The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship rolled into Thunder Valley for round three, with the high-altitude Colorado venue providing another tough challenge as the battles intensified across the 450MX and 250MX categories. Hear more from the leading riders of each category in this Reaction feature.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

P1 | Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive):
I’m super pumped with that red plate – it’s obviously good to have, even if it doesn’t mean anything at this point, really it’s more important if you have it in the last round. They added mulch to the track, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing – it’s adding it too close to the race that’s not ideal. If they would’ve added it months prior, where the mulch could work into the soil and mix together, then I think it would hold moisture better. My first few laps, I had both wheels sliding because of the mulch and the water on top of it. In that first moto, I didn’t have the flow of the track at all, and because I was so disjointed and didn’t have much of a fire, I almost got more tired in the first moto than I did in the second one, we were just in defense mode in the first one. To be fair, my ankle felt really good this weekend. I still can’t ride normal, but I just have a little bit less pain. It was still pretty stiff to move side to side, but this week we had a lot more range of motion.

P2 | Lucas Coenen (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
This was amazing! My start wasn’t that good, but I managed to go quick in the first corner and then just enjoy [myself] out there. I can’t thank the team enough for making this happen, and with the Roger De Coster kit, it’s amazing – I loved every lap out there. The second moto was hectic with lapped riders, but you know, I am racing the best riders in the world and it’s a lot of fun. Now, I will go back racing our series in MXGP and we’ll see when we can come back again in the future.

P3 | Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive):
It was kind of a crappy day in the office. I just kind of struggled a little bit with connectivity – feeling what traction I had with the front and the rear – so I hit the ground way too many times today. I feel like my riding and my speed were good enough to win. The starts were good, even though they weren’t holeshots, which I think is a huge difference, especially when battling Jett. I was trying to take different lines to pass Jett, and on this track, you pretty much took the same line from the first corner all the way to the end of the motos. Anytime you tried to take a different line, you just lost time, and that’s exactly how Haiden [Deegan] ended up getting me in that first moto – I was just trying a different line to go around Jett, I lost time and he was on the inside. For the penalty, I’ve never intentionally gone off the track or tried to run over markers, so kind of a bummer. I got 4-4 today when it was really 3-4, but my crashes were the main problem.

P4 | Garrett Marchbanks (Monster Energy Kawasaki):
Fourth overall today, I’m feeling really good about it. It’s a career-best finish for me. I didn’t know I was battling for fourth or third the whole moto until two laps to go, so I really wish I got third, but for how stacked the class is and how the day was going, I’m super pumped on my result here. I’m really happy with the consistency on my starts so far, that was a career-best today as well. I’m really happy with the team and everyone, and happy with my personal best.

P5 | Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
Not the best weekend for me at Thunder Valley – I struggled with starts and then also just finding a flow all day. When you don’t start up front, it’s hard to make up time on the leaders, especially when there are many lapped riders. So not my best performance, but we will regroup and bounce back at High Point.

P6 | Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing):
We have beef with Colorado – jokes, lots of positives from the day and good battles. Back to work.

P7 | Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
Thunder Valley was a much better day for me. I got a pretty good start in moto one and then fell back on the opening laps, but I smoothed it out a little and found a flow from there. A couple of people got penalized in race one, which elevated me up the order to sixth, and then in moto two, I got a pretty solid start! I ran third for a while, then drifted back to seventh. Overall, it was a much better day today, the bike is feeling a lot better for me, the body is as well, and now we move on to High Point.

P8 | RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing):
I struggled with my flow today. I didn’t have a great start in Moto 1 and ended up going down, then I made a charge back. Second moto, I had a better start and just got shuffled back a little bit. My mid-stages of the race weren’t great, then I tried to make a push at the end. But overall, it’s good to get through these first three, and we’ll now try to find a little more speed for High Point next weekend.

250MX

Image: Octopi Media.

P1 | Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC Progressive):
Winning normally comes from getting starts and just running away in the first few laps. My first-lap position in the first moto wasn’t bad, I just crashed right before the small double and then fell back to 15th or whatever and had to come back, but it was a good day overall. I think one of my strong points is keeping my pace up till the end, and kind of making some moves when everybody else drops. Compared to the first two rounds, my pace and riding were better today. We made some suspension changes, and we found some things where I could push through to another level. Overall, I think my riding was a lot better today, so I was able to come back through and win.

P2 | Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki):
I was a bit disappointed with the day, but I did what I could and put trust in my fitness to salvage as many points and positions as possible. If I want to be in it for the title, those are the kinds of rides I need to keep putting in, where I keep fighting until the end. My eyes were set to leave here with the red plate – that was the goal, and I now have it shared with my teammate. Glad we’re both alright after going down, glad I can keep fighting and chipping away at the championship.

P3 | Nick Romano (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki):
Getting my first career podium today feels unreal. It has been a work in progress and a lot of trial and error to get to this moment. There were a lot of unknowns a year ago – at one point I told myself and my family that I was quitting, and it was a bit of a dark road for a couple of years while I was injured. I told myself about 6-8 months ago that if I can get back on a factory bike, then I know I can do it. I am so thankful for Mitch [Payton], who gave me this opportunity, and everyone on the team that has helped and supported me. On paper I am the fill-in guy, but I’m trying to establish myself to be a full-time guy on the team. I look forward to keep putting up results like this, and hopefully we can do it again next weekend.

P4 | Sacha Coenen (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
I’m really happy to come over [to America] – this was our dream! We made it happen and the second moto was really good. I had a good start and the riding was just perfect. I’m just bummed about the first moto, but we need to accept it, and I am just really happy with the second moto. Thanks to everyone, it’s good confidence to take knowing that I can win a moto, so I am feeling very confident.

P5 | Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing):
Moto two was a big confidence booster. This whole class right now is just about getting off the gate, and in the first motos, I have been eating a lot of roost. It was good to get a start and run up there in moto two – my eyes were on Sacha [Coenen], and it was actually really cool to mark a guy on the track. If I can get two good starts, we’ll be up there [on the podium], no problem.

P6 | Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
I had a good qualifying at Thunder Valley, then struggled in moto one after a couple of tip-overs, but my overall riding was where it needed to be. And then moto two, I didn’t get a great start – I had to fight from around 15th – and fought back to fourth. That shows that my riding and fitness are good, so I am happy with where we are right now. We’ll keep building week by week and get further toward the front!

P7 | Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki):
Today here at Thunder Valley was pretty good. I finished out qualifying in fourth overall. I felt okay, just didn’t gel well with the track early on. In the first moto, I ripped an amazing start and pulled the holeshot. I led all the way up until about a lap and a half to go, and Levi [Kitchen] was charging really hard. He was riding really well and ended up getting around me. I was feeling good heading into moto two, then got into another first-turn pile-up. I just picked my bike up and had to dig for another long moto. I got back up to 12th, so 2-12 for seventh overall, and I’m tied for the point lead now with Levi. I at least still have the red plate heading into High Point. I’m looking forward to doing one more race before the weekend off, and just continuing to work on myself every weekend and try and be more consistent than I have been the past two weeks.

P8 | Kayden Minear (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing):
A lot of positives to take away from the weekend, but still not happy with my performance. Round four up next!