Elevation awaits as round three of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and round 20 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship heads to Colorado this weekend. Thunder Valley is one of the more liked rounds of the series as the scenic backdrop alone makes this a must visit venue. Temperatures are often mild in early June, but this year might be an anomaly with highs pushing 90 on Saturday. Still, the great viewing, mountainous surroundings, and urban location are all huge coups.

As for the riders, this track comes with nuance. The elevation wreaks havoc on the motorcycle. Huge power loss is the number one issue, and teams will be scrambling to change engine components and ECU mapping to accommodate. Just how close they can replicate sea level type power is the million-dollar question. That powering up comes with risk, though, as more power often means less reliability. Higher performance immediately followed by a DNF is not a winning play. For those that are already at max capacity coming in, it’s more of manipulating what you may have versus pouring more on (think most 250’s). Changing the fuel map and adding rear sprocket sizing are the most likely implementations. The 450’s can add engine compression, change cams, and many other tricks that the layman like myself would assume are in play. One thing is for sure, though, almost every single rider will have the same comment on Friday: “my bike is so slow!”

The starts are always a talking point for this round because of the first gear dilemma. The power loss begs for a first gear start but many riders simply don’t like the abruptness of that first gear ratio. Some riders will offset that with a massive sprocket change but that also effects the rest of the racetrack. Simply leaving things as is and trying a second gear start is a great way to be 30th at the top of the hill. Watch for riders to do many, many starts on Friday however they can to get things sorted. This could include on the start itself or with a grate setup in the paddock somewhere (Honda does this every week). It’s impossible to replicate the elevation until they arrive so this is a mandatory process on Friday and Saturday morning.

The dirt in Colorado is interesting because if left to its own devices, it is incredibly hard packed. David Clabaugh and crew bring in lots of topsoil to add depth and texture to it, creating massive ruts, too. These can be really tricky, especially if there is any precipitation in the forecast. The 2023 rendition was a great example as the ruts were absolutely treacherous and created a very slow and methodical racetrack compared to some years. With temps in the 90’s on Friday and nearly that on Saturday, I don’t expect this type of scenario, but it is interesting to show the various faces this track can present.

The last note here is watch out for the Coenen brothers. Some will be shocked at what these kids have in the tank. I have no idea what jet lag, different bikes, different tracks, elevation, etc. will mean for their performance. But I do know enough to know that they are very fast and very adaptable. This is a huge win for the series to add them to the fold.

Levi Kitchen won his first race in a long while, even if he didn’t win a moto along the way. His riding is lights out at the moment, but the starts are a vulnerability.

Seth Hammaker overcame a big first turn crash that was likely his fault to grab a second podium in as many weeks. He was dominant in moto one and if he can eliminate the outlier chaos, he will be hard to stop.

Cole Davies won the second moto in convincing fashion. I am still not sure if this winning is going to just catch fire or if it will be an up-and-down dynamic. The jury is still out on championship chances but there’s no doubt that he’s figuring motocross out.

Julien Beaumer is hard to not cheer for. I didn’t know if he would ever race again. Yet here he is, already on the podium. Red Bull KTM has to be proud of this bounce back.

Jo Shimoda is iffy to land here as I still think he is underperforming to his potential, but this week was better than round one.

Nick Romano is fighting hard to stay near the front and you can literally see the “want to” in his riding. I have no idea what the future holds but he’s been better than I expected and deserves credit.

Jettson Lawrence was back doing Jettson Lawrence things. His mid-moto 1:55 was jaw dropping. Not so much that he can’t go that fast, I was just more concerned that he would have a drop-off in performance the second half, not set the fastest lap time of the moto.

Hunter Lawrence gave his little brother all he wanted but has been in this spot far too many times. It’s going to be a fascinating watch this summer as these two look to be the class of the field (shocker).

Haiden Deegan may still be off the back of the Lawrences but in true Deegan fashion, they are making strides to get to where they want to be. The starts were better, the pace was better, and he was closer to the lead than a week before.

Austin Forkner has had a miserable couple of weeks, mostly due to bad starts and crashes. Austin could do with a good weekend. I have tried to pay attention to him mid-moto and it has been nothing but adversity personified.

Caden Dudney was not able to back up his opening weekend success and will look to turn the page in Colorado.

Nate Thrasher ended up needing medical attention after the weekend and it’s safe to say the first two rounds have left something to desire.

Chase Sexton was reported to have a bit of a meltdown after moto one on Saturday and needs a good weekend. I have nothing but respect for what Chase can do but it feels very pessimistic from the outside looking in. The sport is better with Chase at his best and I am hoping to see that guy out there ASAP.

Justin Cooper got ragdolled in the second moto as Mikkel Haarup went down right in front of him. Heal up soon, J-Coop.

Aaron Plessinger cannot buy a break. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

Lucas Coenen almost misses the start of the first moto because he is still bench racing with James Stewart as the 30 board goes up.

Chance Hymas exits the Denver airport and immediately takes his shirt off and starts war chanting.

Haiden Deegan asks Lucas Coenen where Europe is.

Chance Hymas
Jo Shimoda
Seth Hammaker

Hunter Lawrence
Jett Lawrence
Lucas Coenen