Hunter Lawrence Dominates Budds Creek to Reclaim Points Lead, Set Up Winner-Take-All Championship Showdown with Brother Jett

MECHANICSVILLE, Md. (August 22, 2026) – For the first time all summer Mother Nature played a central role in the outcome of the action at the penultimate race of the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, from Budds Creek Motocross Park. Heavy morning rains set the tone for a challenging afternoon that remained free from rainfall at Round 27 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, where a wet and muddy track eventually transitioned into a competitive racing surface as the sun emerged at the Yamaha Racing Budds Creek National Presented by Carter CAT. In the premier 450SMX Class, Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence [#96] put forth a dominant performance to capture his sixth win of the season and reclaim control of the points lead, setting up a winner-take-all showdown at the season finale with his teammate and brother, Jett Lawrence [#1]. In the 250SMX Class, a day that saw a dramatic shift atop the point standings also welcomed the summer’s seventh different winner as Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas [#29] prevailed to set a new record of parity in the smaller displacement and give Honda a sweep of the day’s victories.

Qualifying

• The first session of the morning ultimately became the deciding factor in the combined time sheet as a heavy rain shower prior to the second session effectively forced every rider to forego logging any laps. As a result, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan [#38] ended up atop the charts with a time of 1:54.734, which placed him a half second ahead of Jett Lawrence and his time of 1:55.266, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire [#24] followed in third [1:55.501]. Hunter Lawrence ended up fourth [1:55.541] after his fastest lap was disallowed for jumping on a red cross flag. He held the second-fastest lap prior to the penalty.

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The opening premier class moto kicked off with Deegan out front for the holeshot, with Hunter Lawrence and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac [#3] in tow. Jett Lawrence got a poor jump off the gate, made contact with another rider while navigating the first turn, and emerged deep inside the top 20 before eventually falling outside a points-paying position.
• Hunter Lawrence showed patience on the opening lap and pulled the trigger on a pass that caught Deegan off guard and allowed the Honda rider to take control of the moto. Deegan responded to keep the battle engaged, but Lawrence soon pulled ahead by more than two seconds.
• As the top three settled into their respective positions the focus shifted on Jett Lawrence’s climb through the field. He fought his way into the top 15 through the opening 10 minutes and held a pace that was on par with the leaders.
• As the moto surpassed its halfway point, Jett broke into the top 10. Meanwhile, the gap between Hunter Lawrence and Deegan dwindled down to just over a second as the top two navigated heavy lapped traffic. Behind them, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado [#26] made the pass around his teammate Tomac for third.
• Hunter Lawrence weathered the pressure from Deegan and reestablished a lead of more than three seconds inside the final five minutes. Further back, Jett Lawrence continued to move up the running order and on the cusp of the top five. As time ran out on the race clock, the championship leader made the pass for fifth.
• Back out front, Hunter Lawrence finished strong with his biggest lead of the moto and took the checkered flag for the 11th time this summer by a margin of 5.6 seconds over Deegan. Prado finished more than 50 seconds back in third, with Tomac posting a season-best moto finish in fourth ahead of Jett Lawrence, who salvaged fifth.
• Hunter Lawrence’s exceptional pace saw him lap up to 11th place in the 40-rider field.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The final moto of the afternoon provided the best conditions of the day and saw Hunter Lawrence wrestle his way into the lead with the holeshot over Prado and fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Aaron Plessinger [#7]. Deegan and Jett Lawrence emerged deep in the top 10.
• Hunter Lawrence looked to take full advantage of the clear track and laid down a blistering opening lap to establish a 3.4 second lead over Prado, as 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup [#31] moved into third.
• As the lead trio settled in, Jett Lawrence was patiently moving his way forward and picked off several riders to make his way into fourth through the opening five minutes of the moto. Deegan sat a few positions back in seventh.
• Out front, Prado made inroads on his deficit to Hunter Lawrence and held a faster pace as the first 10 minutes drew to a close. Jett Lawrence, meanwhile, attacked Haarup for third and made an impressive outside move to take the position.
• Hunter Lawrence withstood the pressure from Prado and once again extended his lead, which soon reached nearly six seconds with less than 10 minutes to go. Further back, Jett Lawrence started to make gains on Prado. As time ran out on the race clock Jett closed in on Prado to initiate a two-lap battle for the position. On the final lap Jett forced the issue and used a lapped rider as a pick to make the pass on the Spaniard.
• Back out front, a wire-to-wire performance in the final moto capped off another dominant outing for Hunter Lawrence, who made it a dozen moto wins on the season. He crossed the line 5.9 seconds ahead of his younger brother, with Prado third and Deegan fourth.

Overall

• Hunter Lawrence’s sixth 1-1 performance and sixth victory of the summer is the seventh of his career, but more importantly, moved him back atop the championship standings with one race remaining.
• Prado secured back-to-back runner-up finishes after a 3-3 afternoon.
• Deegan captured his fifth consecutive overall podium result in third (2-4) and now has eight podiums in the first 10 races of his rookie season.
• Jett Lawrence settled for fourth (5-2), which signified just his third-ever non-podium finish in 37 premier class starts and his first not impacted by a crash nor a penalty.
• An 11-point swing moved Hunter Lawrence back atop the championship standings heading into the final round, with he and Jett separated by a single point. It signified the sixth time the points lead has changed hands between the siblings this summer.

Qualifying

• The first qualifying session proved to be faster for the smaller displacement as the final session was greeted with the early stages of a steady storm that ultimately altered the course of the day. For the second week in a row, points leader and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen [#47] paced the field with a time of 1:56.283, which placed him three tenths ahead of his championship rival, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37] and his time of 1:56.596. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco [#34] rounded out the top three [1:56.944].

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The first moto of the afternoon saw Kitchen take advantage of his first gate pick with his first holeshot of the summer ahead of Davies and Hymas. The Honda rider went on the attack early and made a pass on Davies. Then, as he pressured Kitchen for the lead, the Kawasaki rider went down and reentered the race in 17th place.
• Hymas took advantage of the opportunity to lead the field and assert his hold of first. However, Davies closed in and snuck through to seize control of the moto. After one lap, Davies’ lead sat at 3.5 seconds. Behind them, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Landen Gordon [#180] moved into third.
• As Davies started to pull away from the field, Kitchen was in the midst of a recovery effort, fighting his way back into the top 10 with 23 minutes remaining on the race clock. However, as the moto wore on, Kitchen’s vision was compromised as he ran out of tear-offs, which forced him to remove his goggles with 18 minutes to go. As a result, he slowly started to lose positions and dropped outside the top 10 with about 10 minutes to go.
• The top three settled in through the heart of the moto, with enough distance between each of them to assert their hold on each position. On the final lap, Hymas was able to get Davies in his sights, but it was too little too late. Davies closed out his eighth moto win of the season by 2.2 seconds, with Gordon in third. AEO Powersports KTM’s Carson Mumford [#71] was fourth, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Kayden Minear [#99] fifth.
• Kitchen made a late push and salvaged 10th but was ultimately penalized for going beyond the track limits as the field emerged from the starting gate. As a result, Kitchen was docked four positions and was credited with 14th place.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• With the sun shining and an improving racetrack, the second moto began with Hymas out front with the holeshot ahead of Toyota Redlands BarX Yamaha’s Parker Ross [#40] and Davies, with Gordon in fourth. Kitchen slotted into sixth. Davies was able to make the move around Ross before the end of the opening lap.
• Hymas established a lead of 2.4 seconds over Davies as Kitchen put in a charge to break into the top three. The Kawasaki rider closed in on Ross and made the pass, giving him 25 minutes to try and track down the top two.
• As the moto reached its halfway point, Hymas’ lead grew to nearly four seconds over Davies, with Kitchen able to make small gains in his pursuit from third.
• In response to Kitchen’s push, Davies also picked up the pace and started to close in on Hymas. As the fastest rider on the track, Kitchen moved within striking distance of Davies with a little more than 10 minutes remaining on the race clock. The Kawasaki rider continued to close in and was able to take advantage of a miscue by Davies to take control of second. Kitchen faced a 3.2 second deficit to Hyams with just under seven minutes to go.
• Kitchen closed in on Hymas and got within striking distance of making a challenge for the lead, but Hymas kept him at bay over the final several laps to hold on for his second moto win of the season by 2.5 seconds over Kitchen, with Davies nearly a half minute behind in third.

Overall

• Hymas’ 2-1 effort allowed him to break through for the third overall win of his career. With it, he became the seventh different rider to capture a 250SMX Class victory this summer, which set a new record for race winners in a single season.
• Davies grabbed his third straight podium result in second (1-3) and now has seven top three finishes this summer, which has ultimately moved him in control of his own destiny in the championship.
• The rookie Gordon captured the first overall podium result of his career in third (3-7), making him the eighth different rider to claim a maiden podium this summer.
• Kitchen’s strong effort in the second moto helped him make the most out of a challenging afternoon in fifth overall (14-2).
• A 15-point swing in the championship moves Davies back atop the point standings heading into the final round, where he’ll hold a 14-point lead over Kitchen for the last two motos of the season.

Budds Creek also hosted the penultimate round of the Women's Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony. It proved to be another dominant outing for reigning back-to-back champion and current points leader Lachlan Turner [#1], who piloted her Altus Motorsports bLUcRU Yamaha to dominant moto victories on Friday and Saturday. The fourth win of the season for Turner saw her outrun Quad Lock Honda’s Charli Cannon [#7] and SLR Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen [#51]. The victory allowed Turner to extend her lead in the championship to 21 points over Cannon with one round and two motos remaining.

The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship will culminate with a title heavy season finale next Saturday, August 29, where a trio of champions will be crowned for the first time at the final round of the SMX World Championship regular season from Indiana’s Ironman Raceway. The U.S. Army Ironman National Finals Presented by Tucker Freight Lines will be shown live in its entirety exclusively on Peacock, beginning with Race Day Live at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET, followed by coverage of the motos at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

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The Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing features the world's fastest outdoor motocross racers, competing aboard homologated bikes from one of eight competing manufacturers on a collection of the roughest, toughest tracks on the planet. Racing takes place each Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road powersports event production, organizes the Pro Motocross Championship series.
 
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