2025 Hangtown Motocross Photo Gallery

2025 Hangtown Motocross Recap

Question. Quiz time.

Top three answers on the board. Name a way to nearly unite the entirety of the Motocross community, at once:

The Return of Beast Mode
Green light an ill-advised social media post
Make Hangtown the opening round for Outdoors

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Eli Tomac won, then he didn't, but the "aging" four-time Motocross Champion beat the best of them and gave fans a glimmer of hope that one of the sport's all-time greatest, still has what it takes.

Fans and riders weathered 100 degree heat for Round 2 of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship series on Saturday at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, CA. A hot one, but not the hottest ever, nonetheless, race officials shortened Moto 2 for both classes by five minutes.

Tomac (1-9) shined in the first Moto starting third behind Aaron Plessinger and Justin Cooper who took the $600,000 Holeshot. Plessinger quickly surged into the lead and three minutes later Tomac got around Cooper.

Similar to Tomac and Jett Lawrence for Round 1, this one turned into the Tomac and Plessinger show. Both pulled away from the field as Tomac reeled in Plessinger who then found a better line to pull away. Both riders in a battle for the checkers culminated in the final two minutes as the Tomac "Beast Mode" went into full effect, wore down Plessinger and on the first lap after the clock expired Tomac took the lead and got his first Moto win since his 2022 title winning season.

Moto 2 didn't turn out as well for Tomac. Lawrence, who faded in the first Moto and finished third, grabbed the $600,000 Holeshot and led wire-to-wire. It was Hangtown last year where Lawrence's win streak came to an end preventing him from breaking James Stewart's 24 straight Moto victories. Tomac, meanwhile, got squeezed at the start leaving him just inside the Top 30 before he mounted a charge. He got to eighth near midway through the race when his frontend slipped in loose soil as he entered a corner section trying to get around Jorge Prado and Jason Anderson. Instead of leaping from eighth to sixth, Tomac dropped to 12th. He finished ninth for fourth overall.

Therefore, Lawrence won the overall on a (3-1) day, Plessinger (2-3) took second and Justin Cooper finished third on a (4-2) day.

"I did what I wanted to do, I wanted to get a start," Lawrence said while also mentioning heat played the biggest obstacle. "They cut (the Moto) short, I just wanted to spread those first few laps where I kind of get a lap and kind of just manage. It's pretty hard to sprint the whole Moto. My plan worked good in that one so I am happy."

Though thoughts of a repeat 2023 undefeated season quickly ended, Lawrence has won both rounds to start the year and holds a 16 point lead over Plessinger. Tomac dropped to third in the standings after his second-place showing last week, now 17 points out. Reigning 450 class Champion Chase Sexton, who crashed in the first Moto at the season opener and did not return for the second did not lineup at Hangtown.

250 Class

The 250 class displayed similar excitement in the first race as Chance Hymas grabbed the $600,000 Holeshot but a mistake sending him a bit off the track let Casey Cochran take the lead giving him, thus far, a career highlight and he took ample opportunity to relish the moment.

The defending champion (whom we still have not been released from the verbal cease and desist order given by his camp in January from naming or discussing him) worked his way from outside the Top 5 into third after five minutes, took an outside line to whip around Hymas for second five minutes later and then took the lead in similar fashion from Cochran. Clear sailing from there for the youngster.

Meanwhile, Jo Shimoda lurked around without much fanfare, worked his way into second where he'd finish and did the same in the second race.

Cochran took the $600,000 Holeshot in Moto 2, lost the lead to Lance Kobusch but it was the #1 Plate, again, taking the lead this time after about five minutes and he never looked back in the shortened 25 minute race. After their time upfront, neither Cochran nor Kobusch hung around giving way to Shimoda (2-2) and Levi Kitchen (3-3), who bounced back from a rough opening round when his chain fell off in Moto 2 giving him a DNF. Julien Beaumer took fourth on a (8-4) day and Garrett Marchbanks (7-5) rounded out the Top 5. Shimoda has four straight second-places finishes to start the season.

Hymas (13-DNS) faded after his strong start in Moto 1 finishing 13th then did not line up for Moto 2 because of the heat combined with an earlier bought of food poisoning. Tom Vialle (DNS-8) collided with Ryder DiFrancesco (17-18) in Moto 1 and exited the race with a hand injury, however, he took eighth in Moto 2.