Hunter Lawrence Tightens 450 Title Fight with High Point Win

The Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its East Coast debut for Round 21 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, with its storied Father’s Day tradition from famed High Point Raceway, the “Country Club of Motocross.” Picture perfect weather provided ideal conditions for the UFO Plast High Point National where Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence [#96] put forth an exceptional performance to capture his second 450SMX Class win of the season and tighten the championship battle. In the 250SMX Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37] was dominant in a breakthrough effort that netted him the first outdoor win of his career.

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

The first premier class moto of the day started with Hunter Lawrence edging out Prado for the holeshot, only for both riders to be surpassed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb [#2] as they scrapped for the lead. Lawrence regrouped quickly and reclaimed the top spot from Webb. Jett Lawrence was forced to work his way forward from an 11th-place start.
With the lead in hand Hunter Lawrence dropped the hammer to open up a three-second lead after just two laps as Webb and Prado continued their fight for second. Behind them, Jett Lawrence made a quick charge into the top five.
Soon a three-rider fight for second ensued between Webb, Prado, and Jett Lawrence. Prado was able to make the move for second, while Jett followed through into third. They faced a near 10-second deficit to Hunter Lawrence just under 10 minutes into the moto. One lap later, Jett passed Prado for second.
Hunter Lawrence continued to build on his lead through the rest of the way and cruised to his third moto win of the season by 11.6 seconds over Jett Lawrence, while Prado finished strong in third. Deegan followed in fourth, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks [#36] rounding out the top five.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

The final moto of the day saw the Lawrence brothers lead the field out of the first turn, with Hunter able to get a wheel ahead of Jett for the holeshot. They battled for the lead briefly before Hunter asserted his hold of the position. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger [#7] slotted into third.
As the Lawrences pulled away from the field and opened a near double-digit margin, Prado, who started fourth, was able to make the move on his teammate Plessinger for third. Deegan then looked to challenge Plessinger for fourth and successfully made the pass.
Halfway through the moto Hunter Lawrence had built a lead over Jett of more than seven seconds. Meanwhile, the battle for third heated up between Prado and Deegan. The fight was short lived as Deegan took advantage of an inside line to take the position with ease. He faced a 13-second deficit to the lead with just over 10 minutes to go.
While Hunter Lawrence continued to manage his healthy advantage, Jett was slowly losing ground to Deegan, who was riding his fastest laps of the moto inside the final 10 minutes. The rookie got the champ within sight and began to chip away at the gap. However, Lawrence responded and stabilized the advantage at just over three seconds as time ran out on the race clock.
For Hunter Lawrence it was another impressive effort as he completed the sweep of the motos by 4.9 seconds over Jett, with Deegan just a few seconds behind in third.

Overall

Hunter Lawrence’s second 1-1 effort of the season netted him his third career win. He and Jett now hold an equal share of victories through the first four races, with each of their respective wins coming via 1-1 sweeps.
Jett Lawrence settled for a runner-up finish (2-2) and failed to win for just the fifth time in the premier class. It’s his 29th podium in 31 career starts.
Deegan rounded out the top three (4-3) with the second podium result of his anticipated rookie campaign.
With the win and six-point gain on Jett, Hunter Lawrence closed to within two points of his younger brother in the 450SMX Class standings. Deegan tightened his grip on third, 38 points out of the lead.

450SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-2 // 44)
Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (4-3 // 38)
Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM (3-5 // 37)
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (6-4 // 34)
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (5-6 // 33)
Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph (8-8 // 28)
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (10-7 // 27)
Jordan Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph (9-13 // 22)
Valentin Guillod, Motier, Switzerland, Yamaha (14-11 // 19)

450SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 4 of 11)

Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 182
Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 180
Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 144
Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 122
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 121
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 116
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 102
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 97
Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph – 94
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 83

1st Place – Hunter Lawrence | #96 Team Honda HRC Progressive (1-1)
“It was really good today, really good. I’ve been searching a bit [with the motorcycle] and missing a little bit [on the racetrack]. I’m happy to get this one.”

2nd Place – Jett Lawrence | #1 Team Honda HRC Progressive (2-2)
“Hunter was riding really well. I tried to track on and follow his lines and then try other lines, but I just couldn’t keep up. Good on him, he rode really well. We’ll go back to work on the bike and come back strong at the next one.”

3rd Place – Haiden Deegan | #38 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (4-3)
“I feel good. I’m getting closer. It feels like a win on my part making these steps each weekend. I’m right there. I’m going to keep putting in the work, keep chipping away. I put my heart out there and never gave up.”

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

The first moto of the afternoon got underway with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing machine of Casey Cochran [#59] out front for his first holeshot of the season ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer [#13] and Davies, who then got shuffled back. The championship co-leaders from Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Levi Kitchen [#47] and Seth Hammaker [#10], started in fourth and seventh, respectively.
Cochran and Beaumer were able to put a gap over Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Caden Dudney [#82] and the rest of the field. In his attempt to close in on a spot in the top three, Kitchen went down and remounted in ninth.
A little more than 10 minutes into the moto Beaumer made the pass on Cochran for the lead and quickly moved out to a three-second advantage.
As the moto surpassed the halfway point Davies made the move on Cochran for second and faced a five-second deficit with a little more than 10 minutes to go. On the same lap, Beaumer crashed as he crossed the finish line, which gave the lead to Davies as Beaumer remounted in second, just ahead of Cochran.
Soon Davies and Beaumer pulled away as the battle for third heated up between Cochran and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda [#30] who had methodically worked his way forward from a ninth-place start. The defending SMX World Champion made a quick and assertive pass for third inside the final five minutes.
Davies held off a last-lap charge from Beaumer to take his second moto of the season by 3.3 seconds, while Shimoda followed in third. Cochran was fourth, with Hammaker fifth. Kitchen rebounded to finish sixth.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

Under darkening skies, the second moto began with Davies out front for the holeshot with his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rookie teammate Kayden Minear [#99] in second. They sat ahead of a tight pack of several riders with Hammaker third, Beaumer fourth, Cochran fifth, and Kitchen sixth. Shimoda started ninth.
As he gave chase to Minear for second Hammaker looped out and crashed hard, which ended his race. That moved Beaumer into third as Kitchen moved into fourth.
Riders continued to swap positions, with Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas [#29] surging up to fourth and Shimoda up to fifth as Kitchen lost several spots and dropped to seventh.
The intensity picked up as the moto entered the second half, with Shimoda mounting a charge to contend for a podium with a pass on Hymas for fourth. Further up the track, Beaumer closed in on Minear to establish a fight for second. After an extended battle, Beaumer made the move with just over six minutes to go.
A couple laps later Shimoda caught Minear and another long battle ensued as the Australian rookie fended off everything his Japanese counterpart threw at him. Meanwhile, Kitchen clawed his way back into the top five.
Back up front, Davies put the finishing touch on a dominant afternoon with a wire-to-wire effort to complete the sweep of the motos by 3.6 seconds over Beaumer. Minear kept Shimoda at bay for third, as Kitchen rounded out the top five.

Overall

Davies’ breakthrough afternoon (1-1) saw him become the 95th different rider to capture a 250SMX Class victory in Pro Motocross and the first New Zealander since Ben Townley at the final race of the 2007 season to stand atop the podium.
The best performance of Beaumer’s career (2-2) resulted in his second podium of the season.
Shimoda followed up his win from last weekend with a gritty third-place finish (3-4).
Kitchen’s strong finish in the final moto left him just off the podium in fourth (6-5) but allowed him to gain sole possession of the points lead.
The top four finishers in the overall results are the same four riders who occupy the top four positions in the championship standings as Kitchen now leads Shimoda by a single point. Beaumer sits two points back in third, with Davies seven points behind in fourth.
With his DNF in Moto 2, Hammaker finished 13th overall (5-40) and dropped from a tie for first to fifth, 16 points out of the lead.

250SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha (1-1 // 50)
Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (2-2 // 44)
Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (3-4 // 38)
Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (6-5 // 33)
Kayden Minear, Perth, Western Australia, Yamaha (10-3 // 32)
Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna (7-6 // 31)
Casey Cochran, Portsmouth, Va., Husqvarna (4-11 // 29)
Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha (9-9 // 26)
Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (13-8 // 23)
Dilan Schwartz, Alpine, Calif., Yamaha (12-10 // 22)

250SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 4 of 11)

Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 150
Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 149
Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 148
Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 143
Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 134
Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 111
Kayden Minear, Perth, Western Australia, Yamaha – 101
Nick Romano, Bayside, N.Y., Kawasaki – 101
Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 90
Caden Dudney, Des Moines, Iowa, Yamaha – 73
Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., KTM – 73

1st Place – Cole Davies | #37 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-1)
“This feels awesome. I feel like I sorted my starts out [today] and I nailed that second start and was gone. I felt great all day. My first perfect day in motocross. It’s good.”

2nd Place – Julien Beaumer | #13 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2-2)
“This is special. We’re getting there. I feel like I’m in a position to start fighting for wins. We’re in this thing [championship], so I’m going to put in some work during the off week and come out swinging at RedBud.”

3rd Place – Jo Shimoda | #30 Honda HRC Progressive (3-4)
“I think I underperformed today. I just didn’t have the pace. Those guys up front were ripping. I couldn’t close in and do anything about it. We need to put in some more work during the week. We’ll come back strong.”

4th Place – Levi Kitchen | #47 Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (6-5)
“That was a struggle today for me. I felt very uncomfortable all day. I don’t know, I just couldn’t find a flow. I’m glad we still have the red plate and I’m really looking forward to the string of tracks we have coming up.”