Jorge Prado has shown flashes of his old self outdoors this year but it probably isn’t quite up to his 2024 form, with a podium at Pala, then a DNF -13 thanks an engine failure and an outside gate pick at Hangtown seemingly killing his momentum. Prado then went 7-5-3-5 in the last four motos with, amazingly, no holeshots in eight moto’s so far in Pro Motocross!
Prado himself has said he expected more and feels he is still rebuilding himself back to his real level after his tough 2025, when he spoke to Lewis Phillips after High Point.
In the Title 24 Podcast, Ricky Carmichael and a very switched on Chad Reed gave their view with Reed offering his insight also based on helping Prado during his Kawasaki struggles.
Carmichael said: “I expected more out of Jorge Prado, I think he has under performed. I don’t like what I saw this weekend in the second moto. AP was all over him and he was blocking him, it looked to me like he was on life support. We have raced guys like that, they will cut you off, ride a wide bike – nothing wrong with that. But normally when you pass them they throw out the sail and it’s game over, but then AP passes him then he dogs the dude for five more laps! Listen I expected more from him, where are you at with Prado?
Reed replied: “I got to be around Jorge a lot last year and understanding his shortcomings and the struggles he had last year and how much more positive he is about the bike and team and being back to his more normal. I probably would agree I expected him to be a little more in it, kinda more similar to the Pala weekend. He has done a million laps around Pala because he is California based and KTM based right there (30 minutes away), so I think that makes a lot of sense.
He started the year as a 2-2, I think he was good, the next weekend he was there and then had a DNF, then came from a far outside gate. So I agree but then I would say learning American tracks and the AMA racing outdoors…when I showed up in AMA outdoors, I was 20 years old, I had been pro since I was 16 and raced in Australia, New Zealand, raced in England and raced GPs. I felt like I was well versed in Motocross and actually a really good motocross rider.
There is just something about the AMA Nationals and how the American riders race and it takes some learning and getting used too, so is that playing a role? The riding and the racing, You see him sometimes he looks left footed, he’s here but he wants to be there.
When we raced MXoN there are typically 6 AMA racing guys and the rest GP guys and the tracks develop in a totally different way. We learn it but it’s really different than the US, so I think he is possibly struggling with that, he is always in the wrong place at the wrong time, doesn’t look as flowy.
Watch more below from 48 minutes in:
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