Read what a host of riders had to say about their respective weekends at the AMA Pro Motocross opener at Pala.

Jett Lawrence: “I definitely didn’t expect a day like this. I felt like I knew where I was coming in, but jumping up to this class, everyone is fast and fit. That second moto, I kept looking over my shoulder, thinking I gave myself a gap, just to see the 23 even closer than before! I find battles like these fun, though; they make me a better rider and they test how well I can handle the pressure. I knew Chase wasn’t going anywhere and it would be a long 35 minutes, but it was great having a clean battle. I expect this whole season to be a chess match, and it’s nice to take the first round.”

Chase Sexton: “We’re off to a solid start. I didn’t feel like I had the speed early in the day, and that crash in practice didn’t help my confidence. In the first moto I just rode sloppy, but I kept building and getting more comfortable throughout the day. In the second moto I felt like I was me from outdoors last year. We just have to keep building confidence and making the bike even better. I feel like I’m prepared to take this fight all the way to the end.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “It is always good to end up on the podium, and I didn’t really expect that. During qualifying, I was struggling a little bit with the bike with the new chassis. I wanted to be a little bit more comfortable, and that’s what we worked on all day. The bike kept getting better session after session. If anyone had told me I would have finished on the podium at the first round, I would have told them they were dreaming. Everybody worked really hard, so it was good to give them back something with a podium and get some good points.”

Aaron Plessinger: “It was an eventful day here, for sure. I was riding really good, but ended up going down twice in that first moto – I think Coop saw me five times and was probably wondering what I was doing. Went out in moto two and had a big battle with Dylan Ferrandis, probably should have executed a couple things better on my end to make a move, but stoked to come away with fourth and take the battle into Hangtown.”

Cooper Webb: “This was very, very last minute to race here, obviously with the injury being the main reason. Together with the team we got things done and last week was the first 30-minute moto I’ve done since 2021, so prep hasn’t been ideal, but today was solid for me, and I was really happy with it. We showed some speed, showed some potential and are ready to give it another shake in Hangtown.”

Hunter Lawrence: “That first moto was me just taking what I could get; I was pushing as far as I could with what the track was giving me, but I didn’t want to throw away a good finish. In the second moto I put a lot of emphasis on the start; I knew I needed that to make my life easier. Coming through the pack on this track is so difficult, with the way it forms. Once you get into a rhythm, it’s very hard to drop the hammer and start picking guys off. I’m excited with the way we started the season, and I can’t wait to keep this going.”

Haiden Deegan: “Today was definitely a good day. I didn’t have a great start in the first moto, so I was pushing and was in about eighth when I hit someone and fell. I got back up to sixth. I knew I had the speed, so in the second moto, I had a better start and made my way up to second and just rode smooth for second overall. It was a great way to start off the season.”

RJ Hampshire: “For the first round of the outdoors, I was so excited to come here and race. It started off with a great start in the first moto. I’ve never felt like that out front where things felt that easy and I didn’t really have to get out of my comfort zone. Coming into the second moto I was going to try and do the same thing and it’s on me. I botched that start and was still kind of decent, but the second turn was mayhem and I ended up going down. I made up a bunch of passes right away, and then someone else got a little whiskey throttle and I clipped their rear tire going up the steep hill in the back. Then I had my work cut out for me. I was in last by quite a bit. I knew I had to put my head down and I was charging hard. I didn’t know if I had a shot at the podium. I had another little crash near the end, but I’m pretty stoked on the whole day. I’m really happy with the bike, where we’re at, our mentality. It’s going to be a good year and I’m so damn proud of this team.”

Tom Vialle: “It was a difficult start to the day with 16th in qualifying, though we made some changes to get more comfortable with the conditions. First moto, I made some more improvements, and could manage a seventh place in that moto. Second moto, we made positive changes and I felt way better, so was able to get third place. I’m pretty happy with the day and my first National, we made great progression throughout the day between myself and the team – I was a bit sick coming into this round, so overall I’m happy to start my season like this.”

Maximus Vohland: “Pretty happy with today. It’s always an achievement to end up on the box, even if it was for a moto, so it’s another stepping stone for me. I was really looking to get on the podium overall today, but qualified well, was fast in the first moto, and second moto I felt really good, just a couple of mistakes cost me. I felt I had everything it took today, just tangling with the rider in moto two really hurt, but I’m stoked to be headed to my home race in Hangtown next week and we’ll fight for a podium.”

Justin Cooper: “It was a good day, overall. I just had bad starts, but I felt good on the bike. The second moto was pretty good for me. I went from 20th and got up to fourth. I was working to try and get those guys at the end but came up a little short after expending a lot of energy to get to the front. We’ll take it. We’ve just got to be better off the gate so we can fight for the win.”

Guillem Farres: “I’m really happy with my first race. I ended up going eighth overall and had a fifth in the second moto. It’s my first race in a while, so it was a pretty good day, and I want to keep building from here.”

Chance Hymas: “I’m not necessarily happy with the day, but I’m relieved to get round one down. It had been a while since I’d been on the gate with all of these guys, and I really didn’t know what to expect. Now, I know where I’m at and how I can get to where those other guys are. If I can stay in there towards the end of the races, when guys are dropping like flies, I can be successful. I’m proud of myself for what I did today, but I’m not satisfied.”

Levi Kitchen: “The day started well with the best qualifying I think I’ve ever had. But the story of my life today was bad starts in both motos. I fell that first moto but felt like I had good speed. The second moto was another bad start, but then I never really felt like I had good speed in that one. We’re going to put our heads down and focus on next weekend.”

Jordon Smith: “It was good to get back racing outdoors. It’s been four years since I’ve raced one. It was a good learning day. I didn’t end up where I wanted to be, but we learned a lot. Overall, I had a lot of fun out there, and I’m ready to continue building throughout the season.”

Jalek Swoll: “This was my first race back in pretty much a year, and it just felt good to get gate drops. Watching from the couch was not fun. Just being out here, 100 percent or not was the goal. The starts were pretty good. I was stoked about that and other than the first moto fall I feel today could have been really good. We’ll get healed up, come back a little bit stronger, get some good motos under my belt, and start clicking off some goals this year. My confidence is still there. I feel like I can compete at the top level, so we’ll take the starts and the little bit of momentum that was caught today to Hangtown.”

Talon Hawkins: “Round one was pretty good, and there’s a lot of good to take from it. I needed a better start in that first moto. I got the better start in the second moto, I just didn’t ride the way I know how. We’re going to work on that this next week and hopefully make something happen next weekend. I’m excited, and this was a good race for me to build off of as we head into the next rounds.“

Lead Image: KTM

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