The Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, traveled to the motocross hotbed of New England for Round 23 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, celebrating 50 years of racing from the iconic sand track at The Wick 338. The Crestview Construction Southwick National featured an array of international guests eager to test their mettle against the best in the world and it produced a captivating afternoon of racing across both classes during what is arguably the most grueling race of the summer campaign. In the 450SMX Class, reigning champion and Honda HRC Progressive rider Jett Lawrence [#1] made his return to the top step of the podium for his third win of the season after another showdown with his brother, Hunter. In the 250SMX Class, ascending Belgian talent and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Sacha Coenen [#109], the MXGP points leader of the MX2 division, put on a show with a dominant, highlight reel performance in just his second ever Pro Motocross race with a 1-1 sweep of the motos.
Qualifying
The increased international presence at The Wick was felt right away in the morning qualifying sessions, where the first outing of the day effectively set the field on a much smoother racetrack. Atop the combined time sheet was MXGP points leader and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Lucas Coenen [#104], as the Belgian set a time of 1:53.903. That placed him just over a second ahead of his Spanish teammate Jorge Prado [#26] and his time of 1:55.139, with the Australian Jett Lawrence in third [1:55.276].
Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
The first premier class moto of the day got underway with the Lawrence brothers side-by-side exiting the first turn, with the holeshot and lead going to Jett, leaving his Honda HRC Progressive teammate Hunter [#96] to settle into second ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan [#38] in third.
The top three soon settled in out front and opened a double-digit margin over the rest of the field. A rider on the move was Coenen, who went down in the first turn and started at the tail end of the field. The KTM sand specialist stormed through the running order with ease and broke into the top 10 less than 10 minutes into the moto, running upwards of four seconds faster than the leaders.
As the moto reached its halfway point the gap between the Lawrences sat at just over a second, with Hunter slowly closing in on Jett. Further back, Coenen’s charge forward continued to the cusp of the top five. He then caught and passed Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis [#14] for fifth before engaging in a battle with Prado for fourth.
Back up front, Jett was able to withstand the pressure from Hunter and rebuilt his advantage to multiple seconds. However, with less than five minutes to go he went down after an awkward launch and landing off a small jump, which handed the lead to Hunter as Jett remounted in second. Not long after, Coenen crashed out of the race while running fourth in a frightening incident but fortunately walked away.
Hunter Lawrence managed a lead of well over five seconds until the red flag was waved on the final lap for a downed rider, which brought the moto to an end. It marked Hunter’s fourth win in the last five motos. Jett finished second, with Deegan in third. Prado followed in fourth, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks [#36] was fifth.
Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]
Prior to the start of Moto 2, the Red Bull KTM team confirmed Coenen would not line up out of precaution.
The final moto of the day kicked off with a stellar start by Hunter Lawrence, who grabbed the holeshot ahead of Deegan, Jett Lawrence, and Prado. The lead foursome set a torrid pace in the opening stages of the moto and opened a significant lead over the rest of the field.
With his first opportunity to fight for the lead this season, Deegan gave a determined pursuit of Hunter Lawrence and kept his Honda rival within striking distance. Lawrence responded and inched away as Jett Lawrence closed in on Deegan from third. The reigning champion made a decisive pass for second as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Jett then looked to erase a 2.3 second deficit to Hunter with a little more than 20 minutes left in the moto.
The Lawrences quickly moved out to a multi-second advantage over Deegan to set up a head-to-head battle for the win. The lead stabilized through the middle of the moto with about 1.5 seconds separating the Australian duo.
As the final 10 minutes approached Jett Lawrence mounted a challenge and closed to within a second, but lapped riders helped Hunter inch away once again. Jett didn’t relent and closed in once more, only for lapped riders to factor into their fight again, which slowed Jett’s pursuit.
Inside the final five minutes, with a near two-second lead over Jett, Hunter hit neutral entering a turn flipped over the bars with a sudden stop. As Jett rode by to take the lead, Hunter remounted alongside Deegan, losing hold of second and then third after Prado made the move as well. Hunter then lost touch with the top three.
Jett Lawrence went unchallenged the rest of the way to secure his sixth moto win of the season and milestone 50th of his career by 3.8 seconds over Deegan, who held off a charge from Prado on the final lap. Hunter Lawrence followed in a distant fourth.
Overall
Jett Lawrence’s 2-1 effort resulted in his third win of the season and the 27th victory of his career, which moved him into a tie with AMA Hall of Famer Bob Hannah on the all-time wins list. It also ended Jett’s longest winless streak in the premier class outdoors at two races.
Despite his misfortune in the second moto, Hunter Lawrence secured a runner-up finish with 1-4 finishes, which ended the two-race win streak he brought into Southwick. It’s the 23rd overall podium of his premier class career outdoors.
Deegan earned the third podium finish of his rookie campaign in third (3-2) with his highest single event points total of the season.
With the win, Jett Lawrence reclaimed the lead in the championship standings for the second time this season. He and Hunter are separated by just a single point.
450SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-1 // 47)
Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-4 // 43)
Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (3-2 // 42)
Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM (4-3 // 38)
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (5-5 // 34)
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (10-6 // 28)
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati (6-11 // 27)
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (8-10 // 26)
Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph (12-7 // 25)
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph (11-8 // 25)
450SMX Class Championship Standings (Race 6 of 11)
Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 271
Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 270
Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 218
Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 202
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 183
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 183
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 152
Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph – 149
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 139
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph – 103
SMX World Championship Regular Season Standings (Round 23 of 28)
Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 616
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 454
Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, KTM – 394
Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki – 349
Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 330
Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Ducati – 328
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 323
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Kawasaki – 298
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., KTM – 275
Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 271
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