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Hunter Lawrence Dominates Budds Creek to Reclaim Points Lead, Set Up Winner-Take-All Championship Showdown with Brother Jett
| Chance Hymas Becomes Seventh Different 250SMX Winner to Set New Record |
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| 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. |
| 450SMX Class |
 The first moto began under tricky track conditions, as Haiden Deegan [#38] grabbed the holeshot but gave way to Hunter Lawrence [#96], who carried on to the win. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. |
 Hunter Lawrence [#96] and Jorge Prado [#26] began the second moto out front, with Lawrence ultimately completing the 1-1 moto sweep with a wire-to-wire victory. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. |
| Results & Standings |
| 450SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points) Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50) Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM (3-3 // 40) Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (2-4 // 40) Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (5-2 // 39) Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph (8-5 // 31) Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (6-9 // 29) Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (10-7 // 27) Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Ducati (7-10 // 27) Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., KTM (4-13 // 27) RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (12-6 // 26) 450SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 10 of 11) Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 442 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 441 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 376 Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 351 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 308 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 265 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 265 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 230 Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph – 220 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Ducati – 201 SMX World Championship Regular Season Standings (Round 27 of 28) Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 788 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 545 Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 540 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 441 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 441 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 407 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 376 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., KTM – 364 Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki – 349 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 347 |
| Quotes |
| 1st Place – Hunter Lawrence | #96 Honda HRC Progressive (1-1) “Anything can happen, so I just focused on myself. I tried to get around the first turn the best I can and then just ride my own race. I haven’t felt great all week [physically], so it feels great to get this done.” 2nd Place – Jorge Prado | #26 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (3-3) “My start was good [and] my riding was good most of the time. In those last 10 minutes I struggle and have a hard time with the lappers. I need to be better at that. Hopefully we can get a moto win before the season ends.” 3rd Place – Haiden Deegan | #38 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (2-4) “I was chasing BamBam [Barcia] for so long and overheated my bike. I’m still happy with the day. We’re making improvements each week and I just want to keep putting in the work. On to the next one.” 4th Place – Jett Lawrence | #1 Honda HRC Progressive (5-2) “It’s going to be exciting [next weekend]. [Hunter and I] have been going back and forth with the red plate. Now it’s one point and winner-take-all at the next one. I need to get better on the starts; those have been terrible. If I can fix that I think we’ll be in good shape.” |
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 Jett Lawrence finished off the podium for just the third time in his premier class career and with it lost hold of the points lead. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. |
 450SMX Class Highlights // Budds Creek National |
| 250SMX Class |
 The opening moto began when conditions were at the worst as Cole Davies [#37] emerged with the win while Levi Kitchen [#47] was penalized for going off track off the start. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. |
 Chance Hymas [#29] seized the moment in Moto 2 and turned the holeshot into his first overall victory of the season, setting a new record for parity. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. |
| Results & Standings |
| 250SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points) Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (2-1 // 47) Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha (1-3 // 45) Landen Gordon, Atascadero, Calif., Yamaha (3-7 // 35) Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (8-4 // 32) Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (14-2 // 30) Kayden Minear, Perth, WA, Australia, Yamaha (5-10 // 29) Lux Turner, Gardnerville, Nev., Yamaha (7-9 // 28) Caden Dudney, Des Moines, Iowa, Yamaha (10-8 // 26) Daxton Bennick, Morganton, N.C., Husqvarna (9-11 // 24) Drew Adams, Chattanooga, Tenn., Kawasaki (17-5 // 22) 250SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 10 of 11) Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 378 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 364 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 322 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 317 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 291 Kayden Minear, Perth, WA, Australia, Yamaha – 269 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., KTM – 244 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 194 Casey Cochran, Portsmouth, Va., Husqvarna – 166 Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha – 162 SMX World Championship Regular Season Standings (Round 27 of 28) Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 609 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 541 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 455 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 355 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 322 Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 314 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., KTM – 314 Kayden Minear, Perth, WA, Australia, Yamaha – 296 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 294 Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha – 291 |
| Quotes |
| 1st Place – Chance Hymas | #29 Honda HRC Progressive (2-1) “I feel like you get a flash of all the hard times. It feels amazing to get back to this point. I owe so much to my team for their support of me and everything they’ve done to get us here. Holeshot, wire-to-wire, it doesn’t get any better than that.” 2nd Place – Cole Davies | #37 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-3) “It’s not over ’til it’s over. I just need to focus on getting two good starts next weekend and see how it plays out. Another good day and we’ll try to do it again next weekend.” 3rd Place – Landen Gordon | #180 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (3-7) “I’ve been putting in good days during the week recently and was able to bring it into the weekend. I finally did it. This is unreal. Outdoors is tough, so I’m stoked.” 5th Place – Levi Kitchen | #47 Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (14-2) “I just need to treat this like any other weekend and put this behind me. It’s hard to do, but it is what it is. One mistake can have a massive impact, which is tough, but all I can do is give it everything I’ve got next weekend and see what happens.” |
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 Levi Kitchen endured through a challenging first moto, which ultimately proved costly in the championship standings as he finished fifth overall. MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. |
 250SMX Class Highlights // Budds Creek National |
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| 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. |
 Post-Race Press Conference // Budds Creek National |
| 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. |
| For information about the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, please visit www.SuperMotocross.comand be sure to follow all of the new SMX social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news: Instagram: @supermotocross Facebook: @supermotocross X: @supermotocross YouTube: @supermotocross TikTok: @supermotocross |
