Jun 13, 2025 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

At this time last year, Gavin Towers was in Europe looking to keep his motocross career going.

Now the 21-year old Venetia native is making his debut in his home race this weekend.

Towers is a rookie on the Pro Motocross Championship circuit in the 250 class and will make his first start at the High Point National Saturday.

He grew up an hour from High Point Raceway, which is located in Mount Morris, so he’ll have plenty of local support this weekend.

“It’s a race I’ve been dreaming about competing in,” Towers said. “It’s the first National I went to as a kid to watch. Now for it to finally be here, I’m really excited for it.”

Towers rides for the Phoenix Racing team, which receives factory support from Honda and competed in the Supercross 250 West series as well as Pro Motocross.

Getting to the point of being a full-time factory rider stateside started with a trip overseas last summer.

Towers had a strong amateur career, but also dealt with some injuries. He parted ways with Star Yamaha last summer before turning professional and was faced with a decision to race as a privateer or go to Europe and compete in the EMX 250 series. He chose Europe and put together some strong top five rides.

“I was in Europe for about four months,” Towers said. “I was in a little bit of a tough spot where I didn’t have a direction for the summer and I wanted to continue racing. I learned a lot about myself. As a young kid, it was a good experience for me. I lived in France and I raced in nine different countries.”

Towers did well enough in Europe to earn a ride back in the United States with Phoenix Racing. He made his professional debut in Supercross in Anaheim in January. He qualified for every 250 main he entered, and his best finish was 10th at Seattle.

“We don’t get full factory support, but we get some help from Honda and Phoenix Racing has been a great team to race for,” Towers said. “I wasn’t looking to stay in Europe. The goal was to come back and race Supercross in America. That’s where the best in the sport are at. Even the guys in Europe want to come over to America and race. It’s the top of our sport.”

His Pro Motocross season started with a crash at the Fox Raceway National in California, but he’s been steadily improving ever since.

The best result was last week at the Thunder Valley National in Colorado. He was 23rd in the first moto and 21st in the second for an overall finish of 24th place, which was enough to earn his first Pro Motocross point.

“I’ve made massive strides,” Towers said. “I struggled in the first couple of motos. This is one of the more competitive years given the talent in the 250 class. I hurt my foot in the second moto at the first National, but luckily nothing was broken. It was just sore and was really tender for a few days. The next round in California was probably the toughest race I’ve ever ran. The heat was brutal. It was like having a hair dryer on you at all times. In Colorado I struggled in qualifying, but rode really well in the motos. This weekend I want to get two good starts and learn some new pace that I haven’t found yet, just from the lack of being up towards the front.”

Since Towers raced the 250 West series, he did not get a chance to race at the Pittsburgh Supercross event, so this will be his first time racing locally as a pro.

“(High Point) doesn’t have a ton of open practices, but I was there as much as I could be,” Towers said. “I left early (to start his amateur career), so I didn’t do a ton of local races, but I did some area qualifiers there for Loretta Lynn’s and regionals. I’m more familiar with it than most of the other tracks I’ll be racing this season. It’s home and there’s more of a feel-good vibe than an experience factor.”