Round nine of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship unfolded at Ironman Raceway, serving up a full day of intense racing as the series resumed after the break. Reaction dives into the commentary from around the paddock post race.

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Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) – Sixth:
Ups and downs today. I tried some new things with my stomach because I’ve been struggling to digest food between motos, and I think the tablets I took kept digesting everything so quickly that by halfway, I had no energy – bit of a bummer there. Obviously, there was the incident in the first moto, which in my mind is kind of silly because I feel like AMA has double standards – we’ve got guys cutting the track and they don’t do anything. I guess this is what we have to deal with, but they might need to get better at realizing who they need to penalize. I came back and won the second moto, so we’ll leave with that.

Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) – First:
There was a lot of wild stuff that went on today, which worked out in my favor. What happened to Jett [Lawrence] in the first moto with being penalized a lap, and then I’m not sure what happened with Chase [Sexton] in the second moto. It was a wild day in that aspect, but I’m happy to be there and able to capitalize on it. It was hot, with no breeze — a really tough, physically demanding day.

Justin Barcia (Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing) – Ninth:
It was a wild day in Ironman, and a hot one! The track was tough and pretty slippery in the morning with its hard-packed base, so we made some changes after practice going into the first moto. Unfortunately in moto one, someone hit the gate next to me, and that caused a chain reaction as I went early as well. That put me pretty much last, so we charged back to the top 10 in that one, which was okay. Second race, got a good start, but was shuffled around a bit on lap one, and then made one big mistake and lost a lot of positions. I fought back to the top 10 again, so all in all, some good progress was made today – we’ll never stop fighting!

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Eighth:
Ironman was an okay race for me. I always have fun here and, overall, I think that there were a lot of positives to take away from it. We did the best we could in moto one and I actually felt really good around the race track as I had some really good lines. Decent start in moto two, did my best again, rode my own race, and just applied myself. It was pretty hot today and I think a lot of us were feeling the heat in that one! We’ll come back and have another swing at Unadilla.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Second:
I feel like I found a little bit more speed over the break. Right now, for me, it’s just a matter of holding that speed for longer when I do get up there. The second moto was crazy, as a lot was going on, and I found myself in a lot of battles and wasn’t sure where I was overall. But we’ve been working for this, and we know this is the level that I can be at, on the podium. Going forward, this is where I expect myself to be fighting for podiums.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
I was just happy to get on the podium today. I came into this race pretty under the weather. Friday night, I started coming down with it, and then today I was just kind of hanging on. I had a rough first moto, unfortunately, but I had some positives on the day with my starts – two holeshots. So that was really cool for us, and I was able to rebound in moto two. I was in second, and then I stalled the bike towards the end. I just hit my rear brake and couldn’t get going again to get back to second, but I’m glad to hang onto third and get that podium.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Fourth:
I kind of felt off all day. It’s not really a great track for me. I felt like I should have had a podium today, and with some guys going out, we were fourth. We want to be better. We’ll go back to work this week, look at what we did wrong, and try to be better for next weekend.

Jorge Prado (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fifth:
This weekend was much better for me. After riding press on Friday we made some changes to bike on Saturday that I’m really happy with. My results in qualifying and moto one and two reflected those positive changes. I feel like I’m starting to ride more like myself and I look forward to build upon my results today and keep getting better every weekend.

Benoit Paturel (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 18th:
In the first moto I got a good start, but at end of the race I got tired. In the second moto I crashed in the start and had a long way to go to get back into the points. Overall, my riding and speed were good this weekend, and the team did an excellent job. I just need to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. I’m looking forward to Unadilla next weekend.

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Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Third:
I had fun all day and it was nice to be back at the track after some time off. I’ve always liked the Ironman circuit and have done well here in the past, but it was really gnarly today. The woods section was slippery, and other parts were a bit sketchy, but I’m happy with my day and am looking to finish the Pro Motocross season strong.

Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – 14th:
I had a solid qualifying in P8, showed some pace there, but the beginning of each moto I was just a little stale, I would say – just a bit slow at the start. I ran my best laps later in the motos, but I’m happy to get through the round and log consistent laps. I think we’re on a path forward now, so I’m excited to get back to work this week, and be stronger again at Unadilla.

Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC Progressive) – Second:
I got 2-2 today and had good starts, so that’s positive. I just need to pick up the pace a little bit more. There’s nothing that I can’t do – we’re very close. Hopefully over the next two rounds we can make a few bike changes — maybe stiffen it up to make that part better. There are two rounds left, and I’m ready to go.

Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing) – 15th:
Qualifying was good at Ironman, then Moto 1, I was right there around the top 10, but made some mistakes, which sent me backward. I made a better start in race two and was up there in fourth for five or six laps, and then again just went backwards later in the moto. I need to fix some things before we head to Unadilla and Budds Creek, so we will keep trying hard and working to move forward.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It was a good day – two ‘W’s.’ It’s always nice when you can get those done because those are really hard to come by. The first moto, I didn’t get a great start and kind of had to work my way through, and the second one, I got the holeshot and won it. That was basically it.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 11th:
I’m happy with the day. My speed was a lot better, but I just have to be better in those opening laps. The first one, I got caught up on the first lap and was pretty much dead last. Then, moto two, I had a good start and ended up hitting a false neutral and tipping over. So that was a bummer, but I felt like my speed was good and my fitness was good, so I’m happy with that. That three-week break was big for me. We’re getting better. We’re just going to keep digging.

Michael Mosiman (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 18th:
It was a tough day. We had two days on the bike after taking almost a month off for this ankle. I was able to ride fairly well in the first moto, but the second and third turn was my nemesis today. I had a great start in the first one, but made a mistake early on. Then in Moto 2, it was the same thing. I had a great start, and then made a mistake, and I tweaked my ankle that was bothering me. I did one lap, but I was not myself out there, and I decided to pull in and get ready for next weekend. It’s really unfortunate, but these mistakes are fixable. I know what needs to happen, and there are a lot of positives to take away. I still have great pace and great starts. We’ll be back next round.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 28th:
My first race back. I’ve been off the bike about 12-13 weeks, so I didn’t really expect too much coming into the race. The first moto, I got off to a really good start and was third. That was probably bad for me in the end because I got super bad arm pump, and went backwards from there. Then in the second moto, I didn’t have the best start, and stayed around where I came out. I rode a bit better, but we definitely have a long way to go. We’re going to keep chipping away at it and show up for Unadilla and bring the best I can.

Pierce Brown (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – DNF:
The day started off well, and we had a good qualifying. Unfortunately, I got cross-jumped and hit the deck in moto one, and sat out of the second moto as a precaution. I woke up pretty sore this morning, so we’ll get some scans early this week to make sure the body is all good. We haven’t had a lack of adversity this year, but the goal hasn’t changed.

Garrett Marchbanks (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fourth:
I had a solid day here at Ironman. I had another great qualifying session with second overall. I’m super pumped with that, I’ve made a lot of progress with qualifying this year. Broc [Tickle] and I have been working really hard on qualifying technique back in Southern California and I feel like that has been showing through in qualifying on Saturday. I felt my motos went well, but depleted myself a lot after moto one. I lost a lot of fluids and I couldn’t get enough in between motos to replenish myself. Therefore, I started cramping in moto two. I haven’t had to happen to me a long time, which is unfortunate. Having a good start in that second moto helped me feel better, since I was still cramping. I felt good until about 25 minutes in. The last three laps I was really holding on, and didn’t remember much. I just kind gritted it out and remember Drew [Adams] passing me the last quarter of a lap. I moved back to sixth and cruised till the end of the moto. Besides those last few laps, it was a solid day. It wasn’t the third overall that I wanted, like I had at at Washougal, but fourth overall is still good. I’m still making strides, just have a few more things to figure out and be a little bit better on my starts in the first moto. We’re headed off to Unadilla next week and I love it up there, so let’s keep the ball rolling.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Eight:
It was a tough day for me. I didn’t feel great coming in, and in the first moto I had a crash that set me back a bit, but I was able to regroup. The team made some changes to the bike, and it felt a lot better in the second moto. It was still a grind, but we’re going to keep pushing into Unadilla. I feel like we found a little something with the bike, which is nice, and now I just need to kick this cold before next weekend, but we’ll be ready.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 10th:
Today had its ups and downs. Qualifying went great, and I knew I had the speed. Moto one didn’t go how I wanted after a bad start, but I was able to push hard and make up some ground. Moto two started better, and I stayed close to the leaders, but I just didn’t have quite enough in the final laps. I’m going to keep working, stay focused, and get ready for Unadilla.

Drew Adams (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fifth:
This is the best result I’ve had so far with fifth overall, which I’m pretty happy about. It’s been a long road coming back from my injury after High Point. I’ve been struggling the past couple of weeks, started to put things together a bit at Washougal, and this week I feel like I executed well. In the first moto, I started way back around 30th, which isn’t ideal, but I charged up to eighth, so that was a solid ride. In the second moto, I started just inside the top 10 but slipped out of it on the first lap after getting passed by a couple of guys. From there, I just kept picking riders off. I felt like I had a little more energy than a lot of guys today. I put in a late charge, passing Garrett [Marchbanks] on the second-to-last lap. Overall, it was a good day, and I’m looking forward to next week.

Jalek Swoll (Triumph Racing) – 16th:
The day started well, but injuries suck. That ruined the day for me. It has been an uphill battle, after tweaking my leg in practice. I honestly did all that I could. Racing injured was tougher than I thought, however, so now I want to get healthy.

Mikkel Haarup (Triumph Racing) – Sixth:
That’s round nine done! I thought it was a strong showing overall. I did not have the best start in moto one, but I fought really hard to get fifth. I was proud of that effort – I gave everything that I had! I improved my start in moto two and was chasing a podium position, but my body was done. I had to cruise it over the finish line. I am looking forward to the next two races!

Austin Forkner (Triumph Racing) – Ninth:
It was not a bad day at Ironman! I qualified terribly and had some pain in my leg after dabbing it. I did not have the intensity at the start of moto one either, but I was so strong at the end! I passed for 11th in the final corner. I used a lot of energy, which made the second moto tricky but I was happy with 10th. I will take ninth overall on the day and I was happy with the bike, especially as the track got rougher.

Jordon Smith (Triumph Racing) – 12th:
I came from around 10th to sixth in the first moto, which I was happy with. My fitness felt very good too. I got together with another rider on lap one of the second moto and went down, then everything just snowballed from there. It was not a great moto, so my focus has already shifted to redemption at Unadilla.