Tomac Back at Budds Creek...Maybe

How's Jett's Shoulder?

Lawrence considering an MRI scan on troublesome shoulder

Section: Competition Post: Alex Gobert

Extent of issue yet to be fully determined for 450MX national champion.

Image: Octopi Media.

Defending 450MX champion Jett Lawrence is considering undergoing an MRI scan on his troublesome shoulder that has been affecting him since crashing heavily in the opening moto at Hangtown, still yet to reach 100 percent fitness.

The Team Honda HRC rider has managed to win three-straight overalls at Thunder Valley, High Point, and Southwick, despite any ongoing issues, but is looking to find out the extent of any potential injury.

“We’ve kind of been discussing what it actually is, because at first we just thought it might be bruising or something like that, or maybe pulled the muscle,” Lawrence explained. “For how long and slow it’s taken to heal, we might get a MRI or something, because the muscle could be torn or something like that.

“We’re not really 100 percent on what it is, so we’re gonna use one of these breaks to go and get a MRI, or even after this one… Just because we’re not 100 percent sure what it is, we thought this break might help it, and get it back to 100 percent.

“But each time I’d go train and ride, and use it, it just kind of go back to that same spot that it would heal up and then drop a bit. It’s been a bit annoying in this break because I thought it would go a lot more, but no excuses, we still got an overall win, so definitely make it a lot easier if we’re at 100 percent.”

With elder brother and factory Honda teammate Hunter Lawrence maintaining the Pro Motocross Championship points lead, Jett Lawrence is three points back, currently tied with Chase Sexton

Bike changes Lead Sexton To Win

What Sexton changed that led to second moto victory at Southwick

Post: MotoOnline

The first moto win since Hangtown for Sexton showed more signs of progress.

Chase Sexton’s second moto victory at Southwick was his first moto win since his last to first performance to secure the overall win at Hangtown. The result boosted Sexton to just three points behind championship leader Hunter Lawrence as Sexton continues to look for consistency from moto to moto.

Much like the fourth round at High Point, Sexton didn’t particularly look comfortable in the first moto at Southwick before completely turning it around in moto two. But the win at Southwick came from an impressive surge when Sexton found his groove halfway through the moto to leap from third to first in an instant and take off with the moto victory.

“I mean I was kind of off the pace honestly in both motos,” said Sexton. “I was good at the beginning of the second moto and the first moto, but then I would kind of lose the pace in the middle of the race. I wasn’t riding the track how it was meant to be ridden, and I finally started to get a good flow going towards the end of the second moto. Better late than never. I just kind of started picking different lines and I don’t know, it kind of all came together for me.”

Image: Octopi Media.

The lap times from the second moto show a clear progression that Sexton found another gear. He struggled to a 2:20.079 at the mid-point of the moto before going 2:19, 2:19, 2:18, 2:16 four laps in a row which were all faster than that of race leader Jett Lawrence.

Southwick certainly is a racetrack that can be won or lost based on line selection as the sandy conditions create a massive variance between two lines next to each other. But aside from figuring out better lines, Sexton also made a slight bike change before the moto that could have contributed to his increased comfort late in the race. However, Sexton put the blame solely on himself that he needed to figure it out.

“We made a few bike changes, but I mean honestly I needed a ride the track better and I kind of acknowledged that mid first moto,” said Sexton “I just couldn’t figure it out and this this track has never really like been my absolute favorite for some reason. I kind of had to put that behind me.

“I found some good lines and was able to kind of jump around the track and make it more fun. When you’re having fun, you go faster. So that was kind of the whole thing for me today. I didn’t want to override the track because it is a sand track, but you can have some big get offs out here. I didn’t really want to push it past the limit and was just riding within myself.”

This is becoming a trend for Sexton in that he has been noticeably better in the second motos since Hangtown. He crashed while passing into the lead of the second moto at Thunder Valley, then led a few laps of the second moto at High Point before another crash pushed him back to second.

While the second moto rides are proof that Sexton is on the doorstep of more moto and overall wins, the lack of consistency between the two motos has been hurting him. While Hunter Lawrence has managed to hang onto the championship lead, Jett Lawrence has been surging winning each of the last three overalls and is now tied with Sexton for P2 in the standings.

If Sexton is going to stop the bleeding, he’ll likely have to turn things around in the first motos first.

“It seems that we miss the mark first motos for some reason,” said Sexton. “Whether it’s me or the bike, it’s kind of been both so we have to figure that out. We can’t be giving points away in the first moto, that’s not ideal. Then you kind of come out and you really have your back against the wall second moto, so you have to make it happen. I’m trying to fix that.”

Image: Octopi Media.

With the variance of Sexton, the consistency of Hunter Lawrence, and the consistent winning of Jett Lawrence, the 450MX title fight is as close as can be through five rounds. Three points separate the three riders heading into the true halfway point this weekend at RedBud.

While Jett Lawrence continues to ail from his shoulder injury sustained at Hangtown, Sexton or Hunter Lawrence could take a big step towards the championship by winning in the next few weeks. Though Jett has been winning the overalls, it’s clear there’s room to sneak in there as Sexton just proved at Southwick.

On top of that, RedBud is Sexton’s pseudo-home race for the Illinois native and he’s keen to get back on top in front of his home crowd in five days.

Barcia Will Be Back!

"I'm not done in 2025. No chance."

Paolo Ciabatti talks Ducati in MXGP

Prado Takes Indonesia

Red Bull GasGas factory rider Jorge Prado just gets it done, even when at times it seems unlikely. Despite one of his rivals, Jeffrey Herlings winning the Saturday qualifier and opening race on Sunday, and the Dutchman leading the second race as well, Prado came through, stayed calm and grabbed the Grand Prix victory from the jaws of defeat.

It is something Prado had done a couple of times this year and these wins are even more impressive, because they come with real resistance. Resistance from Herlings and also from another five-time World champion, Tim Gajser.

His win in the opening Lombok GP made sure he not only won his 45th GP of his career and seventh in 2024, but it also saw him gain valuable points in series leader Gajser. With the series half over, and the second half seeing a variety of different circuits, the win in Lombok was the perfect way to start what will be a very exciting and dramatic finale to the 2024 MXGP championship. We caught up with the champion and below is what he told us.

MXLarge: First of all, you seem really happy. How do you feel with this win?
Jorge Prado: You know, after Italy, it is amazing to get another victory, it is already the seventh from the season. Moto two in Maggiora I couldn’t do anything. A rider crashed in front of me, and I just went over the bars. I hit myself pretty hard and it was just a pity. I lost 25 points, but no problem, we came back strong. It was very physical today and the track was very rough. Conditions didn’t make it easier, also the weather, everything was just heavy. Happy with the victory. Second moto I had a good jump and Jeffrey got my from the inside and I thought their was no space, but he found it (room to make a pass). Second corner, before the waves, I tried to change the line and I hit some mud and went off the track and Tim passed me there. The track was, I need to say, quite bad and I think nobody enjoyed riding this kind of track. We have time to prep and make for nicer racing, but it is what it is, and I am happy with the victory. Hopefully the next round we have some nicer dirt.

You look like you could push when you had to, and you were riding really well.
Yes, I was riding really well. I felt better already in the warm-up this morning. First moto I was behind Jeffrey all the time and we were pushing really hard and getting away from everyone, then at one point at the end of the moto, I got a little closer, but just couldn’t get enough. I just said, okay, it’s enough for this one. Second moto I think my riding was even better. The track was super slippery, and I also made some mistakes, but I managed to stay on the bike the whole time and have a consistent rhythm and I was happy with my fitness right until the end. I managed to get out of here with the victory and even closer to the championship points lead.

I can imagine the points are more important than the actual GP win?
Yes, exactly, but everything matters, also the GP win. Gaining another GP victory makes me very happy, and it is needed for the confidence to prove the hard work, so a little bit of both. We made good ground on Tim, especially in that second moto. Super happy about the weekend.

Both those guys in front of you crashed, you stayed calm and got the win, I wouldn’t say you were lucky, because not crashing takes some talent on a track that was as wet as that was, but how did you see it?
Lucky for sure not. I also went off track, when I was charging trying to get Jeffrey in the first lap, because of the mud. He made a mistake in the mud, and I didn’t. Tim, what happened with Tim, I just passed him. ...I was the best today and that is why I won. We are getting close to the championship lead, and I won.

The speed of you three is a lot closer now, whereas in those first four rounds, you were just much quicker than Tim and Jeffrey. Is that more fun when the speed is closer, because all three of you are great riders and to battle riders like that must be nice?
I mean, it’s close when we have mud races. I mean, it’s a mud race because these guys put so much water on the track and then it gets closer. I feel in dry conditions, there is still some gap. Look for example myself in Lugo, with dry conditions, in the qualification race, from P6 or something, I went and won the moto. Passing all these guys in front in the championship and the ones in the back, so, no. For sure there isn’t a big gap, Tim, Jeffrey and I are pretty similar. One guy is riding better in mud conditions another guy is riding better in dry and rutty another guy might be better when it’s more slippery and that makes it fun for the spectators.

We are here for a week now, are you going to enjoy yourself, or is it just work, work, work?
The day has 24 hours; I think we can do a little bit of both. With this nice weather, I think we can enjoy, but we keep putting the work in and get fit for the next one. I am not sure where we are going, but another part of the island, which is good for training and I have some Spanish friends here, so I will spend some time with them.

Reprint from MXlarge

Eric Phipps and Works Connection...The Beginning!

Reprint from Vitalmx

Works Connection owner Eric Phipps joins for this installment of Industry Insights.

Jamie Guida – Vital MX: Where did you grow up, and what is your first memory of riding on two wheels?

Eric Phipps: I was born and raised in Placerville, California, where I still am. My mom still lives here, and my whole life has been here. I don't remember exactly what drew me into dirt bikes as a kid. My parents were divorced, but my dad lived in Southern California, and he rode. I didn't get to see him very often, but I believe he tried to talk my mom into letting me have a dirt bike, and she kept putting her foot down. I was ten or eleven when she finally agreed to let me get my first bike, a hand-me-down from a kid at school. I bought it for $50, an old Briggs and Stratton minibike from Sears. It didn't even have a rear brake. A neighbor tried to help me rig up a rear brake, and I had that for a couple of months. My dad taught motorcycle mechanics, and they had a Z50 in the shop that they got running. He finally talked my mom into letting me have one, which became my bike. That's the first thing I had I call a 'real' motorcycle I had.

Vital MX: Once that happened, did you go all in and start buying magazines and want to ride constantly?

Eric: Oh yeah, for sure. I'd rip out pages of Motocross Action and Dirt Bike and all the walls in my room were covered in pictures of dirt bikes. I loved every part of dirt bikes. I had some buddies at school who were into it, and we would just ride by the railroad tracks near the house and fields here and there. We were just blazing trails and wanted to be on the bike with two wheels. It was hard to beat and still is.

Vital MX: You raced some as an amateur. Do you remember your first race?

Eric: Yeah. I went through a few bikes and finally got a 1980 YZ80. My parents took me to Sacramento Raceway for my first race. Of course, it didn't go so well, but it was fun, and I had some buddies there who were into it. Racing was kind of hit or miss. It wasn't really solid initially. I didn't start racing a lot until I turned 16 and could drive myself to the track. My mom got nervous watching and wasn't into it, and we didn't have the money to do it all the time. I had to wait and do it on my own once I got a job and could drive. 

Vital MX: Did you ever have the dream of going pro?

Eric: Oh, I think everybody has that, but it became apparent early that I didn't have the necessary speed, guts, or willingness to hang it all out. I'm pretty conservative and steady. I like to think that way, and I knew, "This isn't for me." I don't know that I even thought about it as a 'pro.' I just enjoyed racing. It wasn't anything I took too seriously.

Vital MX: Who was your favorite rider growing up?

Eric: The first guy I met in person was Bob Hannah. Bob was in town for Hangtown, and we were at Prairie City. Bob was riding a secondary track there, and I was just a kid on my YZ80, and I was in awe. I parked about a hundred feet from his box van and just watched him. I was too scared to go up because I was shy as a kid. I thought, "Man, that's Bob Hannah." He was definitely the first guy I looked up to, probably because I had seen him in person. I hadn't even been to Hangtown or any other races. 

Works Connection

Vital MX: When you were younger, your dad was building hot rod parts. That led to you working with him and eventually led to what is now Works Connection. Can you tell that story?

Eric: In 1988, my dad lived in Southern California, and I'm in NorCal (Northern California). I'm working at a wholesale electrical and plumbing supply company and am not enjoying it. It allowed me to ride and buy a bike, but he called me one day and needed help. He wanted me to move down there and help with his business. He worked out of his house and had a company that made shifters for old hot rods. They looked old school, and he found a niche thing that was selling. He was doing well, and I went down. He showed me everything from photography to dealing with vendors, and I would go to the chrome shop. I was dealing with all of the manufacturing side. I was living on his old, uncomfortable futon for a year. I was around 21, so I didn't care. He was paying me decent money, and I was getting to ride. It was cool being in the scene down there. After a year, I got homesick and wanted to move back. In the midst of that, my dad and I were having some discussion. He asked, "What do you think about building a product that could work in the motorcycle industry?" At the time, I had an '88 KX250 I had made myself a skid plate. That's kind of what started it. I kept seeing Jeff Ward and Ron Lechien's Factory Kawasakis. They had these cool skid plates, but nobody made them. Everyone made a desert or off-road style, but they didn't fit well, and I wanted to make one. I went into my dad's garage, and he had saws and some metal lying around, and I made one. I used conduit straps to hold it on, but it was more of a concept. So, when he mentioned that, the light bulb kicked on, and I thought, "You might be on to something." I moved back to my mom's house, where she had a little garage, and we set up. It took me a full year to get up and running before I ran my first ad. I returned to the plumbing and electrical place because I still needed money to live and ride. I ran my first ad in the January 1990 issue of Motocross Action. I still have that issue. It had Damon Bradshaw on the cover, and it was a big moment to flip it open and see my ad in there. We came to the market with skid plates for the 125s and 250s from the big four (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha). We also did front and rear caliper guards that I made from aluminum. Those were our first three products, but the skid plates were the main ones. 

Vital MX: Was the first 'big' break for Works Connection when Steve Lamson ran your products, which eventually led to you being a part of the Team Peak/Splitfire/Pro Circuit/Honda racing team in '91?

Eric: Yeah, 100% correct. We got started in 1990, and I was introduced to Steve. He was riding for DGY Yamaha, and I had parts on his bike. Steve was very instrumental because he knew a lot of the riders. He hooked me up with these guys and I had a lot of parts on the privateer's bikes. 

Vital MX: I'd assume the interest grew once people started seeing your parts on the pro's bikes. Were you prepared for the number of orders coming in?

Eric: It didn't really go like gangbusters. It was a fairly slow progression. That issue came out in late 1989, and we started building a little momentum until May or June. Things were going pretty well, but then they slowed down. I thought, "What is going on?" I was new to business and didn't know things slow down in the Summer. They still do to this day. I was worried, and it took a few years when I didn't know if it would work. That was the good part of being young and dumb. I figured if they didn't sell, I'd have some cool stuff to give my buddies. It's embarrassing to say, but that was my only plan. 

Works Connection

Vital MX: What were some of the biggest struggles in the first few years?

Eric: I was a one-man show and didn't have my first employee until 1993. That first Summer, when it slowed down, I actually worked at the machine shop where they were making some of my parts to make some money. I got to see how things were done and made and came up with some ideas to machine them a little better. So, it was a good experience. Once I got through Summer, things started picking up, and I was able to stop working there and focus on the business 100%. During that time, the machine shop was only ten minutes from my house. I'd go home for lunch, check the answering machine, and then return to the shop. Coming into '91, things started to pick up. I added Pro Circuit as a distributor, and Steve went to the Peak/Pro Circuit/Honda team, so we had skid plates on those bikes. Then (Jeremy) McGrath won the title. Our first title was actually with Ty Davis in 1990. He was on the On The Line Honda and won the 125 West Supercross championship. It was pretty cool to get things kicked off.

Vital MX: What about in the last ten years or so? Once the popularity of the company grew?

Eric: The biggest thing is growing pains. We leased the first building in '96. Up until then, it had been out of my house. Then, in '99, we built our first commercial building, which was 5000 square feet, and I thought there was no way I'd ever need anything bigger. With that comes employees, HR, and stuff I'm not so great at dealing with. In 2000, we probably had three to four employees, no benefits, and people were happy to work there. The benefits and those things were so foreign and caught me off guard. Everything else was still rockin' and rolling and solid until 2008. 2004 through 2006 were ridiculous years, and sales went through the roof.

Vital MX: What's the process for a new product, from idea to prototype to final product?

Eric: It's changed a lot. I used to draft everything on the drafting table. Now, we have an in-house full-time designer who does solid work. You can build mock-ups and see a lot of different things. Usually, we'll do a rapid prototype with a 3D printer, get some samples made, and test-fit it. Most of our products aren't necessarily for performance. Yes, we have our clutch perches and things, but we also do a ton of oil-fill plugs, engine plugs, and cosmetic items. Those are pretty simple. Getting into more elaborate items like our start devices gets a bit more complicated.

Works Connection

Vital MX: Is the Pro Launch Start Device your best-selling item?

Eric: It does really well, but we also have our radiator braces, our axle block kit for KTMs, and a fair amount of other things. I was talking to Kris Keefer about Aden because radiator braces are becoming so common due to riders gripping so tight with their knees that they damage the radiators without even crashing. In Aden's case, he was gripping so tight that he popped the bolt through the shroud from squeezing without a brace. 

Vital MX: Is there a product you tried that just didn't work out how you expected?

Eric: We have had a few. The one that comes to mind is when we developed shock coolers. It was basically like adding fins to the shock reservoir. It came flat, was thin enough to curve it to match your bike, and was held on with clamps. Surprisingly enough, the testing we did worked, and things cooled off. It just never caught on, so we eventually dropped them.

Vital MX: What has brought you the most joy or the coolest experience you've had because of working in the industry?

Eric: I get to do a lot of cool stuff, but probably the magazine rides we get to go to. We did some for RacerX when they were doing them at Zaca Station. Through MXA, we got to go to Glen Helen and ride. So, probably the track days or media days where they open up the track for industry people to come and ride. That is pretty cool. More than anything, I love to ride.

Works Connection

Vital MX: What are some things we can look forward to in the future that you are working on? Maybe some new colors on the Pro Launch device?

Eric: Yeah, yeah. We have some projects rolling that I can't discuss yet, but we are doing different colorways. We've always been sticklers for the Pro Launches to be red because, in my eyes, people see the red and know what brand it is. Finally, in my old age, we gave in and did the purple limited edition, which is still available. Coming soon, we're going to have blue and some other new colors on top of that. We are also working on some levers for hydraulic front brake and clutch setups because we know a day is coming when there are no cable clutches around.  

Rumor KTM Dropping Two Strokes?

How do these stupid rumors get started?

KTM’s 2026 two-stroke range is reportedly under development as we speak.

If you’re an enduro and motocross fan, chances are you’ve seen some articles circulating online stating that KTM is discontinuing its two-stroke range of dirt bikes from 2026 onwards. With ever-tightening emissions regulations year after year, this certainly isn’t surprising.

But is it even true?

Well, luckily, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, as it seems that KTM has no intentions of killing off its two-stroke models, at least for now. This was confirmed by the folks over at Zona Enduro in Romania, who contacted KTM Romania regarding the matter. According to area sales manager Emilian Stefan, the rumors circulating are all “fake news.”

 

2025 KTM XC And XC-F Are Ready To Rip Up The Trails© RideApart.com

But the folks at Zona Enduro didn’t stop there. They went straight to KTM’s Off-Road Product Marketing Manager, Diete Engelbrecht regarding the matter, and he was quick to clear the air. “KTM will continue to produce two-stroke enduro bikes! That fake news has reached our ears, we will come with an official statement to clarify the situation to reassure our fans. Yes, for the 2026-2027 models we are already developing the engines that must pass the Euro5+ standard, but there is no question of stopping production,” he said.

RideApart has also reached out to KTM, as well as to Diete Engelbrecht directly, and is still waiting for comment. We’ll be sure to update this story once we hear back from Diete, but for now, we can all rest easy knowing that our beloved orange two-stroke machines will brap into the future.

Contrary to popular belief, two-stroke engines can indeed run clean, and comply with the latest emission standards. Sophisticated injection and exhaust systems—like KTM’s transfer port injection—mean that today’s two-stroke machines are pretty clean and efficient. In fact, nearly all enduro and off-road manufacturers continue offering two-stroke bikes.

And so, while electrification is indeed making its way into the mainstream motocross and enduro scene, there’s no denying that there’s still a place for the good old two-stroke. And hopefully, as manufacturers continue to push the boundaries of what an internal combustion engine can do, they’ll be around for many more years to come.

Retired Cairoli and Ducati Win in Italy

The Ducati Desmo450 MX dominated the fourth round of the Italian Pro-Prestige MX1 Motocross Championship thanks to wins for Alessandro Lupino and Tony Cairoli. The eight-time Italian Champion conquered the red plate reserved for the leader of the classification, giving the Desmo450 MX its first overall victory, while the nine-time world champion contributed to another memorable chapter in the history of Ducati Corse Offroad with a victory in race 1 on his debut riding the Borgo Panigale bike.

In the first heat, on extremely difficult track conditions due to the heavy rain that fell since the early hours of the morning, Lupino and Cairoli took the lead thanks to a perfect start which saw them go into the first corner in first and second position. The two riders led the race, alternating in the lead for seven laps, at the end of which the stewards displayed the red flag due to the prohibitive weather conditions. The classification, frozen at the end of the previous lap, therefore, saw Cairoli as the winner ahead of Lupino.

The second heat saw a repeat of the lightning-fast start of the Ducati riders, with Lupino ahead of Cairoli. The race revolved around a battle between the two, and at the end Alessandro Lupino narrowly prevailed, thus scoring the second victory of the day for the Ducati Off-Road team and the Desmo 450 MX. Alessandro's first and second place allowed him to conquer the overall ranking of the day, and also powered him to the top of the championship standings, with two races remaining. Lupino also won the Holeshot award.

The extreme conditions of the track during the first heat, and Tony's participation in the Ponte a Egola race allowed Ducati engineers to collect more valuable data for the development of the Desmo450 MX, with a view to entering production in 2025.

The next round of the Italian Motocross Championship is scheduled from August 31st to September 1st on the Castiglione del Lago (PG) track. After a short holiday break in the next few days, Alessandro Lupino and Tony Cairoli will resume an intense testing program in the months of July and August.

Josh Mosiman...Why I Switched from 350 to 450