Fresh off his 1-1 performance at the SMX Next Motocross round during the Hangtown Classic, Minear made his Pro Motocross debut at Thunder Valley. The young Australian qualified 12th and was 14th after the opening lap of the first moto.
He continued to push, and despite a couple of tip-overs early in the race, he rode on to an 18th-place finish. In Moto 2, the 18-year-old got a much stronger start, running 10th on the opening lap and battling for a top-10 result, ultimately finishing 12th for 16th overall. Minear looks to continue to build as he gets more seat time at a couple of rounds of Pro Motocross before the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch.
“It was a very positive day. My first pro race in America, so there were a lot of nerves going into it. You would’ve seen that in the first race, as I tipped it over three times in the span of two laps. So that was a bit disappointing, but in the second moto, I got a much better start and was running around the top 10. Then I ran a bit tight through the middle of the moto, but I made a late comeback. In the end, it just wasn’t enough. We’ll do some testing with the team and be back at High Point.”
