250SMX Class

Timed Qualifying

• The first Qualifying results of the summer were topped by Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen [#47], who paced each of the two sessions with a best time of 2:19.854 in Qualifying 2. Kitchen sat nearly two seconds clear of his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Seth Hammaker [#10] with a time of 2:21.451.

Last Chance Qualifier

• Won by 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing’s Gage Linville [#74]. The top four finishers transferred into the motos.

1. Gage Linville | #74 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing
2. Russell Buccheri | #140 3D Racing KTM
3. Dylan Cunha | #155 Americore SBR Husqvarna
4. Gavin Betts | #373 MX6 Racing Kawasaki

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The first moto of the season began with Hammaker out front for the holeshot ahead of his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Nick Romano [#141] and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rookie Caden Dudney [#82].
• Soon the fight up front turned into a Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki affair as Kitchen worked his way forward from an eighth place start and charged up into the top three. The Team Green trio then pulled away from the rest of the field.
• Kitchen’s forward progress continued, as he made his way around Romano then methodically and patiently chipped away at Hammaker’s lead. With about nine and a half minutes left on the race clock Hammaker briefly went off track, which allowed Kitchen to assume the lead and quickly move out to an advantage of more than five seconds.
• Behind the lead battle, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37], the Eastern Divisional Supercross Champion, was on a forward march of his own. The New Zealander overcame a 10th-place start and climbed into podium contention, with an eventual pass on Romano for third.
• Out front, Kitchen was never challenged once he moved into the lead and took the first moto win of the season by a margin of 5.5 seconds over Hammaker. Davies finished third, followed by Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda [#30] in fourth and Romano in fifth.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The second moto kicked off with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer [#13] leading the field to the holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Michael Mosiman [#23] and Hammaker. Kitchen found himself outside the top 10 in 15th and faced even more adversity following an opening lap incident with Mosiman and Hammaker that put the Yamaha rider on the ground and collected additional riders, including Kitchen. The Moto 1 winner resumed outside the top 30.
• The clear track proved advantageous for Beaumer, who sprinted out to a multi-second lead over Hammaker, as Dudney settled into third.
• As the moto approached the halfway point Hammaker closed in on Beaumer to initiate a battle for the lead. The Kawasaki rider wasted little time in making the move and took control of the race with a little more than 14 minutes remaining on the race clock.
• Hammaker and Beaumer pulled away from the rest of the field in the waning minutes of the moto as a late battle for third unfolded between Dudney and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco [#34], from which DiFrancesco made the pass with just over two minutes to go.
• While the fight up front calmed in the late stages of the moto, Kitchen continued to fight back from his early misfortune. The Kawasaki rider dug deep and worked his way past 24 riders to take over 13th place.
• Back out front, Hammaker broke through with the first moto win of his career by 4.8 seconds over Beaumer, with DiFrancesco in a distant third. The top four finishers in the final moto each earned the best moto result of their career.

Overall

• Still in the process of recovering from a torn trapezius suffered in a crash at the final race of the Supercross season, Hammaker’s maiden moto win capped off a career milestone with his first overall victory in his 33rd career start on the heels of a 2-1 effort.
• A wild afternoon for the rest of the field produced a three-way tie for second overall, as 16-year-old Dudney came out on top by virtue of the best second-moto finish, which resulted in his maiden podium result with a runner-up effort (6-4).
• Davies followed-up his title-winning Supercross season with a second-career podium result in third (3-8).
• Kitchen salvaged fourth overall (1-13) to minimize the damage of his challenging second moto.
• After a consistent afternoon, Hammaker already enjoys a double-digit points lead, with a 13-point edge over Dudney, Davies, and Kitchen. This is the first time Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki has held the points lead since Adam Cianciarulo’s championship-winning season in 2019.

1st Place – Seth Hammaker | #10 Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (2-1)
“That’s probably the easiest it’s ever gonna feel [to get a win]. Those last few laps didn’t feel real. I felt great all day. What an unreal way to start the year, to get my first Pro Motocross win. It feels awesome. I’m speechless, but super thankful.”
 
2nd Place – Caden Dudney | #82 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (6-4)
“It was definitely tough to get on the podium, but I’ve got what it takes. I made it happen. It feels amazing to get my first podium.”
 
3rd Place – Cole Davies | #37 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (3-8)
“It was a tough day, but we’re here now. Gotta find our feet and go from here. It was a good start to the season, and we’ll learn from today and try to be better from here on out.”

Words & Images: Pro Motocross