main content of page
Racing News |
THE PODIUM STREAK STAYS ALIVE FOR MONSTER ENERGY® PRO CIRCUIT KAWASAKI RIDER LEVI KITCHEN IN HIGH POINT
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (June 15, 2025) - Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen battled through the tough, rutted track to claim another third-place overall finish (2-6) in the Pro Motocross Championship at Round 4 in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. Teammate, Garrett Marchbanks put in another consistent Top 5 finish, taking fifth overall (7-4). Seth Hammaker returned from injury to put in an impressive podium finish in Moto 1 and took seventh overall (3-14). Ty Masterpool charged through the field to claim 13th overall (9-17). Drew Adams faced challenges in Moto 2 and had to retire early, finishing 21st overall (16-35). Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson put in a consistent 7th overall finish (7-7), after Moto 2 was red-flagged with seven minutes left due to inclement weather. Jorge Prado battled the technical track with a 17th overall finish on the day (12-23).
The summer storms in the Northeast didn’t let up for the race weekend as the Pro Motocross Championship arrived at the historic High Point Raceway for Father’s Day weekend after three rounds on the West Coast. Continuous overnight rain on Friday created a slick and deep track for qualifying Saturday morning, but conditions improved as the day progressed. In the 250 Class, the Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders posted more Top 10 qualifying results with Kitchen, Adams, Hammaker, and Masterpool securing third, fifth, seventh and 10th overall, respectively. Marchbanks was slightly off the pace of his teammates, qualifying 18th overall, but would turn it around for the motos. In the 450 Class, Prado used the first qualifying session to learn the track and laid down a fast lap in the second session, placing him within the Top 5 in the session and seventh overall. Anderson started his day by taking a strong eighth overall in qualifying.
In 250 Moto 1, Hammaker and Kitchen launched off the gate aboard their KX™250 machines, rounding the first turn in fifth and sixth, respectively. Marchbanks, Masterpool and Adams were squeezed off on the start straight and pushed back to mid-pack. Hammaker quickly moved passed his competition into third place, while Kitchen followed right behind, riding his rear fender. Kitchen quickly made the pass on his teammate on Lap 2 to take over third place. Marchbanks powered by his competitors one by one, as he moved from 16th at the start to finish seventh in the moto. Not far behind, Masterpool found himself in multiple battles as he moved up through the pack, ultimately claiming ninth in the first moto. Adams would suffer from a poor start as he moved his way from 25th to finish 16th. Kitchen continued to charge forward and quickly took over second place and maintained the gap to the leader for the entire moto, but would finish the moto runner-up. Meanwhile, Hammaker followed behind and moved into third place, taking his first 250 Moto podium of his career.
In 450 Moto 1, Prado shot off the gate with an incredible start, just mere feet away from clinching his first holeshot. After rounding the first turn in second place, he was shuffled back by the fierce competition to sixth. Anderson pulled a solid start, putting himself in the Top 10 right away. Prado locked in and went to work on his competition, posting his fastest lap on Lap 6 to make the pass for fifth place. Anderson sat in ninth at the start of the moto, and also clocked his fastest lap on Lap 6 while starting to push towards the front. Prado started to tighten up mid-moto and would drop back to 12th place, where he would ultimately finish. Anderson would cross the line in seventh place for Moto 1.
In 250 Moto 2, Kitchen pulled another strong start, sitting fifth on the first lap. Adams, Hammaker and Marchbanks came off the gate sitting near the Top 10, while Masterpool was squeezed back to mid-pack. On Lap 1, Kitchen caught the back tire of the rider in front of him, which caused him to almost tip over. Kitchen would drop back to 16th, but quickly recollect himself and charge back to the Top 10 by Lap 2. Hammaker moved into sixth early in the moto, but would feel the pressure from his teammates Kitchen and Marchbanks as they were charging from behind. Masterpool once again battled illness before Moto 2, and combined with a tip-over early in the race, forced him to fight from 32nd to 17th to finish the moto. A better start in Moto 2 for Adams helped him move into 12th, until a tip-over dropped him back to 16th. He then suffered a crash that left him with a fractured finger on his left hand and forced him to retire early from Moto 2. Feeling the effects of his sore shoulder from his crash in Hangtown, Hammaker would drop to 14th place to finish the moto. Marchbanks would pass his teammate Kitchen to secure an impressive come-from-behind fourth-place finish. The No. 47 of Kitchen would hold on to finish sixth in the moto and third overall, putting him back on the podium for the third weekend in a row.
In 450 Moto 2, the rain returned as the gate dropped. Anderson pulled another strong start, and made incredible passes in the first two corners to move into fourth. Prado started inside the Top 10 but was shuffled back to mid-pack by the end of Lap 1. Anderson settled into fifth place, but as the race continued, the rain intensified, causing Anderson to toss his goggles. The No. 21 would suffer a late race tip-over that pushed him back to seventh. Prado battled against his competitors and the treacherous track conditions all race long until the moto was red-flagged with seven minutes left due to lightning and a severe thunderstorm approaching. With the race abruptly ended, Anderson claimed seventh and Prado took 23rd to finish Moto 2.
“I’m happy with another podium and pumped on my best result at High Point. In Moto 1, my start was better, but the first four laps, my intensity was off. In Moto 2, I tried to ride the track like I did in Moto 1 and it wasn’t working with how the conditions had changed. A lot of stopping and going for me in the turns. Overall, my starts were better. I messed up Lap 1 and almost fell. I went back to 16th but was able to work my way back up. I didn’t expect to be on the podium because I didn’t ride great that moto, but I’m grateful to be on the box. I’m feeling better about my starts and look to keep making progress with them. It’ll be nice to have a weekend off and go into Southwick fresh, I’ve always liked that track so I’m looking forward to it.”
-
Levi Kitchen
“I felt like my riding was pretty good all day, but I’m still dealing with sickness a little bit. I just changed nutritionists, so I was feeling better today, but unfortunately, I threw up after Moto 1 again. I think it’s going to take a little bit of time to get used to the new foods. Everything was new today, but now we’ll have a little break to get used to everything and hopefully come back swinging. My speed is there, everything’s there, but I can’t keep the food down right now. We’ll figure it out and be back stronger.”
-
Ty Masterpool
“It was a solid day today, but qualifying was not ideal. That’s the worst qualifying result I’ve had in a long time. I felt like I was going fast, but my time didn’t reflect that. I went into Moto 1 with an okay gate pick and got pushed around a bit. I made my way through the pack once again. This is the eighth time I’ve come from 20th or further back to get into the Top 10. Moto 1 was alright, I came back to sixth, then two turns to go Jo [Shimoda] got me, so I got seventh. That was a bummer since I worked my way up and put in all that effort. In Moto 2, I had a solid jump, got shuffled back again. I tried to push my way through and followed Levi [Kitchen] for a little bit, then got around Levi around the 12-minute mark. From there, I put my head down and pushed through, found some really good lines. At that point, I was in fourth and tried to push my way to a podium finish, but the gap was too far. I settled for fourth, but it was a good day. I’m really happy with my speed, and as I keep saying, I’m going to keep working on my starts.”
-
Garrett Marchbanks
“I started off the day really well, qualifying fifth in both sessions. In Moto 1, I had a bad start and I didn’t ride like myself today. I ended up getting 16th in that race. In Moto 2, I had a decent start and was moving forward until I had a little tip-over. I got back up and made up a few positions, then ended up having another tip-over and fractured my index finger on my left hand. I’m going to go back and get that all cleaned up, do some therapy, and hope I’ll be good for Southwick.”
-
Drew Adams
“My day at High Point was pretty good. I started off P7 in the first qualifier, second session I was P3, and the track was a little bit slower, but I felt good going into the motos. First moto I had a good start, sitting in third after the first lap. Then I got passed by Levi [Kitchen] shortly after. I worked my way up to third around halfway and then rode there through the finish. I was pumped on the first moto because I got my first moto podium. I’ve been looking to do that for a while, so it feels good to get that one. Second moto I didn’t get a great start around 10th place. I worked my way up and made a few passes, but I didn’t have the stamina in that second race and faded pretty quick. I just tried to ride it in and play it safe. It was a bummer to end that one in 14th, but the bigger picture is to stay healthy. I do have a lot of positives to take from the day. We’ll carry this momentum into the off weekend and come out to Southwick looking for better results.”
-
Seth Hammaker
“My weekend was pretty middle of the road. In the first qualifying session, I was sixth, then in the second one I was eighth for eighth overall. In Moto 1, I battled my way to get seventh, then in Moto 2, I started at the front of the field. I feel like I should’ve finished fifth or sixth in that moto, but I had to take my goggles off and had a tip-over. The rain was pretty crazy, and I ended up going 7-7 for seventh overall. The results show progress, but I still want to be better.”
-
Jason Anderson
“It was a difficult weekend. After the first qualifying session, we made some changes that helped me put a fast lap together for second qualifying. In the first moto, I had a pretty good start, but I struggled the first lap to get some passes and was getting arm pump, which caused me to drop back a bit. The second moto was a mudfest. Hopefully, now with the next two weeks, we can improve a lot and bounce back for the next part of the season. Hopefully, we can make some big changes and improve to be battling up front.”
-
Jorge Prado