Takes: The 250 Class Has Questions Entering Pro Motocross. A Lot of Them!

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, is proud to announce an extensive update to its industry-leading flagship Motocross model, the new 2026 YZ450F. Faced with the complex challenge of improving on a bike already widely considered the benchmark of the ultra-competitive 450cc four-stroke class, Yamaha engineers put significant focus into refining power delivery and handling performance to achieve a level of precision, control and tuneability that sets a new class standard: the easiest bike to ride fast. Learn more!

It is rare we enter a new season of any series—Pro Motocross or Monster Energy Supercross—without a few clear-cut title favorites. 

And while the euphoria of entering a new season that is WIDE OPEN typically goes away after a few rounds and a few (sometimes just one) riders begin to distance themselves from the pack, pre-season is a time to enjoy such things. 

Bench race. Have fun. Don’t blast each other because of dumb takes. Give me all your outlandish takes. I want it all. Because this is what sports is all about. Sitting around on the Internet, talking crazy scenarios and enjoying a WIDE OPEN (maybe) title chase while we can. 

The 250 Class this year MAY (doubt it) actually prove my theory wrong. 

It, in theory, could be wide open. Haiden Deegan is gone. Jett and Hunter Lawrence are gone. And, as you’ll read below, there are a LOT of questions surrounding some title contenders. 

As we near the Fox Raceway opener next weekend, here are some questions I have around the 250 title contenders.

Healthy Honda?

With Deegan gone, many pegged Jo Shimoda as the rider ready to take control outdoors. But after back-to-back injuries—a broken neck before Supercross and a leg injury that ended his SX season—there are now plenty of questions surrounding the Honda rider heading into Pro Motocross.

Shimoda finished second in Pro Motocross in 2025 and then captured the SMX Playoffs later in the year. If he can return to THAT speed, I would have to put him at the top of my Power Rankings. While he had success in Supercross, he wasn’t quite the Shimoda we saw last year. That was to be expected, but with another injury forcing him off the bike, his readiness entering Pro Motocross is certainly a topic of conversation.  

Meanwhile, Chance Hymas is coming off yet another injury—this time a shoulder issue, not a knee injury—and while his speed has never been questioned, his ability to make it through an entire season has. Hymas already owns two Pro Motocross overall wins, so the talent is clearly there. Now, the next step in his progression is proving he can stay healthy long enough to turn that speed into a title run. Those questions need to be answered this summer. 

Will Kitchen’s Back Hold Up?

Nursing a back injury in Supercross is one thing. Nursing a back injury through 11 rounds of Pro Motocross, through two 30 + 2 min motos in the heat, is another. You could certainly see Levi Kitchen’s back was an issue during his SX campaign. In a recent interview with Racer X, Kitchen said his back is much better, though:

“I was having the back issues and that’s going much better now,” he said. “I feel like my speed is kind of back up where I want it, so that’s good. The back was, honestly, the worst part of all of it, you know? It had been bothering me big time.”

Kitchen’s title chances this summer are simple to me: if his back is close to 100%, he’s right in the mix. If not, I think we see his summer end earlier than he would like.

Can Seth Hammaker Finally Get it Done?

After missing all of Pro Motocross in 2024, Seth Hammaker returned in 2025 and had some flashes–fourth overall finishes at Washougal and Unadilla the highlights of his season–but inconsistency was the theme of his season. Three finishes outside the top 10 ended any hopes of a run at the title, as he finished 7th in points. Hammaker, once again coming off a runner-up finish in 250SX East, needs a hot start to the summer and to find consistency if he wants to take over the 250 Class.

Will Davies Shine Outdoors?

Quick: how many starts does Cole Davies have in Pro Motocross? If you guessed 10 you would be wrong. If you guessed five, also wrong. TWO. He has two starts in Pro Motocross. After a horrible injury at the Salt Lake City season finale in 2025, Davies raced just two rounds during his rookie campaign, putting in 26th (Unadilla) and 7th place (Budds Creek) overall finishes.

There has always been chatter that Davies is much better indoors. For me, with a sample size that small, maybe we wait a bit and see how he performs this summer before we put such labels on the Kiwi. Maybe people are right, but I’ll wait to judge until after this season, which is effectively his rookie year.

Is Julien Beaumer Back to Form?

Another rider coming off a serious injury, Julien Beaumer sat out all of the 2025 Supercross season in an effort to return to 100% for Pro Motocross. He showed flashes outdoors last year—including a 5-4 start to the season—but like several riders mentioned above, consistency was an issue. To be fair, Beaumer was battling injuries throughout much of last summer, which likely played a major role in those up-and-down results. Still, after such a long layoff, there are plenty of questions surrounding Beaumer entering the new season.

Does the Veterans Have A Run Left?

Throughout much of his career, Austin Forkner entered new seasons as one of the favorites. But injuries—and then more injuries—continually derailed those expectations. Now a veteran of the class, Forkner is coming off an injury-shortened rookie 450SX season and will return to the 250 Class this summer for another shot. The question is: does he still have one more title run left in him?

While Max Anstie hasn’t endured the same level of injury setbacks as Forkner, he’s also one of the elder statesmen of the class. After spending much of his career racing in Europe, the now 33-year-old is preparing for his first full 250 Pro Motocross season in the U.S. since 2010. He raced just seven rounds on a 250 in 2024 and missed all of 2025. Before that, Anstie had primarily competed in the 450 class both in America and overseas.

“This is an opportunity for me,” Anstie recently told Racer X. “It’s one of the main reasons I came to this team in the first place: to experience this Star Yamaha in outdoors at its full force. I’m excited for that and excited to put some time into that.

“Since moving to America, my main focus has been learning supercross and figuring out whoops, and figuring out how to excel at that, because that’s kind of the dream,” he added. “But outdoors still has a special place for me, and I’ve obviously spent many years beating around the heart of motocross in Europe. I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of that and seeing how we go.”

Will a full season, can Anstie mix it up with the young kids?

Photos: octopi.media