In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in the fifth round of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at RedBud.

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Image: Octopi Media.

Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM) – Seventh:
We felt good today and the motor has been good, too. My starts weren’t that great today so I had to kind of work through the pack a little bit and that didn’t make it easy on me. Overall, we’re good. We’ll try to get a little bit better going into next weekend but I’m happy with the progress overall and where we’re at, looking at the times and how close we are there. We’ll just try to keep building every weekend.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) – Ninth:
In the first moto, I kind of struggled with bike setup a little bit. I got a pretty good start and then kind of pumped up and rode tight, so I went back to ninth. Second moto, I didn’t get the greatest start but I came through to eighth. I felt a lot better – I was flowing, I was wheelie-ing bumps and the bike felt a lot better. We’ll go back and do some homework this week, work on my starts a little bit more and see what Southwick holds for us.

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Third:
It was quite a wild day but a great day to be on the podium, it’s been a while and much-needed. Qualifying wasn’t ideal but mentally I knew I could go fast and the boys made some great changes to the bike. First moto, I was running really well and had a big crash that bent my bars, so I just managed to bring it in for eighth, which isn’t ideal but I rode really well. Second moto, I got a great holeshot and battled with the boys, ending up P3 for third overall. It was a wild – but awesome – day!

Shane McElrath (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 11th:
I felt like today was the first productive race day I’ve had. I actually passed some people, and the results don’t really show what we went through today. It was a good step over the last two weeks being back in Florida and we made some pretty big bike changes, which I think is really starting to come around now. It’s definitely progress. We’ve had a lot of work to do, but we’ve done a lot of work. So, I’m excited to keep it going.

Christian Craig (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Eighth:
I always love coming here to RedBud. I did pretty well here last year, so I wanted to get back up to that front group after a couple of off weeks at High Point and Colorado, and I was able to do that. I qualified well, and although my starts weren’t the best I was able to come through the pack pretty quick and went 5-6. Unfortunately, that was only good enough for eighth overall somehow, but that’s how it rolls sometimes. It’s all about the points at the end of the day, and I’m close to fifth in the standings – just two points behind Dungey. So, I’ve just got to keep going. I’d say Eli [Tomac] was on another level today, but other than that, we were right there with that top group; we’ve just got to keep building.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It was an outstanding day for us, going 1-1. It was almost a completely perfect day. I had some great starts, and in moto one, it was all about the start. I was a little bit buried in that second moto and had a battle with Kenny [Roczen] at the beginning of that race. I was able to make the move to the front somewhere around the halfway point, and that was it. The bike worked awesome in all the conditions today. We just have to keep chipping away at the points.

Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) – Fifth:
I tried to hang in there as long as I could, but I got sick this week and still had a lot of exhaustion in my bones. I had to drop the anchor in the second moto because I was empty. I’ve hardly been on the bike this whole last week, and I was laid up on the couch most of the time, so that combination just wasn’t ideal heading into this weekend. I’m working on getting healthy so I can attack next weekend.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Second:
I’m really happy with my riding, especially in the sandy conditions. In past years I’ve struggled here and Southwick, but this year I feel like I’ve got some good sand riding in me. The starts weren’t great, and I had a little tip-over in the second moto, but I can’t really be too bummed. At the end of the day, if I get first or second in the motos, it puts me in a good spot. I think Eli [Tomac] and I are going to be battling, so I’m looking forward to it.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fourth:
Minor crashes in each moto cost me valuable time and positions early so, I felt like I was playing catch up all day. My speed was solid, and the bike felt great but, a couple of miscues are all it takes to put the podium out of reach. Overall, I made a lot of passes out there and managed to salvage a fourth overall so, we’ll just keep moving forward with the goal of getting another win here soon.

Joey Savatgy (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Sixth:
It’s been almost four years since the last time I was on the podium and there have been plenty of highs and lows along the way. Finally getting myself back up on the box in the first moto felt amazing. Thank you to the Monster Energy Kawasaki team for this opportunity to be racing and improving each weekend. I was set back a bit overall by the crash in moto two but, we took major steps in the right direction today and look forward to more progress ahead.

Brandon Hartranft (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 14th:
Round five at RedBud was a little tough for me. I could have ridden better in qualifying. In moto one I got a decent start and was around the top 10. I had really bad arm pump and I dropped back to around 15th. Then with 10 minutes to go I regrouped, got my arms back to normal, and caught back up to 13th. Before moto two we did a little suspension change. I rode quite a bit better, but everybody in front of me was just riding super well and I ended up with another 13th. I’m definitely not happy about my results, but I’ll take the positives out of the day and move forward for round six at Southwick.

Marshal Weltin (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 15th:
I’m from Michigan, so RedBud is my home race, a lot of my friends and family showed up and were really supportive. Things started out a little rocky. I was pretty off in qualifying. Then I think my instincts just kicked in when the gate dropped and I had my personal best moto finish with a 10th in moto one. I followed that up with a 12th in moto two. I ended up with a tenth overall. I’m stoked with the results. It’s really fun racing at RedBud; the track’s always insanely good, and you just can’t match the whole atmosphere. I had a lot of fun and cracked a Twisted Tea at the end of the day and tried to soak it all in.

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Image: Octopi Media.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 11th:
I made it a little tougher on myself than I needed to today but, my starts are improving and I just need to clean up a few things. In moto one, I had a pretty steady race all the way through to come away with a fifth but, I was looking to better that and get into the podium battle in moto two. Unfortunately, I lost traction at the bottom of the hill and fell just after passing into the lead so, I had to race forward from the back of the pack. It’s frustrating of course but, I will keep putting myself up there in the mix and keep improving to iron out those small mistakes.

Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – First:
In the first moto, I started up front and had a fast pace going as I pressured the Lawrence brothers for the top-two positions. I was able to make a good pass into the lead and finished strong for the moto win. In moto two, my start wasn’t great and then I got caught up with some riders on the first lap which put me outside the top 20. I pushed hard the whole race to fight my way to third and earned my first overall victory. I had to race really hard in both motos, and it paid off for a great day.

Ryder DiFrancesco (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 13th:
I had a great start in the first moto but, a crash in the second corner put me way down the running order. I raced forward and made a bunch of passes to finish 14th. In moto two, I grabbed the holeshot which felt awesome, and I did my best to keep pace with the leaders for as long as I could. My goal for the day was to do exactly what I did for the first half of that second moto, I matched the speed of the guys at the front for as long as I could before getting tight and settling back a bit. I’m looking forward to Millville where I’ll try my best to stay up there even longer.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Second:
The first moto I was sitting behind Jett, trying to leave my charge until the end of the moto, and then he kind of pulled off. I was like, ‘Is he letting me pass?’ but then I started feeling something and went into conservation mode. The second moto I struggled with my riding, but congrats to Jo [Shimoda]; he rode awesome today. The red plate doesn’t always come as fast as you want or how you want, but we’ll take it. It was a tough day, but we made the most of it.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Ninth:
I was feeling good today. I love this track, and we ended up getting the bike handling pretty good for the first moto. I took some bad lines on the first lap and went back to fourth, but in a couple turns I went up to third. I made my way past Jo and Hunter, and then the bike started feeling funny and losing power. That’s part of this sport, and luckily, we had a bit of a points lead, which helps me a little bit. On the second-moto start, it was hard to tuck around since I was so far out wide, but I made my way through and got the race win. It sucks to lose the red plate, but at least I lost it to Hunter [Lawrence].

Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Eighth:
It was a tough day on a number of different levels. Just before the sight lap in moto one, I tried a new goo product and I ended up throwing up everything I ate right before the sight lap, so that was not an ideal start. Off the start, I was making some good moves, keeping pace with the leaders – and catching them a little bit – but I made a mistake and went down. I regrouped and then unfortunately had some bike issues in the latter half of the moto. In the second moto, it was basically the same story. Really frustrating day – I’m looking for more, expecting more and disappointed – but I’m looking forward to Southwick.

Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – 37th:
I struggled pretty bad coming into the weekend. I had a messed-up knee and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to race but I got through that. Halfway through the first moto, I got a rock stuck in my chain on the face of the jump and I took a pretty big digger, banging up my wrist. I tried to go out there for the second moto and was riding alright but I just couldn’t hold on because of my wrist in the first moto, so I had to pull out. Not the day we wanted but we’re going to rest up and come back at Southwick.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh:
It was definitely a tough day, but I made it way tougher on myself by starting way back. In the first moto, I messed up the start and in the second moto I was up there around the top three and then I came together with another rider on that first lap. I went down, picked my bike up, then lost it the other way, so I started dead last and just did what I could. My speed was good, though, but I’m still really bummed about going down in the second moto. I think I could have maybe got into the lead doing the [LaRocco] Leap, and that would have been cool to at least give it a shot at the front, but that didn’t happen. We’ll go back and try again next weekend.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Fifth:
It was a good day overall. In the first moto, I got buried on the start and got up to ninth. I really didn’t ride great in that first moto, to be honest. Then in the second moto, it was not the greatest of starts again, but I was riding really well. I got up to third from 10th, which was great. I saw Jo [Shimoda] was coming, and he ended up getting me towards the end. I went 9-4 for fifth overall and got back to fifth in the championship. We’ll just keep building. We have another new track next week, and I’m looking forward to it.

Nick Romano (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 15th:
My day started off really well. I qualified fourth overall, which I was super stoked with. Then by the time motos came around, I ended up 12th in the first one. I was strong the whole moto but was just the twelfth-fastest. In the second moto, I had a horrible start, and I was kind of mid-pack, then I was stuck there. I think there’s a lot of positives to take away from today, and we’ll keep looking at that and keep building every weekend.

Matthew LeBlanc (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 20th:
It was just a rough day. I really struggled and just pretty much mentally couldn’t figure out the track. I didn’t ride well, so I’ve got a lot to figure out this week. We’re going to put the work in and get rested up for Southwick, and hopefully, do a lot better.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 10th:
It was a tough day. The track was very brutal for those motos. It’s probably the roughest track we’ve had so far this year. It was tough, but at the same time, it was good, though. I felt like I had my best pace so far this year and better starts. I’m just moving a little bit each weekend. I felt like I had the top-five pace today, but just a little bit of arm pump held me back. We’ll come out swinging for next weekend. I just want to keep building and hopefully, by the end, we can be on the podium. I’ve got some things to work on, and we know what we need to do.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Fourth:
The riding was really good today, I felt like I was almost back to normal. My starts were not good and in the first moto, I was beat. The second moto, I ended up going down with a group of guys on the first lap and was buried back in 30th or so. I felt much better on the bike this weekend and had pretty good strength, so I think we’re just going to continue to get better now. We kind of got over that hump with injuries and we’re back having fun and still have a fight in us.

Stilez Robertson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Third:
RedBud was a good day, I just wanted to have two good motos today and we did. We got two good starts as well, so I’m super stoked and just want to keep it going. It was a really fun day and can’t wait to get to Southwick and do it again. Just keep trying to do my best and keep trying to ride like I do during the week, and I think we’ll be okay.

Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 17th:
We’ve for sure had some better days but it is what it is. We got through two motos today, so we’ll just build off that coming into Southwick and be ready to drop the hammer. I’m getting tired of just rolling around, so I’m really going to try to send it next weekend and put myself in a position where I feel like I need to be.

Carson Mumford (BarX Chaparral Suzuki) – 14th:
RedBuuuud! Man, it feels great to be back at the races! 13-13 moto scores are not too bad for only being on the bike six days. I showed some good speed in the second moto, making crucial passes early in the race and riding in that fifth to 10th place range for 20 minutes! I’m hungry for more and really excited to improve! Bring it on Southwick!

Derek Drake (BarX Chaparral Suzuki) – 40th:
RedBud was going well, in the first moto I got shuffled back in the beginning because my clutch went out and I had to adjust to it. Then, unfortunately, about 20 minutes in I got sick and couldn’t recover for the next moto.

Preston Kilroy (BarX Chaparral Suzuki) – 19th:
RedBud was a step in the right direction, I had a pretty good start in the first moto, but then went off the track and lost some positions. In the second moto I didn’t get the greatest start. I started to make my way up and make some passes, then unfortunately washed out the front tyre coming down one of the hills. I’ve been playing a lot of catch-up recently, but I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable each weekend.

Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) – 12th:
The weekend didn’t go how I wanted it to. I ended up getting taken out on the first lap in both motos, which set me pretty far back in the pack and I had to fight my way up. One positive, my starts were a lot better than the last race, so I’ll take that and go back to work this week. We’re going to try and be more consistent in the motos, try and stay off the ground and see what we can do at Southwick.