After a difficult run with injuries, Chance Hymas returned to the front at Spring Creek, claiming his first moto victory of the 2026 Pro Motocross season and finishing second overall with a 9-1 scorecard. Check In catches up with the Honda HRC Progressive rider to discuss his breakout result, the emotion behind it, and the steady rebuild that’s brought him back into podium contention.

Image: Octopi Media.

Chance, finishing the day with 9-1 moto scores and your first moto win of the year – congratulations. We could see the emotion when you crossed the finish line and came off the track. It was pretty awesome to watch, and we know it’s been a long time coming after a bit of a rough season. Can you tell us about it?

Yeah, it’s definitely been a long time coming. It’s been a pretty frustrating off-season and start to the summer for me. Obviously, you look back a couple of years and I was one of the top guys. This year I haven’t been a top guy, and that’s a pretty tough pill to swallow. I think this shoulder injury was kind of a reset for me. I just had to get through the season and log results. Honestly, it doesn’t even matter if I’m 12th at this point – I just have to get through the year. That’s honestly where I’ve been at. I’ve been struggling with myself and just not gelling with the bike, but for me it’s all about being here every weekend. It’s the small wins. My results have been one spot better each weekend – ninth, eighth, seventh. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s at least something better every weekend. That’s been my mindset – try to get good starts, try to run up front, and the end result is what it is. You have to take those little wins every weekend. Honestly, winning this moto doesn’t change any of that. I could easily go 5-5 next weekend and it’d still be a win for me. I can’t suddenly change my attitude to how it was at the beginning of the season and think, ‘I won a moto, now I need to win everything.’ I’m still in that rebuilding process.

There was a pretty big difference between your first and second motos. Can you tell us what changed?

Honestly, I felt like I rode the same between motos. I picked up on a few lines after watching the 450 moto and my roll speed was good. It honestly felt like it did a couple of years ago – I just felt like myself out there and like I couldn’t do anything wrong. You don’t get many days on a dirt bike where you feel like that. I finally got out front for the first time all year and thought, “All right, I’m winning this moto whether I crash or not. I don’t care.” I just needed to know I could still do it because that’s been the biggest question mark for me all year – am I still good enough? Can I still do it? The field is so deep right now too. I went 9-1 for second overall, which is pretty ridiculous to me, and at one point I was almost winning the overall. The last couple of years haven’t been like that. It’s been much more consistent, where you had to be up front from the start to win overalls. The class is really shaken up now. You’ve got a lot of young guys on good bikes who might not be the fastest riders, but they can hold the pace. You see it every weekend. In the first moto there are seven guys battling, and you’re either making passes or getting passed. In the first moto I was fifth and then basically got freight-trained back to ninth in one lap. The class is a lot different now, and for me it’s about adjusting to that. I’ve probably been a bit stuck in my old ways and how I approach race weekends. I’m not saying I’ve completely changed everything, but the class is changing, the sport is changing, and you’ve got to be able to adapt, make changes and come in with a different game plan each weekend.

Image: Octopi Media.

You’ve spoken about taking small steps each week and gradually improving. If you’d gotten a start like that a couple of rounds ago, do you think this ride was already in you, or has today been another significant step forward?

Yeah, today was definitely another big step. I don’t think I had this in me two rounds ago. It was only around then that I really started making those gains. To be honest, I didn’t come here thinking I was going to win today. I didn’t really think that was on the cards. But once I got into that position and had that feeling that I was faster than the guys in front of me, it was time to put my head down and go for it. My mindset is still the same though. If I get out front and someone passes me, it is what it is, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. Like I said, I can’t change my rebuilding plan just because I won a moto. Now that I’ve had that little taste of victory, it’s awesome because it confirms I can still do it. I can still be that guy, and it’s nice to finally see that light at the end of the tunnel.

You’re on Honda HRC Progressive, probably the most prestigious team in the pits, and the expectation is to win. Today you got that moto win, which is obviously huge. Can you talk about how much pressure you’ve felt this season and how much this win relieves some of that?

Yeah, I want to give kudos to my team though. They honestly have put no pressure on me coming back from my injury. I feel like the team’s really good at letting the riders put the pressure on themselves and not putting any extra on them. Everyone on the team has been around for so long, they know how much pressure you can put on a rider, especially coming back from an injury. That’s been my fourth injury in a row. I feel like I had a lot higher expectations than they had for me. Honestly, I think their expectation was just to get through the year. They were like, “We don’t really care how you do, just make improvements every weekend,” and that’s kind of how we’ve been attacking it. They’ve honestly been really good to me, and even the small wins they’ve been really stoked about. My 250 crew that I work with every day, it’s honestly been really good vibes and really cool. It’s nice knowing that I don’t have to go win for them to be happy with what I’ve got going on. I could be one spot better overall, even if it’s sixth overall, and it’s like, “Hey, we’re making gains, so it’s good.” We’re seeing the progress. We’re seeing the old Chance come back. So, no, they’ve been awesome.