Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Jorge Prado made a strong statement in his Pro Motocross debut, proving he’s a championship contender with a solid sixth overall (7-6) finish at the Fox Raceway season opener. Teammate Jason Anderson demonstrated his speed in Moto 2, securing seventh overall (9-5).
In the 450MX Class, Prado and Anderson kicked off the weekend by qualifying eighth and ninth, respectively. When the gate dropped for Moto 1, the pair found themselves in familiar territory, rounding the first turn in the same positions they qualified. Prado quickly adjusted to the rough, rutted conditions and began working his way toward the Top 5, while Anderson settled into a battle just inside the Top 10.
A few early mistakes pushed Anderson back to 12th, but he regrouped and climbed back to 10th by Lap 5. Prado maintained a steady pace inside the Top 10, holding seventh for most of the race and finishing there. Anderson capitalized on mistakes from riders ahead to secure ninth at the checkered flag. Moto 2 saw a repeat of the duo’s familiar start, once again launching in eighth and ninth. This time, Anderson wasted no time and surged into fifth on the opening lap. Prado took a more measured approach but picked up the pace as the moto wore on, laying down his fastest lap on Lap 5 and overtaking Anderson for fifth. As the race neared its end, Anderson responded with a late charge of his own, reclaiming the position and crossing the line in fifth. Prado wrapped up his Pro Motocross debut with a strong sixth-place finish aboard his Monster Energy® Kawasaki machine.
After a strong showing at Fox Raceway with all riders stacking moto finishes in the Top 10, both Kawasaki teams are focused on learning and building on that momentum into Round 2 at the annual Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California next weekend.
Jorge Prado:
“Round 1 is done here at Fox Raceway and I’m a little bit disappointed. I expected more, but realistically, it’s fair that we struggled. I’m coming off an injury, and on top of that, I’ve never raced outdoors on the Kawasaki. We only had four weeks on the new bike, trying to build a setup, so it’s normal that it wasn’t 100%. But that’s the mentality of a racer—you always want to be battling up front. And as a world champion, even more so, especially when you’re used to it. Still, the season has started. We got some good feedback, we know what to work on, and hopefully the next rounds will be better. Qualifying was okay—nothing crazy. I was trying to push a bit to get a better start. I made some passes on the first lap, but then I lost the rear wheel of the rider ahead and had to push to the end. I was catching the two guys ahead of me in the final laps, but it wasn’t quite enough. The second moto was P6—a little better than the first one. Small steps. I did my best, and that’s what counts.”
Jason Anderson:
“Coming into the weekend with just seven days on the bike, I didn’t really know what to expect. In the first moto, I was able to just ride around, conserve some energy, and ended up ninth. In the second moto, I was able to dig deep and put in a little more effort to get into the Top 5. So it was nice to be able to do that, and hopefully we can keep building.”
