Ironman is always one of the favorites among the racers but this year I heard more complaints from more than a few riders as the track seemed to have more wood chips in it than usual, which led to the base being very soft but also hard underneath. When we arrived Thursday for the Combine, the track wasn’t watered completely and send harder than I normally remember. Here are some things I witnessed (some in person) and noticed from the weekend.
Combine: The family and I headed from Hurricane Mills to Indiana for the Moto Scouting Combine. I don’t think anyone was scouting Aden Keefer as he sucked it up pretty bad. Getting cooked at LL’s the week before and racing the next weekend didn’t prove to be enough time for Aden to get recovered or ready for two 30 minute motos. Emnxo Temmerman didn’t exactly dominate the day but he did come away with the coverall win with a 2-2. Moto one winner Caden Dudney and moto two winner Landon Gibson were on fire but a bad start in moto two left Dudney buried in the back. Eighth place was the best he could do and that relegated him to a fifth place. Gibson’s 6-1 moto scores garnered him a second overall. There is a very fast crop of A kids coming and we will see Dudney and Gibson as well as Temmerman at Unadilla. In case people are wondering the whole day of the Combine is jam packed with meetings as well as qualifying/racing for the kids. The Combine is a good day to learn and that is what Aden did. He learned he needed to be in better shape as well as he will need better starts in the A class in order to be one of the guys in 2026.
Hunter Lawrence: Hunter was bound to get one of these soon and it came at Ironman. Yes, he got a gift from his brother, but he rode good ten though his bike didn’t look great. Yes, it could of been the track but I do think the factory HRC Honda showed some of its flaws on a edgy style track. Headshake, deflection and even some side to side movement from the rear end was apparent on Hunter’s bike. I didn’t see that much reaction from Jett’s bike but it also could be just their different styles. Hunter hung in and went 2-2 and that was good enough to get the overall. WIth a fading Tomac and a penalty for little brother, Hunter was the man of the day. Sometimes you have to be in it to win it and Saturday was one of those days.
RJ Hampshire: RJ had a few scary moments in the second moto but that didn’t stop him from charging for his first podium of the year and first motocross 450 podium ever! RJ is not the prettiest rider to watch ride but if you’re looking to learn about heart and grit, watch the number 24. He leaves it all out on the track and that is something that you can’t teach. In a world of hop, skip and a jump techniques, the dig and grit life is something that is not as noticeable these days as well as teachable.
Jorge Prado: Prado has been rumored to head to the orange squad for 2026 but again this could be a RUMOR. I have heard this from more than one person and to me it makes sense for both parties to part ways. Prado isn’t happy where he is at and Kawasaki can’t be happy with all the negativity towards the machine. It’s not a great look for either group. I do think if Prado likes what he is riding, he is much closer to the Jett/Chase speed than we may think. I heard he REALLY wants to just ride the bike in third gear and that even with the transmission and power changes Kawasaki has made for Jorge, it still isn’t working great for 61. A fifth place is better but Prado isn’t about the fifth place life.
Jett Lawrence: He hit the gate, it fell forward and he got docked a lap. Saw that coming! Why was he docked a lap? Well, it’s been in the rule book for quite sometime and I also think if the gate didn’t fall forward, he would NOT have been docked. Since the gate fell forward and he took off, there was more room for a penalty in my eyes. I mean is it excessive, but the rule has been there for a while so no need for conspiracy theories.
Haiden Deegan: A 1-1 and a 51 point lead going into Unadilla. I really hope he does win it at Unadilla so he can race a 450 at Budds. I think he should race the 450 but we probably won’t see it. I also heard Haiden will be in another gear brand next year and that is rumored to be A LOT of money. I will let Steve or someone else break that news as I don’t want the wrath of the Deegans or the gear companies. Deegan’s bike looked so good through the rough/choppy sections and it looks to me that the rear is still tall yet moves enough to soak up plenty of the chop that Ironman offered.
Tom Vialle: Looks like we lost Tom after this season to MXGP. Rumored to be going to HRC Honda for the MXGP season is not surprising as he was only offered a 1 year deal from KTM, so why wouldn’t you go get a 2-3 year deal with Honda to make more money as well as have more security with your future. Tom will go down in history as the most low flying two time 250 SX Champion we have seen. Not much hype, not much flash, not very many wins but effective nonetheless.
Drew Adams: The red head is coming around and a fifth place shows this. Being healthy as well as getting in better shape helps when trying to break into the top five at these hotter outdoor rounds. Even thought Drew is on the bigger side, he is very effective on his corning technique. He rides the bike strong and can sit into his corners stronger than some other riders in the top ten. What I mean by this is when the ruts get hard pack/jagged some riders try to finesse their way (or smooth out when it’s rough) but Drew keeps his RPMs up higher and really works his core through area 2-3 of these types of corners. Think about this: if there are 5-6 of these hard pack/deep ruts with holes/square edges/etc.per moto and you’re doing up to 17 laps that is over 100 corners per race that beats down your body. Drew is strong in these specific areas and that strength is getting shown near the end of these races. Sometimes you need a little meat on your bones to get through these long outdoor motos. There is room for some beef and cheddar’s out there, not just dick and ribs.
Parker Ross: Damn! A 7th in moto two and passed some quality riders! Impressive! I will be honest and DID NOT see this coming at all from Ross. He is another rider that is strong in the same areas as Drew and the BAR X Yamaha team looks to have the bike set up really well for him. Huge props to the team and for Parker for grinding it out. Being basically a rookie coming into the outdoor season, these results he’s been putting in the last couple rounds is impressive.
