Beyond being a physically demanding sport, motocross can be physically damaging.
Not only will Saturday’s Pala Casino Resort National at Fox Raceway at Pala open the 54th season of the U.S. Pro Motocross Series, the only Southern California stop on the national outdoor tour will mark the return from injury for six leading riders — including former champions Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac.
Lawrence, who went 22-0 to win the 2023 motocross title as a rookie, returns to action Saturday after suffering a torn ACL early in this year’s Supercross series.
The 21-year-old Australian is seeking a third straight 450cc feature victory at Pala and a seventh straight win dating back to his time in the 250cc class. Lawrence has won 15 races in 16 career motocross starts but has just nine combined Supercross/motocross starts over the past two years due to injuries. He missed 19 races with thumb and knee issues.
Tomac returns after suffering a broken leg early in the Supercross season. The 32-year-old ranks third all-time in combined Supercross/motocross wins with 85.
Tomac won the 2022 motocross title but missed all of 2023 with a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered during the Supercross season. Then he missed the first nine races last summer with a thumb injury. He returned this year and was in the thick of the Supercross title fight before fracturing his fibula during qualifying in Tampa, Fla.
Because of their injury histories, Saturday will mark only the 10th time that Lawrence and Tomac have appeared in the same event.
Also returning to action from injuries suffered during the 2025 Supercross season are Jett’s brother Hunter Lawrence, Jorge Prado, Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia.
Hunter Lawrence finished second in the 2024 motocross championships and had surgery after tearing his labrum and suffering a small fracture in a 2025 Supercross fall. Back-to-back world motocross champion Prado separated his shoulder shortly after coming to the United States in January. Anderson shut it down with six weeks to go in the 2025 Supercross season, and Barcia sat out the last three races with a knee sprain.
Saturday’s race also features Chase Sexton and Cooper Webb.
Webb, 29, defeated the 25-year-old Sexton by two points this year for the coveted Supercross title, becoming only the seventh rider in history to win three or more Supercross titles. Webb has been a Supercross specialist with just 45 outdoor starts and one event win over eight seasons. But he is planning to ride the full series this summer in search of the combined Super-motocross title.
Sexton won the 2024 motocross title after Jett Lawrence was injured. He also won the 2023 Supercross championship and is viewed as possibly the fastest rider in the sport.
Saturday marks the 10th motocross event at Pala and the fourth straight season opener at the course off State Route 76 east of Interstate 15. Gates open at 6 a.m., with practice starting at 8 a.m. Qualifying is at 10 a.m., with the first of two motos starting at 1 p.m. Tickets are $75 for adults and $42 for children and are available at the gate or through ProMotocross.com.
The field will also include 33-year-old El Cajon native Christian Craig and Dilan Schwartz, 23, of Alpine.
