Jul 7, 2024

RedBud National the best yet for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing in 2024

All three Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing riders took season-best finishes at the RedBud National, marking Round 6 of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Malcolm Stewart charged to sixth and Christian Craig 10th in 450MX, while newcomer Casey Cochran raced to the highest finish of his 250MX career in P7.

Stewart qualified a convincing sixth on his Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 450 Rockstar Edition – complete with a USA-themed appearance this weekend – before battling hard to 6-7 scores in the pair of premier-class motos. He was challenging inside the top-five until falling during the middle stages of Moto 2, but left satisfied with sixth overall, and now sits P8 in the title race.

"For another track I haven't been back to in 10 years, I can say one thing – the fans were awesome this weekend!" Stewart said. "It's pretty cool and I had a really, really great time out there. Moto 1 was good for me, and then Moto 2 was better again in a lot of ways. I made a mistake, went down, and got back up to charge to seventh. We were sixth overall, but I am really happy because I rode good and we're learning a lot as a team. We're just going to take this same momentum into Millville, and I'm glad we're leaving here on a good note, so we'll keep the ball rolling."

RedBud also started convincingly for 450MX teammate Christian Craig, qualifying inside the top 10 with ninth position, and then he raced forward to a solid eighth-place score in Moto 1. His second moto result was 13th after struggling for track position, however, it was still enough to match his best result of the year in 10th overall – equalling his finishes from Hangtown and Thunder Valley.

"The day started off pretty well, qualified inside the top 10 and felt confident going into the motos," Craig reflected. "Moto 1, I got a mid-pack start and was able to work my way up into eighth, so that was decent. Second moto, I had a bad start and then started to make my way through, before some big mistakes cost me a lot of time. I was pretty frustrated, but I did what I could for 10th overall. My speed is still coming around and I'm just lacking some strength still, so we will keep working on that and come back better for next week."

At one of the few tracks so far that he's been to before, teenage rookie Cochran stopped the clocks in eighth position at the end of 250MX qualifying, and then made even further progress on his Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 250 Rockstar Edition to claim P7 in the first race. He backed that up with ninth in the final outing, which resulted in seventh overall to retain 13th in the point standings.

"RedBud was good for me," Cochran commented. "I've had some success here in the past, so today I felt comfortable and I was able to get my best pair of moto finishes with a 7-9 for seventh overall. We're making progress each week, so we'll keep on building and hopefully get up there into the top five soon."

Next Race: July 13 – Spring Creek, Minnesota

Results 450MX Class – RedBud National
1. Chase Sexton (USA), KTM
2. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM
3. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda
6. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
10. Christian Craig (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 6 of 11 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 260 points
2. Hunter Lawrence, 253
3. Justin Cooper, 212
5. Aaron Plessinger, 202
8. Malcolm Stewart, 164
9. Justin Barcia, 148
10. Christian Craig, 106

Results 250MX Class – RedBud National
1. Chance Hymas (USA), Honda
2. Ty Masterpool (USA), Kawasaki
3. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda
4. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
7. Casey Cochran (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
8. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS
17. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS

Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 6 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 276 points
2. Chance Hymas, 239
3. Tom Vialle, 233
7. Pierce Brown, 145
10. Ryder DiFrancesco, 120
12. Julien Beaumer, 107
13. Casey Cochran, 102