In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out at the 10th round of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship at Budds Creek.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – First: 
I’ve been super consistent with my starts this year, but I gave myself a pretty big disadvantage in the first moto. It was definitely something different, but I just had to be calculated on such a hard track to pass. The second moto started off a lot easier, but Chase [Sexton] really pushed me toward the end. I really started to make mistakes as we got toward the finish, but I gave myself just enough to push it over the line. I’m happy with my day overall, but time to go back to work and see if we can keep this thing going at Ironman.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Fourth: 
I’m leaving Budds Creek with a 9-2 for fourth overall and some mixed feelings. Even though I never crashed hard, I definitely fell a lot today. I feel like in the second moto, I found another gear, and if I can bring that into Ironman, it would be a huge positive. Super-tough day overall, but I’m happy to end it on a good note.

Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Sixth
Unfortunately, I got sick this week, and today I felt really bad. The first few laps of the first moto were terrible, but lap after lap, I gained a little more adrenaline and felt better. Then I just tried to give everything I had and tried to get second but ended up third. Then in the second moto, I had a crash at the start of the race, which made for a difficult race, but again, I gave everything I had to make my way through the pack. We got to ninth, and I kept pushing, but there was too much of a gap. It’s a bummer, but for how bad I felt, we still got some good points. We will go back to Florida and rest up and try for a better result at Ironman.

Jay Wilson (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 16th:
Today started off a little bit slow. I think the recovery time has been a little bit of a challenge since coming to America. Since we’ve arrived, I haven’t really stopped. Hopefully, we can improve on that heading into Ironman and get some decent results. The results so far haven’t been ideal, but there have been some positives with the testing side of things and then some positives with my riding. We’ve had some great starts and have been making progress with the short amount of time that we’ve had here. We’ve just got to put it all together heading into Ironman.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Seventh: 
There are lots of positives to take from the day. In both motos the starts were there. A holeshot in moto one and a second-place start in moto two. The track was challenging, but being able to lead a lot of laps in the first moto was a good feeling. I’m looking forward to making more progress each day to finish the season strong.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Third: 
Budds Creek is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit and today went really well. I was able to secure my best moto finish of the season and clinch a third overall on the day. The bike setup was immaculate all day on my KX450SR and I am ready for the last round of the series before SuperMotocross.

Justin Barcia (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) – Fifth: 
It was definitely a more productive day here at Budds Creek. I qualified sixth after two good practices, and we kind of used this weekend as a testing session. It’s hard coming back after being unable to test and do everything you need to do to prepare for the Nationals. Everyone has a lot of races under their belts, so we used press day as a test session, and then we changed the suspension going into the first moto. It worked out well for us today. We had two good starts, and battled up front in both motos. All in all I was extremely happy with where I’m at for not being able to train or anything. This is like only my fourth 30-minute moto since I started riding again, so considering that, I’m quite happy. We’ll keep plugging along and working hard. I’m looking forward to Indiana and we’ll keep building for SuperMotocross.

Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM) – Second: 
My starts were good today and it’s so much easier to run the pace of those guys when you’re up there from the beginning. Led the first moto for a long time, then tightened up and went to fourth, before the second moto was an all-out battle. I think there were four of us battling for that spot, and I managed to get Justin [Barcia], which gave me some clear track to come home in third. Man, second overall feels great, the fans were awesome, and I’m looking to close this thing out strong next weekend!

Freddie Noren (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 11th: 
A few laps into moto one I was having a battle with another rider. We got together and we both went down. I Iost a few spots but got going pretty well again and ended up 13th. I’m not super pumped about the results on paper, and I know I sound like a broken record, but, ‘I have more, I can do more,’ I honestly believe that I have more in me… I was happy with my riding in the second moto. I rode consistently, running ninth for most of that moto until three laps to go when another rider got by. It was a pretty aggressive pass and I lost quite a bit of time, which put another rider awfully close behind me. It was a fun moto, though – I rode well, the bike was working great, and the team is doing an excellent job. We have one more race to go to capture some better results. We always want a little more, so we’ll make it happen.

Kyle Chisolm (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 30th: 
It was a pretty rough day at the office for me. I haven’t had a day like that in a long time. I was working my way up in the first few laps of moto one. On one of the big triple step-ups I hit a wet spot trying to make a pass and ended up knifing it and high-siding. I hit the ground really hard and knocked the wind out of myself. My bike was on the downside of the jump and other riders kept coming over and running over my bike. By the time I got to it the bike was pretty beat up and I wasn’t able to finish that race. That led to the last gate pick for moto two, so I was really far outside. The bike ripped another great start though. I was sweeping in, and a couple of guys tangled, which sent them straight into me. I hit the ground really hard again, and had multiple bikes on top of me. I got up and got going and I worked my way up as far as I could. It happens, it’s part of the game, and it’s a bummer. The bike felt great. I like the track, but I just didn’t put myself in a good position from the get-go.

Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki) – 24th: 
I really struggled all day, starting in practice. In the first moto, I had a decent start but found it difficult to run that pace. In moto two I got collected up in a first-turn crash and, just like moto one, I just didn’t have the race pace. I’m looking forward to turning things around next weekend.

250MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – First: 
It was definitely a weird day, with the first moto having two starts. It really was like doing two short sprints back-to-back. I’m happy we were able to take advantage of it and finish on the podium, but I prefer long motos. Going into the last race of the season, we know where we stand, and we know we won’t be changing anything drastic. We have a gameplan, and we’ll focus on running that out to the end. I’m looking forward to finishing this series strong and focusing on SuperMotocross.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Second: 
The day went really well. It started out really muddy in practice, and the track was really tricky all day. I qualified first, which was great because the gate position was definitely important today. From there, I got off to a decent start in the first moto in third. I was in second there for a while after the restart and then made the move for the lead and kind of managed it from there. In the second moto, I got another third-place start. I had a hard time getting around Austin [Forkner] in second, but once I did that, I was able to set my sites on Hunter [Lawrence]. He was riding really well. I was able to close the gap, but there was no time to pass. Overall it was a really good day for me and the team. I feel like we did as much as we could, and our riding definitely has to be up there with the best that it’s ever been. So there’s a lot of positives to take away from that, and we’ll go into next weekend fighting.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 11th: 
The day was going really well. I was able to put a good lead on everyone in the first moto, then they red-flagged it, and we had a complete restart. I ended up crashing on the start, and from there, all I could do was keep charging forward for the rest of the day.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 13th: 
It was a rough day for me, to say the least. I just didn’t put myself in a good position all day and rode pretty timid. We’re going to go back to work and try and finish the championship off with a win at Ironman.

Daxton Bennick (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh: 
It was an exciting weekend at Budds Creek. That first race was wild, but I was able to capitalize on the restart. It felt good being up front and finishing fourth. In the second moto, I pushed a little wide on the start and kind of stayed around 10th, but then I got passed with a few laps to go, which put me seventh overall. We’ll go back to work this week and keep improving for the next one.

Stilez Robertson (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – 12th: 
The day started off good in qualifying. I was fifth, which was good for me because I normally struggle a bit in qualifying. The motos were interesting, to say the least. We had another red flag in the first moto, and I had decent starts for both of the starts, but I just didn’t execute. In the second moto, I didn’t get as good of a start but was sort of in the same spot. Then I made one mistake and went off track and went backward. Then I just did my best to move through the pack and ended the day 12th. It’s not near where I want to be. So will put our head down this week and have one more weekend to try and put myself where we belong.

Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Third: 
Today was a good one. I had a few minor mistakes in moto two while I was charging towards the front, but I was able to hold on and bring home another overall podium. I’m looking forward to the last round next weekend and hope to keep the momentum rolling.

Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fourth: 
I will take that! A holeshot in moto two and a fourth overall on the day is much closer to where we want to be. My speed showed today and I know I belong up there every race. Big shoutout to the fans and my team for the continued support.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 10th: 
Tough day at the races for me. I went down in the first corner of moto two and had my work cut out for me. I put my head down and was able to fight through the pack to finish 14th.

Ryder DiFrancesco (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 15th: 
Today was a much better day. I was running up in the front in moto one until it was red flagged. The results today did not show, but my fitness and mindset are solid. I had some great battles with Haiden [Deegan] and this is forward progress on my performance.

Carson Mumford (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Eighth:
All day I felt as if I was at the practice track ripping laps. I was able to hit my lines and never fatigued throughout the motos. I had some good battles with Levi [Kitchen] and Stilez [Robertson] passing each other back and forth for the better position. Huge shoutout to the team for keeping my KX250 running perfect all weekend.

Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Sixth: 
I’d say this was a positive for me. I got back on the box, but I couldn’t secure it for the overall. I had a tough second moto and not the best start. I was buried, but I fought as hard as I could and got to 12th. I felt like I could have been on the box for the overall today. We’re taking this confidence and the momentum to the last round and getting excited for the playoffs.

Talon Hawkins (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – 20th: 
This was a rough one. It was the first time ever here, and it’s a gnarly track. I didn’t really gel with it all day. We got better and better, and I put a lot of solid laps together and had the speed, I just dug a hole for myself on the starts and then had too many lulls. I know what to work on. We’ll be back next weekend.

Casey Cochran (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – 22nd: 
Budds Creek was all right. It was a learning experience for sure. There are definitely things to go back and work on so that I can come out next weekend and show up where I believe I should be. I ran pretty good in the second moto, but I just hit a wall. That’s what we need to work on and we’ll be better next weekend.

Maximus Vohland (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – 14th: 
Tough weekend here in Budds Creek. Two bad starts and then pulling all my tear offs at once in moto two made it really challenging, racing to a 9-16 scorecard on the day. I’m healthy and intent on securing two strong results in the next two motos at Ironman.

Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Fifth: 
Budds Creek was pretty good for me. I want to be on the podium, but I was really happy with how I rode today. Had a great start in moto one after the restart, but [Haiden] Deegan hit me hard in the back, and I very nearly crashed – came back to fifth. And second moto, just a bad start, which resulted in sixth. The bike was working really good today and I can’t wait for Ironman next week – I want to finish this motocross season with a podium.

Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Ninth: 
Good start in the opening moto here at Budds, I was running fifth for a long time, but these races are much longer than what I’m used to and everyone is so fast, so a couple mistakes cost me a lot of time and I went to 11th. Moto two was good, I started in 12th, and was able to get to ninth for ninth overall on my pro debut. We met our expectations and we’ll take this momentum into next weekend.

Pierce Brown (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing) – 18th:
It was a tough day for sure. I qualified decent in Q1, and in Q2 I struggled. After that I just couldn’t find my flow. In moto one I got a bad start and fell a couple laps in. When I restarted, I was in a pack of guys that weren’t moving forward, and I couldn’t move through them so it was tough. In moto two I tangled with a rider right out of the gate and I got the worst end of the stick on that one. It’s racing. We’ll bounce back next week at Ironman.

Dilan Schwartz (Toyota of Redlands BarX Suzuki) 16th:
Budds Creek was interesting,” reported Schwartz. “The first moto felt weird with the re-start halfway through it. I ended up capitalizing on that and finished P13. In the second moto I got together with another rider on the first lap and went down, so I had to come back from last place. I also ended up crashing on the last lap, but I’m happy with my riding. I’m looking forward to the final round.