A nail-biting quest for the 2024 MXGP World Championship was only part of Jorge Prado's whirlwind year, as he was also shopping for a ride in America with plans to race full-time SMX in 2025. After racing the first four rounds of Monster Energy Supercross in '24, he actually signed with Monster Energy Kawasaki before he headed back to Europe to pursue another MXGP crown. After that the full focus went to motocross back home, until now, when he can finally reveal his plans for 2025 and beyond.   Jason Weigandt caught up with Prado to learn about what it took to get here, and what he hopes to accomplish.   The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

"All of your guys were around when four-strokes came out," said the AMA's Mike Burkeen in Thursday night's AMA Arenacross press conference. "The rules were made and it turns out they weren't very good. They basically killed off the two-strokes. Once it happened we couldn't put the genie back in the bottle. With the electric bikes we didn't want to go full-bore and then just cut it off if we find out it doesn't work. Because everyone has made purchasing decisions already, then we'll have all these guys that they bought under what they would say were bad pretenses. So we want to walk before we run, but we definitely want to run. What that looks like? Nobody knows?"

Arenacross can serve as the testing ground to see where electric could fit, so a new stand-alone class for Stark Varg electric bikes has will fit into the Arenacross structure for 2024-2025. Have a listen to last night's press conference as the series explains the new class, and hear from riders like Josh Hill and Justin Bogle. Don't worry, the traditional AMA Arenacross class for 250s and 450s remains, with Kyle Peters trying to hold off riders like Ryan Breece and Vince Friese to notch a record sixth-straight championship. But in the Dash for Cash, it will be electric versus combustion! All the stars are here to talk about their prospects before tonight's season opener in Reno, Nevada.

The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

Few remember that in 2019, when Austin Forkner was ascending in the sport and threatening a perfect season in 250SX East Region, that Jordon Smith was actually the closest rider to him. Forkner's eventual ACL injury and a title for a young Chase Sexton later become the story. By then, Smith had hurt his wrist, and struggled for years to solve that injury. In fact, he thought his career might be over. 

After missing major chunks of racing over the next few seasons, including two frustrating seasons with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, he took the pressure off during a brief run with Firepower Honda. 

Then Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing called, and Jordon's career rebuild was really taking shape. Now he's got a new deal with Triumph that could stretch to three years and the 450 Class. Jason Weigandt rings him up for this podcast.

The Racer X Exhaust is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

New team deals are getting announced later than ever, as we still await Monster Energy Kawasaki announcing its new deal with Jorge Prado for the 450 class in 2025. But Triumph just announced its 2025 team, featuring Austin Forkner, Stilez Robertson, Jordon Smith and the returning Jalek Swoll. We also have seen Pierce Brown on his new Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine, and know that Star is signing new amateur talent like Caden Dudney. Plus GasGas moves away from Troy Lee Designs and into the same program as Rockstar Husqvarna, including Rockstar sponsorship. Jason Weigandt talks about all of these moves, and then talks to Triumph U.S. Team Manager "Scuba" Steve Westfall to hear how Year 1 went for the new brand. Scuba doesn't hold back!

The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X brand.

Maximus Vohland is a second-generation rider, the son of former AMA National and Supercross winner Tallon Vohland. That would make it seem like his path to the pros has been easy, but you'll find that is absolutely not the case.

Jason Weigandt catches up with Max, who is just getting back on the bike after a hip injury ruined his 2024 season. The injury left Max with extreme nerve pain, and fighting to fight off the potential of getting addicted to pain medication. That's not all. In this podcast Max will explain how his plan to race EMX in Europe as an amateur that washed away with COVID. He'll also talk about his sister's traumatic brain injury suffered while riding a horse, and how her own comeback trail has inspired him to keep fighting. Max's goal? Get to the podium, make some money and buy his sister a horse! 

The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura. Also, subscribe to Racer X Illustrated and get our new 2025 calendar coming soon!

The 2024 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations was an awesome event, but even the incredible emotional highs of that day have begun to fade nearly two weeks later. But Jason Weigandt isn't done talking about it -- or talking about anything, ever -- so now that he's home he logs this wrap up for the MXoN weekend.

From the team and race results, to the atmopshere of the race, to the MXGP team set ups and even some cultural observations, Weege wraps up an unforgettable event that pretty much marked the 100th year of motorcycle scrambles racing in England.

The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

We all know the trials and tribulations of Team USA for this year's Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, but what other teams are worth a look? Jason Weigandt runs down the rosters and breaks the event down to its strongest squads. Things are looking good for teams like France, Australia, and the Netherlands, plus Spain and the USA, but what will it take to win? Can the home country make some noise? Will Tim Gajser's squad get in and set up an all-time final moto with one of the most stacked starting gates ever seen at a motocross race? So much on the line. Here's what you need to know.   The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and Racer X Brand.

The SMX Playoffs host an awesome hour-long podcast mashup show each Friday night at 5 p.m., with James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Steve Matthes of PulpMX, and Jase Macalpine from Gypsy Tales, hosted by Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas. The fans even get to ask questions! Enjoy the best hour of bench racing you'll ever hear in this podcast.   The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura, On Track School, and Racer X Brand.

Jason Weigandt, Steve Matthes, and Jason Thomas preview the 2024 SuperMotocross Playoffs and World Championship in the audio version of our video. This is year two of a new format of racing for professional racing in the U.S. Chase Sexton and Haiden Deegan enter off of Pro Motocross Championships, while Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champions Jett Lawrence (450SX), RJ Hampshire (250SX West Region), and Tom Vialle (250SX East Region) would love to get more #1 plates. They're not the only players, too! Come bench race and argue with the boys before the playoffs begin this Saturday in Concord, North Carolina.    

The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura, On Track School, and Racer X Brand.

Jason Weigandt gets in on a KTM press conference with Chase Sexton, Ian Harrison and Pit Beirer to talk about the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship and big questions like what the summer could have been like if Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac had competed, the prospect of racing Jorge Prado in 2025, and why he's so strong late in the season and late in the motos.

The Racer X Exhaust podcast is hosted by Jason Weigandt and presented by Yoshimura, On Track School, and Racer X Brand.

 

Kawasaki Team Green had a renaissance week at this year's Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's, sweeping through four of the most coveted titles there: 250 and Open Pro Sport with Drew Adams, and 250B and Schoolboy 2 with Caden Dudney. Team Manager Ryan Holliday, though, can only chalk that up to good racing luck, because things haven't rolled the team's way like this in a long time. The team isn't alone in trying to change up the way it develops and evaluates riders, though, as Adams raced a bunch this year including competing in Canada to try to get in more gate drops. Holliday would like his riders to race more so they can learn more. This weekend's Scouting Moto Combine is a part of that. Jason Weigandt checks in to hear how the amateur game is changing.   The Racer X Exhaust podcast is presented by Yoshimura and On Track School, plus Racer X Brand.