Image: Octopi Media.

After a challenging season of Pro Motocross in 2025, bike changes in the lead-up to the Budds Creek National made a substantial difference for 250MX contender Levi Kitchen, who indicated that the improvements ‘helped a ton’ on his way to the podium.

Expected to fight for the outdoor title this year, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider struggled to find front-running form on a continual basis, with 11-8-10 finishes over the last three nationals a ways off his capabilities.

Additional gains for his KX250 were unlocked before Saturday’s 11th and final round, which helped the 24-year-old get off the line and feature further up front during the early stages, leading to a 4-3 scorecard and third overall at round 11.

“I’ve been trying, man! I’ve been trying every weekend, I’ve just hit the ground a lot, and I’ve been starting in the back,” reflected Kitchen. “From what people don’t see, we found some stuff with the bike before this weekend that helped a ton. Press day was my first time on it, and I was so excited to race today. I still didn’t get unbelievable starts, but they were so much better.

“Both Jo [Shimoda] and Haiden [Deegan] are ripping right now, but for me this felt like a win – I really needed this as it’s been a rough few weeks. My track position was way better, and I think that’s why the result was the way that it was today, and I look forward to SMX now. I’m going to go in there and try my ass off.”

Kitchen finished the year P4 in the 250MX point-standings, one position lower than his third place last season, and enters the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Playoffs series ranked in sixth position.