As the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship enters the fourth round of the season this weekend at High Point, plenty of storylines have already begun to take shape through three rounds of racing. In this edition of Countdown, MotoOnline takes a look at the trends emerging from the beginning of the series.

Image: Octopi Media.

6. Jorge Prado’s form after three rounds:
It’s probably not where he or Monster Energy Kawasaki may have expected his form to be? Look, it’s a tough game this Pro Motocross thing, and the differences between MXGP and the American outdoors are not inconsequential. The time riders have on track, no qualifying race in the lead up, and brand new circuits for the Spaniard to learn are all things that are not easy to overcome. Still, there were words said entering the season, about taking it to Jett Lawrence, about being a title contender, that probably no longer reflect where the number 70 is at with things. So, is it reasonable to be where he is? Yes, it is, because there is so much learning to be done. However, the expectations – namely from himself and the team – may need tempering, and hopeful both parties are able to do so, otherwise it could create some unnecessary tension in what is his first full year in the United States.

5. Tom Vialle searching:
It feels like, across the board, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle’s top speed attribute has lowered in 2025, which could even be said stretching back to Supercross too. He did podium at Fox Raceway, although Hangtown was a mess with a DNF-8, and then Thunder Valley was pretty so-so given the starts he got, which were both at the front. The dual MX2 world champion just seems to be missing something, and as the runner-up to Deegan last year, we would’ve expected more so far. He sits 59 points from the number one, which effectively means he’s out of the title-hunt, and will likely target podiums and race wins, if some extra speed can be found.

Image: Octopi Media.

4. The sleepers in each class so far:
We’ll go with RJ Hampshire in 450MX and Garrett Marchbanks in 250MX, with a special mention to Casey Cochran (250MX) too. Hampshire has been a solid sixth to eighth-place rider so far, which is impressive for his first full season on a 450. Adding to such, he’s had a niggling wrist injury that he has been nursing, which by the sounds of it, is finally starting to come around. P6 overall in the standings amongst a stacked field is strong for your first go at it, and with sights set on the top five, it’ll be interesting to see whether Hampshire can make a run further towards the front. As for Marchbanks, he’s P3 in the 250MX category, which we would suspect not a lot of people knew. With a 6-5-4 overall scorecard, he’s trending for a victory in a further three rounds of racing, but in all seriousness, Marchbanks has been on it and secured his first 250MX moto podium in Colorado, tying with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Levi Kitchen and missing the overall podium on a countback.

3. Haiden Deegan’s 250MX points lead:
We saw Chance Hymas (Honda HRC Progressive) have the measure of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan in both Thunder Valley 250MX motos. The problem, however, is that Hymas is 49 markers back from Deegan at this stage in the season. So yes, this was a great result by Chance, but the broader damage has been done with a horror Hangtown, where he finished P13 in moto one, and withdrew altogether in moto two after food poisoning in the week leading up to the event took its toll. His Honda HRC Progressive teammate, Jo Shimoda, is P2 overall, although he is also losing touch with the defending champion, points wise. As we saw in Colorado, bike dramas can happen, and that could easily have been a 25 point swing for Deegan if he didn’t finish, so it is possible, but for the other riders, they shouldn’t count on that. Trey Canard reeled Christophe Pourcel in during 2010’s 250MX Pro Motocross season after being 57 points down, so it can be done, but it’ll take a lot of winning!

Image: Octopi Media.

2. Beast Mode:
This ties in to the above paragraph. The question on everyone’s mind was how would Jett fair against the four-time 450 Pro Motocross champion Eli Tomac at full speed? We think it’s safe to say that we’ve seen Eli at full strength after these three rounds, and to his credit, he did claim a convincing opening moto victory in Hangtown. It just appears like there is such a stylistic mismatch between the two, which may be insurmountable for Tomac. His all out, throw the kitchen sink at it riding technique – which is often referred to as ‘Beast Mode’ – just seems ineffective against Jett’s smooth, calculated, water-like fluidity around a race track, and it’s easier and more consistent to replicate. While it looks like Lawrence could ride like that all day long, Eli appears like he’s on the knife’s edge, with his two falls during both Hangtown and Colorado’s second motos a likely symptom of this.

1. Jett Lawrence is back:
Any question marks around Jett Lawrence’s motivation levels can now be put to rest, as the 2023 Pro Motocross champion is back to his very best, having claimed five of six moto victories, and three from three on the overall front. Not only do the statistics read well, but they have been sublime performances, with Jett having withstood pressure from Tomac among others, and seemingly having handled the pressure well. It’s a real concern for everyone else in the 450MX category, who, judging by their commentary, are keeping their spirits up. Perhaps the most lethal thing about Jett though is his race smarts, and how he manages the motos. He knows where everyone is, how the race is unfolding, and how hard he needs to push like no other rider does. This can give a false sense of speed and progression to the rest of the field, because who knows exactly how fast he is at full speed.