The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship delivered another summer of high-level competition, with the premier 450MX and 250MX contenders going head-to-head for race wins and title success. In this edition of Rated, MotoOnline takes a closer look at the form of select riders from throughout the season.

Image: Octopi Media.

Rider: Hunter Lawrence
Rating: A
Rundown: What an SMX season it’s been so far for Hunter Lawrence across the board – a championship contender in Monster Energy Supercross, before sealing the 450MX title in a hard-fought 11-round series. Questions will likely always remain about the final round – and where exactly Jett Lawrence’s head was at – but the reality is, winning a title extends well beyond one round or a single moto. Hunter won six overalls to Jett’s four, won the most motos, and led the most laps. In short, he was the rider to beat all summer and delivered a marked step up in performance throughout the 2026 season to date, and earns an A rating.

Rider: Jett Lawrence
Rating: A
Rundown: Casting our minds back to the season-opener at Fox Raceway, we really didn’t know what to expect from defending 450MX champion Jett Lawrence, who had been sidelined from competition since December after sustaining a serious foot and ankle injury. A ginger third overall at round one gave us our answer, and from that point on, most knew it was going to be a long summer for the 23-year-old. He put up a valiant fight, including overall victories at Hangtown, Thunder Valley, Southwick, and Unadilla, but admittedly, it was a far cry from the level we are accustomed to seeing from him – ultimately falling just two points short of the title. He’ll now sit out the SMX post-season and prioritize further recovery before Monster Energy Supercross next year.

Rider: Haiden Deegan
Rating: A-
Rundown: Deegs is a hard one to measure because, on one hand, by his own lofty standards, he fell short of expectations (RIP Jett, anyone?). But, as far as a rookie 450MX season is concerned, it was pretty good! He made all the races, fought towards the front, was better than everyone else not named Lawrence, and had some strong recovery rides through the field in motos. We gravitated towards ‘learning the bike’ territory mid-season after he wasn’t able to match the brothers, and while that is acceptable in year one, a winless 2027 season is certainly going to raise questions. Either way, an A- is fitting because Deegs was solid, just not ‘RIP Jett’ solid.

Image: Octopi Media.

Rider: Jorge Prado
Rating: A-
Rundown: Much like Deegan, it was a strong season for Jorge Prado, and we can almost treat this as his maiden 450MX outdoor campaign after last year’s total disaster. Back in familiar territory with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – with whom he’d spent his MXGP career – the Spaniard was significantly improved, finishing second overall four times and claiming a career-first Pro Motocross win – via a 1-1 performance, no less – at the Ironman National. Granted, there was a chaotic championship fight unfolding between the Lawrences, but to Jorge’s credit, he experienced a substantial uptick in performance from the Unadilla round onwards after changing his 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to more closely resemble his European set-up. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops across the SMX post-season and into 2027.

Rider: Cole Davies
Rating: A
Rundown: Cole Davies is the next generational talent to emerge from the 250 ranks. Stamp it. Supercross was impressive – although we’re accustomed to his stadium-based skills by now – but his outdoor prowess is now 100 percent confirmed, and the talented Kiwi is eventually going to be a legitimate problem for the likes of the Lawrences, Deegan and Prado once he transitions to the big bike. Coming in, Davies was the one rider for whom we weren’t totally sure of his motocross potential, but we also knew that if he could harness his skill set, he could be a force to be reckoned with. Turns out, he was exactly that, with not even a hole in his gas tank at Millville able to derail his campaign. Given what we’ve seen this year, it could already be lights out for the competition in 2027.

Rider: Julien Beaumer
Rating: A-
Rundown: Talk about a revelation – Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer was exactly that throughout the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship, with his performance made even more impressive by the fact he’d spent nine months sidelined after sustaining a spinal injury at Playoff 1 in Charlotte last year. Beaumer carries a quiet confidence – or perhaps an assuredness in his ability – and this year’s outdoor campaign showed exactly why. The potential is clearly there for the 20-year-old, and now, having finished P2 in both Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross, Beaumer enters 2027 as a legitimate title threat, armed with the experience he’s gained as he chases his first number one plate. A clutch victory at Ironman secured P2 in the standings and earned him an A- ranking.

Image: Octopi Media.

Rider: Levi Kitchen
Rating: B+
Rundown: Where to begin with Levi Kitchen… At the start of the 250MX series, it was coming up aces for Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, particularly with both Kitchen and Seth Hammaker in the mix. Hammaker then bowed out with injury at High Point, while Kitchen – as he has done for much of his career – struggled to get off the gate, putting himself in harm’s way while battling in the midfield. While many of his come-from-behind rides were solid, they simply don’t cut it when someone like Davies is running right up front in so many races. In the end, it was another season of Kitchen coming agonizingly close to a career-first title, with the wheels well and truly coming off the wagon when it mattered most at Budds Creek and Ironman. It was a tough season, although the 25-year-old still claimed third overall, coupled with an overall victory at Hangtown.

Rider: Chance Hymas
Rating: B
Rundown: Finally, we get to Chance Hymas. The Honda HRC Progressive rider took a while to get back to race-winning, or even podium, form, but once he found the podium at Spring Creek, the floodgates opened, and he went 3-3-1-2 across the following four Nationals. Those are the type of rides we expected from Hymas all season long, with the 21-year-old admitting it took longer than expected to get back to form, and patience being at a premium throughout that time. You’d think those last few results are crucial for both Hymas’ stock and his own confidence, as he’s reaching a point in his career where it’s time to challenge for a championship – and that’s exactly what Honda will be expecting of him.