Securing an elusive 250MX holeshot meant a maiden Lucas Oil Pro Motocross victory ‘came a lot easier’ for Levi Kitchen at Thunder Valley, as ‘The Chef’ was able to draw confidence from finally being able to get a good start outdoors.

Throughout the opening two rounds of the 2022 season Kitchen often found himself outside the top 10 at the end of the first lap. That changed in Colorado when the number 59 grabbed the lead in the moto one and backed up that he could achieve a good result if he had the right start.

“It was huge, I kept saying that but to back it up and I knew I could and I finally kind of proved that, I think,” explained Kitchen. “I’m stoked, like I said it came a lot easier when you get a start like that, I’ve never done it, I don’t know if I’ve started in the top five in an outdoor.”

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider admittedly didn’t get out of the gate well in moto two, but was able to recover from an early fall to finish fifth and land third overall.

“Even my second one, it gave me confidence from the first one, that second start, I kind of botched the jump but I still came out maybe eighth or so before I fell,” he added. “So, I would take that any day of the week. It was a big day for me.”

As the series approaches round four this Saturday at High Point, Kitchen is tied fourth overall in the 250MX standings, tied with teammate Justin Cooper and 39 points from red plate-holder and Thunder Valley 250MX overall winner Jett Lawrence.