1. Sacha Coenen Legacy Ride
There are plenty of storylines coming out of Southwick, but Sacha Coenen’s performance trumps them all. Winning the second moto at Thunder Valley was impressive, but Coenen’s Southwick is something that will be talked about for years to come.
Sacha grabbed the holeshot in moto one and instantly gave the fans the full Sacha Coenen Experience. He had at least five near-crashes on the opening lap but was completely unphased. He quickly began to check out on Cole Davies and the field. He crossed the finish line a whopping 33-seconds ahead of second place, Levi Kitchen, the largest margin of victory in a 250MX moto since 2018 when Dylan Ferrandis won the first moto in the Unadilla mud by 35 seconds. The crowd showed their appreciation for such a dominant performance, cheering Sacha on as he fist pumped around on the last lap. Sacha’s best lap was over two seconds faster than Cole Davies, who had the second-best lap and to add to that, Coenen did SIX laps faster than Cole’s best lap.
Moto two was even more insane. Coenen made the pass for the lead on Davies around the halfway mark and took off to a fifteen second lead. However, with a few laps to go Sacha yard sales, gets up, tosses his goggles and maintains a three-second lead. Then he pulled the lead back out to cap off a dominant 1-1 performance!
Incredible ride, but as Sacha crossed the finish line there he wasn't celebrating. Instead he instantly grabbed his shoulder and then the camerass caught him saying, “I broke my collarbone.” Bottom line is that Coenen got up, finished and won the moto with a legitimate injury. Only in motocross do you see this kind of grit. Sacha Coenen put himself into the Pro Motocross history books in legendary fashion. But will it cost him the MX2 Championship?
2. Lucas Coenen’s Tough Luck
Both Coenen brothers’ day ended in similar fashion but for Lucas, it came without a result to show for. He started the day brilliantly, qualifying fastest in the first session by over a second, and it looked like Southwick was setting up to be a Coenen takeover. But when the gate dropped for 450 moto one, Lucas was down in the sand and forced to make a charge through the pack. And charge through the pack he did. Within 20 minutes, Lucas came from 40th to pass his MXGP predecessor and Red Bull KTM teammate, Jorge Prado for fourth.
By that point, the top three were gone, but it was going to be an impressive comeback until Lucas went down hard over one of the tunnel jumps. The crash appeared to be caused by a bike issue as the front end dropped on Lucas without hitting a kicker or anything that would typically cause that to happen. However, at the post-race press conference, team manager Ian Harrison stated the bike appeared to be fine, but they were going to go through it and make sure.
Lucas rang his bell in the crash and decided to call it a day. He should be good to go at Foxhill’s in the U.K. this weekend. Big crashes are the one thing you hope don't happen, and they happened to both brothers. Let’s hope this doesn’t affect their MXGP championships and scare other top riders and teams from coming over for one-off races.
3. Southwick Claims Victims
The Wick 338 is infamous for being the only sand track on the circuit and being one of the most physically demanding races of the year. For whatever reason, the 2026 version also saw several riders hit the deck. Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda headlines the list of riders who got banged up this weekend, as the 250MX points leader coming into the weekend suffered a collarbone injury and concussion at the beginning of the second qualifying session. After the race, team manager Lars Lindstrom explained the severity of the collarbone injury had not been confirmed yet, but that concussion alone would have been enough to keep him out for the motos. Another devastating blow for Jo, who has had an injury-riddled 2026. He expressed his frustration in the team’s post-race PR saying, “I truly feel disgusted on how Saturday went.”
Moments after Shimoda’s crash, the session was red flagged for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Nick Romano who had a massive get off over the finish line jump. Nick posted the crash on his Instagram and announced he suffered fractures to his T-5 and T-6 vertebrae in his back. Also in the 250 class, Triumph’s Deacon Denno suffered a broken collarbone in moto one and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Landen Gordon crashed out of moto one and did not return.
The end of 450 moto one was also red flagged for Christian Craig. Craig posted an update that he suffered a T3 spinous process fracture. Good news is it will not require surgery; bad news is he is going to be out for a while, including the beginning of WSX. Add in the Coenen’s and Southwick took a serious toll on the field.
4. Jett Gets Redemption
Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence got himself back on the top step of the podium after suffering back-to-back losses for just the second time in his 450 Motocross career. It was funny to see Jett hand Hunter the moto one win after crashing, and then Hunter hand Jett the moto two win after crashing. The box score between the two of them is nearly identical; three overalls, six moto wins, six overall podiums, and just one point between them as the series hit the halfway point.
Despite the win, there are still several signs that Jett’s ankle recovery is not going as expected. This week he showed up with a bizarre looking extended footpeg to help him rest his heel throughout the moto. It was something the Lawrence camp requested at the 11th hour and the Honda guys were able to get done within 24 hours to use this weekend.
Then, at the post-race press conference, Jett addressed the media saying he did not want to answer any questions about his injury because at this point it is what it is. It seems like Jett is at a standstill with his recovery, and although he is good enough to win races, you have wonder if he will ever feel 100 percent again.
5. Deegan’s Best Result Yet
The Deegan camp has made it a habit to rent out Southwick in the weeks leading up to the national. This trend likely came from The Wick being Haiden’s weakest round during his 250-rookie season, and them wanting to address that weakness, and it has been working. Deegan dominated his last two years on a 250, and this weekend he had his best weekend yet on a 450. Deegs went 3-2 for his third overall podium of the finish and kept the Lawrence brothers within a reasonable distance, especially in moto two. Deegan also ran a new setting that Cooper Webb helped develop in the days they spent testing at Southwick and it sounds like he will be taking that set up to the more traditions tracks moving forward.
Deegan and Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado have been interchangeable as the third and fourth best guys in the series and this weekend they went toe to toe both motos. Deegan got the better of the better of the two-time MXGP champ this weekend, and one of the biggest questions going forward is which of those two will be the first to stop the Lawrence win streak.
6. Prado Underwhelming?
Jorge Prado is night and day better than last year, but the jury is still out if he is having a good summer. The DNF at Hangtown took him out of title contention early and killed his momentum from Pala, but he has been better since the weekend off.
What are we seeing here? Is this Prado in MXGP form fitting in as a third or fourth place guy or is there more in the tank? Southwick was one race where fans, media, and even Prado himself would have expected to be battling for the win, but that was never in play. He rode fine, but having Lucas Coenen catch and pass him from dead last was a tough look.
7. Davies Takes the Red Plate
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies sand skills specifically were still a question mark coming into The Wick. Welp, Davies passed the sand test with flying colors. He probably should have gone 2-2 but a crash while running second in the first moto left him with a seventh-place finish. He bounced back for a second in moto two for third overall and the points lead for the first time in his Pro Motocross career. With Shimoda’s injury, what was once a five-man title fight might have dwindled down to two, between Davies and Levi Kitchen.
8. Kitchen Bounces Back?
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen has been in a mini slump for the past couple rounds, but he showed some of his early season form at Southwick. Kitchen fell early in moto one but put in a nice charge through the pack to get second behind Sacha Coenen. It was his first moto podium since his first moto win in Colorado. Levi showed some of that raw speed he had at the opening round and was in the points lead after moto one.
Kitchen could not back that up in the second moto though. He got a rare, good start but did not have the speed to hang with Davies and Coenen early. His fourth in the moto was good enough for second overall, but you could argue that Davies left Massachusetts with the momentum. It is time for Kitchen to step up and take a stand towards this championship.
9. Sandman Minear
There was some low-key buzz coming into the weekend that Kayden Minear was a sand master. That checked out because Minear was on rails at Southwick. He went 6-3 for fourth overall and had to come through the pack both motos to do it. Minear passed 18 riders in moto one and ten riders in moto two. Minear was digging late in the motos showing that fitness is not an issue for the teenage Aussie. He has been stringing together some nice results and proving to be one of the most complete young riders in the field.
10. Francisco Garcia, Surprise of the Day?
It’s no secret that the SMX Next program has been highly influenced by the EMX series in MXGP. Just about every current European rider in MXGP or European transplant in the U.S. made their way through the EMX ranks. EMX250 is the final step before moving into MX2 and the points leader, Francisco Garcia, made the trip to Southwick for a crack at AMA Pro Motocross.
Garcia has been dominant in EMX this season and holds a 102-point lead over his Venum/Bud Racing Kawasaki teammate Jake Cannon. As a result of Garcia and Cannon’s early season success, the team rewarded them the opportunity to come across the pond for Southwick.
Francisco had an incredible day going 9-8 for eighth overall. He ran comfortably in the top ten all day and had a lot of people asking who #290 was. 9-8 would be an impressive debut for any amateur racing in America with the support of a factory team, so to come over for a one-off appearance on a non-factory bike, made Garcia’s ride even more impressive. He recently signed with Factory Kawasaki to race alongside Mathis Valin in MX2 next season and should be a podium contender straight away.
