Hunter Lawrence Endures Dramatic, Tensioned Filled Pro Motocross Championship Finale at Ironman for First Premier Class Title

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (August 29, 2026) – The Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, came to a historic conclusion at Ironman Raceway where, for the first time, a trio of champions were crowned at the season finale. Perfect weather conditions and the largest crowd ever in the event’s 13-year existence were on hand for the U.S. Army Ironman National Finals Presented by Tucker Freight Lines, the 28th and final round of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship regular season. One of the sport’s most compelling storylines in more than five decades headlined the day as the Australian siblings from Honda HRC Progressive, Hunter Lawrence [#96] and Jett Lawrence [#1], came in separated by a single point. After an uncharacteristically unpredictable afternoon of 450SMX Class racing, it was Hunter who endured through adversity to prevail with his first premier class title and the prestigious Edison Dye Cup.
 
In the 250SMX Class, a season-long battle between Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37] and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen [#47] was ultimately decided in the first moto when heartbreak befell Kitchen and allowed Davies to clinch before the final gate drop. On his 19th birthday, the New Zealander became the first Kiwi to capture the Gary Jones Cup in 55 years. 
 
In the battle for victory in each respective division, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing enjoyed a banner afternoon by prevailing in the 450SMX Class with Spaniard Jorge Prado [#26], who broke through for his first win on U.S. soil, as well as the 250SMX Class with a second career victory for Julien Beaumer [#13].

Qualifying

• The final qualifying sessions of the summer started the breakthrough afternoon for Prado, who paced each respective session for the first time. The Spaniard’s time of 2:07.134 in the first session ended up being fastest overall, placing him just a tenth ahead of Hunter Lawrence’s time of 2:07.253, with Jett Lawrence a half-second back in third at 2:07.915. 

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The tension-filled first moto kicked off with Hunter Lawrence and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan [#38] out front. While Lawrence had the holeshot, Deegan surged into the lead but went down right in front of the Honda rider. With nowhere to go, Lawrence ran into Deegan and their motorcycles locked together. As they looked to get back into action, Deegan and Lawrence resumed at the tail end of the field.
• As all this unfolded, Jett Lawrence was mired outside the top 20 following a bad start. He passed his brother while Hunter was on the ground and looked to work his way through the field.
• With drama at its peak with the championship contenders, Prado positioned himself at the front of the field after passes around Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire [#24] and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb [#2].
• Deeper in the field, Hunter Lawrence worked his way through the running order and valiantly fought his way into 20th with 20 minutes left in the moto. Jett Lawrence, meanwhile, sat a handful of positions ahead in 15th. A few laps later, the siblings ran alongside one another in 14th and 15th, respectively nearing the halfway point.
• As the Lawrences engaged in battle, Prado’s lead extended to double digits over Hampshire, while 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup [#31] moved into third. Further back, Hunter made the pass on Jett.
• As the moto entered its final five minutes Prado’s lead sat at 14.3 seconds. Deeper in the top 10, Hunter Lawrence broke into the fight and continued to move forward. Meanwhile, Jett Lawrence’s progression slowed as he was unable to keep pace with his brother.
• Prado was never challenged and broke through with the first moto win of his U.S. career by a margin of 11.5 seconds over Hampshire. Webb was able to take advantage of a miscue by Haarup in the final turn to claim third over the Dane, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger [#7] rounded out the top five. Hunter Lawrence made a charge from 39th to eighth, while Jett Lawrence finished in 11th.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• Four points separated the Lawrence brothers entering the season’s final moto as the field stormed out the gate one last time with Prado leading the Lawrences to the holeshot, with Hunter in second and Jett in third. Soon, Deegan pressured Jett for third and made the pass.
• After a tense opening lap, the top three settled in, with Prado opening a 2.1 second advantage over Hunter Lawrence, who looked to fend off pressure from Deegan. Jett Lawrence gave pursuit from fourth and kept the lead trio in sight.
• While running second, Hunter Lawrence lost traction and turned sideways but didn’t go down. As Deegan slipped past into second Hunter resumed in third, just ahead of his younger brother.
• As the moto reached its halfway point, Prado’s lead extended to more than eight seconds over Deegan. Behind them, Jett and Hunter Lawrence exchanged positions, as Hunter went down and lost the spot, but remounted quickly.
• With less than eight minutes to go Hunter applied pressure on Jett for third. Jett countered and fended off the threat, but it wasn’t over. Hunter mounted another attack, but once again, Jett kept him at bay. In terms of the championship, it wasn’t a pass Hunter needed to make, so he tactfully managed his position on the track.
• Back up front, Prado was in a class of his own and managed a lead of more than 15 seconds over Deegan. The Spaniard slowed his pace on the final lap and wrapped up a dominant afternoon by a margin of 6.6 seconds over Deegan, with Jett Lawrence in third and Hunter Lawrence in fourth.

Overall

• Prado’s dominant afternoon served as the culmination of a season of progression, with an emphatic 1-1 performance for his maiden U.S. victory in his 22nd start.
• Hampshire’s quiet but consistent day landed him on the overall podium for the second time in his career (2-6), equaling the runner-up effort he earned at Ironman last season.
• Webb made a long-awaited return to the overall podium in third (3-8), landing inside the top three for the first time since the 2023 season in what was his final full-time start in Pro Motocross.
• Hunter Lawrence finished just off the podium in fourth (8-4), which secured the title over Jett Lawrence, who finished sixth (11-3), by a slim margin of two points. After winning every moto and overall leading into Ironman, it was the first time neither Lawrence finished on the podium. 
• The Lawrences became the first siblings in history to win premier class championships, as Hunter became the 29th different series titleholder. He’ll also enter the SMX World Championship postseason at the top seed.

Qualifying

• The morning qualifying sessions began Davies’ journey to the title, as he set the tone for the afternoon by setting the fastest time of the first session at 2:10.092, followed by Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas [#29] with a 2:10.505. Each of those times held through the second session, which was paced by Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams [#35] and his time of 2:10.559, which ultimately ended up third on the combined sheet. The top six riders in qualifying sat within one second of one another. 

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• The first moto of the afternoon started with Beaumer out front with the holeshot, followed by Hymas and Davies. Hymas went on the attack and made the move for the top spot. Kitchen, meanwhile, started outside the top 10 but quickly moved his way forward. Just before the completion of the opening lap Kitchen went down and dropped to the tail end of the field.
• Five minutes into the moto the top three settled into their respective positions, with Hymas managing about a one-second lead over Beaumer as Davies pursued from third.
• Hymas went down and gave up the lead with a more than 23 minutes left on the race clock, which allowed both Beaumer and Davies to move into first and second, respectively, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Landen Gordon [#180] slotting into third as Hymas remounted in fourth.
• As the moto surpassed its opening 10 minutes, Kitchen was seen on the side of the track’s steepest hill, with his Kawasaki in the middle of the track. While he eventually got back on the bike, he endured through an extended period to get back into the race and eventually pulled out of the moto with a 40th-place finish.
• Back out front, Beaumer built a lead of more than six seconds over Davies at the halfway point as Hymas regained control of third.
• Hymas’s comeback effort continued as he eventually closed in on Davies, who didn’t put up much of a fight, to take control of second. As the moto entered its closing stages Hymas dropped the hammer and was able to erase a deficit of more than seven seconds to Beaumer.
• The Honda rider closed in quickly on his KTM counterpart and after a brief battle Hymas completed his recovery from the early crash to reclaim the lead as time ran out on the race clock.
• Hymas pulled away over the final two laps and stormed to his third moto win of the season by 26.2 seconds over Beaumer, who went down on the final lap but didn’t lose a position. Davies followed nearly 30 seconds back in third, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Daxton Bennick fourth and Gibson fifth.
• Davies’ third-place finish, combined with Kitchen’s DNF, clinched the championship for the Yamaha rider.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]

• Prior to the field returning to the track, Kawasaki announced that Kitchen would sit out the final moto following his incident in Moto 1 and was slated to undergo further evaluation next week.
• With the championship decided, the final gate drop of the season was an all-out battle for victory that started with Gordon leading the field to the holeshot ahead of teammates Kayden Minear [#99] and Davies. Further back, Beaumer started in ninth, while Hymas went down and started outside the top 20.
• Davies put in a charge on the opening lap to pass both of his teammates and seize control of the race lead, with Gordon in second and Minear in third.
• Five minutes into the moto. Davies extended his lead to just over two seconds over Gordon, while Minear came under fire from Beaumer. Soon, the KTM rider made the pass to break into podium position.
• The leaders settled in as the moto reached its halfway point, while Hymas battled his way back into the top 10. Moments later, Beaumer made the pass on Gordon for second and put in a charge to track down Davies. Further back, Hymas was posting the fastest laps on the track and closing in quickly on the top five.
• Beaumer caught Davies and made the move for the lead with just over 12 minutes to go. Behind them, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco [#34] moved into third. He continued his forward progression and closed in on Davies, easily taking over second. Moments later, Hymas’ hard charge carried him around Davies for third.
• With less than five minutes remaining in the moto Beaumer sat more than 12 seconds clear of the field, but DiFrancesco and Hymas engaged in a tight battle for second. DiFrancesco fended him off briefly, but Hymas made the move.
• Beaumer put an exclamation point on the season with his second career moto win. He took the checkered flag 7.2 seconds ahead of Hymas, with DiFrancesco in third. With the title in hand, Davies dramatically dropped his pace over the second half of the moto and finished a distant 13th place.

Overall

• Beaumer’s emphatic performance in the final moto put him atop the overall standings with 2-1 finishes and the second win of the season and his career. The win also moved him into second in the championship standings.
• Hymas’ equaled Beaumer’s results with a 1-2 effort but lost out on the second moto tiebreaker. It capped off a torrid second half for the Honda rider, with five straight podium finishes to end the season.
• DiFrancesco completed the best season of his career with his third podium finish (7-3).
• Davies ended up seventh overall (3-13) in his championship winning performance, finishing 38 points ahead of Beaumer in the final standings, while Kitchen dropped into a tie with Hymas for third.
• In addition to his distinction as the first AMA National Champion from New Zealand, Davies became the third-youngest rider to win a 250SMX Class title in Supercross and Pro Motocross in the same season. He’s the 35th different champion in 250SMX Class history and also secured the top seed in the SMX World Championship postseason.

The Ironman National also hosted the final round of the Women's Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony [WMX] and the SMX Next – Motocross Scouting Moto Combine.

The sixth and final WMX round saw a championship-deciding showdown between season-long rivals Lachlan Turner, the reigning back-to-back champion with Altus Motorsports bLUcRU Yamaha, and Quad Lock Honda's Charli Cannon. A Moto 1 win by Cannon, combined with a sixth-place finish for Turner, set the stage for a dramatic second moto where Cannon completed the 1-1 sweep as Turner once again overcame misfortune but did enough to secure her third-straight WMX title.

The Moto Combine contested two motos on Friday, from which Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Carson Wood and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Landon Gibson claimed each individual win. However, Wood's 1-2 effort landed him atop the overall standings and netted him a sweep of this summer's Combine events.

With the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship regular season complete, the series will enter the postseason Playoffs and Final, where a combined $1.5 million championship bonus will be up for grabs across the 450SMX and 250SMX Classes. The two Playoff rounds will also feature the SMX Next World All-Stars, while the Final will host the showcase WMX SMX Invitational.

Playoff 1 – Historic Crew Stadium / Columbus, OH – September 11-12
Playoff 2 – Dignity Health Sports Park / Los Angeles, CA – September 18-19
Final – Thunder Ridge Nature Arena / Ridgedale, MO – September 25-26

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MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., manages and produces the world's premier motocross racing series – the Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. MX Sports Pro Racing is an industry leader in off-road powersport event production and management, whose mission is to showcase the sport of professional motocross competition at events throughout the United States. Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., organizes events for thousands of racing athletes each year and attracts millions of motorsports spectators.
 
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Pro Motocross Championship
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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SMX World Championship
The SMX World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series in the world that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the SMX World Championship Series combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing into a 28-round regular season that culminates with the season-ending SMX World Championship Playoffs.
 
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AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization for North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. It serves as the sanctioning body of the Pro Motocross Championship.
 
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