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2026 Hangtown Pro Motocross Research

By Brett Smith

The Hangtown Classic

One of the most historic motocross races in America, the Hangtown Motocross Classic predates the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Operated by the Dirt Diggers North (DDNMC), it’s the only race on the schedule still run by a motorcycle club.

  • Ricky Carmichael is the all-time 450MX leader here with 5 wins in 8 starts
  • Eli Tomac has 7 450MX podiums in 8 Hangtown starts, that’s 1 podium behind Ricky Carmichael, who has most all-time.
  • Freddie Noren has 12 450MX starts here, most all-time.
  • With the exception of the 2020 COVID shutdown, Hangtown has run continuously since 1974.
  • NOTE: The Dirt Diggers celebrate 5 more years of Hangtown Classic events than what Pro Motocross counts. That’s because the race was already running for 5 years when it joined the Pro Motocross championships in 1974.
Notable Hangtown Classic Moments
  • 16 years ago, Eli Tomac wins his first ever professional Pro Motocross race (3-1 for 1st overall)
  • Dylan Ferrandis: 2021. In Moto 2, Ferrandis crashed on the start but came to get 3rd (and win the overall (1-3 scores). Ferrandis was 23rd after lap 1.
  • Chase Sexton: 2024. In Moto 2, Sexton fell early on lap 1 and went from 40th to 1st in a last corner overtake on Aaron Plessinger. Sexton (1-1 scores) was 25th after lap 1.
HANGTOWN HISTORY

450MX Rider Facts

  • Hunter Lawrence, in his 75th Pro Motocross start (classed combined) had the first perfect race of his career: Fastest Qualifier, won both motos.
  • Additionally, Hunter was fastest in both qualifying sessions, set the fastest lap in moto 2 (+ fastest overall lap) and led 29 of 30 laps.
  • Jett Lawrence finished third overall for the first time in his 450MX career.
  • Two Australians and a Spaniard going 1-2-3 was the first all-international podium since Unadilla 2021 (Roczen, Ferrandis, Musquin)
  • Jorge Prado was 2nd fastest in both qualifying sessions and finished second in both motos. He also set the fastest lap in moto 1. All Pro Motocross bests.
  • Eli Tomac has 0 Hangtown holeshots in 16 450MX moto starts.
  • Haiden Deegan set the 4th fastest lap time in the premier class and finished 5th overall.
  • Chase Sexton went 7-5 for 6th overall, but also had crashes in each moto. 4th fastest in each moto highlights he was more competitive.
  • Justin Cooper’s next two venues are his best (both combined classes and in the premier class). He averages a 3.5 finish at each in the premier class.7
  • RJ Hampshire Hangtown 2025 – qualified 5th and went 6-8 for 7th overall.
  • Justin Barcia is 1 of 6 riders with 300+ Supercross + Pro Motocross starts.

250MX Rider Facts

  • Notable: There will be a first time overall 250 winner in Hangtown. The only moto winner is Michael Mosiman (2021: 1-39 for 8th).
  • Seth Hammaker’s first ever overall was also his first ever podium and just his 4th career top 5 (in 32 starts).
  • Caden Dudney’s 6-4 (34 pts.) is the fewest points scored for a 2nd overall in 250MX Pro Motocross history (more below)
  • Levi Kitchen’s 4th overall is 12 places better than he finished the 2025 opener (16th).
  • Kitchen’s career opening round finishes: 8-9-2-16-4. He finished 3rd overall at Hangtown in both 2024 and 2025.
  • Mathys Boisrame is pronounced: ma-TEES bwa-HA-me.
  • Boisrame, 27, is the 2018 European MX champion. 17th at Fox Raceways tied his career best (Unadilla 2025)
  • Jo Shimoda started 2025 with four 2nd place finishes – he went 4-7 for 6th at the opener this season.
  • Chance Hymas missed the second Hangtown moto in 2025 after getting food poisoning. He had qualified 2nd fastest and was leading moto 1 before dropping back to finish 13th.
  • Cole Davies set the fastest lap in moto 2 at Fox Raceway last weekend.
  • Nick Romano went 5-11 for 9th, but his speed showed there’s upside with 2nd and 7th fastest laptimes.
  • Daxton Bennick has 1 Hangtown start: 2024, he went 11-15 for 12th.
  • Lux Turner’s 7th was a career best overall finish and his first top 10. Previous best was 14th (twice)
  • Ryder Difrancesco (19-3) just eked into the points in moto 1. He’s scored points in 49 straight motos.
  • Julien Beaumer finished a previous career best moto finish of 4th in moto 2 at Hangtown last year (his 2nd in M2 last weekend is his new career best).

Hunter Lawrence’s Breakout SMX Season

Hunter Lawrence made it look easy with a dominating 1-1 for 1st overall performance after qualifying fastest. Don’t be surprised; his 2026 SuperMotocross season is a breakout year.

He’s long been strong; he finished 2nd in the Pro Motocross series in his rookie (2024) and sophomore seasons, and also took 2nd in the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals both those same years.

In Supercross, however, he finished 9th in 2024 and only made 4 of 17 starts in 2025 (shoulder injury).

That’s changed in 2026…

  • He got his first Supercross win.
  • Held the red plate for the first time in Supercross.
  • Finished 2nd in the 2026 Supercross Championship missing out on the top step by just 3 points to veteran Ken Roczen.
  • First perfect Pro Motocross race and owns the red plate heading into round 2 at Hangtown.
Points Rank Thru 18 Rounds
  • Note he’s scored 147 more points after 18 rounds in 2026 than he did in 2024 at this same point.
  • This chart shows precisely how great Hunter’s season has been. He is sitting 1st in the SMX Points standings after 18 rounds.

Premier Class Debut Stats

There’s a reason it’s called the “premier” class. A few riders have dominated from first gate drop but it’s rare.

  • 2023: Jett Lawrence 1-1 for 1st overall. Also Fastest Qualifier
  • 2009: Ryan Villopoto (1-1). Qualified 5th.
  • 2000, Ricky Carmichael (1-1). qualifying n/a.
  • Pierre Karsmakers 1973, Jeff Ward 1985, and Sebastien Tortelli 1999 also went 1-1 for 1st overall.

But dominating like that is rare as evidenced by it happening just 6 times in 55 years (and half those names weren’t ‘rookie’s in the true sense).

More relevant is to look at the debuts of the top 5 riders from this past weekend’s race at Fox Raceway. Haiden Deegan ranks alongside Jorge Prado last year, but not didn’t achieve the moto or overall podium of the Lawrence brothers nor Chase Sexton. Starts surely factored, but that’s what makes podiums special – you have to execute holistically.

Contemporary Rider Debut Performances: 450MX

There’s still just 12 riders who won their debut moto (Doug Sanger 1972, Pierre Karsmakers 1973, RJ 1982, Wardy 1985, JMB 1989, Brian Swink 1994, Sebastien Tortelli 1999, RC 2000, RV 2009, Ferrandis 2021, Herlings 2017, and Jett Lawrence 2023).

Stat Spotlight: Starts and 1st Lap Position

No surprise, the importance of a good start and opening laps turned out to be critical at Fox Raceway. The winners of both classes were never worse than 2nd place.

250s

  • All 3 podium riders rounded lap 1 in at least the top 7 and the top 2 were in podium position already.
  • 4 other title contenders (Kitchen, Shimoda, Hymas, and Difrancesco) each had at least one moto starting outside the top 10. All averaged 10th or worse on the first lap – tough to win motos buried at the start.
250MX @ Fox Raceway. Speed and Start Position

450s

  • Hunter Lawrence and Jorge Prado put on a start clinic at Fox Raceway: 1-2 on the holeshot position and 1-2 on the 1st lap.
  • Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan were outside the top 10 in moto 1 and just inside it in moto 2.
450MX @ Fox Raceway. Speed and Start Position

Hammaker’s First Win

Seth Hammaker is the 95th rider in Pro Motocross history to win a 125/250 overall. He’s the 75th rider to win an overall through 32 career starts (so there’s another 20 riders that had MORE starts before they got their first overall win).

The most starts before a first overall win you ask!?

Most Starts to First Overall Win – 125/250MX

Seth was impressive.

  • He scored two moto best finishes (previously had finished 3rd 3x in his career).
  • 2nd in qualifying and set the 3rd fastest lap in each moto.
  • Holeshot and led the first 8 laps of moto 1.
  • Rounded lap 1 in 1st and 2nd place in each moto.

Great starts. Great speed. No mistakes.

International Momentum

Supercross was battle between an Australian and German. This summer could be a battle between TWO Australians and a Spaniard with a Frenchman and Dane making occasional podium appearances.

  • Hunter Lawrence (Australian) was joined by Jorge Prado (Spanish) with his (of course) Australian brother Jett a distant third.
  • 4 of the top 10 are international riders and most prominently the entire podium.
  • Mikkel Haarup (Denmark) gave Triumph its first ever 450MX holeshot. He was 10-14 for 11th overall.
  • The all-international podium at Fox Raceway was the first since Unadilla 2021 (Roczen, Ferrandis, Musquin)
450MX: International Riders in Top 10 at Fox Raceway
  • While not as prominent, the 250s also had Cole Davies (3rd – New Zealand) and Jo Shimoda (6th – Japan) in the mix.

Big Points Leads After 1 Round

Seth Hammaker’s +13 over Caden Dudney (and Cole Davies and Levi Kitchen) is the third biggest 250MX points lead after 1 round in class history (modern scoring system, 1976-present)

  • Only 5 times in 125/250MX history has a rider had a +12 (or more) lead after 1 round.
  • NOTE: Hammaker is the first rider to hold this big of a lead WITHOUT going 1-1 in the opening round
Biggest Points Leads after 1 round (250MX)

Caden Dudney, the Unlikely Runner-Up

6-4 moto scores seldom get you a podium finish, let alone a SECOND place. Caden Dudney has set a new 125/250 Pro Motocross record for fewest points scored for a 2nd overall.

  • 6-4 moto scores awards 34 championship points under the current scoring system (16+18)
  • Dudney is far from the first rider to get 2nd overall without a moto podium, but 34 pts. is the fewest to do it.
Fewest Points For a 2nd overall: 125/250MX History

Fun Fact: At Fox Raceway, Dudney, Cole Davies and Levi Kitchen had a 3-way tie for 2nd overall (all scored 34 points). At the 1975 Omaha National (which used Olympic scoring), 5 riders all scored 12 points and tied for 2nd place.

  • Bruce McDougal (9-3) beat out Jim Turner (7-5), Mike Kessler (6-6), Nils-Arne Nilsson (4-8) and Steve Wise (3-9).
  • Ties were broken by the better moto 2 finish.

Historical Scoring Notes

  • In 2024, a slight points adjustment was made where 5th place became worth 17pts. (vs. 16) with each subsequent placing worth one less point, which makes what Dudney did last weekend even more impressive!
  • In 1974-1975, overall winners were awarded 150 points, 2nd 120 points and 3rd 100 points.
  • The per moto scoring system used today went into effect in 1976.

SMX Next ‘Debuts’

The 250 class had a handful of young talented riders deliver solid performances to start the 2026 Pro Motocross season.

WMX Preview

This is How the World Turns
  • Lachlan Turner, 19, has absolutely dominated the Women’s Motocross Championship, which returned as a series after a years long hiatus.
  • Turner is a two-time (and defending) WMX champion (2024, 2025)
  • OVERALLS: of the 14 rounds held between 2024-2025, Turner has won 9 of them (and she missed two of those rounds because of injury)
  • MOTOS: of the 28 motos run (2024-2025) Turner has won 17 of them.
2025 WMX Recap
  • Lachlan Turner won 5 of the 6 rounds in 2025.
  • She won 9 of the 12 motos in 2025, winning both from the gate drop and in come-from-behind charges.
  • Charli Cannon won two of the motos and Mikayla Nielsen won a moto at Fox Raceway.
  • Five different women finished on the podium (Turner, Nielsen, Cannon, Jordan Jarvis and Kyleigh Stallings)
New Look for Stallings
  • Kyleigh Stallings, 19, has switched from Kawasaki to a Storm Lake Honda
  • She’s a 4-time LLMX champion and a holeshot specialist.
  • In 2024, she had back to back 1-1 weekends at the High Point and Ironman Nationals.
  • She had 1 overall podium in 2025 (Ironman)
  • She’s studying cosmetology.
  • She turns 20 on Father’s Day, the day after the High Point National.

Milestones

450s
  • One more win and Jett Lawrence ties Jeff Ward for 6th most premier class wins
  • Two more moto wins and Jett Lawrence (44) ties Ken Roczen for 8th most moto wins in 450MX
  • The next first time winner in 450MX is the 72nd different rider to win the class (Haiden Deegan, Justin Cooper, Aaron Plessinger…
  • Justin Cooper has 93 Pro Motocross starts on a Yamaha (all classes), -1 to Tim Ferry and -15 to Doug Dubach, the all-time Yamaha Pro MX leader.
  • Jett Lawrence and Ricky Johnson both have 24 premier class wins, good for 2nd winningest Honda riders in premier class history. Ricky Carmichael has 33.
250s
  • Jo Shimoda has 68 career starts, the same # as Zach Osborne and others (34th all-time)