Category: Bikes

Five rounds into the 2025 250SX East Division championship chase, Nate Thrasher of the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing organization is tied for fourth in points with injured teammate Max Anstie and remains 21 points out of the championship lead with five rounds yet to be run.

A racer who has experienced wild ups-and-downs throughout his career, it all recently came right when he strung together 3-3-2 race scores for the overall victory in Birmingham, Alabama.

Coming off an off-season where he was “building, building, building” and working on structure, as well as on-bike technique, Thrasher has hovered around the top 10 during the first five rounds of the 2025 campaign.

“Yes, no doubt I have been building,” he said. “I got hurt the week after the first race at Tampa, and ever since then it was just kind of grinding with that injury. Eventually, I was able to get back on the bike and ride it a little bit during the week and was able to get back to feeling like my old self and, yeah, I felt really good over the weekend in Birmingham.

“I want to go at the rest of this season with the same mindset I did with the last race. I’m healthy now and just trying to go out there and do the best we can, but I think we’re going to be in a good spot come the next round. Normally once I get going and once I get the confidence, it is easier to keep doing it. I think these next rounds are going to be really good and hopefully we can battle for this championship.”

A six-time main event winner this far in his 250cc career, Thrasher is confident in his speed and determination and determined to charge towards additional race victories.

“Knowing you can win is obviously a good thing to have back there when you need to lean on it,” he said. “You know, like, ‘I’ve been here before and I’ve done this before.’ That’s definitely good for the mental stuff.”

Thrasher has come up against stiff competition in 2025 in the likes of Tom Vialle, RJ Hampshire and Seth Hammaker, and is encouraged by his results throughout the championship march.

“Yeah, no doubt the competition is tough,” said Thrasher. “I mean, there is a lot of race winners. Coming into this year in the East Division there is the most race winners ever. So yeah, it is super-stacked. I think it’s going to be a fight every weekend, so there are a lot of fast guys and it’s not going to get any easier, but I think I will be good.

“It is definitely not over yet,” he said of the championship struggle. “There is still a lot of racing to be done and anything can happen. Just look at my teammate Max Anstie this weekend. He ended up going down and it happened that fast. I’ve been on the other side of it, so I know just to stay the course. If we can click off some wins here, I think we’ll be right back in it.

“I think the rest of these East Region races will suit me well. I’m excited to get up there. I think the dirt is going to suit me quite good. The tracks get a little bit ruttier. I’m just excited to go to Boston and Foxborough. I’ve never been there before. I’m also looking forward to Salt Lake. I’ve won Salt Lake before, so that obviously gives me a bunch of confidence going into that round. I think that if we can get there with a chance, we’ll be in a good spot. I have a lot of confidence there. And I’ve never been to Philadelphia and never been to Pittsburgh, so a couple new stadiums that they are going to for the first time, so I think it’s going to be cool.”

Thrasher’s approach for the second half of the 250SX East Division is to simply sharply focus on the potential to win more main events.

“Tight now I think the main focus is to just try and win races,” he said. “That’s pretty much where we are at right now. The main goal is, championship or bust. I’d be happy with a couple race wins. We’ll see. As of now I am just focused on it race-by-race. As far as the title, I think we are still in it. There is a lot of racing left. We have two more Shootout races and anything can happen. If you get fifth place in an East and West shootout, that’s pretty good. And if I win, that’s a 10-point swing right there.”

After two years within the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna organization, Chrisian Craig will compete in the 2025 and ’26 SuperMotocross World Championship on a Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha Team YZ450F. Craig will make his debut for the race team he formerly competed with and clinched the 2022 250SX West Supercross Championship for this Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.

Craig was absent from the first nine rounds of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship due to recovering from an ACL knee injury suffered at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway SuperMotocross finale last September but is now back up to speed, on Thursday afternoon Criag spoke about both what he has been up to and just where he is going this approaching Saturday.

“It has been good,” said Craig after taking a break from dialing-in the Yamaha YZ450F. “I’m back home at Star Racing, which has been awesome. I’ve been on the bike consistently for about six weeks. I missed all of the off-season with the knee injury, unfortunately. Once I got the go-ahead to get back on the bike, it has just been full throttle. I know it is round 10 this weekend, but better late than ever I guess.”

Craig is confident about his fitness heading into Birmingham.

“Yeah, the knee is 100 percent,” he said. “I mean obviously when you’re off the bike for two or three months, you lose all that fitness. However, I feel like I’m close to 100 percent, so the team and I have agreed that we both feel like we are ready to go.”

Part of that is being back to the grind of testing, training and fine-tuning himself and the YZ450F for maximum performance.

“I’ve done it for so long, that I kind of know what to expect,” said Craig. “I’m back with the Yamaha crew and I’m loving the bike and everything that comes with it.

“It feels like home, for sure. Last time I was on a Yamaha I won a championship. For sure it has been good vibes just being back with them. I’m back with Gareth Swanepoel and just everybody there. It is a really tight-knit crew and everyone is pushing to be better. I enjoy it a lot.”

As part of his work responsibilities within his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Team role, Craig works very closely with and helps develop the organization’s legion of 250 racers. It’s a responsibility he finds fulfilling.

“It has kind of been a different role for me,” he said. “Obviously, I’m racing full-time still, but I’m also helping out the team and the younger riders that get signed to the team. I try to help that transition from amateur to pro and to try and be a mentor. It’s different, for sure. We’re trying to find what works well with the team and to also keep busy with my side of it with training. Yeah, it feels like home, for sure. My brother Jeremy Coker was the team manager for the 450 side for a while, but unfortunately he left for another job (Note: Last December Coker announced he was going to Triumph Racing). I was pretty bummed out about, but better for him. other than that, though, I’m super-close to everyone on the team. It feels really comfortable, so I’m stoked.

“I am excited to get back and see where I fit into this group. I know the pace is super-high right now. And with my two teammates, one of them, Cooper Webb, is leading the points and the other one, Justin Cooper, just got second at the last round at Indianapolis. I’m obviously on a good bike and in a good program and it’s up to me to put in a good result now. We all train together and ride together. It’s a good crew, for sure.”

So what sort of benchmark is Craig setting for himself in Birmingham tomorrow night?

“Man, it’s a big question mark right now,” he admitted. “I feel like I’m riding really good at the practice track. I’ve been putting in some good laps, so my speed is there. You never really know where you fit in until you go racing and get behind the gate. Whether that puts me right outside the top-five area, or top 10, as long as I can kind of go match what I’m doing during the week, I’ll be happy with wherever that puts me.”

Both a champion and multi-time race winner while competing in the 250cc sector of his career, Craig is now looking for his first career victory in the 450cc ranks.

“That’s obviously something that you want to check off, but you have to take baby steps and get on the podium first,” he said. “The end goal is to win, so I’m on the bike and on the right program. I mean if I can run in the top five or top 10, that would be awesome, and then I would go from there. I’ll be racing the rest of the year and I’ll just keep building.

“The bike is in a good spot. It’s a winning machine and the team is leading the points right now. I know I’m around good company, so that’s all I need. I mean, anybody can win on any given weekend, so I want to try to be one of those guys and put myself in a good position and see where it plays out. It’s been a long time coming back from this injury, so I’m excited to get back behind the gate.”

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki racer Seth Hammaker first victory came in the third start of his career in Arlington on March 13, 2021.

Due to injuries and setbacks along the way, Hammaker did not win again for nearly four years until it all came right at the recent East/West Showdown inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Hammaker spent the last few years based in California before relocating to Florida last November to train at the Dog Pound in Dade City.

Over the recent off weekend and back training at the Dog Pound in Dade City, Florida before the approaching Monster Energy Supercross round set for Birmingham, Alabama and Protective Stadium this Saturday evening, Seth Hammaker talked about what he has been up to since the Indianapolis triumph.

“A year or two ago, I kind of had it in my head that I wanted to make it East Coast and get back to more of where I grew up. I’m from Pennsylvania and Florida is a pretty big hot spot for training for riding and I felt like it would be a big benefit,” he said.

“It was something that I wanted to do, so I brought it up to the team and had an opportunity to come down here to the Dog Pound. I’ve had riding coaches a little bit. Growing up, it was like I learned just off of videos and stuff like that and just rode in my backyard while growing up. I picked up on things as I went.

“Everyone has their own style, but with technique and fundamentals there were some things that I was lacking and some things that I needed to work on and I came down here. There was a lot of old habits that I had to break. In order to be a fast and safe rider, the technique needs to be on point. I feel like so far it has been a huge help, and that’s just a small piece if it, but I feel like it has been huge.”

After battling injuries over the past four years, Hammaker’s initial aim is to complete a full season without interruption.

“Yeah, I just need to get through a full season, regardless of what the results are,” he said. “Obviously I’m a racer and I want to win super, super bad, but at the end of the day I just need laps under my belt, races, a full season of supercross and motocross and SMX to just build on something. Not only confidence-wise – it also builds your endurance. It’s hard when you come back from injury to build back up and then get hurt again.

“Just to keep everything going is a big thing for me this year. I want to keep that mindset the same no matter what the results are. Even after the win this (past) weekend, we just want to get back to work and keep working on improving each weekend. If the win is not there, don’t do anything that is going to put me out with an injury or anything like that. That’s a big focus point this year. I just want to be healthy and to see everybody at the races every weekend.”

The 19-lap main East/West Showdown main event he recently won has also given him plenty to reflect on.

“It felt pretty good,” he said. “I mean, I got off to a really good start and then just tried to put in some solid laps early on. I got a little bit of a gap over Tom Vialle. Honestly, from there I just tried to focus on myself. The track was really challenging, with all the ruts and stuff. It kind of slowed down midway through the main event as it got rougher and I just tried to minimize my mistakes and not worry about if Tom got a little bit closer to me or not. I just hit my marks. With five laps to go I had a big mistake, but other than that I was really a pretty smooth main event. I felt like my endurance was good. Mentally, I could focus. I was really happy as all the things we’ve been working on has kind of came together. It’s one thing to practice it, but to do it means a lot.

Hammaker spoke about the feelings and emotions he has experienced between the two main event wins and the significant period of time between them.

“This one was a different feeling from the first one,” he said. “The first win came so early in my career, so I feel like I was obviously super, super happy to get my first win, but this one, after so long and after so many injuries and stuff that I went through to get back to the top, was just a great feeling. It was definitely different from the first one, that’s for sure. Yeah, it was all pretty rad.”

Since he turned professional in 2021, Hammaker has been a member of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race team owned and operated by Mitch Payton. Through all of the highs, lows, ups and downs, the Pro Circuit outfit has had Hammaker’s back and he’s grateful for it.

“It was awesome to win for them again,” said Hammaker. “They were so pumped. Like you mentioned, Mitch has stuck behind me through so much, you know? There were a lot of injuries, but he has always had my back. It was cool to celebrate the win with the team and they were super-happy and super-proud. I’m happy for the team as much as for myself. I wanted to give back to them and they all work super-hard, so that was awesome. For Kawasaki, too. They stuck behind me. It’s pretty cool. Just that whole night we were riding that high and it was awesome to celebrate with them.”

Currently third in the AMA East Region Supercross point standings with a number of events yet to run before it all wraps up at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 10, 2025, Hammaker is enthused with where he is at.

“Yeah, it’s going good,” he said. “I’ve been pretty consistent, other than the Detroit race. I got an 18th there, which is a major bummer. Honestly, besides that, it has been super-solid and consistent. That was one of my main goals coming into the season, so it is cool to see that. I just want to keep plugging away and like I said, I want to try and be on that box every weekend. I’m only 11 points down for the championship, so I’m not out of this thing by any means. I just want to click off solid races. I’m going to play it smart, and if the opportunities are available, I’ll absolutely take them.”

Justin Hill, speaking ahead of this Saturday night’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship round at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

“The biggest jump in the world is going from being really good to elite,” he says. “I might sound nuts, but I’m going to Tampa to win.”

The Team Tedder/Monster Energy Racing rider has had a solid start to his 2025 supercross campaign, placing eighth, 14th, 15th and sixth at Anaheim 1, San Diego, Anaheim 2 and Glendale, respectively.

“I’m headed back from Arizona now,” said Hill. “We stayed and we were intending on riding this week. My mechanic had to rip back. We kind of had some ‘what have yous’ go on with engines, because I threw an engine at San Diego when I had that 14^th place because my plate fell off in the first turn crash. Then from there the filter fell out. So I was riding the bike with it just sucking sand and dirt. I can’t even believe the bike made it.

“At the end the bike was ruined, but I finished the race with a pit stop. So we had some stuff that we had to do. We had to work double-time and get some engines back over to Mitch Payton so that we could get some engines back into rotation.

Currently 11th in the points four rounds into the ’25 racing season, the Oregon native believes he is right where he needs to be.

“It has been good,” he said. “I got through the San Diego race, and with the way that I felt that night, I think I could have had a top five finish. I felt like I was really onto something. Then we go to A2, that’s when I finally came down with what everybody had. I just felt like death. I had just no energy. I could barely drum up the energy to ride the bike. I just felt so drained. So obviously that was just a really tough night. I just struggled a lot getting my body doing what I wanted it to be doing.

“Man, that’s really it. A1, I was like, ‘OK, good start. This is right where I want to be at the beginning. Alright, it’s on. We’re going up from here.’ Now, after round four, this is where I wanted to be after round two, you know? But it’s good. I’m happy. In that process I’ve learned so much in two weeks. I can’t complain about where I’m at. I think the way that I’m doing this sport now, I’m only going to get better. I’m just looking forward to it. As long as I keep plugging away and keep moving and just keep believing that I can be the guy that’s going to get even better, I’m good with everything. The biggest jump in the world is going from being really good to elite. It’s just such an interesting thing. Mentally, I’m in an awesome place.

Hill comes straight off a fighting sixth place overall finish over at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, and he now hopes to further optimize his momentum as he heads east.

“That start in the final main at Glendale was the very first start where I actually leaked out front and passed the guys,” he said. “:I actually got to the first turn at the same time as the leaders. I had a really garbage gate pick on the far outside, but with that being said, that was the very first time that I entered that corner with the guys. I learned and changed a couple of major things. That didn’t seem major in my head, but then I did them and I’m like, ‘Oh, those are major changes.’ So now I know how I’m going to start this weekend in Tampa. If I can just keep that same routine that I just learned in place, I think my starts are going to improve like crazy. That can be huge for me.

“I’m now going to a place where I have honestly had some really killer races. I walk into that stadium and that big old, wrecked pirate ship and I’m like, ‘You know what? This place is cool.’”

A key factor in Hill’s on-track success thus far in ’25 is that the veteran racer has not allowed himself to get intimidated by the works teams he lines up against.

“It’s hard to operate thinking about who is who and who is where,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to get away from. I got a lot of confidence from this (past) weekend. If I can just get a clean weekend again where I can put all the pieces together without any of these smaller issues, I have zero reservations about running away with it. I mean that’s where my head is that. Hopefully it happens.

“I feel good about the racing. There is a lot that went into getting my head where it is. And it is a head game. I’ve been close in this kind of conditioning before. I have had bikes that have worked this good before. There have been a lot of things that have happened to me in my career that maybe match this, but I don’t think my head has ever been this strong. Right now, I think I mop myself in any other year of my career. It’s pretty crazy to feel that way, because I’m kind of old.”

It was a rough start to the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki organization as team racers Levi Kitchen, Garrett Marchbanks and Ty Masterpool were all out of action for the opening phase of the 250SX West Region Supercross.

Enter Drew Adams.

At 16, Adams made his AMA Pro Racing debut last summer when he motored to 15-11 motos scores for 12th overall at the curtain dropping Ironman National. Debut number two for the kid out of Chattanooga, Tennessee came at the third round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season when his two teammates – Marchbanks and Masterpool – suffered injuries. Drafted into action by team principal Mitch Payton for the second round at Angel Stadium, the rookie rode encouragingly well, starting the main event in sixth and finishing in eighth place.

Forced to put his race face on and go to behind the stating gate as a rookie at the second Angel Stadium 250SX West round, Adams, while admitting he was “shocked” at times with the speed and fierceness displayed in the classification, was pleased with his debut supercross experience,

“It was sick, you know?” he said. “I didn’t really have any expectations coming in. I just wanted to learn and I think I did just that. I learned a lot, and I think I’m only going to get better every weekend. I’m really looking forward to this weekend. I’m pretty happy coming off of last weekend. Obviously, not many rookies get eighth in their first pro supercross race, so I was happy with it. There are a couple of things that we need to work on, but I’m so very excited for this weekend.”

So how was competing beneath the bright lights at Angel Stadium?

“I was in the B practice all day because it was my first race,” recounted Adams. “I didn’t really get to ride with everybody until the night show. All day I was pretty calm and whatnot. The nerves weren’t really high and I was just having a good time. Then we did the hat race and that was super-sick. I got the first heat race when the track was fresh and that was awesome.

“Then lining up for the main event, I was like, ‘Man, I’m nervous right now.’ It kind of hit me when I was in staging. I was kind of like, ‘Phew.’ My hands were sweating. It was cold outside, and I was sweating. It just hit me like a freight train. As soon as the gate dropped the adrenaline went up and I forgot about everything after that. I was just out there riding. The day was awesome and I’m happy with how it went.

“The pace is pretty gnarly right now. The season has just stated and right now the pace is super-fast in the beginning. All the guys are going really fast. After you do those four or five sprint laps, you kind of just settle into a smooth and consistent pace. It is definitely a hard pace to conquer, but I got used to it in the heat races.”

As aforementioned, Adams compered in last season’s concluding Ironman National in Indiana before making his premiere supercross engagement in Orange County. How did the two different forms of motor racing compare?

“I was actually talking with some friends about this during the week,” Adams said. “I felt like the Pro Motocross days were longer and it kind of felt more chill. In the outdoors you do practice very early in the morning and then you only get an hour and a half until the first moto. So it’s really not that long. And you do a full 30 minutes, and then you get 45 minutes to rest. Then you go do another 30 minutes. I feel like it is a long and short day.

“In supercross you get a lot more time to rest. You’re first practice is at 10 am and then the night show gets going around 5:30 or 6:00 o’clock, so you have a long time to rest and take a nap and to eat all your food that you need. I kind of like the layout of supercross. It definitely felt pretty chill. The outdoors is a long, buy hectic day. You know in supercross, the vibe in the pits was really cool. Cool to see the kids smiling all day. The kids dream of going to supercross races. I know I used to, that’s for sure. The vibe is just so good. Everybody is having a good time. Then once the opening ceremonies happen, then the vibe completely switches up and you get in the serious mode and the race mode and the fans are acting crazy. It’s just a whole hoot out there. I love the vibe at supercross. It’s definitely a good vibe.”

Adams continued on to reflect upon what he felt once he pulled off the racetrack immediately after the 250SX West main event.

I thought, ‘Damn, that’s hard.’ That’s what I thought,” he said. “I was sitting there in the pits after and thinking, ‘Man, that was one had race, that’s for sure.’ It started during our main event, too, and that definitely made it 10 times harder. I just kind of took it all in and I was super-pumped with it. I was happy to be where I was.”

In coming to terms with becoming a supercross racer at the 11th hour, Adams forced himself to hold back a bit at Anaheim in order to, “not chase too much too soon.

“That’s the thing about rookies that have been doing good in the amateurs and then coming into the pro classes. They just want to really show everybody what they’ve got, you know? I think that’s a good thing to do, but I also think it doesn’t work out all the time. So I just wanted to just go out there and learn and not get hurt and make the good laps. With the weekends now coming up, like Glendale, I want to drop the hammer a little bit. I think you can kind of drop it a little bit more the weekends after your first race.”

Saturday morning, January 25, 2025. Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. Race day. Two-time and defending MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado was sitting in a swivel chair inside the lobby of the Monster Energy Kawasaki 18-wheel semi.

The rider was in good spirits and looking forward to what the third round of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship had lined up for him. As it transpired, it wasn’t going to be a good day – less than an hour after this interview took place, the 24-year-old Spaniard went down in a heap during the opening 450SX timed practice session, and as a result of getting tangled up in the nets at the end of the rhythm section, dislocated his right shoulder. Prado will now look to this Saturday’s 450SX main event set for State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

But while his 2025 campaign suffered an early setback, it’s a safe bet that the mission hasn’t changed.

“I never mess around when it comes to racing,” said Prado. “I like to win, so hopefully we can replicate what I did in the World Championship. I want to do it here. Especially with the 450 being the main category. A racer from the World Championship hasn’t won here in such a long time. It’s a big deal.

“I was riding in a championship where I was comfortable. I knew everything I had to do to get to that title and right now I’m just learning a new bike and new discipline that is supercross. I’m getting to ride different tracks and tracks that I’m really not used to riding. It’s a challenge.”

Between flying BMX bicycles and Freestyle Motocross bikes, Monster Energy girls, blaring DJ music and fans here, there and everywhere, Prado has come to enjoy the pit party vibe at the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship tour.

“It’s cool. It’s different. It’s more like a show, right?” smiled Prado, looking out the semi-truck window. “I feel like when you go to the World Championship, it is more like a business thing. It’s like, ‘OK, we just ride and hammer these tracks.’ Here, it is more fancy kind of stuff, but at the same time, it is go time, as well, when we are on track. No, I like it. I like the combination. It’s cool to go and stay in the pits, too. Not bad.”

Prado is still working on his supercross racecraft, as well as coming terms with the frenzied on-track activity that often comes along with supercross.

“When you’re in my position, and at my level, you’re pretty much always in mid-pack, so you’re always in the battle, right?” he said. “We don’t have that extra speed and confidence to ride up front. Let’s say you’re just riding a different race, where there is less happening. It is more like what I raced in MXGP. At the moment, I need to suffer and be in the mix. I mean, it has never happened before where there are five champions of the highest 450SX category are racing at the same time. Even with just that you can already imagine how high the level is in supercross this year. And out of that you have another 20 riders that are also 250cc champions. Right now, I don’t who is not a supercross champion on the starting gate. I feel like everyone is a champion. So yes, the level is high.”

Prado has continued to improve and gain confidence in his new chosen form of motorcycle racing.

“Yes, I’m starting to feel more comfortable,” he said. “I’m taking my time. I just want to do the right steps together with the team. We work hard and it’s cool. It’s been nice. It’s just totally different. We’re racing at night. That makes it very different. I mean you’re even standing around in the pits for four or five hours and then you straight into a heat race, which is very crazy. Once we go out there we go wide open and the body is not even super warmed up. It’s different. You need to get used to it and that’s it.”

Given his inexperience with this sort of racing, Prado is staying realistic about his expectations.

“I would love to win the championship, but it’s not the right time and it’s not realistic,” he said. “I just want to improve. I want to see a good progression. That’s what would make me very happy. That’s my goal. Just get better and if that means getting a top five or a podium, let’s go for it. I just want to give it 100-percent every weekend and see where we end up. Then we want to replicate that next weekend and get better. That’s my goal.”

450SX class veteran Cooper Webb has taken fourth- and third-place finishes at the opening two rounds of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Anaheim and San Diego, and he’s just getting started in his bid to reclaim the series crown he took in 2019 and 2021.

“I think the sport is evolving and changing,” said Webb, who was also championship runner-up in 2020 and last year. “There is a fast group of guys right now between us and the generation that has been around the last 10 years, and the new bucks like Jett Lawrence and Chase Sexton and Hunter Lawrence and all of them. That being said, over 17 rounds, I feel that I have shown that over the last six or seven years that I can be in it right to the very end. You know whether being a two-time champion, or being the runner-up twice, yeah, I might get written off sometimes, but I do know that I’m going to be in the championship fight, for sure.

“It’s tough, right? There are so many good guys now. I recently looked at all the statistics and there are five AMA Supercross champions on the line, so it’s not easy by any means. I’m 29 years old, so I am definitely at a point now where I’m getting to be the veteran of the class, but I’m definitely here to win. Even after being injured and getting second in the championship in 2024, I still believe winning is a valid goal and that I can still do it.”

Webb feels he has plenty to build on. After taking fourth at the Anaheim opener, he led the main event at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego before being passed at the halfway mark by teammate Eli Tomac and Team Honda HRC ace Jett Lawrence.

“I felt a lot better at San Diego,” said Webb, who ultimately placed third despite not feeling 100 percent physically. “Qualifying was better for me and then about halfway through the day I started having some stomach issues. We did what we could. I was happy that I was able to lead for about half of the main event. Honestly, that’s all I had in the tank and I was able to secure a podium. So it’s a solid start, right? It’s nothing flashy. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s a very solid start to the season and we’re in a good spot.”

Webb believes Lawrence and veteran Tomac are his most obvious rivals for the title

“I mean as a racer, it’s not great to get beat. In San Diego they were, by far, the best two guys out there and they put on a show, for sure,” he said. “Obviously being Eli’s teammate and racing against Eli my whole career, it’s cool to see for him. I think it just shows that us wily veterans can still give it to the kids, right?

“Like I said, from a team perspective, it was cool to see Eli do what he did. I’m not surprised. We all know how good Eli is and how god he can be. Same with Jett. We have just got to be better and try to bridge that gap and come into Anaheim 2 and hopefully be more in the mix.

“I love racing Anaheim. We’ve done it forever and there is just good vibes there for me. Like I said, I was a little bit under the weather but I was able to have a good day riding yesterday and I’m kind of feeling back to normal. I know what we need to work on.”

Now in his second season with the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha 450cc organization, Webb is thrilled with the race team.

“Yes, it has been incredible. Obviously, starting my career with the Star Racing Monster Energy Yamaha team was amazing. We had a lot of success in the 250cc class. They were in a position where they didn’t have a 450 team at the time, so we all know how it kind of went from there. To be able to come back last year and get second in the series and win a bunch of races and to be on the podium a lot was a really good showing.

“It feels like a family for me. Now it is our second year on the team, I’m more comfortable and kind of know the bike and the team personnel a little bit better. I’m excited for the future. As many good racers that we have now, it makes you step up, right? I still feel at age 29 that I’m able to get better. Each day I go to the track with the intention to get better. I still have that drive. So as long as I have that, I’m going to give it my all and let that be the goal.”

Currently fourth in points,Webb is totally to lurk in the shadows to see what comes next.

“I’m kind of always under the radar and I’m never really talked about a lot and I’m just kind of doing my own thing,” he said. “Maybe it is my riding style or my personality — I guess I’m not super-glamorous and don’t get the attention of the fans like Jett and Eli and Chase, but with that being said, I know my attributes and that’s kind of being a fighter and being a wily and experienced guy that leans on my racecraft and put myself in good situations. We’ll continue to do that and stick to our gameplan.”

But does he still feel like he has something to prove?

“I feel like I do. I think that is a good and bad thing,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve accomplished everything and then some of what I set out to do as a kid. I think once you win, it becomes addicting. I definitely would love to try to be a three-time Supercross champ before it’s all over. In my mind I believe I can.”

 

American motocross ace Ryan Villopoto called time on his racing career in 2014. At that point, the Monster Energy Kawasaki racer had earned four supercross championships, two AMA 450MX championships, three AMA 250cc motocross championships and had been a member of victorious Team USA racing efforts at the Motocross of Nations titles in 2006, ’07, ’08 and ’11. Somewhat shy amid media attention during his career, Villopoto quietly went about his winning ways of becoming and establishing himself among the fastest riders in the world.

At this year’s season-opening Supercross round in Anaheim, where his own career took flight, Villopoto reflected on his amazing career.

Opening night for Supercross. Always good to be at Angel Stadium for the opening round, isn’t it?

Yes, it’s good. Anaheim is always major. It’s the kickoff of the season for supercross and motocross and all of our racing. There is a lot of hype around it. It’s two of our races at an iconic stadium and we’ve been racing in this stadium forever. It’s just 15 minutes down the road from my house, so my kid Gage came out with me this morning and I’ve got the wife and the other boy coming out this afternoon. Gage wouldn’t let me leave the house today unless he was with me.

When you’re a high level athlete, in any sport, it’s sometimes tough to juggle everything everyone is asking for and to get pulled in 20 or 30 different directions. And then also you’re getting pulled in those 20 or 30 directions because you’re producing wins. And that’s always number one — being able to produce wins. So very high level athletes compartmentalize very well. We know the job description is to be the best we can be and win as many championships and races we can.

Whether it was you back in the day, or the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders here beneath the awning today in 2025, to be a racer at this level requires a lot, doesn’t it?

Yeah, I mean think, about it: You have the 250 class and the 450 class. Current rules are that you can turn pro at 16 years old and to be thrown to the sharks inside of a stadium and to be on these factory teams — it’s a lot to take in. And there is a lot of stress that gets brought with that and you still have to perform. That’s what makes the greats, though. It is the ones that can perform amongst all of the pressure and the new and shiny. There’s only a few greats every so often.

The fierce sporting culture here can be hard to deal with, can’t it?

Exactly. It’s obviously great to have a factory team behind you and to have budget behind you, but from a racing standpoint, this is still one of the only motorsports where the athlete is more important than the machine. Even factory teams deal with issues or bike setups being off and guys can still produce wins on a bike that is maybe subpar to their competitors. That comes down to the drive and the will and the skill level that the athletes have.

We all talk about the physicality of this sport, but isn’t there a lot required mentally, too?

Yes, a lot of it is mental with all the pressure, all the people expecting you to produce. That brings a whole set of new challenges with it. And like I said, there is the compartmentalizing and being able to go out and free practice and crash, or with the bike setup being off, or coming back to the truck and downloading the issues and then hopefully fixing those issues. Then you have to forget about in 15 minutes and go back out with an open mind and attack the track. You can’t be thinking, ‘Hey, last practice I was off.’ That’s huge.

This stuff, it’s actually hard to talk on because only a select few ever get to understand what it’s like. For myself, I dealt with it, but to put it all into words, it’s almost even harder. Then you add in injuries and being sick, and, ‘Hey, we’ve been at this for 12 weekends straight already, but we have another four weekends to race before a break, and then there are four more weekends before it’s over.’ So there is just a lot that as an athlete, you have to manage.

That’s where a great team comes into play. Yes, was I fast, great and one of the best? Yes, but it all came with the team. Sure, when you would go down to the qualifiers or for the main event, yes, it’s all on your shoulders. Every day and hour leading up to qualifier or main event is a team effort.

So you have to be all-in, all the time?

It’s tough, you know? They look at us as these special characters or not normal people, but the bottom line is we are all still human beings. Even now people will say to me, ‘I don’t know how you do this.’ Even now, I mean I retired here in the States back in 2015, and I still walk through the pits and it’s hard to get places because people want photos. Can you imagine if you were here to race and you were trying to go from autograph signing to here or there as an Eli Tomac or as a Jett Lawrence? Don’t raise your eyes, don’t raise your head, look down at the ground, and when they call your name 100 times, don’t even flinch. If you flinch for one second, you’re not going anywhere. You’ll be stuck signing autographs for 30 minutes. Which is great because they want that. But Saturday is our workday. That’s the thing that either I wish fans could understand more. It’s just controlled chaos.

That’s why great athletes can compartmentalize. And part of that is to be rude. It’s a rough way to say it, but you can’t just be accessible to everybody every hour of the day, you know? Some guys get a bad rap on it. I’m sure I did. I know I was hard to a lot of people or didn’t give them the time of day. The crazy part about it is when I did turn pro, everybody said, ‘Take it all in! take it all in because before you know it, it will be over.’ And eight years later, I decided that it was over. You go from the bottom of the totem pole to the top of the totem pole. And then you work your way back down and everybody you saw on the way up you see on the way back down.

Whether you’re a mechanic or a truck driver or a racer, everybody deals with it. Everybody is on the road for basically 10 months. I only know these things now at 36 years old. If you would have asked these questions when I was 30 years old, my opinion would maybe be different, so age has a lot to do with that, too. It brings perspective. Now I have kids. When my mom and dad did this with me, it was a struggle to do it. We didn’t have excess funds. My outlook on all this is a little bit different than my dad’s. That means we’re going to do this as a hobby. Yes, my kids like to do it. It’s the only thing I know. And it’s the only thing I know in how to build character with my kids. I never swung a hammer. I didn’t sit behind a desk. From a work ethic standpoint, this is where I teach my kids how to work. If they end up getting a desk job or working for Monster Energy, or doing this, or working for a team, they’re going to know how to bust their ass because this is the only outlet that I know how to teach them the work ethic side of it.

You’re going to have tough days where Dad is going to be yelling at you. And you can get hurt. I grew up doing it and it’s the only thig I know. It’s just like every one of us that work in this industry. It’s the only thing we know. It is super cool.

The news that Ty Masterpool will team with Garrett Marchbanks this Saturday night when the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race team lines up to compete in the 250SX West Region round set for Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego is lighting up websites and social media platforms around the bike racing world.

Texan Masterpool was initially penciled into Mitch Payton’s 250SX East Region starting line-up, but due to Levi Kitchen’s exodus from the 250SX West due to pre-race illness last Masterpool comes off a productive back half of the 2024 racing season where he charged to fifth overall in the 250cc AMA 250cc Nationals and also competed in the three-round SuperMotocross World Championship, where he placed ninth overall. Although Masterpool did not participate in the 2025 Angel Stadium 250SX West Region opening round, he’s both enthused and determined to line up behind the starting gate on a Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki KX250F this Saturday night.

“I flew out here early yesterday morning and then went straight to the test track and then I was breaking in the race bike yesterday and today,” said Masterpool. “Right now I’m going to the Fox Racing headquarters to go work out. Yeah, a lot going on but I’m all good with it. A little last minute — I mean, being prepared and ready for the East Region was going to be a bit early for me, too. I’m aways ready to go racing. I’m a little underprepared, but it’s all good. Ready to go.

“Everyone knows I’m kind of a little behind supercross and stuff. So the biggest thing is that I’ll need time and I need experience, but the focus this year in supercross is just getting experience and gate drops and just getting the most experience that I can. The priority is outdoors this year. I want to gain the most experience I can so I can be a title contender next year in supercross.”

With a significant amount of his current supercross experience gleaned from riding and racing a 450F in various main events in 2024, Masterpool is looking forward to being upon the 250 full-time come the launch of the 250SX West Region title fight.

“Yeah, I’m liking the 250 a lot,” he said. “I’m really loving the bike. The biggest thing is just getting used to how good the bike handles in the whoops and all of that. I kind of had PTSD almost from the years before being on a privateer 250 and stuff like that. Getting rid of the old thoughts and the old bike has been good. I’m trying to take my time and let the speed come.”

Masterpool’s most recent supercross competition experience came in the form of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship where he placed 12th, 11th and seventh at Charlotte, Texas and Las Vegas respectively.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “At Vegas, unfortunately, we made the wrong decision. I ran the outdoor suspension and that kind of hindered me a little bit. I showed glimpses of speed and all that, but I was kind of dealing with some sickness. The stamina wasn’t there.”

Now back to full health, he’s eager to take advantage of the opportunity presented him.

“I’m excited for the competition,” he said. “The more stacked the field, the better. I’m excited for it all.

” There aren’t really any expectations. It’s more like me versus me and let the results come naturally and let the speed come naturally. I just want to hit my marks and focus on the big picture at hand. Next year in supercross I want to come in as a title contender. I want to come in hot.”

First, though, it’s all about his new West Region challenge, which he’s ready to grab with both hands.

“Yeah, I got thrown into the deep end a little bit, but I’m a racer and I’m always ready to go racing,” he said. “I’m just going to race myself into shape. The biggest thing will just kind of be getting experience and the gate drops and all that. It’s going to be fun.”