1. Jett’s New Reality
Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence coulda, shoulda, woulda won Millville, but threw it away with a weirdo crash in moto two. Jett got beat by big bro handily in moto one, but came out swinging in the second moto, catching, passing, and checking out on Hunter before going down late. He probably would have been able to get up and finish second, but the crash was exacerbated by the handlebar falling inside Jett’s boot, causing him to be stuck for some time, and settling for fifth.
The second moto crash was Jett Lawrence’s third crash of the day (two in qualifying), and all of them were decently big get offs. Jettson has been hitting the deck more than ever this summer, and he opened up at the post-race press conference about how he believes his lack of riding during the week is beginning to catch up with him on race day.
“When we are changing settings, I am just not knowing the bike as well, and then when we get top the race weekend, the first qualifying, you are obviously trying to send it on a track that you haven’t rode since the previous year, so you’re trying to ride yourself in, but also try to get a good lap in,” Jett Lawrence said.
He also talked about the moto two crash explaining, “I've been struggling with a little bit with the bike. And I think it's that new style I've created almost with my foot and kind of being a little, almost sometimes a little forward and I'm like most of my weight's there instead of just my head. I think it just put that little bit too much weight and it pressured the front into that soft stuff and there was enough just to kind of carve it and then flick me over.”
It is hard to predict what Jett’s recovery will look like long term, but if he wants to win his third 450 Pro Motocross Championship, he is going to have to adapt to his current situation and limit the mistakes. He has proven on several occasions that alien Jett Lawrence still exists, but maybe that level puts him closer to the edge than it once did?
2. Tomac’s Return
Out of nowhere, it was announced on Tuesday that Red Bull KTM’s Eli Tomac would return to racing at Millville. In typical Eli style, his recovery was kept very quiet and very few knew he was even back on the bike, let alone ready to return to racing.
On press day, Eli explained that he had been back riding for a couple weeks, felt strong and healthy, and that racing would be better for him than continuing to spin laps at the practice track. He claimed his goal for the weekend was to be around the podium, which turned out to be a little overzealous as the four-time 450 Pro Motocross Champion wound up 11th overall with 9-12 moto finishes.
Tomac looked rusty for sure, but we have seen him subpar performances in his return to racing several times before, so it would not be shocking to see him inside the top five this weekend at Washougal. Regardless, it’s great to see Tomac back at the races after the scary crash at Fox Raceway.
Tomac also mentioned on press day, that as of now, his plan is to do SX-only in 2027. So, if watching Eli Tomac race motocross in person is on your bucket list, these next four rounds may be the last chance to check that box.
3. Bam Breaks Through
It has not been a good year for Justin Barcia. Starting with the scary crash at A1, Bam has struggled to put up the results he and Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing team expect, but he finally put his Ducati Desmo450 MX in the top five at Millville. He started inside the top three in moto one and was able to hang in there for a fifth. He backed that up with an eighth in moto two, good enough for fifth overall, by far his best ride on the Ducati.
It is no secret that the Ducati boys have been testing all season long trying to develop the bike in their debut season and after the race Barcia talked about how they even use press day for testing.
“They had a chassis related update, and we tried it and it was better, but we really struggled with the suspension on press day because the chassis changed so much” Barcia explained to PulpMX’s Steve Matthes. “So overnight, they built a fork and shock, and it was really good.”
Antonio Cairoli explained the changes to Matthes in his post-race interview, which parts of are included in this post about Cairoli’s day.
It sounds like Justin is out at Ducati for 2027. As of now, he is not sure what he is doing, but a few more rides like this should help him find a nice landing spot.
4. Hunter Sweeps Up
There’s not much to say about Hunter Lawrence, aside from the dude is really freaking good right now. There is no glaring weakness in his game and the first moto at Millville was one of his best yet. He sprinted away from Jett in the opening laps and took a dominant 15-second win.
In the second moto it looked like another role reversal between motos as Jett was putting in a dominant performance of his own before going down. Hunter inherited the lead and the moto win, taking his third 1-1 sweep of the season. After the race, Hunter said he never realized Jett went down, and had no idea he had won until he got back to the tent. He thought Jett just left him in the dust!
The Lawrence brothers swap possession of the red pate once again, with Hunter leading by ten. It is the largest points gap between the two of them since the opening round at Fox Raceway, and as this thing winds down, it will be interesting to see if they start racing each other any differently.
5. Juju’s First
Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer got his first Pro Motocross moto and overall win at Millville. His catastrophic back injury suffered in SMX feels like a distant memory and he did not come back as good as he was, he came back better.
Beaumer has answered every question about him thus far. Only a supercross guy? Wrong. Only a West Coast guy? Wrong. Can’t ride in the sand? Also, wrong.
His charge through the field in moto one was impressive. He came from about tenth to track down and pass Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Michael Mosiman on the last lap to take his first moto win in thrilling fashion. Julien made the switch to Baker’s Factory a while ago now, and you could argue he is the most fit rider in the class.
A fourth in moto two was good enough for the overall, and he now sits second in points, 24 behind Levi Kitchen. With the way this season is going, that deficit could be gone next weekend.
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Tue Jul 21 Antonio Cairoli on DNF at Spring Creek: “Another rider hit my leg and twisted my knee” 
Mon Jul 20 Chase Sexton: “I respect the criticism...that means people hold you to a higher standard” 
Mon Jul 20 Julien Beaumer: “I am going to put everything I have into this, I don’t care what I have to go through" 
Mon Jul 20 Watch: Best Quotes from Spring Creek National Post-Race Press Conference in 15 Minutes 6. Kitchen Gets the Red Plate back
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen somehow escaped death and retook the points lead at Millville.
Unless you live under a rock, you have seen the melee Star Racing rookie Carson Wood caused off the start of 250 moto one. Wood had the holeshot but slid out leaving the likes of Caden Dudney, Cole Davies, Kitchen, and privateer Hayes Edwards, who had nowhere to go but into a downed bike. Dudney got torpedoed off his bike, into Kitchen, and sent both flailing to the ground. Dudney got the worst of the deal and will likely miss some time with an arm injury, but Kitchen was able to remount and charge from essentially last, to eighth.
It was an admirable effort that not only salvaged championship points but gave him the championship lead after title rival Davies ended up with a hole in his gas tank (likely from that massive, crazy pileup) and suffered a DNF. Kitchen put in another good dig in the second moto, coming from outside the top ten, to second. His 8-2 finishes put him third overall and he now sits in the driver’s seat of this title fight.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA  | 261 |
| 2 |  Julien Beaumer | Lake Havasu City, AZ | 237 |
| 3 |  Cole Davies | Waitoki, New Zealand  | 236 |
| 4 |  Kayden Minear | Western Australia  | 199 |
| 5 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 194 |
7. Davies’ Disastrous Day
Like Julien Beaumer at Red Bud, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies had a day he would like to forget at Millville. The young Kiwi came into the weekend as the points leader and left third in the points, a full moto behind Levi Kitchen.
It was not for a lack of trying. Davies was second off the start in moto one but had nowhere to go when Wood began to wash out, and that started chaos. Like Kitchen, Davies got up and began to charge through the pack. The two of them found each other on their way through the field and it looked like the moto would have little bearing on the points battle despite the chaotic start.
But disaster struck when Davies’ Yamaha came to a halt. Davies was forced to push his bike off the track and forfeit the points lead. Turns out Cole’s gas tank was damaged in the start crash and he ran out of gas. A devastating blow for Davies and the team.
The second moto did not go much better for Cole. After starting inside the top five, he found himself on the ground several times throughout the moto, finishing an abysmal 13th. Despite having a detrimental day, Davies has shown he can go on a win streak, and it would not take much to get right back in the mix. Washougal will be big for the #37.
8. Hymas Finds his Mojo
Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas has been invisible for most of the summer. Touted as one of the pre-season title favorites, Hymas’ best overall finish coming into Millville was a sixth and his best moto result was a fifth.
Chance finished an underwhelming ninth in the first moto, but something clicked in moto two and we finally got a glimpse of what he is capable of. Hymas started the moto in fifth, but mistakes by Davies, Beaumer, and Mosiman put him second behind rookie Kayden Minear. Hymas closed the gap and got by Minear on lap seven and took off with his first moto win of the season.
Chance’s injury riddled past is no secret, and he has done a good job of picking up close to where he left off. However, the shoulder injury that took him out of Monster Energy AMA Supercross was a lot different than the ACLs that took him out of the previous two summers. Hymas talked about this with Steve Matthes admitting, “The recovery process was really tough. It was really painful.”
When comparing it to his previous knee injuries Chance explained, “Yeah, completely different ball game. Like your knee only moves up and down one direction. Your shoulder is 360 degrees in the socket. When they go in and anchor that thing down as tight as it is, you don’t realize how much you use your shoulder and how hard it is to get that movement back after surgery.”
It was nice to see Hymas back where he belongs. Expect this ride to springboard him into the podium battle on a weekly basis for the rest of the season. Remember, he has been really damn good at Unadilla in previous years.
9. Mumfy’s Career Best
On the eve of Millville National, AEO Powersports KTM announced they had re-signed Carson Mumford for 2027. Carson had an up and down supercross season but has been one of the biggest surprises of the summer. He has been consistently inside the top ten but took it to a new level in the second moto at Millville.
Mumfy started just outside the top five and eventually worked his way into third place. For a while it looked like he legitimately had the pace to track down Kitchen and Hymas but eventually settled into third and took him his first ever moto podium. It was a cool moment for Carson who has dealt with numerous injuries and hopped from team to team since GEICO Honda shut down at the end of his rookie season. You could see the emotional pouring out after the moto as he shared the moment with his wife and mechanic. It was nice to see a good result mean so much to a rider.
It has been a long road for Mumfy, but it really cool to find him hitting his stride and finding a home at AEO. The team is rumored to be taking on the Husqvarna Support Program for 2027, so the team and Carson should be able to continue the upward trajectory moving forward.
10. Drew Adams’ Shows Some Life
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams has had a rough start to his pro career. He has shown glimpses of why he was such a highly touted amateur, but like Hymas, the injuries have hit just as the momentum gets rolling.
After his wrist/thumb injury suffered at Cleveland SX, Adams came back from at the Thunder Valley race. He admitted it was a little early and it showed as he struggled to put up points, finishing 24th overall. He has gotten better each weekend since and was back to scheduled programming at Millville. Drew qualified fastest—for just the second time in Pro Motocross—and went 7-7 for sixth overall.
One of Adams biggest weaknesses is his starts. He was the hard charger in moto two, coming from 26th around the first turn to get that seventh place finish. He admitted as much in his post-race Instagram post saying, “Starting to feel like myself again. Gonna go back to work this week and lock in on some starts.” If he can put all the pieces together, Drew could easily become a top five regular.
