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2026 RedBud Pro Motocross Research

By Brett Smith

America’s Motocross Track

RedBud MX gets its name from the trees that line this southwestern Michigan motocross track. The energy ‘America’s Motocross Track’ is known for comes from the ultra patriotic Midwestern crowd that descends upon this rolling farmland on the first Saturday of July.

  • Name of Facility: RedBud MX (the B is inter-capped)
  • RedBud hosted its first Pro Motocross event in 1974 and picked up its longstanding Independence Day weekend date in 1978.
  • The 2026 event is ON July 4, the 7th time the RedBud National has been held on Independence Day.
  • The last time RedBud raced on July 4 was 2015 (remember, there was no RedBud in July in 2020)
RedBud All-Time Facts
  • Ricky Carmichael is the all-time premier class wins leader (7)
  • Hometown hero Mike LaRocco (who never actually won here) has the most premier class starts (14) but Freddie Noren (13) could tie The Rock.
  • Jett Lawrence has won every moto he’s raced here in 450MX (2023, 2025)
  • The 450 Fastest Qualifier has gone on to win overall the last five straight years.
  • The 250 Fastest Qualifier has only won the overall once in the past seven events here (Shimoda, 2022)
REDBUD HISTORY

450MX Rider Facts

  • Hunter Lawrence has identical moto scores at all 4 rounds this season. 1-1 at Fox Raceway, 2-2 at Hangtown, 4-4 at Thunder Valley and 1-1 at High Point.
  • Lawrence Brothers 2026 Season Stats:

  • Jett Lawrence has only been beaten in back-to-back motos 3 times in his career – Hangtown 2025, Pala 2026, and High Point 2026. Hunter Lawrence went a perfect 1-1 in 2 of those 3 days.
  • Season best: Aaron Plessinger (5th). The Cowboy hadn’t been top 5 since High Point 2025. And he hadn’t been top 5 in a moto since The Wick 2025.
  • Season best: Benny Bloss finished 10th in M2 at High Point. He hadn’t been top 10 in a Pro Motocross moto since 2022 (6-8 at the Fox Raceway finale).
  • Surprisingly… Haiden Deegan has yet to lead a lap in 450 Pro Motocross.
  • Laps Led = Jett Lawrence (70), Hunter Lawrence (63), and Jorge Prado (1).
  • Only 3 riders have finished top 10 in every moto this season – Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence, and RJ Hampshire.
  • Symmetry: Freddie Noren has gained +62 positions (series most) while Cooper Webb has lost -62 (series most).
  • Good news for Webb is he’s averaging 6th on the 1st Lap. The bad news is his average fast lap rank is 11th.

250MX Rider Facts

  • 4 different riders have won the four rounds. In 2021, 6 different riders won the first six rounds.
  • 6 different riders have a holeshot in 8 motos – only Seth Hammaker (3x) has multiple.
  • Only 1 rider has been top 5 overall in all 4 rounds – Levi Kitchen.
  • Prior to this season, neither Cole Davies nor Julien Beaumer had an overall win or podium, now they’ve combined for 1 overall win and 4 overall podiums! (see below for more details)
  • Cole Davies had a perfect day in High Point – fastest qualifier and won both motos – the first of his Pro Motocross career!
  • Kayden Minear’s 3rd in Moto 2 at High Point give the series an 8th different rider to land a moto podium. 11 riders hit the podium after 22 motos in 2025.
  • Jo Shimoda is a 2-time RedBud winner (2025, 2022). 2022 was his first career overall win!
  • At RedBud 2024, Chance Hymas went 4-1 for 1st overall – it was his first career overall win.
  • At High Point, Michael Mosiman had two top 10 finishes (9-9 for 8th) for the first time this season.

Johnny and the Boys

In the 1980s, Johnny O’Mara was a consistent (and persistent) podium presence so it’s no surprise that both riders he coaches, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, are matching and surpassing his success in the premier class.

  • With his 1-1 win at High Point, Hunter Lawrence now has 3 career 450MX wins, 1 more than Johnny O.
  • O’Mara and Hunter are tied at 21 premier class podium finishes.
  • In Supercross, O’Mara was the 1984 premier class champion and 3rd in two other seasons.
  • In Motocross, O’Mara was the 1983 125MX champion and the 250/450MX runner-up in 1985, 3rd in 1986.
  • O’Mara finished 3rd in the 1990 500MX series.
Jett vs. Johnny vs. Hunter: Premier Class MX

In combined SX+MX accolades, Johnny still has the edge on Hunter and a podium lead on Jett.

Jett vs. Johnny vs. Hunter: Premier Class SX/MX Combined
  • Fun fact: If we lumped all the podiums finishes together 125/250SX+MX and 250/450 SX+MX, Johnny O’Mara has 92(!) to Jett’s 83 and Hunter’s 78.

Jorge Prado – In The Mix

Jorge Prado had a rough ‘rookie’ season here in the States. He got hurt early in the Supercross season and then only delivered 2 top 5 overall finishes in Pro Motocross. It was not what he nor anyone else expected.

2025 Season Results

2026 was different, right from the first gate drop at Anaheim 1 in January when he got his first career podium. He started the Pro Motocross season similarly with a 2-2 for 2nd overall. Unfortunately a mechanical in moto 1 and bad start in moto 2 at round 2 has him outside the top 3, but he’s expected to remain a podium contender.

2026 Season Results
Looking Ahead

Jorge Prado’s got two very important strengths…

  • His fastest moto lap ranks 4th best on average behind the Lawrence Brothers and Haiden Deegan.
  • He’s averaging 7.4 on the first lap (tied for 4th best). Important to note, if you exclude Hangtown moto 2, he’s 3rd best behind only the Lawrence brothers.

450SMX Points Projection – Top 25

There’s a LOT of variables in play – Justin Cooper and Eli Tomac’s injuries top the charts (like, when does Eli return!?). But it’s also going to be a battle for the top 20 with 4 riders – Justin Hill, Justin Barcia, Joey Savatgy, and Jason Anderson likely to return to action, but when is uncertain.

  • If trends continue, Hunter Lawrence has the potential to clinch the #1 seed at MX round 7 Spring Creek (4 rounds to go!
  • Cooper Webb (currently #2), Justin Cooper (currently #4) and Jorge Prado (currently #5) will battle for 2-3-4 in the standings (assuming J-Coop returns at RedBud).
  • Jett Lawrence is currently 15th in the standings but with 1-2 moto finishes should finish in 5th.
  • Haiden Deegan is currently 18th in the standings but with 3-4 moto finish averages, should finish in 10th.
  • Eli Tomac’s return is unknown – we’ve got him back for the final 4 rounds. If he does he’ll likely only drop -1 position. We’ll track this closely.
  • Supercross champion Ken Roczen is expected to drop to 12th in the standings if he doesn’t line up for any Pro Motocross rounds.
  • Noteworthy: In 2025, Justin Hill (19th seed) and Mitchell Harrison (20th seed) both had 194 points at the end of the regular season. Coty Schock was 21st (191 pts.)

The Pro Circuit Curse Continues…

Watching Seth Hammaker crash at the beginning of moto 2 at High Point and lose his share of the red plate, brought back the harsh memory of Pro Circuit’s curse. The team dominated the first decade of the four stroke era, but has since struggled to deliver the titles. It’s not been for lack of opportunity.

Pro Circuit Titles
  • Pro Circuit won 40% (12 of 30) of the championships from 2006-2015, but has only won 6% (2 of 35) titles since (includes SMX).
Red Plates, No Title

Since 2016, there have been many opportunities for Pro Circuit – they’ve held the red plate 28 times across 8 different series (7 Supercross and 1 Pro Motocross). It’s clear the bikes and riders are very much competitive. But injury and generally luck haven’t been on their side.

  • They’ve held the red plate in 24 rounds of 250 Supercross SINCE their last title (Justin Hill 2017 250W)
  • They’ve held the red plate only 4 rounds SINCE their last Pro Motocross title (Adam Cianciarulo 2019)

All Around Goodness – Davies and Beaumer

The question has been answered. Cole Davies and Julien Beaumer can race both Supercross AND Pro Motocross. We’re 4 rounds into the 2026 Pro Motocross season and both riders have solidified they’ll be title contenders indoors and out. Prior to this season, neither had an overall win or podium, now they’ve combined for 1 overall win and 4 overall podiums!

2026 Pro Motocross Season Stats
Cole Davies – Career Stats
Julien Beaumer – Career Stats

After going 2-2 for 2nd overall in High Point, Beaumer said “I remember last year they said I wasn’t an outdoor guy.” Not sure exactly who he’s referring to, but he kept receipts and he’s making a statement coming off injury.

250SMX Points Projections – Top 25

While there’s a ton of moto-to-moto inconsistency thru the first 4 rounds of Pro Motocross, the top of the charts for SMX seeding is expected to stay stable. The one big open question is the health of Seth Hammaker’s shoulder.

  • Jo Shimoda is known for being strong late in the season – he had an overall podium the last 6 rounds in 2025. Last year’s SMX Champion could push higher with the same success this season.
  • Watch Julien Beaumer closely – he currently sits 13th but is projected to finish 6th in the SMX seeding, which makes him a very viable SMX World Championship contender.
  • Kayden Minear only raced 2 Supercross rounds but has averaged 23 pts per round in Pro Motocross. We’ve projected him to finish top 10 in the SMX standings.
  • Similarly, Chance Hymas didn’t line up for a single Supercross but we’ve also got him entering the top 10 based on current trend. If he returns to 2025 form, there’s more upside.
  • Note: 20th scored 179 points at the end of the 2025 regular season.

Milestones

450MX
  • Freddie Noren (139) tied Mike Larocco (139) for 2nd all-time 450MX starts.
  • Justin Barcia (3,568 points) needs 9 to tie Rick Johnson (3,577) and 12 to tie Jeff Ward (3,580) for 9th and 8th all-time 450MX
  • The next first time winner in 450MX is the 72nd different rider to win the class (Haiden Deegan, Justin Cooper, Aaron Plessinger…
450SX+MX
  • Keep an eye on Southwick… Jett Lawrence (35 combined SX+MX wins) is 2 shy of Jeff Stanton (37) for 12th all-time.
250s
  • Milestone watch… Jo Shimoda (29) is 1 podium shy of 10th all-time.