Hunter Lawrence Retakes Championship Lead as Budds Creek Sets Up Winner-Take-All Finale

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The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship is heading towards a dramatic conclusion after Hunter Lawrence produced a dominant performance at Budds Creek Motocross Park to retake the 450SMX championship lead from his younger brother and Honda HRC Progressive teammate, Jett Lawrence.

With just one round remaining, the Australian brothers are separated by a single point, setting up a winner-take-all showdown for the championship.

Hunter arrived at Budds Creek knowing that every point would be crucial and delivered when it mattered most. The Honda rider swept both motos with a commanding 1-1 result to secure his sixth overall victory of the season and seventh career overall win. His performance also saw him claim his 11th and 12th moto victories of the summer.

The opening moto was contested in difficult conditions following heavy morning rain, with the track wet and muddy before gradually improving as the afternoon progressed. Haiden Deegan grabbed the holeshot, but Hunter quickly moved into the lead and established control of the race. Despite pressure from Deegan and the challenges posed by lapped traffic, Lawrence remained composed and pulled clear to take the victory by 5.6 seconds.

Jett Lawrence faced a much tougher opening moto. A poor start and first-turn contact left him buried deep in the field, but the championship contender mounted an impressive recovery. He eventually fought his way into the top five, limiting the damage to his championship challenge with a fifth-place finish.

Conditions improved significantly for the second moto and Hunter once again took control from the start. He grabbed the holeshot and immediately established a strong advantage over Jorge Prado. While Prado applied pressure during the opening stages, Hunter responded by extending his lead and ultimately controlled the race from start to finish.

Jett again worked his way forward, eventually battling Prado for third before making the decisive pass on the final lap to finish second. Hunter crossed the line 5.9 seconds ahead of his brother, completing a perfect 1-1 day.

Prado finished second overall with consistent 3-3 moto results, while Deegan secured third overall with a 2-4 scorecard. Deegan’s podium was his fifth consecutive overall podium and his eighth in the first 10 races of his rookie premier-class season.

Jett’s fourth overall result was only his third non-podium finish in 37 premier-class starts and his first non-podium result that was not caused by a crash or penalty.

The result produced an 11-point swing in the championship standings and moved Hunter back into the lead with 442 points, just one ahead of Jett on 441. The championship lead has now changed hands between the Lawrence brothers six times this summer.

Hunter was understandably pleased with the result after admitting that he had not felt at his best physically throughout the week.

“Anything can happen, so I just focused on myself,” Hunter said. “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.”

Jett is already looking ahead to the final round, where the championship will be decided.

“It’s going to be exciting next weekend,” Jett said. “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.”

While the 450SMX championship is set for a brother-versus-brother showdown, the 250SMX Class produced its own major storyline at Budds Creek.

Chance Hymas delivered a superb 2-1 performance to claim his first overall victory of the season and the third overall win of his career. More significantly, Hymas became the seventh different rider to win a 250SMX overall this summer, establishing a new record for the number of different winners in a single season.

Cole Davies finished second overall with a 1-3 result, while Landen Gordon celebrated the first overall podium of his career after finishing third with a 3-7 scorecard.

Davies also emerged from Budds Creek with control of the championship. A 15-point swing moved him back to the top of the standings, where he now holds a 14-point advantage over Levi Kitchen with only the final two motos of the season remaining.

Hymas’ victory was particularly significant after he converted his Moto 2 holeshot into a wire-to-wire win.

“I feel like you get a flash of all the hard times,” Hymas said. “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.”

Budds Creek once again demonstrated just how unpredictable motocross can be, with heavy rain transforming the track before the racing surface improved dramatically as the sun emerged.

Now, however, all eyes turn to the final round.

In the 450SMX Class, Hunter Lawrence holds a one-point advantage over Jett Lawrence. Two brothers, two Hondas and one championship still to be decided.

The stage is set for a winner-take-all finale.