Hunter Lawrence hits back at High Point

Hunter closes in on brother Jett’s title lead, as Cole Davies sweeps SMX250 and Charli Cannon takes breakthrough WMX 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 High Point Raceway’s traditional Father’s Day event. Under near-perfect conditions at the UFO Plast High Point National, Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence [#96] put together a commanding ride in the 450SMX Class to collect his second win of the season and tighten the title chase. In the 250SMX Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37] dominated for the first outdoor victory of his career.

Qualifying in the 450SMX Class saw Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rookie Haiden Deegan [#38] set the early pace in the opening session, but the final session reshuffled the order. Championship leader Jett Lawrence [#1] topped the times for Honda HRC Progressive with a 1:59.977 lap, narrowly ahead of Hunter Lawrence on 2:00.126 and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado [#26] on 2:00.649. Deegan’s 2:01.318 from the first session left him fourth overall.

Hunter Lawrence got the better of Prado for the holeshot in the opening moto, although Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb [#2] quickly slipped past both riders in the early fight for the lead. Hunter responded straight away and reclaimed control, while Jett Lawrence was left charging from an 11th-place start. Hunter then opened a three-second margin within two laps as Webb and Prado battled over second, with Jett slicing his way into the top five.

Before long, Jett had joined Webb and Prado in the fight for second. Prado briefly secured the spot and Jett followed him through into third, but Hunter had already established a near 10-second lead by the time the moto approached the 10-minute mark. Jett took second a lap later, yet Hunter remained untouchable and sealed his third moto win of the season by 11.6 seconds. Jett finished second, Prado held on for third, Deegan was fourth and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks [#36] rounded out the top five.

The second moto began with the Lawrence brothers at the front, Hunter edging Jett to the holeshot before quickly gaining the upper hand. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger [#7] slotted into third early, but Prado, after starting fourth, worked his way around his teammate. Deegan then also made his move on Plessinger to claim fourth.

At halfway, Hunter had stretched his lead over Jett to more than seven seconds. The fight for third then came alive as Deegan closed in on Prado and made the pass on the inside. Even so, Deegan still had a 13-second gap to the lead with just over 10 minutes left. Hunter controlled things from the front to complete the sweep, while Deegan’s late speed brought him closer to Jett before the reigning champ steadied the margin. Hunter won the moto by 4.9 seconds over Jett, with Deegan completing the top three.

That 1-1 score gave Hunter Lawrence his second clean sweep of the season and the third overall victory of his career. He and Jett now have an equal share of wins through the opening four rounds, with each of those victories coming via 1-1 results. Jett finished runner-up overall on 2-2 and failed to win for just the fifth time in the premier class, while also claiming his 29th podium in 31 career starts. Deegan’s 4-3 effort earned him third overall and a second podium of his rookie campaign.

With the victory and a six-point gain, Hunter Lawrence moved to within two points of Jett in the 450SMX Class standings. Deegan remains third, 38 points off the lead.

1st Place – Hunter Lawrence
“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
“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
“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.”

2026 PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Cole Davies breaks through in 250SMX

In the 250SMX Class, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies [#37] was the standout from the outset, topping both qualifying sessions with a best lap of 2:04.283, just under two tenths quicker than Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen [#47] on 2:04.460.

The New Zealander then backed it up in racing, coming through in Moto 1 after Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Casey Cochran [#59] grabbed the holeshot and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer [#13] briefly took control. Davies moved into second past halfway, inherited the lead when Beaumer crashed over the finish line, and then held him off to win by 3.3 seconds. Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda [#30], who started ninth, worked forward strongly to finish third.

Davies left no doubt in Moto 2, taking the holeshot and controlling the race from start to finish despite pressure behind him. Rookie teammate Kayden Minear [#99] ran near the front, while Seth Hammaker [#10] crashed out after looping out while chasing second. Beaumer eventually fought his way into the runner-up spot, with Minear holding off Shimoda for third as Kitchen recovered to fifth. Davies completed the 1-1 sweep with a 3.6-second win over Beaumer, becoming the 95th different rider to win in the 250SMX Class and the first New Zealander since Ben Townley at the final race of the 2007 season to stand on top of the podium.

Beaumer’s 2-2 scores delivered the best result of his career and his second podium of the season, while Shimoda finished third overall on 3-4. Kitchen missed the podium in fourth on 6-5 but moved into sole possession of the points lead, one point ahead of Shimoda, with Beaumer two points further back and Davies seven behind in fourth. Hammaker ended the day 13th overall on 5-40 and dropped from equal first to fifth, 16 points from the lead.

1st Place – Cole Davies
“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
“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
“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.”

Charli Cannon breaks through

Quad Lock Honda’s Charli Cannon [#7] claimed her first WMX win in the U.S. at High Point after six straight runner-up finishes. The 2026 Women’s Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony hit its halfway mark at the East Coast round, where Cannon emerged on top after tying on 42 points with Altus Motorsports bLU cRU Yamaha’s Lachlan “Lala” Turner [#1]. Cannon’s second-moto win secured the tiebreak.

Friday qualifying belonged to reigning FIM World Champion Lotte van Drunen [#401], who led both sessions for HGS Slade Racing and set the best lap at 2:09.263, ahead of Turner’s 2:10.126. In the opening moto, SLR Honda’s Mayla Herrick [#23] stunned the field with the holeshot and a wire-to-wire win in her first professional gate drop, on her 17th birthday. van Drunen finished second, Turner was third despite battling illness, Nielsen was fourth and Cannon charged from 15th to fifth.

Moto two was red flagged after a first-turn crash involving Herrick and several others, with Herrick unable to continue. On the restart, Turner took the holeshot ahead of Cannon and built a lead of nearly 10 seconds, but crashed late after crossing up in ruts off a jump. Cannon went through and took the moto win by 5.1 seconds, with Turner recovering for second and SLR Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen [#51] finishing third, just ahead of van Drunen.

Cannon’s 5-1 scores delivered her maiden WMX overall. Turner’s 3-2 result marked only the third time in 15 career starts that she has not won a moto, while van Drunen reached the overall podium in just her second WMX appearance before returning to defend her MXW title in the FIM Motocross World Championship. Turner still holds a nine-point advantage over Cannon in the standings with three rounds remaining.