Riding the Wave

After a frustrating season of supercross in 2023, Tom Vialle exhibited major improvement in winning two races, earning a slew of podiums, and winning the 250SX East Region title. It’s hard to think he won’t do something similar in motocross. He’s a two-time MX2 world champion, and now knows the weekend routine, and tracks, of Pro Motocross after competing last year. He’ll be a threat to win at Fox Raceway this Saturday. We were saying the same about RJ Hampshire looking to carry momentum from his 250SX West Region title but he got hurt at Thursday's press day and is out for the opener. -Hansel

Flipping the Script

Losing isn’t fun, especially when, at one point, you’re in control of a championship. Just ask Levi Kitchen—he was crushing it in supercross, but after disaster in Nashville, went into the final round tied with Hampshire, who edged him for the championship. Well, Adam Cianciarulo was in a similar situation in 2019, but turned it into motivation to go out and win the 250 national championship. AC started out with a bang too, winning the first four overalls. Will things play out in a similar fashion for Kitchen? -Hansel

Easy Breezy

One of the most difficult parts of motocross is that it so often takes place in absolutely brutal conditions, with extreme summer heat being one of the toughest factors riders have to face. That’s usually true when Pro Motocross visits Southern California, but it won’t be this time. Earlier this week the weather service was predicting a high of 66 degrees Fahrenheit in Pala! If that holds true, the absence of oppressive heat will allow riders to go all out longer than usual. -Hansel 

Rookie Debut Part 2

Justin Cooper is riding high after his first ever 450SX podium, a second place at the season finale in Salt Lake. This, and the fact that he has always been strong outdoors should have him coming into the season with plenty of confidence. How will the rookie fare in his first ever AMA Pro Motocross in the premier class? -Sarah Whitmore

Rookie Debut Part 3

The 2024 AMA 250SX Rookie of the Year, Julien Beaumer will be lining up for his first full season of Pro Motocross this weekend (he did race the last two rounds last year). Joining him will be newcomers Casey Cochran, Preston Boespflug and Mark Fineis, who have all raced at least one national last summer. As well as Evan Ferry, who has never raced an AMA Motocross national, and it will be the first time we see him race since he hit the wall in the first turn in Detroit. How will these young guns fare against the seasoned veterans? -Whitmore 

The Veteran

Speaking of seasoned veterans, Joey Savatgy is back this year for 250 Pro Motocross. Since Joey has pointed out of the 250 supercross, Fox Raceway will be the first time we see him line up on the Triumph. The 30-year-old has won in this class before, so will he be able to do it again? -Whitmore

Monster Green

Ty Masterpool has signed on as a fill-in rider for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. Mitch Payton was set to have only Levi Kitchen on the starting line this weekend so he called up Masterpool, who had an excellent summer last year in the 450 Class. Masterpool accepted the Pro Circuit KX250 fill-in ride, but he did so after first calling up Matt Bell and the HBI Racing team (who he was fully set to race with again on a KX450 this summer). In a very classy Instagram on Friday, Bell and the HBI Racing crew confirmed Masterpool accepted the PC fill-in ride and that they “Could not be more stoked.” Bell said opportunities like this do not always come about and that their entire goal when starting a race team one year ago was to help privateer riders move forward. Goal accomplished. Shout-out to Bell and the HBI team for their video, which truly is worth a watch. They are genuinely excited for Masterpool, saying “He has a home here, this is not a goodbye.” So, where will the #29 stack up in the 250 field? -Mitch Kendra