Welcome to the post season playoffs for the 2026 SuperMotocross World Championship! Columbus, Ohio serves as round 29 of the SMX season with this being the first of the post-season playoffs. Hunter Lawrence and Cole Davies lead the way as the number one seeded riders in the 450 and 250 divisions respectively. Let’s get into the action from Historic Crew Stadium.
450 MOTO 1
A rain-soaked track couldn’t keep the world’s best 450 riders from doing battle in front of a sold-out crowd. While Jorge Prado led early on, Haiden Deegan stalked the KTM rider and made his move for the lead on lap two. This is essentially Deegan’s first indoor race on the 450 machine and the Star Racing Yamaha rider made it look easy as he led the remainder of the shortened 15-minute plus one lap race. Deegan claimed the opening victory to kick off the SMX Playoffs.
The 2026 AMA Supercross Champion, Ken Roczen returned to action for the first time since Salt Lake City and he took home second in race one. Roczen used his technical abilities to tackle to muddy race track and rode a consistent race despite being 17-seconds behind Deegan.
Jorge Prado led early on but finished third in race one. The Red Bull KTM rider is fresh off an overall win at the Ironman National and certainly used that momentum to land on the box in the opening moto.
Struggles kept coming for the number-one seeded, Hunter Lawrence as multiple crashes dropped him to 21st position.
450 MOTO 2
Deegan came out swinging with another good start in moto two. The race one winner held a slight margin over Ken Roczen in the early laps and did everything in his power to maintain the top spot. He managed to build a gap and led all 12 laps on the rain-soaked race track. Deegan claimed his first ever win on a 450, going 1-1 for the overall victory, and now sits second in the post-season points chase.
Ken Roczne gave Deegan a fight in the opening laps but the treacherous conditions got the best of the Suzuki rider. Mistakes and a late-race fall dropped him out of the running for the race win or the overall victory. Still, a 2-2 scorecard put Roczen second overall and sees hum jump to fourth in the Playoff points.
Cooper Webb landed third in race two after battling with Jorge Prado for nearly the entire race. The two rivals yo-yo’d back and forth with Webb holding the spot for the second half of the race. 9-3 results put Webb fourth on the day with Prado’s 3-4 proving enough for third overall. Prado now leads the Playoff points by two over Deegan.
Hunter Lawrence managed to take eighth in race two which put him 15th for Playoff number-one. He now sits sixth in the overall points standings.
450 OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1-1 |
| 2. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 2-2 |
| 3. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 3-4 |
| 4. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 9-3 |
| 5. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 8-5 |
| 6. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 14-9 |
| 7. | Aaron Plessinger | (KTM) | 10-6 |
| 8. | Shane McElrath | (Bet) | 13-7 |
| 9. | Jordon Smith | (Tri) | 12-11 |
| 10. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 7-16 |
250 MOTO 1
Cole Davies fired out of the gate in the first 250 moto and looked to be the man to beat as he quickly opened up a near 30-second lead. The number-one ranked 250 rider suddenly faced bike problems which halted his race and forced him to DNF with a mechanical issue.
The problems for Davies proved beneficial for Daxton Bennick who inherited the lead. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider went on to take his first professional win by crossing the line first in race one. This is a huge plus for Bennick as his time with the Husqvarna team nears its end.
Levi Kitchen took home second in race one. The last time we saw Kitchen he did not finish the Ironman National but he looked back to normal despite the tough conditions in Columbus. Kitchen put himself in contention for the overall win with a strong ride to open the day.
Bennick’s Husqvarna teammate, Ryder DiFrancesco, landed third in moto one. Ryder D struggled with crashes in the first half of the race but bounced back with consistent laps towards the end. A fall from Caden Dudney on the final lap put DiFrancesco on the box.
250 MOTO 2
Cole Davies grabbed the holeshot from the farthest outside gate pick and came out once again in first place. He meant business after a DNF put him last in race one. Davies led all 11 laps and easily claimed the victory by over 15-seconds ahead of Levi Kitchen. He made the most of a bad day and still landed 10th overall, which puts him third in the SMX points.
A 2-2 day for Levi Kitchen earned him the overall win. He kept things under control once again in race two and eventually passed Daxton Bennick for the second spot. This move proved beneficial as the overall win hung in the balance, the tie breaker going to Kitchen. After losing the Pro Motocross in the final round, this win puts Kitchen back with the momentum.
Bennick took second on the day by finishing third in race two. He and Kitchen duked it out for second with lapped riders eventually playing their part for the race one winner. The two tied on points with Bennick losing the tie breaker and settling for second on the day. Still this is one of Bennick’s best results as of late and sees him jump to fourth in the points.
Ryder DiFrancesco finished third overall with 3-4 scores. Two consistent motos saw the Husqvarna rider grab a podium in what will certainly be remembered as his breakout season.
250 OVERALL RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 2-2 |
| 2. | Daton Bennick | (Hus) | 1-3 |
| 3. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (Hus) | 3-4 |
| 4. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 4-6 |
| 5. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 6-7 |
| 6. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 5-8 |
| 7. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 9-5 |
| 8. | Landen Gordon | (Yam) | 5-9 |
| 9. | Drew Adams | (Kaw) | 10-11 |
| 10. | Cole Davies | (Yam) | 22-1 |
