Pro Motocross Championship
Lakewood, CO
Thunder Valley National
BACK-TO-BACK PODIUMS FOR MONSTER ENERGY® PRO CIRCUIT KAWASAKI RIDER LEVI KITCHEN AT THUNDER VALLEY
Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen showed immense grit to claim another third-place overall finish (8-3) in the Pro Motocross Championship at Round 3 in Lakewood, Colorado. Teammate Garret Marchbanks showed his strength and endurance as well by charging through the pack in both motos to take fourth overall (3-8). Ty Masterpool continued to battle through his illness and put in a solid performance in the first moto to take fourth and secure 10th overall (4-16). Drew Adams continued to progress in his performance with a fifth in Moto 1 and claimed 13th overall (5-34) after a bike issue in Moto 2 forced him to retire early. Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Jorge Prado battled against the competitive field and the challenging track conditions to take 13th overall (8-39). Teammate Jason Anderson fought through the elevation to secure 19th overall (12-40).
Thunder Valley Results
Levi Kitchen
“I was in a dog fight the entire day. In the first moto I got a bad start and fell early on. I need to get off the line better, but I’m really happy with my fitness. At the end of the race I felt unbelievable. This second moto was a tough one but I just dug deep and tried to keep moving my way to the front. It feels so good to be back racing and I’m looking forward to next weekend at High Point.”
Garrett Marchbanks
“It was a solid day today, one of my best finishes out here at Thunder Valley. I’m super pumped to get my first ever moto podium in the 250 class, which is super cool. Qualifying went great, I was fourth overall in qualifying. I’ve been super consistent in qualifying so far in the first three rounds, averaging around fourth or fifth. The motos have been great, I just need to get a better start. The first moto was alright I was able to make my way through the pack coming from 16th to third, which I feel is great. I think with the elevation it was super hard and how deep it was today on the start definitely made it a little difficult. Second moto I was feeling good, thought I had a great jump but came into the first turn and everyone was fighting for the same line that caused a lot of guys to go down. I got stuck in that pileup and was 39th once I got up. I charged my way back to eighth, but my transponder broke, so I wasn’t sure where I was running. It was a solid day though I got fourth overall, I’m happy with three races around the Top 5. I’m just happy with the consistency at the first three rounds, I haven’t been this consistent outdoors in the past, so we’re just going to keep building on that.”
Ty Masterpool
“Qualifying was pretty good, I got third overall and in the first moto I got a pretty good start. I worked my way up to third and then unfortunately I hit false neutral in a corner. I was battling with Garrett [Marchbanks] for the last couple laps and finished in fourth. I’m still fighting my cold from last week and I was throwing up in between motos. I was in survival mode once that happened, plus with the altitude mixed in, it was pretty tough. This result is not how I wanted the first three rounds to go, but I’m just focused on getting healthy right now and looking forward to the next round.”
Drew Adams
“I ended the day a little short in Lakewood today. I qualified seventh overall. The first moto was good, I didn’t have a great start but ended up coming back to fifth, so I was happy with that. In the second moto I was running in ninth then I had a small tip-over and went back to 20th. I made a couple passes then I had a couple bike issues. We have some positives to take from today, but it’s a bummer when something happens that's out of your control. I’m ready for next weekend.”
Jorge Prado
“Not the results I was looking for today. The track conditions were pretty difficult out there. The rain made it very slippery and the ruts were super deep. It was a hard track to feel comfortable on having never been here before. In Moto 1 the track felt super soft so we made some changes to the bike for Moto 2, but I ended up hitting a hole in a deep rut that threw me off and ended my moto. We continue to make improvements during the week and we will learn from this race and look for more progress next weekend.”
Jason Anderson
“Obviously, today was not how I wanted the day to pan out. My main concern for Thunder Valley is always the elevation because I struggle with altitude sickness, so I was focused on managing that. I ended up getting 19th overall. The first moto I got a bit squeezed out on the start and was just trying to hammer in laps. The second moto I went down at the top of the track and tweaked my knee, then I ended up going down again and got trapped under my bike for a bit. I didn’t feel comfortable finishing the race after that. I’m going to get my knee checked out next week and we’ll see how it all goes from there.”
