MOTOCROSS ACTION MID-WEEK REPORT

JETT LAWRENCE EXTENDS POINTS LEAD WITH A WIN AT HANGTOWN

On a weekend that saw sweltering Northern California weather conditions, Honda HRC Progressive rider Jett Lawrence scored an impressive overall win at the Hangtown Motocross Classic, tallying 3-1 moto scores and stretching his title-chase lead to 16 points.

After starting eighth in the first 450 outing, Jett moved up to fourth on lap 1 and advanced another spot on lap 3, then stayed there to the finish. Jett and Hunter were second and third across the holeshot line in moto 2, and Jett immediately advanced to the lead. Showcasing smooth, calculated riding on the punishing, sunbaked surface, he never looked back and scored a 10.911-second victory.

Jett Lawrence said: “Not too bad of a day. In the first moto, I missed a shift off the start, so I didn’t get the greatest jump, but I made it back to third and kind of rode it in from there to save energy for the second moto. They ended up shortening that one, and I got a good start, sprinted early to build a gap, and then maintained it to the finish. It was hot out there, but we got it done. I’m happy and looking forward to Colorado.”

SECOND MOTO STRUGGLES FOR ELI TOMAC

Eli Tomac was strong in the first moto but the second moto a bad start and a crash left him in ninth.

Tomac carried his momentum from the season opener and was strong throughout the day, qualifying third. In Moto 1, he slotted into third and passed his teammate Cooper on Lap 2 to take over second. As the race wound down, he closed in on the leader and took over the top spot with two laps to go, earning his first moto win of the season. The victory moved Tomac into a tie for second on the all-time 450MX moto win list, with 68 career moto victories. Unfortunately, in Moto 2, he and another rider made contact after the start, putting him back in 26th. Tomac put in a determined ride, charging to eighth by Lap 5, but had a tip-over while attempting to advance further. He remounted in 12th and continued to push forward, ultimately finishing ninth for fourth overall. Tomac now sits third in the championship, one point behind second and 17 points from the lead as the series heads to his home state next weekend.

Eli Tomac said: “It was great to get a first moto win this weekend. Unfortunately, I made two costly mistakes for my chance to win the overall in Moto 2.”

AARON PLESSINGER MOVES TO SECOND IN 450 POINTS WITH PODIUM FINISH AT HANGTOWN

Aaron Plessinger showed true heart in Hangtown.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger charged to a convincing 2-3 scorecard at the Hangtown National on Saturday afternoon, earning his first AMA Pro Motocross Championship podium result of the 2025 season amidst the high temperatures endured this weekend in Northern California.

A second place overall finish helped boost Plessinger to second in points as they head to Thunder Valley this weekend.

Round 2 began with Plessinger posting the fourth fastest 450MX qualifying time, before powering his KTM 450 SXF Factory Edition to the front of the pack in Moto one. Upon holding position until the closing stages of the race, ‘The Cowboy’ would claim what was a hard-fought second-place after misjudging the time left on the clock. As temperatures continued to rise, Plessinger commenced Moto two by climbing his way into third position, which is where he would remain for the race to take second place on the podium overall for the event, and move into second position in the 450MX standings after two rounds.

Aaron Plessinger said: “We’ve made some really good progress as a team outdoors and I feel like I have a great motocross bike underneath me. I felt good in that first moto and I wanted to see how long I could go out front knowing that it was really hot, but I misjudged the timing of when the race would end, unfortunately. That was a bit disappointing, but the second moto we went after it again, I made the pass on Hunter [Lawrence] for third, then I got really hot out there in the conditions. Second overall on the day, I’m pumped with that, and hoping it’s a little cooler next weekend!”

HAIDEN DEEGAN KEEPS HIS WINNING STREAK ALIVE

Haiden Deegan wins for the second weekend in a row at Hangtown.

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan continued to dominate with a 1-1 moto score at the Pro Motocross Hangtown Classic, keeping his win streak rolling and earning the overall 250MX victory in punishing triple-digit temperatures at Hangtown.

Deegan now sits twelve points in front of Jo Shimoda.

On the heels of his Fox Raceway National sweep, Deegan carried that momentum to Northern California, topping both sessions of qualifying to earn fastest 250 qualifier honors. Although he did not get the start he was hoping for in the first moto and was back in sixth, he quickly went to work and on Lap three, set the fastest lap of the race to move into third. Deegan continued to push, taking over the lead before the halfway point and setting the pace up front to score another dominant victory by nearly a seven-second margin. The reigning 250MX champ got a better start to Moto two and slotted into third, then made his way forward to claim the lead on Lap three, riding away to win by nine seconds this time. Deegan’s win streak has him heading to Round three with a twelve-point lead.

Haiden Deegan said: “It was a solid day out here at Hangtown. It was around 104 degrees, so it was pretty brutal. I woke up this morning feeling sick and came into the race not feeling too great, so to be able to go 1-1 still, I’m pretty stoked about that. Thanks to all the boys on the team. The bike was dialed. We’ll get recovered and come out swinging next week.”

TWO-STROKE SPOTLIGHT: KELLY SKEEN’S 1978 SUZUKI RM125C

“Hi guys, I wanted to submit this 1978 Suzuki RM125C for Two-Stroke Tuesday. I raced a 1977 RM125B and had some good results and so much fun on it, I wanted to try and find one to restore.”

“I did not find a 125B model ,but did find this bike. It was sort of a barn find, or farm find as it spent a lot of its life in Montana on a farm. It has very little time on it, everything is original except the fenders and handlebars, so the majority of my work was cleaning and a little paint.”

“These were killer bikes back in the day and it was great therapy to keep this old bike alive as I worked on it.  Here’s a few pictures during the process and the outcome. Enjoy it and let’s keep the old smokers alive!”

2026 DUCATI DESMO450 MX FIRST RIDE – FULL REVIEW & IMPRESSIONS

MXA PHOTO TRIVIA

Who is this rider? The answer can be found at the bottom of the page.

WE TEST A 2025 YAMAHA YZ250F “FACTORY EDITION”

MXA FANTASY LEAGUE –THE WINNER OF THE HANGTOWN PRO MOTOCROSS SCORED 281 POINTS

The 2025 Hangtown National was a hot one and the riders suffered through the day. The temps were so intense that they cut down the second motos to just twenty-five minutes rather than the usual thirty-minute motos. Haiden Deegan continued his winning ways as he went 1-1 on the day followed by Jo Shimoda and Levi Kitchen. Deegan is now four for four on moto wins thus far but Jo Shimoda has not allowed too many points to slip away as he has been second every moto so far this year as well. In the 450 class, Jett Lawrence was able to grab the overall once again but this one did not come easy as he went 3-1 for the win. Eli Tomac got the first moto win but a bad start and a mistake that put him on the ground only had him return to ninth in the second moto.

The MXA Fantasy League is partnered with On X Offroad, players can enjoy  20% off their subscription by using promo code MXA20 at checkout.

2025 HANGTOWN MOTOCROSS // FULL COVERAGE

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THE WINNER OF THE HANGTOWN FANTASY LEAGUE  “DALE”

The Hangtown National was sponsored by ADS Suspension and now Dale will be receiving $1500 towards his truck or SXS suspension. 

WEEKLY TOP TEN

POS	Name	Points
1	Dale	281
2	BellTire020	271
3	islandmoto9	271
4	wherrick527	271
5	AFoster06	270
6	hooker778	268
7	jgunz2015	264
8	mitxh11	263
9	leviallman	263
10	PapaH77	263

 

450 CLASS PREDICTION 

Justin Cooper (32) grabbed a third overall by going 4-2 in the motos and has been progressing each weekend continuing from the Supercross season.

It seems that week in and week out a lot of the same riders are finishing in similar positions but this week the riders switched it up on their results. The first person picked was Jett Lawrence which he did win and that gave 36 fantasy points including the ten-point bonus. In second Eli Tomac was chosen and he ended up fourth which gave 19 fantasy points and no bonus. The third pick was Aaron Plessinger and he grabbed second which gave 23 fantasy points but no bonus. In fourth was Justin Cooper he ended up third on the day which gave 21 fantasy points with no bonus. In fifth, Hunter Lawrence was picked which was a correct prediction and that gave 28 fantasy points. In sixth it was Cooper Webb who was picked and he finished in sixth this gave 27 fantasy points for the correct prediction.

250 CLASS PREDICTION 

Enzo Temmerman is in his rookie season and shared this moment with the champion Haiden Deegan in practice. Enzo telling Deegan he’s number one or letting Deegan know he’s number one.

The picks for the 250 class started with Haiden Deegan he did win and that gave 36 fantasy points including the ten-point bonus for the correct prediction. In second it was Tom Vialle chosen he ended up seventeenth after getting a DNF in the first moto after a crash took him out. In third it was Julien Beaumer who was picked and he finished in fourth which gave 19 fantasy points. In fourth it was Jo Shimoda who was picked and he ended up second which gave 23 fantasy points but no bonus. In fifth Garrett Marchbanks was picked and that was a correct prediction which gave 28 fantasy points including a ten-point bonus. In sixth it was Levi Kitchen picked and he ended up third which gave 21 fantasy points but no bonus and this completes the 250 picks.

2025 HANGTOWN MOTOCROSS // FULL COVERAGE

FORGOTTEN BIKES: THE HONDA CRF450 PROTOTYPE

The Honda CRF450 prototype that Ryan Hughes tested for Factory Honda.

250 POINT STANDINGS AFTER HANGTOWN

Haiden Deegan continues his dominance and kept the streak alive with another pair of moto wins at Hangtown.

POS	Name	Total Points
1	Haiden Deegan	100
2	Jo Shimoda	88
3	Julien Beaumer	67
4	Garrett Marchbanks	65
5	Levi Kitchen	52
6	Tom Vialle	52
7	Michael Mosiman	47
8	Ty Masterpool	46
9	Chance Hymas	45
10	Seth Hammaker	45
11	Max Vohland	41
12	Drew Adams	39
13	Casey Cochran	39
14	Mikkel Haarup	38
15	Jordon Smith	36
16	Parker Ross	34
17	Dilan Schwartz	31
18	Ryder DiFrancesco	27
19	Austin Forkner	15
20	Alexander Fedortsov	10
21	Enzo Temmerman	9
22	Lux Turner	9
23	Avery Long	6
24	Nate Thrasher	4
25	Jeremy Martin	4
26	Jack Chambers	2
27	CJ Benard	1

 

450 POINT STANDINGS AFTER HANGTOWN

Eli Tomac ran into his own troubles through the moto. Unfortunately, a crash sent him back to ninth in the second moto. With Aaron Plessinger finishing in second he would bump Tomac down to third in the points.

POS	Name	Total Points
1	Jett Lawrence	95
2	Aaron Plessinger	79
3	Eli Tomac	78
4	Justin Cooper	76
5	Hunter Lawrence	73
6	Jason Anderson	59
7	Jorge Prado	58
8	R.J. Hampshire	56
9	Joey Savatgy	49
10	Cooper Webb	45
11	Benoit Paturel	41
12	Malcolm Stewart	36
13	Valentin Guillod	30
14	Coty Schock	28
15	Grant Harlan	27
16	Colt Nichols	21
17	Derek Kelley	18
18	Lorenzo Locurcio	15
19	Fredrik Noren	15
20	Derek Drake	13
21	Harri Kullas	10
22	Mason Semmens	9
23	Romain Pape	7
24	Bryce Shelly	5
25	Mitchell Harrison	4
26	Dante Oliveira	3
27	Nicholas Lapucci	2

 

MXA PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The power duo of Josh Fout (left) and Josh Mosiman (right) as they take on the Hangtown National. Josh Fout is a hard core off-road rider and one of the best mechanics on the MXA team. Josh Mosiman had issues in timed qualifying, but transferred to the 450 National out of the Last Chance Qualifier. However, that didn’t give him an optimum gate pick. Josh went 35-30 in the moto results.

CLASSIC MXA PHOTO

Stephan Roncada heading into the “muddy straight” at the Glen Helen National back in 2002. 

MXA Photo Trivia Answer: Casey Lytle was the 125 West Supercross runner up in 1999. Casey had 35 top ten finishes in Supercross and won the 2000 Phoenix 125 West event.