What We Noticed: Pro Motocross

The older brother finally gets it done! He has spent much of his life these past 5 or so seasons sitting in the shadow of his younger brother Jett. 2026 has proven to be the year that Hunter finally steps out of that shadow and makes a name for himself in the 450 class. He was sooooo close to getting the SX title, and many questioned how much intensity he would be able to bring into the Pro Motocross season after such a devastating loss. Not Hunter though… he was business as usual first thing come round 1 at Pala, and he never really let off the gas. He prevailed through a couple shaky moments (DNF at Unadilla, first lap crash at Ironman) and bested his brother to get the title. A huge moment no doubt for the elder Lawrence… congrats!

Will Jett ever be the same? Just as we were writing this up we get word that Jett will sit out the upcoming SMX series to get surgery on his foot… yikes. Jett was clearly no where near his old self to start the year, but things seemed to turn around at the half way mark (look at his pass on Hunter during Spring Creek Moto 2, Washougal, etc.). He wasn’t quite his old self even then, but definitely a lot better. However, that came crashing down when he re-injured the foot at Ironman. It’s a real shame to lose out on such a prodigy; let’s hope he can heal up and come back close to 100%.

It started off a bit slow for the past MXGP champ, but also… sooooo much better than last year. He looked better on the KTM from the get go, but it wasn’t until the last 3 rounds (post-break) where things really started flowing. He was able to match the pace of the Lawrences and ended the season on a high with a 1-1 finish. All of this is momentum building for SMX and heading into 2027. He has potential to be a future champ.

Well… Davies is the real deal. He already proved that in Supercross, but had big question marks entering the Pro Motocross season. Those are all answered now… Davies can dominate in any discipline. We are about to enter a couple years of complete domination by the kid.

While Davies was figuring it for the first few rounds, Shimoda, Hammaker, Hymas, and Kitchen all had their chance to build up a nice points lead and take ahold of the class. However, the struggles continued for all of them… Shimoda hurt, Hammaker hurt, Hymas slow to start, and Kitchen with bad starts and crashes. These guys are going to need to find some consistency if they want a chance at beating Davies in the near future.

Are they gonna be the next Lawrence bros? They’re only 19 years old, but seem to have the potential to do great things in the US. In just 2 showings this summer they proved they can run with the best. Excited to see them stateside next year!

Dangerboy Deegan not so dangerous? At least not yet… lots of hype for him to step up to the 450 class but then he failed to lead even a single lap. Don’t get me wrong… he will probably do great things in the class; he’s very young and will figure it out. But as far 2026 Pro Motocross and his rookie season / 450 debut goes… underwhelming.