Welcome to the opening round of the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship at Fox Raceway in Pala, California. This is also round 18 of the SuperMotocorss World Championship as points for this and Supercross combine for the post-season playoffs. There’s a lot of hype coming into today as the defending champion, Jett Lawrence returns to action for his first gate drop of 2026. He’ll go up against former champions like Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton, and Dylan Ferrandis as well as Haiden Deegan who makes his 450 debut today. The 250 class is also wide open as a new champion will be crowned at the end of the year.
After a truly suspenseful day of racing, Hunter Lawrence and Seth Hammaker walk away with their respective overall victories.
450 MOTO 1
The moment everyone was waiting for came in the first 450 moto as all of the heavyweights were set to do battle. Mikkel Haarup grabbed the holeshot but it was Hunter Lawrence who capitalized by taking the lead on lap one. Lawrence showed obvious speed in both qualifying sessions and put that to use as he led every lap of the first moto. Jorge Prado stayed close in the first half of the race but Lawrence eventually pulled away with a gap of more than eight seconds. Prado held on for second to take his best result in his American campaign.
Justin Cooper took third at the line. The Star Racing Yamaha rider put himself into a podium position early on but faced constant pressure from Chase Sexton. Sexton eventually fell from fourth and gave Cooper some breathing room in the closing laps.
Jett Lawrence finished just off the podium in fourth. His perfect streak at Pala came to an end after a poor start saw him outside the top 10 on the opening lap. Haiden Deegan came through the pack with Lawrence and the two engaged in short battles on multiple occasions. Deegan finished one spot back the champ to round out the top five.
Eli Tomac crashed out of the first moto and was taken off the track on a backboard. He was transferred to a hospital but is said to have no broken bones. He did not line up for the second moto.
450 MOTO 2
The second 450 moto looked much like the first with Hunter Lawrence and Jorge Prado leading the way from the get go. Prado passed for the lead on lap one but Lawrence quickly fired back to reclaim the top spot. The moto one winner looked cool, calm, and collected once again as he opened up a five second lead by the halfway mark. Hunter certainly picked up right where he left off in the Supercross championship as he swept everything today – fastest in both qualifying sessions and two moto victories. He now firmly holds the red plate going into round two.
“I feel awesome,” Lawrence said. “It was a great day. P1, a perfect day. On top in every session. I’m just fired up. I can’t really ask for anything more.”
A 2-2 day put Jorge Prado second on the day. The Red Bull KTM rider looked much better than he did just one year ago and was by far the second best rider on the day. Now that he’s reunited with the KTM team, Prado could very well be a force throughout the summer.
“Hunter [Lawrence] had some better lines and pulled away,” Prado said. “It was a consistent race all day and we were all running good. It feels good to be fighting on the boys and make it back on the podium. This is where I know I belong.”
Jett Lawrence finished on the podium in moto two which gave him the edge to take third overall. Jett seemed a bit off the pace but settled into a podium spot after passing Aaron Plessinger. The defending champion clicked off his laps in the second half of the race and salvaged a good result for his first race back. He did get close to Prado on the final lap but it was too little too late.
“Motocross is a lot harder than I remember,” Jett said. “I was just trying to figure it out today. I found out what arm pump was in the first moto. It wasn’t the best conditions for my foot, but I thought I rode great. I just didn’t get the starts today and need to work on that.”
Justin Cooper’s third in moto one paid off as he took fourth overall and narrowly beat out his teammate Haiden Deegan. The two Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha riders finished fourth and fifth on the day’s overall results.
450MX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 2-2 |
| 3. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 4-3 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 3-6 |
| 5. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 5-4 |
| 6. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 7-5 |
| 7. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 6-7 |
| 8. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 8-9 |
| 9. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 9-10 |
| 10. | Christian Craig | (Hon) | 11-11 |
250 MOTO 1
All three of the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders started up front with Seth Hammaker leading both teammates, Levi Kitchen and Nick Romano. Hammaker led the first eight laps of the race but a mistake at the halfway point saw him go off-track and give the position to Kitchen. From there on out Kitchen held the top spot and cruised to the checkers with a consistent five second lead over Hammaker. The fastest qualifier backed it up with a moto win and made it a Pro Circuit 1-2. This is Hammaker’s best moto finish to date.
The battle for the podium went down to the line with Cole Davies taking the final spot on the box. Davies, the 250SX East champ, looked strong all moto and passed for third with five laps remaining. Jo Shimoda made the move for fourth on the final lap with Romano rounding out the top five.
250 MOTO 2
Julien Beaumer grabbed the holeshot in the second moto and ran up front for the opening half of the race. This is Beaumer’s first gate drop of 2026 and he showed that he’s back up to speed after a horrific back injury last year. Beaumer eventually lost the lead to a hard-charging Seth Hammaker, but the KTM rider still managed to finish on the podium in second. 11-2 scores put him fifth in the overall results.
Hammaker controlled the overall win while sitting in second place but still managed to take over the lead after passing Beaumer on lap seven. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki man was the most consistent rider of the day, going 2-1 for the overall victory. This is Hammaker’s first moto win and the first overall win of his career. He now leads the series by 13 points going into round two and gives the Pro Circuit Kawasaki the red plate for the first time since 2019.
“That’s probably the easiest it’s ever gonna feel,” Hammaker said. “Those last few laps didn’t feel real. I felt great all day. What an unreal way to start the year, to get my first Pro Motocross win. It feels awesome. I’m speechless, but super thankful.”
Ryder Difranceso charged his way to third in moto two. The Husqvarna rider turned up the pace late in the moto to earn his first-ever moto podium, but unfortunately a 19th in the first moto relegated him to 10th overall.
There was a three-way tie for second overall at the end of the second moto with Caden Dudney taking the tiebreaker for his first career podium. The Star Racing Yamaha rider finished 6-4 for second overall, beating out his teammate Cole Davies (3-8) and Levi Kitchen (1-13). All three riders are now tied for second in the championship points.
“It was definitely tough to get on the podium, but I’ve got what it takes,” Dudney said. “I made it happen. It feels amazing to get my first podium.”
“It was a tough day, but we’re here now,” Davies said. “Gotta find our feet and go from here. It was a good start to the season, and we’ll learn from today and try to be better from here on out.”
250MX OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 2-1 |
| 2. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 6-4 |
| 3. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 3-8 |
| 4. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 1-13 |
| 5. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 11-2 |
| 6. | Jo Shimoda | (Hon) | 4-7 |
| 7. | Lux Turner | (Yam) | 8-6 |
| 8. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 10-5 |
| 9. | Nick Romano | (Kaw) | 5-11 |
| 10. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (Hus) | 19-3 |
450MX QUALIFYING
Hunter Lawrence is the man to beat so far today. The Honda HRC Progressive rider is picking top right where he left on and topped both sessions in the 450MX division. Hunter grabbed the top spot late in the second session to beat out his brother Jett, who later was nudged back to third. HL96 goes to the line first overall. Jorge Prado put in a heater on the final lap to steal away second overall which dropped Jett to third. Jett was outside the top 10 in Q1 but turned things around with a fast time in the second session. Justin Cooper and Garrett Marchbanks rounded out the top five.
450MX OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:16.832 |
| 2. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 2:17.461 |
| 3. | Jett Lawrence | (Hon) | 2:17.514 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 2:18.169 |
| 5. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 2:18.779 |
| 6. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 2:19.558 |
| 7. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 2:20.271 |
| 8. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 2:20.344 |
| 9. | Mikkel Haarup | (Tri) | 2:21.031 |
| 10. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 2:22.345 |
250MX QUALIFYING
Levi Kitchen qualified as the fastest in 250 rider in both sessions and sets the pace for the day. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider looked up to speed and is certainly a contender for this year’s title. Kitchen was nearly two seconds clear of his teammate Seth Hammaker who took second overall with Julien Beaumer rounding out the top three. This is Beaumer’s first race of 2026 and he looks healthy after sustaining a serious back injury late last year.
250MX OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 2:19.854 |
| 2. | Seth Hammaker | (Kaw) | 2:21.451 |
| 3. | Julien Beaumer | (KTM) | 2:22.656 |
| 4. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 2:22.896 |
| 5. | Carson Mumford | (KTM) | 2:23.015 |
| 6. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 2:23.020 |
| 7. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (Hus) | 2:23.043 |
| 8. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 2:23.121 |
| 9. | Kayden Minear | (Yam) | 2:23.305 |
| 10. | Casey Cochran | (Hus) | 2:23.320 |
PRESS DAY HIGHLIGHTS
