Slaw
Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, is proud to announce an extensive update to its industry-leading flagship Motocross model, the new 2026 YZ450F. Faced with the complex challenge of improving on a bike already widely considered the benchmark of the ultra-competitive 450cc four-stroke class, Yamaha engineers put significant focus into refining power delivery and handling performance to achieve a level of precision, control and tuneability that sets a new class standard: the easiest bike to ride fast. Learn more!
It’s getting harder to ignore what the ClubMX Yamaha team is building in South Carolina. The training facility, which also operates a pro SMX team, is building a system built on calculated bets, long-term belief, and a willingness to go all-in where others hesitate. And now, it’s paying off in the 250SX class.
The roster, a mix of high-profile amateur standouts like Max Vohland and Hunter Yoder paired with riders many had written off—Devin Simonson and Coty Schock—tells the story. Under owner Brandon Haas, with Daniel Blair and others helping shape the vision, ClubMX has leaned into a different model: identify overlooked talent, invest in them fully, and give them the time most teams won’t. The result? Riders once battling injuries, uncertainty, or a lack of support are now legitimate contenders.
Call it “Moneyball” in motocross if you want. But it might be simpler than that: find your lane, commit to it, and don’t waver. Blair touched on this recently with Steve Matthes on their podcast, explaining that once the team knows what a rider brings, there’s no sense in resetting the process. Keep the group intact, build continuity, and avoid losing pieces that fit. It’s why Simonson, Yoder, and Schock are already locked in, with Vohland expected to follow.
“I think some people would say they took a gamble on me or whatever, and they saw something in me before I really saw it in myself,” said Simonson after Nashville. “So there was no question in my mind whether I wanted to stay or not. It was more up to them.”
The gamble on Simonson has paid off… even before Nashville. He entered the weekend with four top 10s through six rounds. Saturday, though, is where everything the program has been building toward showed itself. Simonson—largely unknown when he turned pro in 2021—stood on his first career podium after a post-race penalty assigned to Seth Hammaker shuffled the results. It was the grand payoff of years of work that most people never saw.
Because behind that podium was doubt, long days, and the kind of grind that makes riders question everything. As Simonson put it after the race: “there were a lot of days, long hot days, there that I was like, man, is this even worth it?”
It was. It is.
Check out the full interview below:
Devin Simonson, you’ve been right there. This has been a continued progression toward this podium. What is this like for you?
Devin Simonson: Yeah, truly insane moment. Man, just never gave up in the main event and carnage at the front, and yeah, it ended up my best overall ever.
Were you back at the rig when you got told, and what were the words that came out of your mouth? Are they allowed to be said in this press conference?
Dude, honestly, it still hasn’t set in yet. Kind of lost for words, in a sense. Coming into this year, my best result ever was an eighth, and that was my rookie year, and the field was not deep at all. So yeah, like I said, truly insane. Can’t believe it, but at the same time, you’ve got to be in it to win it sometimes, and I was there.
So, we’ve heard for the last year or two that you were basically the built-in fill-in. I think it was more like last year, Club, you were there, you were training, you were riding, the guys saw something in you. Backtracking before that, though. I mean, like you said, you got an eighth in your rookie season, but between now and then, has there ever been a point where you thought, ‘Hey, is dirt bikes going to work out for me?’ And now flash forward to a podium here. Again, that mindset, have you ever been that far out of it, or have you always believed that something like this was possible?
I always believed in my capabilities during that time, but there were a lot of days, like summer 2024 at Club, when they were kind of throwing some things at me, saying that if something came up, I might be able to race. And dude, I went all summer paying out of pocket, not only train there, but for my bike, just everything. So there were a lot of days, long hot days, there that I was like, man, is this even worth it? Not that they’re not telling me I’m doing a good job, but they wanted to see it out of me. And yeah, I think I’ve proved myself to them, not only. And now, starting to prove it to everyone else,
Can you speak on your fitness? I was watching you, I mean, you were pushing all the way to the last lap, and it was hot, and the track was brutal, as everyone’s saying.
I think, like you said, my fitness is great. Maybe cliché to say, but I’ve truly put in a lot of hard work this off-season and not even this off-season, but for the past year and a half or maybe even longer, going back to before I broke my wrist. Just a lot of hard work, and I think it’s showing.
You mentioned earlier that coming into the season, eighth was your best finish in a not-stacked field, and then you got third in this one. Does your pace and riding style this season feel natural? What does it feel like compared to prior years, and can you noticeably feel the differences in speed, and what’s that like?
Definitely notice it quite a bit. I would say, at the start of the year, I was in third at Arlington for the opening laps, and I honestly got freight-trained because, dude, I had never been in that position before. So just having those guys around me, I made a lot of silly mistakes, and that’s something that I have been working on back at Club, focusing on myself when I’m in those positions.
There’s been a little bit in the background that has changed, and then it seems like you and Coty Schock are getting into it every single week. How much does the rivalry between you and your teammates, having Chad Reed on the team, help you to get to this point? What’s really stepped up to that next level, and just, I guess, at the end of the day, what does this moment mean for you and your career?
There’s not really a rivalry, I would say, between me and my teammates. It’s a pretty cool dynamic that I’d say we have, man, we’re all there and we all want to get better and we put everything into it. And going back to with Coty, that’s one of my best friends off the track, and he’s helped me a ton off the track, mentally, physically, especially a lot this off-season we did all of our training together, and then going back to World Supercross, we traveled the world together, so we’re super good friends. That to me was a racing incident, and sometimes that happens when you have two guys going for it. So yeah, this moment for me is truly insane. Like I said, I don’t think it’s really set in yet, but insane.
What does this mean for your career moving forward?
Yeah, dude, I want more of it. This is just the beginning.
Speaking of your career, moving forward, I know that there’s been some talk about your extension, and I think that there’s kind of a deal that’s been taking place. Man, we should have held that one more weekend. We have more bargaining power now. How’s it, and how are you looking forward to the future with the team?
Yeah, man, I’m stoked. Like I said earlier, I think some people would say they took a gamble on me or whatever, and they saw something in me before I really saw it in myself. So there was no question in my mind whether I wanted to stay or not. It was more up to them, and yeah, we sealed the deal two weeks ago, I think, so I’m stoked.
Okay, so you said it is your first podium. Are you going to go to Broadway tonight or are you going to celebrate it or are you just going to go straight back to Club and back to work?
I’ll probably go out a little bit, eat some dinner, but I don’t really drink or anything. Nothing like that. We still have racing to do this season, and I still have more to prove.
At ClubMX, with Brandon, Mike, and everyone at the operation, they’re giving you a lot of tools and resources to take yourself to that next level. With that, I would assume they also have high expectations for you. With the qualifying speed and the heat race performances, did you feel extra pressure from team management to make something happen at this round?
No, honestly, those guys are super, super good about not putting a lot of pressure on myself. And even I could say that for Coty, I feel like they truly know that if we ride to our capabilities, we’ll be in a good position. No added pressure, nothing like that.
Devin, I have to ask a question, and it’s probably one of the ones that is going through my mind right now. Would you ever envision or did you ever think that you would be the first Club rider of 2026 to get a podium?
No. Like I said, truly insane. I can’t believe it. I did think about this last week, as most people would probably say: coming into the season, I was the fourth guy or whatever, and I was thinking this literally a week ago. I was like, how cool would it be to be the fourth guy to get the first podium for the team this year? And maybe some people are going to say it was given to me or whatever, but like I said earlier, you’ve got to be in it to win it sometimes, and I was there.
Photos: octopi.media
