Hunter Lawrence Makes Statement with Dominant Victory at Pro Motocross Opener from Fox Raceway

Share:

The second half of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship got underway from sunny Southern California for Round 18 of the 2026 campaign and the opening race of the 55th Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. The Pala Casino Spa & Golf Resort Fox Raceway National Presented by Fox Racing welcomed one of its largest crowds ever to witness one of the most anticipated starts to a season in history. The premier 450SMX Class saw a dominant performance from Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence, the recent Supercross runner-up, who put forth his most impressive outdoor performance to date with a dominant 1-1 effort. In the 250SMX Class, a wide-open field produced a new winner in Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker.

• The first Qualifying effort of the season saw Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence [#96] lead the way in each of the two sessions, topping the charts with a time of 2:16.832 in Qualifying 2, which placed him just over a half-second ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado [#26] with a time of 2:17.461.

• The opening premier class moto of the season got underway with 5.11 Triumph Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup [#31] leading the field to the holeshot in the summer 450SMX Class debut for the Dane and the British manufacturer. Hunter Lawrence slotted into second, with Prado in third. In his first start of the 2026 season, defending Pro Motocross Champion and SMX World Champion Jett Lawrence [#1] started well back in 16th place, which ended a 91 laps-led streak for the Australian at Fox Raceway. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan [#38], the two-time defending 250SMX Class champion making his premier class debut, started deep in the field in 19th.
• Hunter Lawrence wasted little time in making the move on Haarup for the lead, then Prado followed through into second shortly thereafter. Haarup continued to lose positions, as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton [#4] moved into third and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper [#32] into fourth. Sexton then experienced misfortune and traded positions with Cooper.
• While the battle up front stabilized between Hunter Lawrence and Prado, all eyes focused on the charge through the field by both Jett Lawrence and Deegan, who soon found themselves next to one another and picked off riders, one-by-one, to move up well inside the top 10. Deegan briefly made the pass on Lawrence at one point, only to have the champ regain the position and eventually put some distance on his rookie rival.
• As the minutes wound down on the race clock, Hunter Lawrence extended his lead over Prado to nearly 10 seconds. Cooper tightened his grip on third after Sexton went down and dropped from fourth to seventh.
• Hunter Lawrence closed out an impressive opening moto performance by a margin of 8.7 seconds over Prado, who earned the best moto result of his career. Cooper finished third, while Jett Lawrence fought his way up to fourth and Deegan up to fifth.

• The final moto of the afternoon began with both Hunter Lawrence and Prado at the head of the pack, with Lawrence grabbing the holeshot. Prado then went on the attack and surged into the lead on the opening lap as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger [#7] slotted into third. Jett Lawrence started 11th, while Deegan started 15th.
• Hunter Lawrence regrouped and on the ensuing lap repassed Prado in the same section of the track where the lead initially changed hands. Once he regained the lead, Lawrence stormed out to an advantage of more than five seconds.
• With better track position to begin the moto, Jett Lawrence made his presence felt quickly and climbed up into third before the halfway point. Deegan eventually made his way into fourth, but lost touch with the lead group.
• The top three settled in through the final stretch of the moto as Hunter Lawrence wrapped up a dominant afternoon by a margin of six seconds over Prado, with Jett Lawrence in third.

  

• In his most impressive performance since joining the premier class Hunter Lawrence completed his first ever 1-1 sweep to secure the second win of his career. It gave Honda its fourth straight victory at the track.
• Prado captured his first Pro Motocross podium with a runner-up effort on 2-2 finishes.
• Jett Lawrence showed grit in his first ever defeat at Fox Raceway, improving a total of 20 positions across the two motos to finish third overall (4-3).
• Hunter Lawrence has a six-point lead over Prado in the 450SMX Class standings, with Jett Lawrence 12 points back in third.

  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  450SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)

  1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
  2. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM (2-2 // 44)
  3. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (4-3 // 38)
  4. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (3-6 // 36)
  5. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (5-4 // 35)
  6. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Kawasaki (7-5 // 32)
  7. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (6-7 // 31)
  8. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (8-9 // 27)
  9. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati (9-10 // 25)
  10. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (11-11 // 22)

  450SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 1 of 11)

  1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 50
  2. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 44
  3. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 38
  4. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 36
  5. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 35
  6. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Kawasaki – 32
  7. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 31
  8. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 27
  9. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 25
  10. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda – 22

  SMX World Championship Regular Season Standings (Round 18 of 28)

  1. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 396
  2. Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki – 349
  3. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 333
  4. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 309
  5. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., KTM – 275
  6. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Kawasaki – 269
  7. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 233
  8. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 214
  9. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 201
  10. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Honda – 194

 

There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.

Share: