasteful photos on his Instagram saying that he will be back ASAP.

Keep an eye on this battle as the summer continues. Hampshire and Marchbanks are separated by just eight points for fifth in points while Ferrandis needs that position to hit the autorenewal kicker in his contract.

5. Prado gets Close

Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado had been slightly underwhelming since his disastrous day at Hangtown, but he returned to his Pala form at Red Bud. Jorge holeshot both motos and led fifteen laps total.

Prado had close to a ten second lead, deep into moto two. The moto win would have given him the overall, but Hunter Lawrence began taking chunks out of that lead and found his way by with a few laps to go. Still, Prado’s 3-2 for second overall is a step in the right direction and gives him some momentum going into the sands of Southwick next weekend.

There is a lot of debate on whether Prado’s fitness is up to par, but he denies any sort of fitness issue and to his credit, he has shown the ability to push late on several occasions this summer. However, he has commented about struggling to get by lappers. MXGP commonly has 20 to 25 riders on the gate, so lappers are oftentimes irrelevant. We will have to pay closer attention to this moving forward.

6. Davies Backs it Up

What Cole Davies’ is doing in his “rookie” season of Pro Motocross is scary for the anybody looking to win this championship over the next couple of years. He qualified fastest at Red Bud by a second and a half and backed that up with his second overall win in a row.

Davies showed great poise in moto one. He sat behind his rookie teammate Caden Dudney for thirty minutes, making a push, realizing it was not going to work, backing off and setting up another attack. He did this several times before making the pass for the lead stick. It was impressive race craft by such a young rider.

Despite the win, the end of the second moto could raise some red flags. It was the warmest race of the season and Davies did hit a bit of a wall after leading for most of the moto. Maybe he knew the landscape of points and settled for the overall win, but then there are reports of him throwing up immediately after the moto. Again, maybe it’s nothing, but Davies’ lack of experience in managing two 35-minute motos on hot days may be the only thing the competition have to hang their hat on because the riding has been unbelievable as of late.

7. Kitchen Fumbling?

Mitch Payton and his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team's Pro Motocross Championship hopes now lie in the hands of Levi Kitchen. The team announced midweek that Seth Hammaker will miss the remainder of the year with a shoulder injury sustained in his High Point crash.

Kitchen came into Red Bud clinging to a one-point lead in the championship and on the heels of a mediocre High Point performance. He needed a bounce back weekend, but that was not what he got. Kitchen went 4-5 for fifth overall and fell to third in points. With 12 motos left to go, the nine-point deficit is not as concerning as Levi’s recent riding and the momentum of his Championship rivals.

Kitchen has a clear speed advantage through the first three rounds, but that has disappeared since the series headed east. Meanwhile, Jo Shimoda and Cole Davies are catching fire. Levi needs to slow their momentum at Southwick.

8. Shimoda Takes the Red Plate

HRC Honda’s Jo Shimoda is the new 250MX points leader. Shimoda got his first moto win of the year in moto two and it comes right on schedule. Red Bud is where Shimoda caught fire last summer, taking the win and he went on to finish on the podium every weekend from there on.

The biggest difference this summer is that he is not racing Haiden Deegan. Last year he left RedBud in a 38-point deficit to Deegan, but this year he holds the red plate. If Jo’s Post-RedBud 2026 replicates 2025, he's in prime position for a title. 

9. Ryder D First Podium

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Ryder DiFrancesco has had an up and down start to the Pro Motocross season but was able to find the consistency needed to land his first career outdoor podium at RedBud. Ryder’s third in moto two was his third moto podium of the season.

DiFrancesco’s fitness has been in question throughout his career, but you cannot fake 35 minutes at a national, so clearly he is putting in the work, and it is paying off. It has taken longer than expected, but Ryder D is setting himself up to be a race winning and championship contending guy in 2027.