Hunter Lawrence has opened the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship in dominant fashion, winning both motos at Fox Raceway to claim the overall victory and immediately take control of the 450SMX standings.
The opening round of the outdoor season marked the start of the second half of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, with one of the biggest crowds in Fox Raceway history turning out to watch a stacked 450 field that included the return of Jett Lawrence, the outdoor debut of Haiden Deegan in the premier class and the continued American transition of Jorge Prado.
Hunter Lawrence immediately established himself as the rider to beat, topping qualifying by more than half a second over Prado before carrying that speed into the motos.
Moto one briefly belonged to Mikkel Haarup, with the Triumph rider grabbing the holeshot in the brand’s first-ever 450 outdoor moto appearance, but Hunter Lawrence wasted little time taking over the lead before Prado followed him through into second.
From there, Lawrence simply disappeared.
The Australian stretched his advantage to almost 10 seconds by the chequered flag to comfortably win over Prado, while Justin Cooper completed the podium. Behind them, Jett Lawrence charged from 16th to fourth in his first race back of the season, while Deegan climbed from 19th to fifth in his highly anticipated 450 debut.
Moto two quickly turned into a rematch between Hunter Lawrence and Prado.
Although Prado briefly grabbed the lead on the opening lap, Lawrence immediately responded and retook control one lap later before pulling clear once again. Behind them, Jett Lawrence worked forward far quicker in race two and climbed into third before halfway.
At the front, Hunter Lawrence remained untouchable and completed a dominant 1-1 sweep by six seconds over Prado, with Jett Lawrence rounding out the moto podium.
The victory marked Hunter Lawrence’s second career premier class overall win and his first-ever perfect outdoor sweep.
Prado’s 2-2 finishes secured the Spaniard his first AMA Pro Motocross podium, continuing an impressive rookie American campaign across both Supercross and Motocross.
Meanwhile, Jett Lawrence’s 4-3 scorecard salvaged third overall despite poor starts and marked the first time the defending champion has been beaten at Fox Raceway.
Hunter Lawrence now leaves Pala with an early six-point lead over Prado in the 450SMX standings, while Jett Lawrence sits 12 points behind heading into round two.
