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Who is going to take control of the 250 Class? That was the predominant question entering round 1 of the Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway.
With Haiden Deegan moving up to the 450 Class, a first-time 250MX champion was guaranteed this summer. Most preseason predictions centered around established names like Seth Hammaker, Levi Kitchen, Jo Shimoda, and Chance Hymas.
Unless you closely follow the amateur ranks, Monster Energy/Yamaha Star Racing’s Caden Dudney probably wasn’t on your radar. Especially after a relatively quiet rookie season in Monster Energy AMA Supercross.
Sure, analysts like Jason Thomas and Daniel Blair had been singing the praises of the young Texan for months, but to the casual fan, Dudney remained largely unknown.
Not anymore.
The 16-year-old delivered a breakout performance at the season opener, earning his first career professional podium with 6-4 moto finishes for second overall. His result only reinforced just how wide open this championship battle could be.
While Dudney is likely still a long shot for the title in his first full professional season (he did contest the final two rounds of Pro Motocross in 2025), Saturday’s performance showed why so many inside the industry are high on his future. The latest product of Star Racing Yamaha’s talent pipeline may have officially arrived.
How did he feel after the opener? See what he had to say to the media.
Caden, I don’t know if you expect it to be up here today. I know I’m sure you came in with optimism, and we’re ready to battle with these guys, but at 16 years old, you kind of really showed something today. Walk us through your day and how it feels to already be on an overall podium here in outdoors.
Caden Dudney: It was pretty good. Qualifying was all right, kind of overrode in the second one, but I calmed down for the motos and seemed to work a lot better. I was expecting a top five; I exceeded that expectation. Go back to work at farm and hopefully do it again next weekend.
Your Supercross first couple of races didn’t go how you wanted them to, then you kind of switched to focus on Pro Motocross. Did those Supercross races hurt your confidence at all, and did you have to rebuild afterward? How did you switch that mindset from supercross to motocross? What was that process like?
No, I think it just gave me more drive to do better. I went back to the farm and put in the work, and we did a little bit of suspension testing and got the bike how I wanted it. Came here with an expectation of top five and obviously exceeded it, so I’m very happy with it. I don’t think it really hurt my confidence. I think I came in here confident knowing how I can do on outdoors.
You did two races last summer, but there was a completely different tracks on the other side of the coast. What did you learn from those races, even though they’re different conditions, different tracks? What did you learn from those two races last summer that you did for this opener?
I feel like starts are everything. Just get a start, and obviously, you have to be aggressive on the first opening lap, which I was on the second moto. I didn’t get as good a start on the second moto, so I was pretty aggressive with some of my passes and seemed to work to my favor.
There was definitely a lot of hype around you as a rookie. We all saw the video of you shredding at that outdoor track. We haven’t seen the speed in supercross, and now at Round 1 at Pala, we started to see some of that speed. Where is your potential? I know you wanted to get a top-five this weekend, but are you ready to win a race by the end of the season, or is it just taking one race at a time?
I think it’s definitely possible to get a win by the end of the season. It’s just take it race by race and learn. I mean, I don’t have near the experience these guys do, so I just try to get as much experience as possible, which I did in Supercross. It helped a lot in the last two outdoor islands last year. Just take it race by race, and I think it’s achievable.
Photos: octopi.media
