Mosiman and Cooper Score Podiums at RedBud as Deegan Guts Out Tough Weekend

The biggest crowd of the season on the 2025 AMA Pro Motocross Championship summer tour at “America’s Motocross Track,” the hallowed grounds of RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich., greeted the Monster Energy-backed racers aboard the Yamaha and Kawasaki brands, along with a ‘special guest star’ making his American motocross debut aboard the new Monster Energy-shod Ducati Desmo450.

Above the din of the famous “RrrredddBuuuddd” chants, fireworks, the occasional wound-out chainsaw motor and tons of air horns it’d be Monster Energy’s Michael Mosiman (Star Racing/Yamaha) and Justin Cooper (Star Racing/Yamaha) that would rise to the occasion, scoring 3^rd place podium finishes in their respective 250 and 450 classes.

“The pace was hot for me to get up to the lead, and then try to sprint away,” explained Cooper. “Got a little tired at the end, had to regroup. Overall it was a good day for me. Felt good on the bike, comfortable, which is important and goes a long way to keep making that progress.”

Added Mosiman on his first 250 class podium effort of the season: “After taking so much time off (due to a crash) you wonder ‘Can you still do it? Can you get back up to that speed?’ It’s been three years since I’ve really raced a whole outdoor series. So it’s re-learning the tracks, re-learning where you stack up in the competition. You wonder ‘Can you still do it? Question and doubt, but sticking to the work, trusting what I’ve been doing has obviously led to good results.”

The 250 class opened with series points leader, Monster Energy’s Haiden Deegan (Star/Yamaha), wadding up in the second session of qualifying and suffering what was reported as a deep thigh bruise (aka a “Charley Horse”). After having some issues in the opening moto (14^th), Deegan rallied back to 2^nd place in Moto 2 and salvaged a 5^th place overall finish – his worst of the year.

“Every athlete has to go through it… it is what it is,” said Deegan of the pain in his leg. “I had to punch myself in the head in the second moto.” Deegan still leads Honda’s Jo Shimoda, who went 1-1 at RedBud, by 38 points, 274-236, with five more rounds remaining in the 11-round series.

In the 450 class it’d be Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Eli Tomac that would run into bad luck as his bike began to smoke just past the halfway point of Moto 1. Tomac tried to nurse the YZ450F back around the track to the mechanics area, only to have the bike cease to run – which earned him a rare moto DNF. With that zero point effort Tomac dropped from 2^nd to 4^th in the overall standings, four points back of teammate Cooper in 3^rd position (221-217).

And in the debut of the Monster Energy Ducati Desmo450, European great Antonio Cairoli placed 9^th in the opening 450 moto, then was running in an impressive 4^th position on Ducati’s brand new entrance into the world of dirt bikes when he was forced to retired from the race with an undisclosed mechanical issue.

Overall Standings (6 of 11 rounds)

Notes & Quotes

• Upward movement in the 250 class for Monster Energy-backed racers as Kitchen bumped up into an overall podium position (3^rd) after RedBud, Mosiman moved up from 7^th to 6^th overall and Hammaker slipped into the top ten (10^th). The 450 class saw Cooper click into the overall podium as well (3^rd from 5^th).
• “My front disc brake guard was loose, and it eventually came off. But it was kind of scary there for a second.” – Cooper on a weird noise he was hearing while leading 450 Moto 1.
• Monster Energy was led in qualifying by Deegan (250) in the No. 2 position with a 2:08.563 best lap and Cooper (450) in the No. 3 position with a 2:05.252 best lap.
• They’ve been racing at RedBud since 1974, making the circuit the oldest active track on the AMA Pro Motocross Championship tour.
• In addition to the Monster Energy/Ducati Desmo450 making its pro debut on American soil at RedBud, Cairoli will also contest the Spring Creek MX National this coming weekend (July 12) in Minnesota.
• Though his results weren’t near what he’d planned on, Tomac did come away from RedBud with a historic milestone – his 100^th career outdoor national start.
• “I actually fell twice on the first lap. I got forward and I fell… and I thought ‘I’m going to have my work cut out for me. I just put my head down and my training paid off.” – Kitchen on his 2^nd place 250 Moto 1 effort.
• Monster Energy’s Prado (Kawasaki) looked like his multi-time MXGP overall champion self in the second 450 moto, starting out in 2^nd and taking the lead for the first six laps before being passed by fellow Monster Energy-backed racer Cooper.

Up next: The 2025 Outdoor MX Nationals remain in the Midwest for the annual running of the FXR Spring Creek National, presented by Frescados, scheduled for July 12^th in Millville, Minn. For more information on the AMA Pro Motocross Championships, link to www.promotocross.com