HONDA DOMINATES ROUND THREE AT THUNDER VALLEY

Jett Lawrence took another win at the Thunder Valley National—his third of the season.

Honda HRC Progressive enjoyed a successful outing during round 3 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Colorado’s Thunder Valley Motocross Park, where team riders Jett Lawrence and Chance Hymas swept their respective classes. Lawrence continued his dominance in the 450 division with a third-straight overall win, while Hymas put together a milestone performance in the 250 category, securing his career-first 1-1 tally. Teammates Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda also rode well, each finishing fifth overall in his class.

Chance Hymas went 1-1 on the day as well, putting a stop to Deegan’s dominance.

Hymas was absolutely dominant in the 250 class, grabbing the holeshots in both motos and leading every lap aboard his CRF250RWE. In the first outing, the Idaho native quickly opened a gap, withstanding pressure from Haiden Deegan for most of the race and eventually winning by over 45 seconds after Deegan had over-heating issues with his YZ250F. Moto 2 was almost a carbon copy of the first, although this time he was “only” able to win by 11.184 seconds.

Jett now sits 25 points over Eli Tomac as they head to High Point this weekend.

Jett Lawrence stated: “It was a good day. The track was difficult—it definitely challenged you with the ruts, and it was all about trying to stay patient. But overall, it was a good weekend. Going 1-1 felt great, and I’m looking forward to High Point next weekend.”

Chance Hymas Stated: “It was a perfect day for me here at Lakewood—a beautiful way to bounce back after last weekend. My body’s feeling good, the bike’s feeling good—fastest in qualifying, led every lap, grabbed both holeshots, and won both motos; there’s not much more to say—it was just a perfect day.”

HAIDEN DEEGAN POWERED THROUGH ENGINE TROUBLE

Haiden Deegan was pushing hard in the first moto in an attempt to catch Chance Hymas but his YZ250F started to steam and the team was forced to signal him to “Save the Engine.” He slowed his pace and let Hymas go, but still managed to hold on to second place .

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan overcame adversity to finish second overall at Round 3 of the Pro Motocross 250MX Championship at the Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado. The reigning 250MX champ continued his strong title defense, scoring a pair of runner-up finishes and doubling his points lead.

Haiden Deegan grabbed second in moto two but the overall finish helped him double his points over Jo Shimoda.

Deegan qualified second and got a great start to the opening moto, quickly advancing to second on the first lap. As the clock wound down, he threw down some consistently fast laps and closed in on the leader. Unfortunately, he had over heating issues that changed his focus to securing the second-place finish and scoring valuable points in the championship. In Moto two, Deegan once again started near the front in second. Although briefly shuffled to third, he reclaimed second and made another charge to catch the leader. With 10 minutes remaining, Deegan made a push and closed the gap to the leader, but then had a tip-over. He quickly remounted to finish second once again, further expanding his championship lead to twenty five points heading into Round four.

Haiden Deegan stated: “It was a good day out here at Thunder Valley. We kind of got lucky in the first one. We had a bike problem, but we ended up making it through. We went 2-2 on the day and doubled our points lead, so we’re stoked.” 

LIVING A MOTOCROSS DREAM – MXA’S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES

MXA PHOTO TRIVIA

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

MXA FANTASY LEAGUE – ACERBIS GIVEAWAY: THE WINNER OF THE THUNDER VALLEY NATIONAL SCORED 311 POINTS

This past weekend was the third round of the 2025 motocross series out in Colorado for the Thunder Valley National. This was Eli Tomac’s home race and he battled up front both motos but would overall finish second behind Jett Lawrence. Aaron Plessinger grabbed his third podium of the year and sits right behind Eli Tomac in the overall standings. In the 250 class, Chance Hymas took the win and has always had good luck at Thunder Valley. Haiden Deegan settled for second as bike problems in the first moto led him to drop off the pace. Levi Kitchen also salvaged a third and in the motos, he had to make up many positions to accomplish this.

THE WINNER OF THE THUNDER VALLEY MOTOCROSS FANTASY LEAGUE  “PEGLEG”

Pegleg had the best picks this weekend and will be able to enjoy a $500 shopping spree courtesy of Acerbis.

WEEKLY TOP TEN

Username	Points
Pegleg	311
MTA#144	311
lcwaterbuffalo	308
twostrokin321	301
mirandahawley7	301
Cole_Poznanski	301
seanhiggins800	301
mcfly14	300
Motoryan716	296
vzdz	291

Note how there are two players with 311 points. The tiebreaker goes to the person who gets the picks in earlier.

450 CLASS PREDICTIONS

Cooper Webb had a great start in the second moto and would pressure Coty Schock for the lead, but a few mistakes would send him backwards.

In the 450 class, Pegleg picked perfectly getting every rider in the correct position starting with Jett Lawrence who gave 36 Fantasy points including that ten-point bonus for the correct prediction. Second was Eli Tomac this was also correct giving 33 fantasy points. Third was Aaron Plessinger who gave 31 fantasy points for the correct prediction. In fourth was Justin Cooper, once again this was correct, and gave 19 fantasy points including the bonus. In fifth was Hunter Lawrence who was a correct pick and gave 18 fantasy points and in sixth was Cooper Webb who again was correct giving 17 fantasy points.

250 CLASS PREDICTIONS

Michael Mosiman actually had the fastest lap in the first moto but had the same issues as Haiden Deegan and DNFed the moto.

The 250 picks were a little more challenging as the tough conditions worked better for some riders than others. Haiden Deegan was picked for first but would end up second which gave 23 fantasy points. In second was Jo Shimoda was a good pick because he had been second in the opening two races but would finish fifth at Thunder Valley with 9-4 moto scores. This would only give Shimoda 18 fantasy points. In third Levi Kitchen was chosen which was a correct prediction and gave 31 fantasy points which includes the ten-point bonus. In fourth it was Tom Vialle which was another correct prediction and he would give 19 fantasy points. In fifth it was Julien Beaumer chosen but he would struggle through the fay and finish in seventeenth. The sixth pick was Chance Hymas who would go on to take the win in the afternoon this would give 26 fantasy points.

REID TAYLOR TO JOIN THE MOTOCROSS SERIES

You may have heard the name Reid Taylor earlier this year since he was scheduled to race the East Coast rounds of Supercross for the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX team. Unfortunately, a minor injury sidelined him for that obligation but another opportunity arose when he decided to stay at the ClubMX facility for training.

Taylor, hailing from Talarm, Australia, has always had the desire to race competitively in the United States. He raced the different tracks around the country in his early years and had his sights set on bigger things in the sport. Knowing Supercross was important, Taylor focused on that aspect of the sport and devoted much of his time training as such. He later became the 2023 Australian Junior Supercross Champion and repeated the feat in 2024 with the Indian Supercross Championship. At 21 years old, Taylor is ready for anything that life has to offer.

When the Supercross deal did not work out as planned earlier this season, Taylor had the option to return to Australia and try again next season, or stay at ClubMX, rehab, and continue training. He opted for the latter of the two options and it was a good choice. He has been dedicated to getting himself in the best shape of his career and working within the team environment, which he has only done sporadically throughout his career. During that process, it became apparent that he was also very good at motocross, a bit of an epiphany for the crew. With one rider on the sidelines so far this season, the team made the decision to have Taylor try at  this sSaturday’s Millvillet National. Millville’s proximity to ClubMX allows the team to drive there which in turn allows them to carry bikes and all of the necessary parts to complete the effort.Taylor stated: “I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to race for the team at High Point. It wasn’t in the plans, but it is definitely something that I want to do. Being at ClubMX on a full-time basis has changed the way I go about racing. The intensity, structure, and focus are something that has been very beneficial to me. These guys are “all in” and I want to return the favor by representing them the best way possible.”

WE RIDE A MOD 125CC TWO-STROKE YOU CAN’T BUY IN THE USA!

SURVIVING THE HOTTEST PRO NATIONAL OF THE YEAR

MXA PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Aaron Plessinger is three for three on podium appearances this year which is the best start to a motocross season he’s ever had.

CLASSIC MXA PHOTO

Oh how do we miss the Glen Helen National. This picture is ofof Kevin Windham (14) and Sean Hamblin (33) racing around the famous Talladega first turn.

MXA Photo Trivia Answer: Ben Lamay who was one of the most prominent amateur racers of his time. He went on to have one of the longer pro careers despite being a privateer for the majority of them.