2023 Thunder Valley Motocross | Kickstart Recap & Gallery

We've noticed that some of the highest blocks on the line belong to the tallest riders; case in point with Carson Mumford. Looking at this setup gives us a few questions to ask Carson the next time we see him; it'd be cool to know how he came to find the perfect height, if this is an old amateur technique, and what it's like to power the bike through the small gap with the starting grate.

The starting grates were installed on Friday afternoon, a 40-gate/160-stake job that the three-man crew knocked out quickly. Every metal sheet is evenly spaced from the gate, using a small block as the spacing template.

Caden Braswell was the only rider in the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing rig at Thunder Valley, an experience he reflected upon nicely during HWYW. The team's initial plans for the rookie was just four races, but with Mosiman getting hurt at Hangtown, Brown aiming for a RedBud return, and Barcia dealing with a damaged plate on his collarbone, it sounds like Braswell will keep the spot indefinitely.

One Jump, Two Angles with Joshua Varize

One Jump, Two Angles with Joshua Varize

We're gonna be like Brain Fleck looking at the rear tires run by the 250 Class this summer. A few guys went for the scoop at Thunder Valley, mainly during the wet and heavy practice sessions, and most switched to an intermediate knob later in the day. The tread debate will be heated at tracks like RedBud/Spring Creek/Budds Creek/Ironman, but knobbies will win out at High Point/Washougal/Unadilla, and paddles at Southwick (obviously).

Justin Cooper has been just as consistent as he's been quick during Timed Qualifying. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider was at the top of the timesheet through both sessions at Thunder Valley after just one push in the first outing (2:18.219 on lap three) and an alternating run of heaters and cool downs in the final practice (2:19.000 on lap two, 2:32.664 on lap three, 2:18.022 on lap four, 2:40.248 on lap five, 2:16.477 on lap six).

Cooper Webb's always-in-it approach is working, and with 4-5-4-2-2-5 moto scores to start the summer, he's been on the podium twice and tied Chase Sexton at the top of the season-long SMX standings. The Red Bull KTM rider told us he's doing better than his modest expectations were for the early part of the season and thinks more time on the bike, especially in race conditions, will help him hit his stride around RedBud.

Shoutout to Matt Burkeen. The East Coast privateer is in for the entire Pro Motocross Championship and aims to do it in a Toyota Tacoma pick-up with a YZ250, gear bags of belongings, and his girlfriend. Burkeen's lined up for all six motos so far and posted 32-31-34-26-34-28 finishes. You can follow the eleven-round adventure through Matty B's online channels (@mattburkeen on Instagram and @mattburkeen820 on YouTube) and support the trip by pre-ordering from the first merchandise run (https://forms.gle/YsY4P9wBtUwukE4J6).

Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing has confirmed that Michael Mosiman will be sidelined for the rest of the summer due to the Hangtown crash and shoulder injury that required surgery. The team is hopeful that Mosiman can return in time for SMX, which is three months from now, but said getting the rider back to total health after a difficult year is everyone's priority.

Add "dig wash bay trench and install sump pump" to the Friday setup list for the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing team.

It looks like someone still needs to get to the part of the HJC safety booklet where it says not to keep a helmet near gas cans.

Bronson McClure will be one of the riders under the Manluk/Rock River Yamaha tent this summer, as the Colorado native joined the team at round three. This was McClure's third time lining up at the Thunder Valley National, and with 31-34 finishes for 32nd overall, matched his 2021 result (he went 29-30 aboard a Husqvarna).

The sighting laps are a lot mellower for mechanics these days. Twelve gate drops have given us a small idea of what Pro Motocross with grates can be, and because it's early, the jury is still out on if it's better or worse. An even pack on the high-speed starts at High Point, Spring Creek, Washougal, and Unadilla could get dicey.

Tyson Johnson and Jett Reynolds were among the many caught in the 250 Moto One pile-up and got taken straight from the track to the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit for leg (Johnson) and arm (Reynolds) injuries. After seeing what happened to Reynolds in the crash– being caught up with Chance Hymas, having his hand pulled off the bars, careening into the pack, and eating a rear tire– that he only expects to miss High Point is astounding. Here's hoping Johnson's issue is also minor and that we'll see Chicken Little at Washougal.

Guillem Farres got it the worst. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider was four gates over from Reynolds, but got clipped by the Kawasaki from behind, pushed toward and hit Hunter Lawrence, slid off the back of his Yamaha, and injured his arm in the tumble. Fortunately for the Spaniard, the team got him into surgery at the renowned Steadman Clinic in nearby Vail on Sunday, and he was back in Florida by the middle of the week.

What makes live coverage of Pro Motocross on Peacock possible? Miles and miles of wire stretched around the National tracks.

Props to the local band (Fuzzhead?) that Thunder Valley hired to play during the downtime between practice sessions and motos. We didn't hear them play, to be honest, but liked the DIY approach to merch sales.

Checkered flag celebration or gesture to a lapper? If this is the only summer we'll see Cooper, Lawrence, Shimoda, Hampshire, and Deegan all in a top-five fight, please let there be plenty of hard passes, psych-out attempts, and podium comments.

Starting line litter patrol...

And sweep crew.

Once again, Ty Masterpool was the story of the weekend, and rightly so. The privateer did a pair of 2:18s during the final practice session (2:18.627 on lap two, 2:18.555 on lap five), and either would have put him third overall in the Timed Qualifying results. He got up from a first-turn crash in Moto One in last place and passed back up to fifth, battled with factory riders through all of Moto Two for a fourth result, and ended the day sixth overall. The 21-year-old will get plenty of attention at High Point and, given his record at the track, even more at RedBud.

Roll-on power.

Yes, that "Terren O'Dell" on the results sheet in the 450 Class is the same "Terren O'Dell" that used to be at every important amateur event. The Arkansas native/apparent California resident was 46th in Timed Qualifying, raced his way into the show with a runner-up finish in the LCQ, did 13 laps in each moto for 26 total, and finished a seriously impressive 37th overall. If you want to know what happened to O'Dell over the years, Troy at VurbMoto put this article together a few years back. (https://www.vurbmoto.com/troy-dogs-shack-i-owe-terren-odell-an-apology/)

Fastest qualifier in every practice session. Four out of six holeshots. Leader of every lap so far (92). Six moto wins and three overall victories. 150 points. This is going to be a crazy stat line come Ironman.

Jim Perry checks in with the podium finishers after every moto to hear what they think about the track or if there are sections that need attention. His conversation starter with Jett after Moto One was hilarious to overhear, as he quipped, "It didn't look like anything was wrong for you."

Podium pro Adam Cianciarulo made sure his hat was straight before stepping onto the stage.

Technique check. There were plenty of ways to get through this rutted downhill turn, as shown by Hunter Lawrence...

Levi Kitchen

Chance Hymas

Ryder DiFrancesco

RJ Hampshire

Haiden Deegan

Justin Cooper

A third-place result in 250 Moto Two and a fifth-place overall finish might have shown everyone why Team Honda HRC signed Chance Hymas to a multi-year, amateur-to-pro contract. The Idaho teenager is all-in on being a red rider, as he's moved to Florida to work with the Lawrence family and will follow the same program that has produced five championships in the past three years.

They didn't show it on TV, but the Derek Kelley-Talon Hawkins row over fourteenth place had our total attention in 250 Moto Two. Kelley put up a good fight for a while, but a mistake jumping down the hill around the halfway point gave Hawkins the opening needed to make a move, and that was the end of it.

It's hard to believe that Thunder Valley has been on the schedule for nineteen years, and after 2020's abbreviated tour, RedBud and Spring Creek are the only tracks with longer uninterrupted tenures. The Colorado hard pack has changed considerably since the first visit in 2005, and elements like mulch, wood chips, and according to Broc Glover, horse manure have been mixed into the adobe to soften it.

How much longer will the run continue? Nearby drag strip Bandimere Speedway announced they would shut down at the end of 2023, and the property used as a parking lot across from the pro pits had a for sale sign posted at its entrance. That and continuing growth in Denver is enough to raise an eyebrow, but we've been told that the motocross track isn't in danger of becoming a housing development, thanks to the parks and designated trails surrounding it.

3-1-3-1-2-1. Hunter Lawrence is three for three on overalls this year, primarily due to the Moto Two wins. The Team Honda HRC rider is up by sixteen in the championship standings, but that's nothing compared to his gap in the combined SMX standings, where he has an 81-point advantage over RJ Hampshire.

This is what Justin Cooper meant when he said the front of his bike got tweaked from the Moto Two tumble. The rider was able to knock his front brake lever back into a usable position, but the clutch and handguard were out of sorts for fourteen laps.

Obligatory 30-Second Card Photo

It's a trip to stand at the top of the first-turn hill at Thunder Valley. The edge keeps you from seeing the actual gate drop, so you hear the roar from the 450s build just before they crest the top and hook right toward the holeshot stripe.

Jace Kessler was on the cusp of the top-20 in Moto Two when his CRF started to lose coolant, but after nine laps, the Michigan privateer was forced to DNF. "Hot and Steamy Action" is probably too common of a tagline on Onlyfans to get real clicks...

Dylan Ferrandis doesn't care that he's second overall in the championship. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider was brutally honest in his HWYW, and said that although the position is much better than he imagined when in a hospital a few months ago, his goals and efforts are all for wins and that anything else isn't enough.

Unsurprisingly, the grates are among the first items to be dismantled and loaded during the end-of-day tear-down. These guys had them ripped up before the halfway point of 450 Moto Two.

Stock shock bodies and production forks are going to be the next must-have items in the PowerParts catalog.