Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Masterpool Closes Out Pro Motocross Season with Ninth Top-10 Finish
Motocross // Ironman MX // Highlights:
- Qualifying: Marchbanks 4th, Adams 5th, Masterpool 7th, Kitchen 9th
- Kitchen was second in the first moto, but retired early in Moto 2 for 11th OA
- Masterpool scored his ninth top-10 finish with 6th OA (5-6)
- Drew Adams made his professional debut, finishing 12th OA (15-11)
- Marchbanks went down in Moto 1, ending his day early
CRAWFORSVILLE, Ind. (August 24, 2024) — Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ty Masterpool wrapped up his Pro Motocross season on a high note at the final round at Ironman Raceway, scoring sixth overall (5-6) and tallying his ninth top-10 finish with the team. His finish also helped him move into fifth overall in the championship points, an impressive feat after joining the team two days before the season opener. Levi Kitchen started the day as the runner-up in Moto 1, but an issue in the second moto had him retire early, resulting in 11th overall (2-35). Drew Adams made his professional debut at Ironman, getting some good experience under his belt as he collected 12th overall (15-11), while Garrett Marchbanks had a crash in Moto 1 that kept him out of most of the day’s racing.
Masterpool has enjoyed a memorable season under the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki tent, and he went out on Saturday to secure another top finish. He got going in practice with some quick lap times, finishing seventh. His gate pick paid off in Moto 1 as he found himself in the top five at the start. He was hanging around that spot for the first half of the moto before charging up to third, but a brief tip over on Lap 12 pushed him down to sixth. Masterpool made up one position before the end of the moto, crossing the finish line fifth.
Masterpool got another decent start in eighth in the second moto and kept charging the whole moto to finish sixth, giving him sixth overall with a 5-6 moto score. The solid run at Ironman pushed him up to fifth overall in the 250MX standings, a career-best for Masterpool.
“It’s been an incredible season from start to finish,” said Masterpool. “We’ve lived all the highs and lows of a season, and to walk out of here fifth overall on the season is a huge accomplishment from only having two days on the bike when I lined up at Fox Raceway. The win at High Point will be something I never forget and the team has been so awesome. I’m thankful, and we’ll hopefully have some more success in the SMX Playoffs in a few weeks.”
Kitchen entered the final round on a two-race win streak and hoped to make it three. He started with a ninth in qualifying and got a nice jump out of the gate but had some challenges bouncing from fourth to sixth in the first two laps. Kitchen settled in and found a good flow, then made an impressive charge to the front just after halfway. He went from sixth to third in two laps and then caught second with only two laps to go. Kitchen’s second in the first moto put him in a good position for an overall, but it wasn’t meant to be after having an issue on the opening lap and eventually retiring early. His 2-35 was still good enough for 11th overall and would secure third overall in the championship standings.
“That first moto was interesting because I got around both Masterpool and Roczen but then they came charging again,” said Kitchen. “I decided to back off and settle in before making a charge, and it worked. I really wish I could have fought for that overall, but I twisted my leg and didn’t think it was a good idea to stay out. I’m liking the way I’ve been riding the past few weeks so I’m really looking forward to the SMX Playoffs and seeing what we can do there.”
It may have been Adams’ professional debut on Saturday, but the young racer was familiar with the race track at Ironman, having previously raced at two Moto Combine events for amateur riders in 2022 and 2023. Though the track had seen some updates over the last year, it was a good place for Adams to make his debut.
Adams kicked off the day riding well and qualifying fifth overall. When the gate dropped for his first professional start, Adams found himself in a solid spot in seventh. He maintained the position for the first half of the race before falling back to 16th on Lap 9. He tried to put on a charge, and Adams caught back up to 15th where he would finish. In the second moto, he didn’t get the same good start and was forced to come through the pack, moving up from 15th to finish off the day 11th, scoring him 12th overall.
“It was great to be able to get some experience riding with these guys,” said Adams. “The speed and pace of the motos was really high and you don’t really know until you get out there, so I’m thankful that the team let me line up.”
Marchbanks had high hopes for the day after qualifying in fourth, but went down just after the halfway mark while riding in the top 10. He got back up and tried to keep racing, but decided it was best to call it a day and focus on recovering for the SMX playoff in two weeks.
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250MX Class Overall Results – Ironman Raceway
- Tom Vialle (KTM), 1-4
- Chance Hymas (Honda), 6-2
- R.J. Hampshire (Husqvarna), 4-3
- Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), 11-1
- Jordon Smith (Yamaha), 3-8
- Ty Masterpool (Kawasaki), 5-6
- Ryder DiFrancesco (GasGas), 7-5
- Max Anstie (Yamaha), 13-7
- Ken Roczen (Suzuki), 9-12
- Jalek Swoll (Husqvarna), 12-10
- Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki), 2-35
- Drew Adams (Kawasaki), 15-11
40. Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki), 32-DNS
250MX Class Points Standings
- Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), 481
- Tom Vialle (KTM), 412
- Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki), 405
- Chance Hymas (Honda), 349
- Ty Masterpool (Kawasaki), 316
- Jo Shimoda (Honda), 289
- Jalek Swoll (Triumph), 277
- Pierce Brown (GasGas), 269
- Jordon Smith (Yamaha), 253
- Ryder DiFrancesco (GasGas), 250
Team Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki uses WRP Titanium Fasteners
