Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Aaron Plessinger charged to a convincing 2-3 scorecard at the Hangtown National on Saturday afternoon, earning his first AMA Pro Motocross Championship podium result of the 2025 season amidst the high temperatures endured this weekend in Northern California.
Round 2 began with Plessinger posting the fourth fastest 450MX qualifying time, before powering his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to the front of the pack in Moto 1. Upon holding position until the closing stages of the race, ‘The Cowboy’ would claim what was a hard-fought second-place after misjudging the time left on the clock.
As temperatures continued to rise, Plessinger commenced Moto 2 by climbing his way into P3, which is where he would remain for the race to take second place on the podium overall for the event, and move into P2 in the 450MX standings after two rounds.
Aaron Plessinger: "We’ve made some really good progress as a team outdoors and I feel like I have a great motocross bike underneath me. I felt good in that first moto and I wanted to see how long I could go out front knowing that it was really hot, but I misjudged the timing of when the race would end, unfortunately. That was a bit disappointing, but the second moto we went after it again, I made the pass on Hunter [Lawrence] for third, then I got really hot out there in the conditions. Second overall on the day, I’m pumped with that, and hoping it’s a little cooler next weekend!”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer began his weekend with an eighth-place finish onboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in the opening 250MX encounter, before improving to fourth position in Moto 2, and sealing fourth overall for the Hangtown National. After two solid results across the first two rounds, Beaumer has climbed P3 in the point standings.
Julien Beaumer: "It was a solid day for me at Hangtown. Fourth overall was a little unexpected after P8 in Moto 1, but we made some changes for Moto 2 and I felt better, which was good. My fitness was good with how hot the weather was, so it was a good end to the day, and I’m excited for Thunder Valley.”
After running up front during the early stages of Moto 1 equipped with his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, an untimely fall drew an early end to the race for 250MX teammate Tom Vialle. The double world champion rebounded to an eighth-place finish in Moto 2 despite being impacted by a poor gate pick, salvaging a haul of valuable championship points.
Tom Vialle: "Not the weekend I expected. I was running fourth in Moto 1, and then I had a crash about four laps in and couldn’t finish the moto, unfortunately. I hurt my elbow pretty badly, but we lined up for the second race and I had last gate pick because of the first race. I got a bad start and then came back to eighth, so I salvaged some points towards the championship, and I will be back to 100 percent for Colorado.”
Next Race: June 7 – Thunder Valley, Colorado
Results 450MX Class – Hangtown National
1. Jett Lawrence (Honda)
2. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
3. Justin Cooper (Yamaha)
7. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna)
10. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna)
Standings 450MX Class 2025 after 2 of 11 rounds
1. Jett Lawrence, 95 points
2. Aaron Plessinger, 79
3. Eli Tomac, 78
8. RJ Hampshire, 56
12. Malcolm Stewart, 36
Results 250MX Class – Hangtown National
1. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha)
2. Jo Shimoda (Honda)
3. Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki)
4. Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
11. Casey Cochran (GASGAS)
17. Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
18. Ryder DiFrancesco (GASGAS)
Standings 250MX Class 2025 after 2 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 100 points
2. Jo Shimoda, 88
3. Julien Beaumer, 67
6. Tom Vialle, 52
13. Casey Cochran, 39
18. Ryder DiFrancesco, 27
