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Morning Report

"This is SMX!" Today's Monster Energy SMX World Championship Final will take place at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri, where we will crown the final two champions of the 2026 SMX season. 

Levi Kitchen (250SMX) and Jorge Prado (450SMX) lead their respective classes, but with the triple points here today there are several other riders that can win the title in both classes. Could Ryder DiFrancesco sneak out a win/or and this 250SMX title? Could Haiden Deegan sneak away with the 450SMX title? Both would be their first title in their respective class and a huge end to the season. 

Today's weather will be a high of 82° with sun, which should provide a perfect day for this finale.

In terms of the track, now this is SMX! This layout looks awesome. A long, fast—but tricky—track will welcome riders today on race day. The blank canvas that is Thunder Ridge Nature Arena brought us the most unique track layout the SMX League has ever seen. 

The big jumps, sand rollers, and long straight aways will get chewed, beat, and rutted up for the racers today. This track might be tricky for some to nail their bike setups (think the very first SMX Playoff year when the hybrid tracks were an unknown to racers and team personnel alike).

Check out some more content from Friday.

Track walk is at 10:30 a.m. local time (Central), then bikes are on track at 11:50 a.m. local time (Central).

As far as the broadcasts today, here are the times:
Race Day Live: 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific
Live Pre-Race Show: 6:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Pacific
Gate Drop: 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific
Post-Race Show: 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific

Here we go!

Farewell Tours

This will be the race for:
Eli Tomac in his professional racing career.
Dylan Ferrandis in his professional racing career.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team in SMX.
Mikkel Haarup in the U.S. before he returns to MXGP for 2027.

Soak it all in this weekend!

Injury Update: Chance Hymas 

What happens to Team USA now? Chance Hymas has had to withdraw from Team USA for the second time in his career, as he overjumped a triple yesterday in free practice and injured his wrist.

He announced:

Hymas worked with his Honda HRC Progressive team and the AMA to make his next decision, and they all decided it would not be fair to Team USA to ride at possibly 60-70 percent next weekend.

“This decision is about giving Team USA the best possible chance at a great result,” said Hymas. “I know I wouldn’t be at 100%, and I don’t believe that would be fair to Coop, Levi, or the entire USA team.”

So who fills Hymas’ 450 MXoN slot? There’s sure to be some major scrambling and negotiating going on in the AMA truck this weekend.

What’s At Stake: Points and Payout Reminder

Check out the title payouts for the 250SMX and 450SMX Classes here in terms of the championship finish.

Remember, Triple Points this weekend. Here is the breakdown per position in terms of the overall win.

First Qualifying Sessions

250SMX

After Friday's free practice sessions, a full night of rest, and track walk this morning, it was time for the the riders to take to the track here for race day. 

The riders got the green flag, and it was Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen—the 250SMX points leader—leading the seeded 250SMX field around the track. He had the fastest initial lap but then it was Drew Adams and Julien Beaumer going back and forth for the top spot in the results page. Then Ryder DiFrancesco had his name at the top of the board before Beaumer would top the session by the time the checkered flag came out. It was Beaumer, Cole Davies sneaking into P2, then Kitchen, DiFrancesco, and Adams rounding out the top five.

450SMX

In the premier class, it was Jorge Prado, Hunter Lawrence, and Haiden Deegan leading the field as the green flag waved. But Justin Hill had the fastest first lap! Then Prado jumped to P1. However, Prado came up short jumping the over/under jump and roller jump that followed back behind the starting gates, and it looked like Prado took an easy lap afterwards, taking his right hand off the handlebars and giving his shoulder a rotation to check it. He stayed out there throughout the entire session—and would remain P1. And remember, Prado jammed his wrist last weekend in California, so this might be something to watch here the rest of the day. 

Haiden Deegan, who was fast, looked to be on a good fast lap…until two turns to go before the finish line, when his front wheel jumped out of the deep, very inside rut two turns before the finish line. The #38 stayed upright but the mistake threw off his rhythm. Still, he was third fastest in the session behind Prado and Hunter Lawrence. Prado was nearly a second faster than the #96. 

Then, on the final lap, Cooper Webb put down a great fast lap, which vaulted him to P2, ahead of Lawrence and behind Prado. Prado’s hot lap was still half a second faster than Webb’s second-best time!

At the checkered flag, it was Prado, Webb, Lawrence, Deegan, and Garrett Marchbanks rounding out the top five in the session.

WMX

The WMX riders took to the track next and were getting their lines worked in here ahead of their invitational race this evening. 

Rookie Mayla Herrick was the fastest in the session early with a 1:29. Charli Cannon with a big case and crash over a triple, where her front wheel nose picked into some soft dirt, sending the #7 to the ground with her bike following her into a front tuck. Cannon was able to get back up to her free rather quickly and got back on her bike and going again, albeit slowly at first. Eventually, she got going fast again and would finish out the entire session, which was a great sign.

Lachlan Turner, running the #99 again today for the first time in a while, got and took over P1 with a 1:25. Then, Turner clicked off a few more good laps, with her best being a 1:22.8! That would be P1 in the session, over Cannon’s 1:25.3 and Mikayla Nielsen’s 1:25.9.

Second Qualifying Sessions

250SMX

The second qualifying session saw Cole Davies leading the field, with a 1:15.12, followed by a 1:15.49 by Julien Beaumer. Then, Levi Kitchen slotted into P2 with a 1:15.318. Beaumer was absolutely sending it on the final lap, but his new best time—a 1:15.366—was only good enough for P3 in the session.

In the session, it was Davies, Kitchen, Beaumer, Ryder DiFrancesco, and Landen Gordon rounding out the top five.

In terms of the overall qualifying, it was Beaumer's 1:15.001, Davies' 1:15.052, Kitchen's 1:15.318, DiFrancesco's 1:15.383, and Gordon's 1:15.683. Jo Shimoda's 1:15.888 was the only other rider under 1:16.

450SMX

Haiden Deegan got the fake holeshot and was leading the field for the second 450SMX session, but it was Cooper Webb, Jordon Smith, and Eli Tomac who were fastest on track early. Deegan jumped to P1 with a 1:14.080 then Jorge Prado was second. Then, Prado put down a 1:13.936 to become the first rider into the 1:13s today! Hunter Lawrence put down a 1:13.708 on the final lap to take over P1 but then Deegan squeaked out a 1:13.296 right at the end of the session to steal P1 overall away! So, it was Deegan, Lawrence, then Prado in terms of both the session and overall qualifying.

Julien Beaumer In for Hymas on Team USA [3:25 p.m. Eastern]

AMA Director of Racing's Mike Mike Pelletier announced on the Race Day Live qualifying broadcast that Julien Beaumer will replace Chance Hymas for Team USA at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.

Pelletier said it was a tough decision with Hymas and the Honda HRC Progressive team to make the call to withdraw after his injury yesterday. Plus, Pelletier said they leave on Tuesday for the event next weekend in France.

So, Beaumer and the Red Bull KTM team stepped up to offer Beaumer to go and race in the 450cc spot Hymas was going to race. Pelletier said he came straight from the KTM truck talking with Beaumer to the RDL broadcast set to break the news.

Cooper Webb (450), Levi Kitchen (250), and Beaumer (450) will now complete the Team USA roster.

Imagine the day if Beaumer wins the overall tonight and/or the 250SMX World Championship, right after he was given the green light to fill-in for Hymas at MXoN.

Beaumer was already coming into the finale with momentum (two wins in the previous three races) and is today's fastest 250SMX overall qualifier, but will this give Beaumer an extra boost tonight?

WMX

Charli Cannon (1:24.153) topped the second WMX qualifying session, but it was Lachlan Turner's 1:22.844 topped the overall qualifying for the WMX class.

Wild Card Races

250SMX

All seven riders from the 250SMX Wild Card race will transfer into the motos today if they finish the race.

The gate dropped, and it was ClubMX Yamaha teammates Devin Simonson and Max Anstie out front of Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Cameron McAdoo and Nick Romano. Then, it was Pierce Brown, Henry Miller, and Marshal Weltin rounding out the seven-rider race. 

Brown made his way around Romano to take over fourth. Anstie got onto the rear wheel of Simonson as the Yamaha teammates started to battle for the race lead late in the race! Simonson led as they took the white flag, but Anstie had some good lines the lap previous, and was able to make a pass for the lead in the sand section on the first half of the track.

Anstie took the race win as Simonson, McAdoo, Brown, Romano, Miller, and Weltin (seventh) all came through the checkered flag to qualify for the motos this evening.

450SMX

As for the 450SMX Wild Card race, the top six will transfer into the motos in the 11-rider race.

The gate dropped and it was Jeremy Hand with the great jump going into the first turn, but Shane McElrath snuck up the inside to have the early lead…until his back end kicked out! The #12 saved it but was passed by several riders as they shuffled with one another in the first few turns. It was Vince Friese leading after some initial chaos—which included Benny Bloss going down early in the race—and was followed by Mitchell Harrison, Grant Harlan, Colt Nichols, McElrath, and Valentin Guillod rounding out the top six spots at the time. Tough start to the race for Bloss, but he was not done yet.

Fredrik Noren had a big save in the sand on the second lap, where his bike kicked sideways. He stayed up, as he was running seventh, and continued to go after Guillod for the final transfer spot. Noren was able to hound Guillod and use a very inside line passing the mechanics to make a pass for sixth with about a minute left on the clock. 

Bloss charged up to eighth and was going after Guillod for seventh, with Noren not too far ahead. Then the two collided! It looked unintentional, but Bloss got his leg stuck in Guillod’s rear tire in the incident, pulling the duo to a direct stop on the face of a jump! That ended either rider’s hopes of qualifying for the motos.

Noren got around Harlan to take over fifth on the final lap, but Harlan got by Noren in the second to last turn to retake fifth!

McElrath won the race (and is 3-0 in the SMX Playoff Wild Card races this fall), as Nichols, Harrison, Friese, Harlan, and Noren will go to the motos tonight, as Hand (seventh), Cornelius Tøndel, Kevin Moranz, Guillod, and Bloss will pack it up and call it a ‘26 SMX season. Thanks for playing, boys, see ya next year!

Injury Update: Lotte Van Drunen OUT 

Lotte Van Drunen will be OUT for today's WMX Invitational race.

Van Drunen suffered a crash on Friday during free practice and wanted to compete tonight, but after the first qualifying session, her and the Gizmo Racing Yamaha squad announced on Instagram she would be out for the second qualifying session and the race tonight.

Below is the full post:

Grab your popcorn, James Stewart, because when we come back in two hours, it will be time to go racing!

Johnny Morris, CEO of Bass Pro Shops, and a few NASCAR drivers started things off for us tonight.

Here we go!

First Motos

250SMX

Levi Kitchen used the very most inside starting grate, and when the gate dropped, it was Kitchen who executed not only a great jump but he nailed the first corner to sneak out of turn one with the holeshot and race lead! Kitchen led Nate Thrasher, Landen Gordon, Cole Davies, Maximus Vohland, Julien Beaumer, Ryder DiFrancesco, Nick Romano, Pierce Brown, and Caden Dudney as it was a Yamaha-heavy top ten!

Kitchen started to open up a couple second lead out front on Thrasher as Davies was putting a ton of pressure on is teammates Gordon, as Beaumer lurked close behind the #180/#37 duo. Beaumer moved into the top ten quickly after starting around 13th or so. Jo Shimoda was outside the top 15 at the beginning of the race, around 19th early on.

Beaumer and DiFrancesco caught one another as they both got around Vohland to take over fifth and sixth, respectively. Kitchen was rolling out front, but Thrasher put in a few good laps and kept Kitchen honest, and within reach. The #47’s lead went back and forth between about two seconds to one second in the first half of the race.

Thrasher had the fastest lap of the race early on, although Davies put in a 1:16.186 on the seventh lap, where he was finally able to pass his teammate Gordon to take over third place.

DiFrancesco made a pass on Beaumer to take over fifth a little past halfway through the race, which could loom large in tonight's overall and the title fight.

Davies put a block pass on Thrasher with around 10 minutes left on the clock. It was a clean move, aggressiveness wise—but Thrasher looked to get cross-rutted and go down! Davies took over second as DiFrancesco was bumped up to third, Gordon to fourth, Beaumer to fifth, then Brown to sixth, with Thrasher remounting in seventh.

Beaumer made a clean pass on Gordon to take over fourth in the same turn Davies just passed Thrasher two laps prior!

Davies ran down and caught Kitchen with about five minutes left on the clock.

Brown was pushing Gordon, who was going after Beaumer!

With about two minutes on the clock, Davies was right on the rear wheel of Kitchen. The two were side-by-side in the sand section and Davies was able to use the outside line to swing around wide and carry more momentum past the #47 to take over the race lead!

Brown made a pass on Gordon to take over fifth as they took the white flag.

Davies took the race win by 2.132 seconds over Kitchen. DiFrancesco took third in a great ride as Beaumer just held off Brown at the checkered flag as they rounded out the top five. 

Shimoda, who was buried off the start, came through in 15th.

450SMX

The gate dropped on the first 450SMX moto and it was Haiden Deegan unintentionally bumping Cooper Webb out of his way as the #38 exited turn one with the race lead! It did not look like anything more than turn one shuffling. Deegan led Ken Roczen, Hunter Lawrence, Webb, and RJ Hampshire as Jorge Prado was outside ninth early on!

Deegan nearly slid out in the back section of turns right before the finish line, but he stayed up and stayed in the lead!

Prado got into sixth behind Hampshire, but the four riders closest to the title over than the #26 were all ahead of him! They got side-by-side in the rhythm section after the big triple in the middle of the track…Hamphshire went inside, Prado outside in the turn before the finish line and Prado was able to slingshot by the #24 to take over fifth. Next up ahead of the #26 is Webb—and remember, the two have had a few run-ins with one another this year.

A little bit less than halfway through the race, Dylan Ferrandis picked up his mechanic and they rode off the tunnel together back to the pits. 

Around the halfway mark of the race, Deegan continued to lead with about a two-second lead over Roczen, as Lawrence ran about three seconds behind Roczen.

At about the 4:30 mark left on the clock (13th lap or so), Deegan had a close call in the sand section behind the starting gate. He stayed upright and continued to lead though. Roczen closed up on Deegan (about a second) but then got held up by lapped riders, which opened up Deegan’s gap again slightly (two seconds or so).

Roczen closed up to about a second and a half on Deegan with about two laps to go. Deegan ran into a couple of lappers. Deegan took the white flag and looked back to spot Roczen still on his tail—although behind the two lappers Deegan had already passed. 

Deegan had a perfect final lap and then threw a big whip as he took the checkered flag!

Roczen came through second, 3.109 seconds back, as Lawrence, Webb, and Prado rounded out the top five—all with a shot at the 450SMX World Championship still.

Deegan’s 1:15.251 on the seventh lap was the fastest lap of the race as the 450 rookie led all 17 laps of the race in impressive fashion. That is his third 450SMX Playoff race win in these three races this fall as he continues to get better on the 450cc machine each and every weekend. Can he back up this race with another great moto and pull this title off?

Prado was not able to get Webb in the late stages of the race—and it might end up being costly here in this 450SMX World Championship.

Eli Tomac came through 13th, as Ferrandis had that early DNF which resulted in a 22nd place finish.

One more moto to go here in this epic 450SMX season.

WMX Invitational Main Event

Up next was the WMX Invitational race. The gate dropped and it was rookie Mayla Herrick who grabbed the holeshot over Charli Cannon and Hannah Hodges as 2026 WMX Champion Lachlan Turner ran in fourth. Cannon made a pass into the lead as the field passed the mechanics for the first time.

Herrick made a block pass into the lead before the big triple (where Cole Davies passed Nate Thrasher earlier in their first moto). Cannon nearly went down but somehow she stayed up! Watch the replay below. However, it dropped her back a few positions! Hodges took advantage of the two Honda riders going at one another and took over the race lead! Herrick remained in second as Turner joined the party in third right on the rear wheel of the #23. Cannon remounted in fifth.

Herrick then had a big crash in the sand! She tried to go up the inside of Hodges to retake the lead but it looked like her footpeg clipped a Tuff Block and she went down hard! That dropped her out of the top five, as Jordan Jarvis benefitted.

Hodges continued to lead but Turner and Cannon were coming after the #172 machine. They were three-wide in one of the turns…then Turner took over the race lead!

Turner and Cannon returned to where they left off the WMX Championship this summer, as Hodges inserted with a strong ride in third. Behind Hodges, Mikayla Nielsen and Jarvis battled back and forth for fourth. Jarvis passed Nielsen in the turn between the sand sections to take over fourth.

On the final lap, Cannon went for the race lead but came up short in the rhythm section in the middle of the track! That would give Turner the breathing room she needed to take the race win! She was #99 on the track again, but she was #1 on the podium again: Lachlan Turner wins the WMX Invitational! Canon was second as Hodges held on for third place.

During the podium interviews for the WMX riders, rain started to fall. Oh boy! Just in time for the final two motos of the year. Buckle up gang, it is about to get wild…

Second Motos

250SMX

The final 250SMX moto of the year got underway and the rain continued to fall. 

The gate dropped, and it was Cole Davies with the holeshot! But Levi Kitchen executed another clutch start as he exited the first turn in second behind the #37! Davies led Kitchen, Landen Gordon, Cameron McAdoo, Nate Thrasher, Lux Turner, Devin Simonson, Daxton Bennick, Kayden Minear, Pierce Brown rounded out the top ten early.

Where were Ryder DiFrancesco and Julien Beaumer, the other two title contenders closest to Kitchen entering the moto? Beaumer went into the first turn…last and then tipped over, as DiFrancesco was pinched off in the very inside of the turn as well. They were 19th and 20th (DiFrancesco, Beaumer, respectively) a handful of turns into the first lap!

Davies continued to lead as the rain continued to fall and the race continued to go on, the track getting more and more slick and trickier every time around. Davies held a five-second lead over Kitchen. Even though Davies was eyeing a 1-1 and Kitchen was eyeing a 2-2, Kitchen was in a perfect position to claim the 250SMX title after Davies’ DNF last weekend in California hindered his points total significantly.  

DiFrancesco made his way into tenth before the halfway mark but the rainfall and deep field provided difficulties for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider. Beaumer was a few positions back, running 13th.

At the halfway point, Davies’ lead over Kitchen was eight seconds. 

With five minutes left in moto, Jo Shimoda made a pass on DiFrancesco to take over ninth place. Two minutes later, Beaumer made a pass on DiFrancesco to take over tenth place.

Shimoda then got Turner to take over eighth, as Beaumer followed suit.

Davies took the race win—and the overall win via 1-1 moto wins—but Levi Kitchen wins the 250SMX World Championship!

Davies ‘ 1-1 takes the overall win, Kitchen’s 2-2 takes second place overall, and Gordon’s 6-3 lands him third overall and his first SMX Playoffs overall podium. 

Kitchen brings Mitch Payton his first #1 plate since Adam Cianaciarulo won the 2019 250 Class AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

450SMX

The rain stopped ahead of the very final moto of the 2026 SMX season. The track was still going to be slippery, but at least the rain had stopped. While the rain hindered some possibly wild action in the 250SMX race, but we expected some fireworks to finish off the 450SMX World Championship. Five riders who are able to claim the 2026 450SMX title, and one final moto to go.

The gates dropped and it was Jorge Prado with the holeshot over Haiden Deegan, Hunter Lawrence, RJ Hampshire, Cooper Webb, Dylan Ferrandis, Jordon Smith, and Ken Roczen.

Prado was in position to win the moto and the title. Deegan’s 1-2 were set to best Prado’s 5-1 finishes for the overall win but that did not matter for the title. Even if Deegan makes a pass on Prado here for this moto win, it would not be enough for Deegan to get the title because Prado could finish third overall and still get the title.

Deegan closed up to about a second behind of Prado, but, again, the #38 needed Prado to have a, um, problem of some sort and drop back a few positions overall if the Yamaha rider wanted this title.

Roczen got around Ferrandis and Smith to take over sixth, but the rest of the riders with a shot at the title were not changing much.

Halfway through the race the running order was Prado plus two seconds on Deegan then Lawrence, Webb, Roczen (after a pass on Hampshire), Garrett Marchbanks, Ferrandis, Smith, with Colt Nichols rounding out the top ten. Eli Tomac was running 12th behind Shane McElrath.

With six minutes left on the clock, Lawrence nearly fell off the back of his bike as he continued to keep Webb behind him. Around the same time, Prado started to run into some lappers. Deegan had the gap down to about 0.8 seconds. 

With one minute left on the clock, Deegan went for a block pass after the big triple in the middle of the track, and he MISSED Prado! Prado saw the move coming, squared up the turn, and Deegan missed him as Prado navigated it PERFECTLY! They got the two lap board a few turns later. Then, one lap later and Deegan was not close enough to make a pass attempt. Prado took the white flag and it was GO TIME. One final lap and Prado would be the 450SMX World Champion.

Prado executed the sand…he scrubbed the absolute piss out of the triple in the middle of the track where Deegan missed him with the block pass…and Prado took the race win to become the 2026 450SMX World Champion!

Deegan’s 1-2 took the overall win but Prado’s 5-1 took second place and the title. Hunter Lawrence’s 3-3 was third overall on the day.

Spain’s Prado becomes the second 450SMX World Champion ever, behind only Australia’s Jett Lawrence. Prado adds this 450SMX World Championship to his four FIM Motocross World Championships (two in MX2 and two in MXGP).

That is two of the three SMX Playoff overall wins for Deegan. His 1:15.633 on the 11th lap was the fastest of the race. The #38 proved he will be a force to reckon with in 2027. 

Dylan Ferrandis finished eighth in his final pro moto ever, as Eli Tomac finished 11th in his final pro moto ever.