Jett Lawrence was on fire again as the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship headed to the mile-high altitude of Thunder Valley Motocross Park for Round 3 of the outdoor season and Round 20 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship.
Jett Lawrence was untouchable in the 450SMX Class, leading every lap of both motos to secure his second straight overall victory and take control of the championship standings. In the 250SMX Class, Jo Shimoda claimed the overall despite not winning a moto, becoming the third different overall winner in the first three rounds of the season.
Qualifying for the 450 class was the closest of the year, with Hunter Lawrence taking pole position with a 2:01.727 lap, ahead of MXGP Championship leader Lucas Coenen, who made his Pro Motocross debut for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Jett Lawrence qualified third.
Jett grabbed the holeshot in Moto 1 and immediately found himself under pressure from Hunter Lawrence and Haiden Deegan. The Lawrence brothers traded momentum throughout the race before Deegan joined the battle, creating a three-rider fight for the lead. Deegan briefly threatened before two crashes dropped him down the order.
The closing stages became a battle between the Lawrence brothers before Hunter crashed late in the race, allowing Coenen into second. Jett held off the Belgian by 1.4 seconds to take the win. However, post-race penalties for riders using an illegal inside line dramatically reshuffled the results. Hunter Lawrence was demoted from third to fourth, Deegan dropped from fourth to 11th, and Jorge Prado fell from fifth to seventh. The revised top five was Jett Lawrence, Coenen, Garrett Marchbanks, Hunter Lawrence and RJ Hampshire.
Moto 2 saw Jett grab another holeshot and immediately build a lead. Hunter Lawrence crashed on the opening lap while running second and was forced to charge back through the field. Coenen again settled into second, while Deegan worked his way into third. Hunter eventually caught and passed Deegan late in the moto before another fall handed the position straight back.
Out front, Jett never looked troubled, extending his winning margin to 9.6 seconds over Coenen. Deegan finished third, more than 30 seconds behind the winner, with Hunter salvaging fourth.
The perfect 1-1 scorecard marked the 20th clean sweep of Jett Lawrence’s premier-class career and his 26th victory in just 30 starts. It was also his fourth consecutive Thunder Valley victory, where he remains undefeated, and Honda’s sixth straight win at the Colorado circuit.
Coenen’s impressive 2-2 result earned second overall in his American debut before he returns to Europe to continue defending his MXGP Championship lead. He is scheduled to make one more Pro Motocross appearance this season at Southwick on July 11.
Despite a penalty and two crashes across the day, Hunter Lawrence secured third overall with 4-4 moto scores to limit the damage in the championship chase.
The result created a 14-point swing in the standings, moving Jett Lawrence into the 450SMX Class points lead. He now holds an eight-point advantage over Hunter Lawrence, while Deegan sits third, 32 points behind the championship lead.
