Jorge Prado showed his MXGP level of speed for the first time in America and was able to battle Jett Lawrence for a while in what Jorge said was his best performance in America. The Spaniard said bike changes that were made to his KTM machine, putting it back to setting more similar to his MXGP machine, all at his own request, have made a huge difference to his comfort level and speed.
Prado commented in the press conference: “It was nice to battle again for wins and getting back to real speed. So I was very happy about my performance today. During the break, we made some changes to the bike that I was quite convinced was going to make a difference, but you never know until you go racing. And it already showed in practice when I was already feeling good and it did again at the races. So, no, I’m very happy. And, you know, and the whole Red Bull KTM racing team put a good effort during the week to make things happen. And yeah, we’re in a good way.”
Jorge was asked when he felt he was last riding at that level and he replied: “Probably back in ’24. It’s when I was back in MXGP. That’s when I felt I was this kind of speed. I think today, during that second moto, we really showed, Jett and myself that, you know, we pulled away from everyone. So we had a great speed out there.
“It’s just that I think obviously I’ve been riding a bike back in Europe that I raced and that I trained for a lot of few years and developed riding outdoors. And then this year we started with more of an American set up. And now we went back a little bit more into that older set up, and that was actually working. So we tried that and it definitely made a good step in a right direction, plus they also came up with some stuff. So we made that old set up even better. So the whole combination of everything is making that we are again competitive and fighting for wins.
“So yeah, I think, you know, this is also my first year with KTM here in the U.S, so we’ve got to learn each other and we are doing it this year. And hopefully next year we bring that through the new bike that’s coming as well.”
Why didn’t he start with his MXGP set-up at the beginning of the year? “Well, the reason why we didn’t go that direction is because 99% of the KTM riders are in a whole different set up. So then we started with that. But yeah, that 1% (Jorge) needs something different. And the good thing is that they also understood that we could get better, right? And that’s what we need as a team. We only want to get better. And together we got here to Unadilla and we are back fighting for wins. So that’s super positive for me. And thanks also to them because they’re open-minded.”
On battling Jett and the backmarkers: “Yeah, so I got into, I was around 5th, I think, or something at the start, and then I got quick into 3rd. And then I was just behind Jett the whole moto. I think 4 laps to go, that’s when the gap got a little bit bigger. I made, in one lap, a little mistake, but the gap still wasn’t super big. And then we got into the first lappers and that’s where I lost way too much time. I was struggling with keeping the speed through lappers. This is something I need to improve.
“It has always been a little problem for me. I’m not so good passing all these lapped riders, they also don’t make it easy. But yeah, I just need to get better. He’s very good at it. He just keeps pretty much the same speed, but just passing people. So that’s the only difference, really. I had a good pace. I tried to pass him. I actually did. He passed me back and it was a nice fight for the victory.”
It looks like the real Jorge Prado has arrived in America, later than even he expected but it is great to see the four-time world champ being able to start to show his real level in US racing, let’s hope it continues this weekend!
Who had the best @oakley Overtake from Unadilla? 🤔
1️⃣ Jorge Prado
2️⃣ Chance Hymas #ProMotocross #SMX #Oakley pic.twitter.com/adXMrtmOLF— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 17, 2026
