Justin Cooper & Levi Kitchen Podium at Thunder Valley MX

The 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, presented by Monster Energy, stopped in Colorado’s Thunder Valley MX over the weekend and the 250 class was stacked with Monster Energy-backed talent as Star Racing/Yamaha teammates Justin Cooper (1-4) and Levi Kitchen (5-2) both scored podium finishes (2nd and 3rd, respectively), with Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda (3-8) grabbing 4th and Honda’s Chance Hymas (11-3) taking 5th to give the M-claw logo four positions within the 250 class top five.

And in 450 class racing Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo (3-6) nailed his first podium finish of the season in the opening moto, en route to a 4th place overall finish, with Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha Dylan Ferrandis (7-3) coming in right behind for a top five 5th place finish.

Still on the sidelines for Monster Energy is the defending Monster Energy AMA Supercross champion, Chase Sexton (Honda), who missed his second race of the season due to an injury (concussion) suffered in practice, along with an illness (mononucleosis).

Said Honda team manager, Lars Lindstrom, on Sexton’s return to the MX Nationals: “Right now we don’t have an exact timeline. We’re really hoping to have him back sooner than later. We miss him a lot.”

Rounding out the top ten in scoring for Monster Energy in the 250 class at Thunder Valley MX were Star Racing/Yamaha teammates Jordan Smith in 7th (6-6) and Haiden Deegan in 8th (4-9).

Thunder Valley MX

450 class results                                                 250

4th - Cianciarulo (Monster/Kawasaki)                  2nd - Cooper (Monster/Star/Yamaha)

5th - Ferrandis (Monster/Star/Yamaha)                3rd - Kitchen (Monster/Star/Yamaha)

N/A                                                                       4th - Shimoda (Monster/PC/Kawasaki)

Overall Standings (3 of 11 rounds)

450 class                                                             250

2nd - Ferrandis, 116 points                                   2nd - Cooper, 121 points

5th - Cianciarulo, 98 points                                 3rd - Deegan, 110 points

13th ­- Sexton, 44 points                                       4th - Shimoda, 95 points

450

Moto 1

With both lungs and engines gasping for air at Thunder Valley MX’s mile high elevation (5,518 feet), the factory bikes of Ferrandis and Cianciarulo shot out early, right up front with race leader Jett Lawrence (Honda). At the close of the opening lap, Cianciarulo was running in 3rd, with Ferrandis in 5th – and closing on the lead bikes. Near the moto’s midway point, and charging towards Suzuki’s Fredrik Noren, Ferrandis fired out of a hook rut – and right into the path of KTM’s Aaron Plessinger (who Ferrandis had just got past). The result took out both Ferrandis and Plessinger, though Plessinger quickly remounted and would end up 4th behind Cianciarulo. Ferrandis, who remained on the ground longer, was able to make it back into the top ten by the 8:14 mark, then raced to salvage a 7th. Cianciarulo’s 3rd place finish in Moto 1 was his best moto finish of the season.

Moto 2

Ferrandis yanked a real good start, out in 3rd, with Cianciarulo, who was the second-fastest qualifier, out in 4th. Cianciarulo would get past Ferrandis at the 28:22 mark, but Ferrandis was able to answer and take 3rd place back – just around the time the rain started to fall. Cianciarulo would run in 3rd place on Lap 6 (of 15), gave up the podium spot to Ty Masterpool (Kawasaki) on the following lap, and would then battle with Plessinger. At the 19:15 mark Ferrandis was flying, getting past both Plessinger and Cianciarulo – and on to the back fender of Masterpool. As Cianciarulo settled into 6th place, Ferrandis and Masterpool hooked up in a great battle for the third and final podium spot – a battle which Ferrandis would win, salvaging a top five finish with a 7-3 effort on the day.

250

Moto 1

Cooper would earn the No. 1 gate pick in qualifying with more than a second on Honda’s Hunter Lawrence (2:16.477 to Lawrence’s 2:17.489). Shimoda would nail the third gate pick. Out of the start and nearing the opening turn, Hymas would get involved in a pile up that also slowed up Shimoda. Steering clear would be Deegan, who rocket out front of the entire field, ahead of Cooper, Kitchen in 3rd and Smith in 4th. After Deegan crashed on the opening lap, Cooper would check out in dominant fashion, clocking a Moto 1 second-best lap time (to Deegan) of 2:14.761, which easily topped Moto 1’s 2nd place finisher Hunter Lawrence’s top lap time of 2:15.963. Also making the Moto 1 podium, with a brilliant ride (considering he started in 14th), was Shimoda in 3rd place.

Moto 2

Cooper would again shine out of the start, pulling the clean holeshot in Moto 2 and running out in the early lead. Overall podium placer, Kitchen (3rd), let it be known that his win opening moto win at Thunder Valley MX last season was no fluke as he got out in 2nd place behind Cooper. No sooner did it look like race leader Cooper had things again in the bag, the veteran managed to envelope his front tire in a deep rut section and hit the deck – getting back up and going in 6th place on the opening lap. On Lap 9 Shimoda would catch Smith, and put on a clean pass to take 4th place, with Hymas running in 3rd place. Quietly putting on a clinic up front in 2nd place was Kitchen, who mastered the Thunder Valley ruts and was keeping pace with race leader Lawrence. On the final laps, being pressured by Cooper, Shimoda would go down as Cooper took over 4th – giving Monster Energy 2nd (Kitchen), 3rd (Hymas) and 4th.

Notes & Quotes

• The opening 250 moto pile up that collected Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Shimoda, also brought down his teammate Jett Reynolds. But getting the worst of it was Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Guillem Farres, who injured his arm and missed the second moto.
• “It was a great day,” said Cooper, who avoided the opening moto mishap to win Moto 1. “I rode really good and was happy with the bike.”
• Added Kitchen, who finished 5th in the first 250 moto: “That first moto, I felt like I left a little bit on the table. Didn’t ride the greatest. In the second one, I got out to another good start and tried to lock in there with Cooper and Hunter.”
• Recovering nicely from the opening moto start crash, Hymas was on the main jet in the second moto, scoring his first career pro podium finish in Moto 2 (3rd). “I’m just trying to get my feet under me. It’s crazy what a start can do in this class – and I’ve been struggling with my starts. It’s been a while since I ran out front, and it felt so good.”
• In the opening 250 moto, Shimoda put on a heck of a show as he passed a slew of racers – including Deegan late in the contest – to place 3rd in the moto. 
• Rewinding back to Hangtown for Deegan, his opening moto win last week made him one of a select 21 racers – in the sport’s history – to win a moto just seven races into his career. At 17, Deegan also became the 12th youngest racer to win a pro moto.
• “A little bit sketchy over that roller,” said Cooper in regard to his second 250 moto crash – while leading. “Trying to push, trying to find some new lines, and kind of got caught off guard and wasn’t able to save that one.”
• “I don’t really do much in preparation for the elevation… you just have to kind of push through it,” said Kitchen of the near 6,000-foot elevation Thunder Valley MX sits at.