In a wide open 250 class, does anyone have the ability to fully and completely seize control of the series? Cole Davies stated his case Saturday at High Point, logging the first 1-1 score anyone has carded so far in 2026.
“It was an unreal day, first in both qualifyings, then both motos I was able to get both moto wins," he said. "Perfect day, felt more like myself. We’re still in this thing so lets fight to the end.”
By the third round of Monster Energy Supercross this year in 250 East, Davies moved from contender to dominant, and the rest of his eastern competitors were left in his wake. That, though, is supercross, where Davies packs otherworldly whoop speed plus talent and technique that leaves the rest of the gate scratching heads. Maybe the biggest question in this 250 Pro Motocross fight is if Cole's talent and technique would translate to a similar speed gap in motocross. Through the first three rounds there were some signs, but Hight Point was a big step.
“To be honest with you, I kind of selfishly thought this would come a little earlier this year,” said Wil Hahn, the 250 team General Manager for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. “But we were so focused on getting those two titles this year in supercross with Cole and Haiden, we really didn’t do a whole lot of outdoors. Then those first races, SoCal and NorCal, those tracks are so different from what we ride during the week.”
Hitting at High Point probably isn’t a surprise. I won’t go so far as to say he called this, but Cole’s dad Wayne practically predicted this path when I talked to him before round one at Fox Raceway. Dad pointed out that in Cole’s breakout rookie supercross season last year, it was the nasty rutted tracks where he took that big step first. The industry first took note of Cole’s incredible whoop skills when he skimmed the whoops on a super tough, rutted track in Indy that forced everyone else to jump. Then he dominated Seattle for his first career win. Wayne expected similar things outdoors. Get to the rutted, technical tracks and Cole will improve. High Point proved him right.
High Point - 250
June 20, 2026| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cole Davies | Waitoki, New Zealand  | 1 - 1 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 2 |  Julien Beaumer | Lake Havasu City, AZ  | 2 - 2 | KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition |
| 3 |  Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan  | 3 - 4 | Honda CRF250R Works Edition |
| 4 |  Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA | 6 - 5 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 5 |  Kayden Minear | Western Australia  | 10 - 3 | Yamaha YZ250F |
It wasn’t just the western tracks that hurt Cole in the first few motos.
“I would say it's just a bit of bad luck and bad starts last weekend,” said Davies. “I was riding good. Obviously, I qualified first too, so I felt good. I feel like this week I was riding the same, I just had better starts. Last week [Thunder Valley] I came way back to like sixth or something, second moto I had no front brake. Thunder Valley was a struggle for me with all that.”
Last week in moto two, Davies was fighting up to a podium position until he fell, then he was left without the front brake. The previous weekend at Hangtown he started well in the first moto, fell, and then had bike issues. He won moto two unchallenged. He was good at round one, with third overall. The potential has been hiding a bit, but since the rest of the class is also inconsistent, Davies was able to make up a ton of points with the High Point 1-1. He entered the race 24 points down, he’s now just seven points.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levi Kitchen | Washougal, WA | 150 |
| 2 | Jo Shimoda | Suzuka, Japan | 149 |
| 3 | Julien Beaumer | Lake Havasu City, AZ | 148 |
| 4 | Cole Davies | Waitoki, New Zealand | 143 |
| 5 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA | 134 |
Better starts could help reduce some of that inconsistency, but Hahn thinks they’ve fixed that.
“We really worked on starts this week,” he says. “We’re really fortunate with a guy like Cole that, once you dial something in, you don’t have to continue to figure it out. He really computes it well, dials it in, and this is what you will see for now on.”
“I feel like my starts are good now, both of my starts were good today,” Davies says. “First moto, my holeshot device was stuck down for the first three turns. I was cooked. They came up the inside of me and I was cooked by then, so then I was back to sixth or something and had to work my way through. Second moto I wheelied out of the turn and tried to pop it out. So, starts are back and I’m back.”
