Ryder DiFrancesco will debut in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 250 class at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich. on July 2 on a Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki and race six times before the season’s end.
DiFrancesco will race at RedBud and Millville, Minn. before taking a break to try and win his ninth AMA Amateur National Championship at the Loretta’s Lynn’s for his last attempt there as an amateur. AMA rules allow for a rider to make up to three pro starts before losing their amateur status.
He will then rejoin the Pro Motocross series at Unadilla and ride in the final four races.
“I’m really fired up to be racing with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team at the pro level in these upcoming weeks,” DiFrancesco said in a release. “It has been a dream of mine to race for Mitch Payton’s team for a long time, so this is a huge step and I’ve put in a lot of work to be prepared for it.
“I’m ready to go out there and give it my best effort each weekend with the main goal of learning and improving every time I hit the track.”
DiFrancesco is one of the touted graduates of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Futures class. He swept the first four races in that series before missing the next two rounds. He came back strong in the finale at Salt Lake City, but finished second to Chance Hymas in the championship hunt.
His pro debut will finally put DiFrancesco on the big stage after years of being touted as one of the most anticipated riders on the horizon. He was one of 10 riders in 2019 to earn his Supercross license.
Additionally, DiFrancesco is the 2020 AMA Motocross Youth Rider of the Year and won the 2021 MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combines, to underscore his outdoor resume.
DiFrancesco, 17, won his first Lorretta Lynn championship at the age of six in the AMA 1 Stock. In 2020, he won both the Supermini 1 and 2 titles.
Hear from your fastest Supercross Futures qualifier, Ryder Difrancesco 🗣 #SupercrossLIVE pic.twitter.com/jSjLNUGOEF
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) January 15, 2022