ANOTHER ATTACK BY THE BOYS FROM DOWNUNDER

The weekend’s Pro Motocross Champs in the US, at the Unadilla circuit, combined the ninth round of the MX series and round 26 of the 2026 SMX World Champs.

Perfect weather conditions greeted riders at Unadilla, as did one of the largest crowds in the history of the event, which set the tone for an exciting and wild afternoon of racing that saw dramatic shifts in each title fight as Australian Honda rider Jett Lawrence captured his fourth win of the season and reclaimed the 450SMX class lead from his elder brother Hunter Lawrence.

In the 250SMX class, New Zealand Yamaha rider Cole Davies (bike No.37 in this photo) also claimed his fourth overall win of the weekend (with 2-1 moto scores) and moved within a single point of reclaiming the championship lead, while fellow Kiwi Brodie Connolly, on a Honda, finished the weekend sixth overall (with 8-5 results) in this class.

This capped off an astounding performance by these four riders from Downunder (Australia and New Zealand).

In the 450 class, it was all Jett Lawrence in morning qualifying as the reigning series champion paced both sessions, posting a rare identical lap time in each session at 2:12.122. That placed him four tenths ahead of his brother, team-mate, and championship leader Hunter Lawrence and his time of 2:12.586.

KTM’s Jorge Prado rounded out the top three [2:12.842], with Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan in fourth [2:12.973] to complete a top four within a second of one another.

Moto 1 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]: The premier class stormed out the starting gate for the first time with Deegan out front with the holeshot ahead of Hunter Lawrence, Jett Lawrence, and KTM’s Eli Tomac.

Hunter Lawrence got the edge and was able to move into the lead on the opening lap. Deegan fought back initially, but Lawrence asserted his hold of the top spot. Jett Lawrence then began his pursuit of Deegan. Behind the lead trio, Prado made the pass on Tomac for fourth.

As Jett looked to make a pass on Deegan the pair almost came together entering a corner, which forced Lawrence to dismount his Honda. He remounted quickly but dropped to fifth as Prado assumed third.

Jett made a quick pass around Tomac to claim fourth and looked to erase a double-digit deficit to Hunter Lawrence out front.

As Hunter Lawrence solidified a 3.5 second lead on the field Deegan and Prado began a battle for second. Prado bided his time and made the pass.

Just past the halfway point of the moto Jett Lawrence closed in on Deegan to begin another battle with the rookie. It was short lived as Lawrence made a quick and easy move to get back into podium position.

As time ran out on the race clock, lapped traffic allowed Jett Lawrence to close in on Prado and start a late fight for second. As they entered the track’s infamous and steep uphill-downhill section known as “The Wall,” Lawrence made a decisive move to take the position.

Back out front, Hunter Lawrence was in a class of his own and easily captured his 10th moto win of the season by 9.4 seconds over Jett, with Prado in third. Deegan followed in a distant fourth, with Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks in fifth.

Moto 2 [30 Minutes + 2 Laps]: The second moto began with the Lawrence brothers out front, with Hunter leading Jett to the holeshot with Prado in tow.

Hunter took advantage of the clear track to open a gap over his brother, as they inched away from Prado. Behind them, Kawasaki’s Cornelius Tøndel and Deegan battled for fourth.

As the opening five minutes came to a close, Prado charged onto Jett’s rear fender to make it a three-rider fight up front. The Spaniard made the pass briefly, but Lawrence countered to reclaim the position. As a result of Prado’s pace, Jett looked to push the pace and pressure Hunter.

The Lawrences then duked it out, as Prado sat patiently behind them. Jett waited for his opportunity and attacked with a quick strike to take the lead with a little more than 20 minutes left on the race clock. Moments later, Prado made the move around Hunter for second. Just a couple seconds back, Deegan started to close from fourth.

As the moto reached its halfway point, the top four sat within five seconds of one another, with Jett Lawrence managing a lead of just over a second over Prado.

With 14 minutes to go on the race clock Prado closed in on Jett to reignite a battle for the lead. As this unfolded Hunter Lawrence crashed while running third on the steep downhill portion of The Wall.

After an extended period to get back on track the points leader eventually resumed but was unable to ride at pace, which caused him to drop down the running order.

Back up front, Jett Lawrence withstood the attack from Prado and pulled back out to a lead of nearly two seconds. Deegan, who moved up to third, lost touch and fell more than 10 seconds back.

As the moto entered its final five minutes Jett added to his lead and moved more than four seconds ahead of Prado. For Hunter Lawrence, his race officially came to an end as he rode his damaged Honda back to the pits.

Jett continued to build on his advantage and soon established a double-digit margin over Prado in the late stages of the moto. He rode to his eighth moto win of the season by 10.7 seconds over Prado, with Deegan nearly a half minute behind in third. Hunter Lawrence was credited with 39th.

Overall for the weekend, Jett Lawrence ended a two-race winless drought, which equals the longest in the premier class, for the 28th overall victory of his career on the heels of a 2-1 performance that dramatically altered the championship.

Prado put forth one of his best efforts on American soil with a 3-2 effort that provided him with the third podium finish of the season and his career.

As a result of Hunter’s misfortune, he lost control of the points lead as Jett moved back atop the standings with two rounds and four motos remaining. Ten points now separate the siblings.

Photo courtesy Photo courtesy MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

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