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MONSTER ENERGY® KAWASAKI RIDERS BRAVE TOUGH CONDITIONS AT ROUND 1 OF THE PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (May 25, 2025) - Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Jorge Prado made a strong statement in his Pro Motocross debut, proving he’s a championship contender with a solid sixth overall (7-6) finish at the Fox Raceway season opener. Teammate Jason Anderson demonstrated his speed in Moto 2, securing seventh overall (9-5). Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Garrett Marchbanks impressed with a consistent pace all day, earning sixth overall (6-5), while Seth Hammaker remained in the fight up front to claim seventh overall (8-7). Ty Masterpool pushed hard in Moto 1, showing podium potential before rounding out the day 10th overall (7-15). Rookie Drew Adams turned heads in his first Pro Motocross outing since entering the pro ranks with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, finishing a promising 11th overall (9-14), signaling a bright future ahead. Despite a tough second moto, Levi Kitchen showed heart, finishing 16th overall (10-38) after being forced to retire from Moto 2.
Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders came out swinging in the early morning qualifying sessions at Fox Raceway, with Marchbanks, Kitchen, and Hammaker locking in fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Adams and Masterpool adapted quickly to the deeply rutted track, securing eighth and 10th. In Moto 1 of the 250 Class, Masterpool wasted no time making his presence known, grabbing a strong start and charging into the lead with a bold outside pass in Turn 2. Hammaker followed with aggressive moves early on that positioned him in the Top 5, while Marchbanks, Kitchen, and Adams had to work their way forward from deep in the pack. Marchbanks used smart line choices to claw into the Top 10, ultimately finishing sixth. Masterpool held his own in the lead battle before slipping outside the Top 5 by Lap 5 and crossing the line in seventh. Hammaker recovered from a tip-over while running near the Top 5 to finish eighth, with Kitchen putting in a gritty effort to climb from 15th to 10th. Adams found his rhythm late and closed strong with a ninth-place result putting all five Kawasaki riders in the Top 10. In Moto 2, the Pro Circuit squad got off to decent jumps but were pinched off in the first turn, leading to Top 10 starts for most of the team. Hammaker quickly found flow, starting the race in the Top 5 and battling with Marchbanks, who continued to showcase speed by slicing through the field to fifth by Lap 3. Masterpool cracked the Top 10 early but began to fade as the race wore on. Adams, who started back in 18th and dropped to 25th after early mistakes, regrouped and put together an impressive charge to finish 14th, with Masterpool just behind in 15th. Kitchen was running a consistent race in 10th before a mechanical issue with his chain forced him to retire. Hammaker and Marchbanks stayed in touch with the lead group throughout the moto, wrapping up the day with seventh and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
In the 450MX Class, Prado and Anderson kicked off the weekend by qualifying eighth and ninth, respectively. When the gate dropped for Moto 1, the pair found themselves in familiar territory, rounding the first turn in the same positions they qualified. Prado quickly adjusted to the rough, rutted conditions and began working his way toward the Top 5, while Anderson settled into a battle just inside the Top 10. A few early missteps pushed Anderson back to 12th, but he regrouped and climbed back to 10th by Lap 5. Prado maintained a steady pace inside the Top 10, holding seventh for most of the race and finishing there. Anderson capitalized on mistakes from riders ahead to secure ninth at the checkered flag. Moto 2 saw a repeat of the duo’s familiar start, once again launching in eighth and ninth. This time, Anderson wasted no time and surged into fifth on the opening lap. Prado took a more measured approach but picked up the pace as the moto wore on, laying down his fastest lap on Lap 5 and overtaking Anderson for fifth. As the race neared its end, Anderson responded with a late charge of his own, reclaiming the position and crossing the line in fifth. Prado wrapped up his Pro Motocross debut with a strong sixth-place finish aboard his Monster Energy® Kawasaki machine.
After a strong showing at Fox Raceway with all riders stacking moto finishes in the Top 10, both Kawasaki teams are focused on learning and building on that momentum into Round 2 at the annual Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California next weekend.
“It was a tough day for me. Qualifying went pretty well, but in Moto 1 I got buried off the start and finished 10th. In Moto 2, I didn’t get a great start again, but I worked my way up near the Top 10 before my chain came off and went into the engine cases, which ended my race early. Unfortunately, it was a DNF, but we’ll regroup and give it our best next weekend.”
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Levi Kitchen
“It was my first time racing a 250 in a while in motocross, so it was cool to kick things off on the smaller bike. I felt good all day. The first qualifying session was okay; I didn’t get a clean lap in, but in the second session I was P1 for a while before ending up P4 overall—one of my better qualifying results in a long time for outdoors. In Moto 1, I had a rough start but worked my way through the pack and finished sixth. Then in Moto 2, I felt really strong, especially in the early laps—made some good passes and got into sixth quickly. I tried to push to the end, but just came up a bit short. Ended the day with a sixth overall. All in all, it was a good day.”
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Garrett Marchbanks
“Coming into the weekend with just seven days on the bike, I didn’t really know what to expect. In the first moto, I was able to just ride around, conserve some energy, and ended up ninth. In the second moto, I was able to dig deep and put in a little more effort to get into the Top 5. So it was nice to be able to do that, and hopefully we can keep building.”
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Jason Anderson
“Round 1 is done here at Fox Raceway and I'm a little bit disappointed. I expected more, but realistically, it's fair that we struggled. I’m coming off an injury, and on top of that, I’ve never raced outdoors on the Kawasaki. We only had four weeks on the new bike, trying to build a setup, so it’s normal that it wasn’t 100%. But that’s the mentality of a racer—you always want to be battling up front. And as a world champion, even more so, especially when you're used to it. Still, the season has started. We got some good feedback, we know what to work on, and hopefully the next rounds will be better. Qualifying was okay—nothing crazy. I was trying to push a bit to get a better start. I made some passes on the first lap, but then I lost the rear wheel of the rider ahead and had to push to the end. I was catching the two guys ahead of me in the final laps, but it wasn’t quite enough. The second moto was P6—a little better than the first one. Small steps. I did my best, and that’s what counts.”
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Jorge Prado