450 Class
Jett Lawrence
Jett Lawrence claimed the points lead for the first time this season with a dominant 1-1 performance at Thunder Valley. He led all 34 laps and earned both holeshots. That is the sixth time in Jett’s career he has led every lap and ripped both holeshots. That’s the second most since 2004 when lap data became available and he is now just one behind Ricky Carmichael’s seven such races. The last person to accomplish this feat other than Jett was Zach Osborne in 2020 at Red Bud 1.
Jett tied Bob Hannah for fourth most 450 moto wins with 48 a piece. The next rider ahead of him is Ryan Dungey who has 68. This was Jett’s 26th career overall win and he is now just one behind Hannah for fourth most all time in that category. Jett tied Justin Barcia with 28 career 450 MX overall podiums.
Lucas Coenen
Lucas Coenen completed a spectacular USA debut by going 2-2 for second overall. That ties Clement Desalle for the best ever overall finish by a Belgian rider in the 450 class. Desalle also went 2-2 for second, doing so at Unadilla in 2010. Lucas was the first rider since Jeffrey Herlings in 2017 to podium their first ever AMA MX appearance. He is one of only four riders to do so since 1999 in the 450 class. Sebastien Tortelli and David Vuillemin are the other riders, both doing so at Glen Helen in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
Lucas’ first moto performance was impressive as he crossed the holeshot line in eighth and moved forward to second. He set the third fastest lap of the moto and had the best average lap time of the moto. His average lap time was 0.133 seconds faster than moto winner, Jett Lawrence. Lucas had the fastest lap time in 9 of 17 laps.
Hunter Lawrence
Hunter Lawrence fought to keep his 100% top five overall finish rate in moto two after crashing early on lap one. He clawed back to fourth, going 4-4 for third overall on the day, comfortably staying in the top five. The pair of fourths means he will surrender the points lead to Jett by eight points. The fourths also ended his streak of ten straight moto podiums, dating back to last year.
This podium was Hunter’s 20th in 25 450 MX starts. That 80% rate is fifth best all time and he leapt pass Ryan Dungey (79.31%) this weekend. He is on a streak of six overall podiums. He laste finished off the podium at Washougal in 2025.
Garrett Marchbanks
Garrett Marchbanks continues to improve this season as he went 3-6 for a 450 career best fourth overall. Marchbanks had one top five overall in 24 450 MX starts entering the season and he already has two in three starts in 2026. His third place in moto one was his second career moto podium and second best moto finish. He finished second in moto one at High Point in 2023.
Marchbanks held it down for the United States in the 450 class at Thunder Valley as he was the only American rider inside the top five. This was just the second race ever in which the top five in the 450 class consisted of just one American.
Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado rebounded nicely after a rough day at Hangtown to finish fifth overall at Thunder Valley by way of 7-5 moto scores. Fifth is tied for his second best overall finish in the States. He did so two other times in 2025. Fifth is also his second best moto finish in the States. He now has six fifth place moto finishes in his career. Both moto finishes this year were better than his moto finishes at Thunder Valley last season.
Haiden Deegan
Haiden Deegan’s trend of improving his results at each race came to a pause at Thunder Valley. His first moto was blemished by a crash and a seven position penalty so he ended up going 11-3 for sixth overall. His third in moto two ties his career best moto finish on a 450. His starts did improve dramatically after the first two rounds. He averaged a first lap position of 4.00 in the two motos.
Deegan showed a lot of intense pace in the first moto before his fall. He set the second fastest lap of the race and had the best segment time in three of the five segments. He had a top three fastest time in all five segments. Even with a lap with a crash, he still had the fourth fastest average lap time of the race.
250 Class
Jo Shimoda
Jo Shimoda broke his Thunder Valley duck and earned his first overall podium there with a victory. He went 3-2 in the motos to get his first win and podium of the season. Shimoda also cut his points deficit from 16 to 6 to get back in the thick of the title race.
This was the earliest Shimoda has ever won an overall. His previous earliest overall win was also his first ever win: Red Bud, 2022, round five. This was round three.
This was Shimoda’s 28th career 250 MX podium which ties James Stewart, Broc Glover, Jeff Emig, and Jeff Ward for 12th on the 250 MX podium list. He is also just one podium behind James Stewart and Blake Baggett’s 58 career moto podiums.
Levi Kitchen
Levi Kitchen charged his way forward from a first turn crash in moto two to earn second overall with 1-8 moto scores. He has won two of the three first motos this season but has averaged a moto two result of 10.50 after those wins. He has still done enough to earn a share of the points lead with his teammate Seth Hammaker. Kitchen showed a ton of speed in moto one. He had the best lap and fastest average lap time. He set the best lap of the race on the second to last lap of the moto.
This was Kitchen’s fourth overall podium at Thunder Valley which is the third most in the class. He has only missed the podium at the venue one time. Second overall is his best at the stadium, his three previous podiums were all third place finishes.
Nick Romano
Nick Romano has been a revelation this season. He went 4-5 for a career best third overall. It is his first career podium, in any discipline, SX, MX, or SMX. Romano has vastly improved his results at all three rounds so far this season. His overall finishes have been 9-6-3. The pattern would suggest a win could be on the cards at the next round.
Through the first three rounds, Romano has the most laps spent inside the top five. He has 73 while his teammate, Seth Hammaker, has the second most with 64. Romano spent every lap of both motos at Thunder Valley in the top five. Romano’s start consistency has been best in class. His average lap one position is 3.17. Second best, Julien Beaumer’s average is 6.83.
Sacha Coenen
Sacha Coenen made a huge impression in his United States debut by earning a moto win and finishing second in qualifying. A bad start and crashes held him back in moto one but his 14-1 moto scores were still good enough to earn him fourth overall. Sacha is the first 250 rider since Eli Tomac in 2010 to win a moto in their first ever appearance in pro motocross.
Ryder DiFrancesco
It was one of the best races of Ryder DiFrancesco’s career as he finished 9-3 for fifth overall. It is his second career top five finish and second best overall finish. The third place in moto two was his second career moto podium and tied his career best moto. He was strong throughout moto two and had the third fastest lap time and third best average lap time. He had the fastest time of the lap on laps five and seven.
DiFrancesco’s moto ones have been his biggest hindrance this season. His moto one average finish is 13.33 while his second moto average is 4.67. His second moto average by itself would be the third best moto average in the class. His starts in moto one are contributing heavily to those struggles. His average lap one position this season in moto ones is 24.00.
Rookie Sensations
It was a great day for rookies in the 250 class. Seven of them scored a top ten in at least one moto. Seven rookies in the top ten of the motos is tied for the most since Gatorback in 1991 when there were eight.
Moto 1: Cole Davies (6th), Caden Dudney (8th) Moto 2: Sacha Coenen (1st), Kayden Minear (6th), Landen Gordon (7th), Deacon Denno (9th), Carson Wood (10th)
Dudney, Sacha, Gordon, Denno, and Wood all had career best finishes while Minear tied his career best.