With a new champion crowned and another in the box seat, Budds Creek marked round 10 of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship. Quotebook features compiled comments from riders over the weekend.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) – First:
Like I said last weekend, I feel like I made improvements over the break. First motos, I don’t know why, they’ve been tough for me and I just haven’t had the flow, and then by the second moto they come around. I didn’t make it easy on myself when I fell over, but it was a good race and that second moto was awesome with a really good flow and aggression. It was hard, but I had fun. Looking forward to next weekend.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) – Third:
That’s three podiums in a row. You dream of this as a little kid and it always feels good – that one felt even better. In the first race, I felt like I was riding around in no man’s land, but in moto two I fought for it and didn’t just roll over or let them go. It’s awesome to be up here and on the podium again.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fifth:
I felt solid all weekend. Qualifying fifth set me up well, and I was able to stay consistent in both motos. I pushed hard in moto two, battling for fourth, but a small mistake cost me. Overall, I’m happy with a fifth and sixth – just need to keep building on this momentum heading into the final round next weekend.

Broc Tickle (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Eighth:
It was a really rewarding weekend. Starting fourth in moto one gave me some confidence, but I had to fight hard to stay in the top 10. I kept pushing in moto two and managed to break back into the top 10 again for my second race back in years. I’m proud of the progress made on the KX 450SR and I truly feel like this was a great experience to test the bike out in real race conditions once more. Thank you to the Monster Energy Kawasaki team for the opportunity to race again, hopefully we can do this again in the future.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 10th:
It was a tough day for me. We had a good qualifying, but then I had a racing incident in the first moto right after the start. It definitely knocked the wind out of me and took the wind out of my sails, but I came home with one point in 20th. In the second moto, I got a pretty good start from the outside. I was in sixth or seventh and worked my way up to fourth and rode really well in that second moto. I nailed the start and was in a good position in the first moto, so it was a bummer of a day, but we’ll take the positives. We’re in one piece, so that’s the main goal.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh:
Moto one was good. I had a pretty good start, and although I got passed early, I was able to make those passes back. I got into fourth place and had some good lines and a good flow going, so I went into moto two with a good mindset, but I was really buried off the start. I only made it up to 11th and just kind of struggled overall in that second moto. It is something to build on. Yeah, I wanted it to be better, but we’ll try to build on it and improve next weekend in Indiana.

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Fourth:
Budds Creek always treats me well. Every year that I’ve come here in the past, I’ve always had pretty good results and the track fits me well. The fans were awesome, it was a great day for me, and we needed this. We didn’t get a podium, but for everything that we’ve gone through, fourth place is like a podium. We’ll go out for Ironman and see if we can keep the same momentum.

Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Sixth:
I felt pretty good all day. I qualified in ninth overall and then in the first moto I got a great start, was in the top five for quite a bit before I tightened up and ended up seventh. Second moto, I made some quick passes and got into eighth, just focused on myself, and rode it in for P8. One more round to go outdoors and then into SMX, so we’ll keep building from here.

Colt Nichols (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 23rd:
The day started off much better than my first weekend back, with me qualifying P10. In the first moto I had a crash on the first lap, which buried me. After that I got a bit stuck in the pack. In Moto 2 I had an awesome start and was running eighth before I had a crash and was unable to finish. I’m all good, just a little beat up, but I will be ready to go for next weekend.

Kyle Chisholm (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 18th:
Overall, it was a decent day, but it started out a little tough. After a lot of rain in the morning and Friday night, the track was wet for practice and qualifying. I could not put it together this morning slopping around in the wet conditions. I got into the motos, but not with a very good gate pick. The start here definitely favors the inside gates, but I made it through and ended up 16th in the first moto. I rode a little tight and wasted some energy just fighting the track and not finding a good flow. It was warm and humid, and recovery between the motos wasn’t as easy as I would’ve liked. I used quite a bit of energy in that first moto. I knew it was going be tough, but I gave it my all in the second moto. At the end of the day we earned points, which is great, and I’m looking forward to the Ironman National next weekend; to finish strong and to secure a top 20 spot for the playoffs.

Max Miller (BarX Suzuki) – 35th:
It was an up and down day at Budds Creek: from qualifying 37th, to winning the LCQ, to running in the top 20, to crashing. I’m happy with my speed during the motos, but I just couldn’t stay off the ground today. I’m looking forward to finishing strong at the Ironman national!

250MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) – Second:
My starts weren’t that good today, but I came back in both motos from pretty far back, and I was able to fight to the end. I think I was really fast in that second moto, so I’m happy with how I rode today, and the track was really good. One more to go.

Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM) – Sixth:
It was a good day for me at Budds Creek, a step in the right direction with 4-7 results for sixth overall. I’m happy with my starts and my riding, it’s good to be trending forward, so we will keep putting in the work this week and come out swinging at Ironman.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – First:
It was all heart for that second moto. I’m just trying to get on a roll for the final races of the year. I am starting to get that feeling back I had in SX. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.

Ty Masterpool (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 10th:
The day started great with qualifying, and I was really looking forward to the day. It was a tough get-off in the Moto 1 first turn and I felt that one. I put my head down and just tried to get up as far as I could, but it was really hard to pass on that track. In moto two I was really feeling that crash a bit more and tried to hold on as best I could. I want more, but thankful to walk away from such a hard crash.

Garrett Marchbanks (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 12th:
I felt pretty decent on the bike, but the starts weren’t there, and it was really tough to make progress on that track. When you run out of tear offs its always a hard decision to come in and get new ones or not, but felt it was going to allow me to ride better if I came in. The second moto I didn’t get a good start and just tried picking off as many guys as I could. Thankfully, I felt good, and we will continue to build each week.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Third:
It was a good day. I qualified 1-1, which was perfect. I dominated the first moto and was able to win the championship, so that was nice. In the second moto, I was feeling the championship, so it was hard to push out there. I just wanted to get to the podium and hold the title. I’m hyped I got the Pro Motocross Championship. That’s good to check it off the list – now it’s onto defending the SMX title in three weeks.

Max Anstie (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – DNF:
The day was progressing quite well with a fifth in qualifying, but it was short-lived as a first-turn pile-up in moto one kept me from racing. We’ll heal up and be back next week.

Jordon Smith (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Eighth:
It was a pretty solid day. I got two good starts. Unfortunately, I got cross-rutted and went down on the first lap of the first moto. That just seems to be the story of the year so far for me, but we had a lot better starts, and I rode great. If you’re in the top 10, everyone’s going so fast right now. Even outside of the top 10, if you’re just a little bit off and you’re not going forward, you’re going backward. I’m happy with the day, though, with a respectable 10-6. We’re just going to keep grinding, finish strong at Ironman, and move on to SMX.

Nick Romano (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 11th:
We have some positives to take away from Budds Creek. My starts were okay, but my riding was solid. I fought in the top 10 for almost all of the first moto and had another good ride in the second moto. I was dealing with some health-related stuff all summer, but I’ve been feeling much more like myself lately. We still have a ways to go, but I’m happy and motivated and looking to keep building for the finale next weekend at Ironman.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 17th:
It was a rough day at Budds. We’re going to put it behind us and get back to work. I’m looking forward to Ironman next weekend.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Ninth:
It was so good to get some gate drops in. I knew I wasn’t 100 percent to come out here and battle for the win or a podium, but there’s no practice like a race, so that’s what we came to do. It wasn’t too bad, I don’t think we’re far off, and I expect to be better in Indiana. The goal is to be the best I can be once we get to Charlotte for SMX, so all in all, I’m happy to be leaving here healthy and look forward to next week.

Ryder DiFrancesco (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas) – 16th:
I just didn’t get off the gate today and this place is super-hard to pass, so a start would have helped. I fell in moto two and was pretty buried, but we salvaged something and now we’ll move on to Ironman before SMX.

Pierce Brown (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas) – Seventh:
It was a positive day for me today. I went 7-5 for seventh, which wasn’t my best overall of the season, but I felt like my riding was good and I was excited about it. The last couple of rounds have been solid for me and I think we’re building some momentum coming into SMX. We’ll look to finish off the outdoors strong at Ironman.

Jalek Swoll (Triumph Racing) – Fifth:
I just wish that I could have had a better start in moto one. It was a decent day all around though. A few mistakes stopped me from being on the box in the second moto, but we have been closing the gap to the front. We are getting closer and closer. We will keep fighting for that last little bit. I am proud of today.

Dilan Schwartz (BarX Suzuki) – 20th:
In the first moto I had an issue and in the second moto I struggled with my wrist. It was a tough weekend.

Preston Boespflug (BarX Suzuki) – 28th:
The track was sick, and my Suzuki handled the soft track really well!. My starts were a lot better this weekend. Unfortunately, a few tip overs cost me better results.

Leo Tucker (BarX Suzuki) – 34th:
In the first qualifying session I struggled with the track and just couldn’t get a flow going. Q2 came and I put in some solid laps and ended up qualifying P33. In the first moto, I struggled with severe arm pump, so I just rode to a 36th. In the second moto, I started in 37th and just charged the whole time. I ended up 27th, which I am happy about. We will keep working and come back strong for my favorite track at Ironman!