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MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI STACKS CAREER-BEST RESULTS AT THUNDER VALLEY
Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki delivered a standout performance at Round 3 of the Pro Motocross Championship in Lakewood, Colorado, proving the team is a force to be reckoned with this season. Levi Kitchen made a late-race pass in Moto 1 to capture the victory and ultimately secured second overall (1-8), moving into a tie for the championship points lead. Nick Romano put together a consistent day with 4-5 moto finishes to earn third overall, marking both his first career overall podium and career-best overall finish. Seth Hammaker showed front-running speed throughout the day, but was forced to charge through the field in Moto 2 after an early-race incident, salvaging seventh overall and continuing to hold the red plate, tied atop the championship standings with teammate Kitchen. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green™ rider Enzo Temmerman made the step up to compete with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki at Thunder Valley, delivering a solid performance to finish 16th overall (10-21) in his debut with the team. Drew Adams made his return to racing this weekend and gained valuable seat time as he worked back into race pace, ultimately finishing 24th overall (26-23). Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Garrett Marchbanks recorded a career-best fourth overall with impressive 3-6 moto scores, while teammate Chase Sexton missed Round 3 due to injuries sustained in a crash during the Friday riding session ahead of race day.
Prior to race day, riders were given two 15-minute practice sessions on Friday, allowing teams to fine-tune their setups and adapt to the unique challenges presented by both the track and elevation.At 6,100 feet above sea level, the elevation of Thunder Valley added another layer of difficulty to an already demanding race day. The dry track conditions led to deep ruts that developed throughout the day, along with slick and loose conditions due to freshly added mulch to the dirt.
In 250 Qualifying, teammates Hammaker and Kitchen laid down fast laps on the technical track to take fourth and fifth overall, respectively. Romano followed in 12th, with Temmerman and Adams qualifying 19th and 21st overall, respectively, as Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki navigated the challenging conditions.
In 250 Moto 1, Hammaker grabbed an incredible holeshot on his KX™250 up the treacherous uphill start. Teammates Romano, Kitchen, and Adams emerged from the first turn around the Top 10, while Temmerman had a less-than-ideal start in 28th. On the opening lap, Romano quickly moved into fourth, with Kitchen close behind in fifth. The teammates worked their way through the field together, steadily picking off riders and closing in on the leaders. Romano made an assertive move into second, and Kitchen quickly followed into third, giving Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki an impressive 1-2-3 running order.
As the moto continued, Kitchen set his sights on the lead. He first moved past Romano before making the decisive pass on Hammaker with just two laps remaining to secure the moto win. Hammaker maintained a strong pace to finish second, while Romano held on for an impressive fourth-place result. Temmerman delivered a standout ride, charging from 28th to 10th after passing 18 riders. Adams, meanwhile, battled arm pump after his strong start and ultimately crossed the line 26th.
In 250 Moto 2, Romano rocketed out of the gate, placing himself third through the first turn, with Adams close behind in eighth, while Kitchen and Hammaker got tangled together, resulting in both riders going down in the first turn. Temmerman, while trying to avoid the first-turn pileup, emerged at the back of the pack. The two Kawasaki riders remounted and immediately went to work on moving through the field. Kitchen launched an early charge, passing 17 riders in the first six minutes as he surged back into contention, while Hammaker steadily worked his way through the field.
Up front, Romano held strong, moving up to second for the beginning of the moto, before ultimately slipping back to fifth at the checkered flag for third overall. Kitchen completed his impressive charge to finish eighth, securing second overall on the day, while Hammaker recovered to 12th after his early fall for seventh overall. After avoiding the downed riders through the first turn, Temmerman fought his way from 33rd to 21st in a determined ride through the pack for 16th overall for his first ride with the team, and will aim to carry this momentum into High Point. After running inside the Top 10 early, Adams slipped back to 23rd as he continued to regain his rhythm back at the races.
In 450 Qualifying, Marchbanks put in two consistent sessions to qualify ninth overall and set himself up with a strong gate pick going into Moto 1.
In 450 Moto 1, Marchbanks got off to a strong start, railing the outside line to position himself inside the Top 10. After a few laps, the No. 36 Kawasaki settled into a rhythm, finding his lines and beginning his charge forward. He made back-to-back passes while setting his fastest lap of the race on Lap 5, advancing to sixth place. Marchbanks maintained a strong pace for the remainder of the moto and crossed the line sixth. Following post-race penalties issued to several riders for cutting the course, Marchbanks was credited with third position in the final Moto 1 results, earning his first moto podium finish of the season.
In 450 Moto 2, Marchbanks got off to another solid start just outside the top 10 and quickly began working his way forward. The No. 36 steadily picked off riders throughout the moto, eventually moving into sixth place. Marchbanks continued to push to the finish, spending several laps pressuring the rider in fifth before crossing the line sixth to secure a career-best fourth overall finish. Although he finished the day tied in points with the third-place rider, the overall tiebreaker placed Marchbanks fourth overall.
“I was a bit disappointed with the day, but I did what I could and put trust in my fitness to salvage as many points and positions as possible. If I want to be in it for the title, those are the kinds of rides I need to keep putting in, where I keep fighting until the end. My eyes were set to leave here with the red plate; that was the goal, and I now have it shared with my teammate. Glad we’re both alright after going down, glad I can keep fighting and chipping away at the championship.”
- Levi Kitchen
“Getting my first career podium today feels unreal. It has been a work in progress and a lot of trial and error to get to this moment. There were a lot of unknowns a year ago; at one point I told myself and my family that I was quitting, and it was a bit of a dark road for a couple years while I was injured. I told myself about 6-8 months ago that if I can get back on a factory bike, then I know I can do it. I am so thankful for Mitch [Payton], who gave me this opportunity, and everyone on the team that has helped and supported me. On paper I am the fill-in guy, but I'm trying to establish myself to be a full-time guy on the team. I look forward to keep putting up results like this, and hopefully we can do it again next weekend.”
- Nick Romano
“Today here at Thunder Valley was pretty good. I finished out qualifying in fourth overall. I felt okay, just didn’t gel well with the track early on. In the first moto, I ripped an amazing start and pulled the holeshot. I led all the way up until about a lap and a half to go, and Levi [Kitchen] was charging really hard. He was riding really well and ended up getting around me. I was feeling good heading into Moto 2, then got into another first-turn pile-up. I just picked my bike up and had to dig for another long moto. I got back up to 12th, so 2-12 for seventh overall, and I’m tied for the point lead now with Levi. I at least still have the red plate heading into High Point. I’m looking forward to doing one more race before the weekend off, and just continuing to work on myself every weekend and try and be more consistent than I have been the past two weeks.”
- Seth Hammaker
“Fourth overall today, I’m feeling really good about it. It’s a career-best finish for me. I didn’t know I was battling for fourth or third the whole moto until two laps to go, so I really wish I got third, but for how stacked the class is and how the day was going, I’m super pumped on my result here. I'm really happy with the consistency on my starts so far, that was a career-best today as well. I’m really happy with the team and everyone, and happy with my personal best.”
- Garrett Marchbanks
“Today was really good. It was my first race with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team, so that was a sick experience. Qualifying was okay. I qualified 19th. In Moto 1, I had a really good charge, came from outside the Top 20 all the way to 10th, and had some really good lap times, so that was a plus. Moto 2 was a little rough for me, but overall it was still a good day, and Mitch said I’m in for next weekend, so I'm stoked to be back next week.”
- Enzo Temmerman
“I didn’t have a great day today. It was a pretty rough go for my first race back. My starts were good, but I struggled with arm pump for both motos the whole time. I’m glad to be back at the races though, and we’ll look to come back stronger next week.”
- Drew Adams