AARON PLESSINGER TO MISS FINAL THREE ROUNDS OF PRO MOTOCROSS SEASON

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger will unfortunately remain on the sidelines through the final three rounds of the 2025 AMA Pro Motocross Championship while prioritizing his health and fitness.

Ongoing health issues had affected the 29-year-old prior to missing Round 8 at Washougal, however, despite initial plans to return for Ironman Raceway this Saturday, Plessinger has been recommended by his doctors to take additional time off the bike in order to focus on his recovery.

A competitive start to the outdoor season saw ‘The Cowboy’ stand on the 450MX podium overall at both the Hangtown and Thunder Valley Nationals, but he had been battling illness since symptoms initially emerged at RedBud last month.

Plessinger still currently sits fourth in the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) standings, now targeting a return in the post-season for Playoff 1 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, on September 6.

Aaron Plessinger: "Unfortunately, getting to the bottom of my health issues is taking longer than I had hoped. My Cortisol levels are still really low and not back to where I was hoping they would be by now, so under my doctor's advice I’m going to sit out the remainder of the MX series. It’s frustrating given I was riding the best I have ridden in my career this season, but going from leading motos to DNFs is not healthy for me and I don’t think it’s what the fans or my team deserve either. I’m getting older and it’s just time for me to do some deep-diving into my health and get to the bottom of it. I’m not the first guy to go through it, so I have received a lot of positive feedback and support from my peers, and I will figure this out – it’s just something that is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. I’m already missing seeing the fans and my team every weekend, so you better believe I will be back real soon!"

While Plessinger remains sidelined, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will welcome back 250MX teammates Tom Vialle and Julien Beaumer alongside reigning 450MX Champion Chase Sexton this weekend at Round 9 of the Pro Motocross season.

KTM NEWS

CAREER-FIRST 250MX PODIUM FOR RED BULL KTM'S JULIEN BEAUMER AT HANGTOWN

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Julien Beaumer earned the first AMA Pro Motocross Championship podium of his career at the Hangtown National on Saturday, combining 4-3 moto finishes to secure second overall and move into third position in the 2026 250MX standings. After opening the season with an impressive P5 overall at Fox Raceway on return from injury, Beaumer continued his momentum at Round 2 by qualifying seventh aboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and then charged to fourth in Moto 1. The 20-year-old was even stronger in Moto 2, climbing from outside the top 10 on the opening lap to finish in a hard-fought third position. His 4-3 scorecard resulted in P2 overall for the round and marked the first Pro Motocross podium of his young career. Beaumer now sits third in the championship standings after two rounds, continuing an impressive return to competition after being sidelined since the SMX Playoffs last September. Julien Beaumer: "I definitely didn't think it [this podium] would come so quick! Man, I feel like I am dreaming – it was a long nine months, and I think today shows the work that we put in, and that the decisions we've made while I was away were the right ones. I've been working hard and I couldn't be happier to do this for the team. They stuck behind me for the last nine months and believed in me, so to be up here for them is amazing – I can't thank them enough. They put an amazing bike underneath me, my bike was awesome all day, and I couldn't be happier to be on the podium." Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Jorge Prado qualified third fastest with a 1:50.543 lap-time as he looked to build upon his runner-up finish achieved at Fox Raceway one week ago. The four-time world champion launched to a strong start in Moto 1 and held fourth place while closing on a podium during the latter stages of the race. However, a late issue resulted in a DNF, also leaving him with a difficult gate pick for Moto 2. After completing the opening laps outside the top 20 in the second moto, Prado charged through the field to finish in 13th position. He now sits seventh in the 450MX standings entering Round 3 in Colorado next weekend. Jorge Prado: "It was a rough day at Hangtown. The issue in Moto 1 while running fourth place really cost us, which was especially true knowing my gate pick was going to end up being on the far outside for Moto 2. That wasn't good for me, but we did what we could to salvage points, and all I can do is be my very best for the remainder of the rounds and see where we can end up overall." Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450MX teammate Aaron Plessinger was the eighth-fastest 450MX qualifier at Hangtown and featured in P4 at the start of Moto 1. An early off-track excursion sent him down the order, with ‘The Cowboy’ recovering to 12th place. After falling heavily before an early restart to Moto 2, Plessinger was sitting 10th at the conclusion of Lap 1, but was later forced out of the race prior to its halfway mark. He will look to reset for Thunder Valley's third round of the 2026 outdoor season. Aaron Plessinger: "Hangtown was not the greatest of days. I qualified pretty well and was actually feeling good on the bike, and then in Moto 1, I got off to a good start, but on Lap 1, coming down one of the hills, I stuffed the front-end into a hole. I went off the track and didn't get back on until around 40 riders went past me. I was in last and did some good laps to come back to 12th, but overall, the mistake on my part took away from the result. And then Moto 2, going around the first turn, I tucked the front, then a couple of people ran over me. Off the restart, I got another okay start, and then we had an issue that forced me to pull out of the race, unfortunately. We'll regroup now and get ready for Colorado." Red Bull KTM Factory Racing was without four-time 450MX champion Eli Tomac at Round 2 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, with the Colorado native remaining sidelined while recovering from injuries sustained at the season-opener. Next Race: June 13 – Thunder Valley, Colorado Results 450MX Class – Hangtown National 1. Jett Lawrence (Honda) 2. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 3. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 6. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) 16. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 17. Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 19. Dante Oliveira (KTM) Standings 450MX Class 2026 after 2 of 11 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 94 points 2. Jett Lawrence, 88 3. Haiden Deegan, 75 4. RJ Hampshire, 63 7. Jorge Prado, 53 13. Aaron Plessinger, 37 17. Dante Oliveira, 18 22. Malcolm Stewart, 10 Results 250MX Class – Hangtown National 1. Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki) 2. Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 3. Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki) 11. Ryder DiFrancesco (Husqvarna) 16. Daxton Bennick (Husqvarna) 19. Casey Cochran (Husqvarna) Standings 250MX Class 2026 after 2 of 11 rounds 1. Seth Hammaker, 85 points 2. Levi Kitchen, 78 3. Julien Beaumer, 71 10. Ryder DiFrancesco, 47 14. Daxton Bennick, 24 22. Casey Cochran, 12

Coenen Cruise Mode activated with Latvia MXGP rout

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The Coenen brothers aced the MXGP Grand Prix of Latvia for the third weekend in a row of FIM MXGP World Championship action. The series headed into the reddish shallow sandy soil of Kegums for round eight and the meeting was significant for Red Bull KTM’s all-out dominance as Lucas and Sacha Coenen won every outing in the MXGP and MX2 classes with their KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F.

ELI TOMAC TAKING TIME OUT TO RECOVER FOLLOWING FOX RACEWAY INJURIES

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Eli Tomac will sit out the upcoming rounds of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship while recovering from injuries sustained at last weekend's Fox Raceway National. Following further medical evaluations this week, the four-time 450MX Champion has been diagnosed with a hyperextended anterior longitudinal ligament and partial tear of the left sternocleidomastoid muscle in his neck. While Tomac's injuries are not anticipated to require surgery, he has been advised to take time out in order to heal properly, with the intention of resuming competition onboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION once he is fully fit and in a position to return. A timeline for Tomac's return to racing during the current SMX World Championship season – including Pro Motocross – has yet to be determined. Further information on his status will be released once it becomes available. Eli Tomac: "I'm really bummed to get injured early on at the opening round. Since the end of last year when I first threw my leg over the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, I said I couldn’t wait to ride this thing outdoors because the engine package is unreal and I felt it would be a lot of fun racing motocross on it. It’s just a shame that a racing incident early on in Moto 1 has really put a dampener on my outdoors season right now, but I will follow my doctor's orders and rest up with every intention of getting back out there sometime this season."