450 Class
Hunter Lawrence
After a wildly up and down day, Hunter Lawrence is a 450 MX Pro Motocross Champion! The Australian rider’s 8-4 moto scores ended up being enough to pip his brother Jett by two points in the end. Hunter is the 29th different rider to earn a 450 MX championship and the third Australian to do so. It was more than deserved as Hunter finished the season tied or in sole possession of virtually every major statistical category.
Hunter survived a first lap incident in moto one, rounding lap one in 39th place. It was just the second time he started outside the top FIVE all season. It ended his streak of ten straight motos being in first or second after lap one. This was the first race he did not win a moto or lead a lap since Thunder Valley this season. It ultimately did not matter whatsoever as he still won the war and earned the title.
Now with a championship in both classes in motocross, and a regional Lites title in SX, Hunter joins an illustrious group of eleven riders to have earned all three of those championships. Jett Lawrence, Dylan Ferrandis, and Zach Osborne are the three most recent riders who have done so.
Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado saved his best for last this season as he absolutely dominated Ironman with 1-1 moto scores. He earned his first career moto win, overall win, and pole position making it a perfect day. He is the fifth rider to have a perfect day on the day he earns his first overall win.
Prado led 31 laps on the day and was the first rider other than a Lawrence to win a moto this season. He set the fastest lap time in both motos and had the best average lap time in both motos. His 31 laps led surpassed his career tally of 22 entering the day. By setting the fastest time in both motos, he ended the season with the second most fastest laps in a moto. He had seven, five of them coming in the last six motos. Only Jett Lawrence had more this season with nine.
Prado bookended both SX and MX campaigns with podiums. He podiumed the opener and finale in both championships making him the only rider in the Premier class to do so.
R.J. Hampshire
R.J. Hampshire had a career best moto score at Ironman by finishing second in moto one. He ended the day with a 2-6 for second overall, tying his career best overall finish in the 450 class which he set at Ironman one year ago. Among riders with two or more starts at the venue, Hampshire has the best average overall finish of all time in the class (2.00).
This was Hampshire’s fourteenth career podium between both classes and four of them have now come at Ironman, the most of any venue he has raced. This was his tenth top five overall in the 450 class and his 450 career top ten percentage remains at 100%.
Cooper Webb
Captain America Cooper Webb put his machine onto the podium in what is likely his last ever pro motocross race. Webb went 3-8 for third overall and led his first lap of the season in moto one. It was the first time he has led a lap since the 2021 finale at Fox Raceway. His third in moto one was his first moto podium since High Point in 2023 and the overall podium was his first since Thunder Valley in 2023. To secure that third in moto one, Webb mounted a ferocious charge in the final three laps. He set the fastest lap time in each of the final three laps. His final lap, lap 16, was his fastest lap of the entire moto.
Ironman has been Webb’s best track by far on a 450. In four visits, he has averaged an overall there of 4.00, never finishing outside the top five. Two of his seven career 450 MX podiums have come at the venue, the first one being a third in 2021.
Eli Tomac
Eli Tomac capped off what was possibly his final pro motocross race with his best result of the season. The 4x 450 MX Champion went 7-5 for fifth overall, charging forward in both motos. Tomac quietly got better and better once returning from his round one injury. His last four results were 14-11-9-5. This was his 92nd top five in 111 career starts in the class. That ties him for the most top fives all time with Mike LaRocco.
If this was it for pro motocross for Tomac, he leaves with quite the record. Second most championships (4), third most wins (32), second most podiums (79), tied most pole positions (26), second most moto wins (70), and second most moto podiums (144).
Jett Lawrence
Jett Lawrence finished the day at Ironman in sixth overall with 11-3 moto scores. It marks the first time in his 450 career he failed to podium at back to back races. The sixth is also his worst finish since Ironman one year ago where he also finished sixth. He did not lead a lap at Budds Creek and Ironman meaning it is the first time he has gone back to back races without leading a single lap on a 450.
Jett ultimately came up just two points short of the title in a hectic day of racing. His starts at the final two rounds could be highlighted as what hamstrung him the most. He started tenth or worse in three of the final four motos. Prior to that, he had just four such starts in the last two seasons. He ends the season with the second most overall and moto wins while fighting through injury for most of it. His speed was on display throughout the season as well, earning the most pole positions (4) and having the most motos with the fastest lap time (9).
250 Class
Cole Davies
Cole Davies fought back from a 25 point deficit after round seven to win his first 250 MX Pro Motocross Championship with ease by 38 points. The New Zealand teenager went 3-13 for seventh overall on the day after clinching the title in moto one. Davies is the first rider from New Zealand to win a pro motocross championship in either class. At 19 years, 1 day old, he is the sixth youngest rider to have captured both 250 SX and MX titles.
Davies’ 25 point comeback is tied for the 12th the largest comeback in the class all time and largest since Trey Canard’s iconic 2010 title where he came back from 57 points. His 25 points is the fourth largest deficit overcome with four rounds remaining.
Davies earned his fifth career pole position in qualifying which ties him with Levi Kitchen and Dylan Ferrandis in the class. No other active 250 rider has more than him. He also finished the season with 137 laps led, ten more than the career 250 MX tally of his compatriot Ben Townley.
Julien Beaumer
Julien Beaumer had a career best day at Ironman by going 2-1 for the overall victory. It’s his second career moto and overall win and the 47 points he earned on the day were the most he has earned at a national. It was also enough to catapult him to second in the overall points standings, his best championship finish in pro motocross. This win also made him just the second rider this season to win multiple overalls in the class.
With Jorge Prado winning the 450 class, he and Beaumer earned KTM their sixth ever national sweep. The last three that have happened have all been at Ironman. Chase Sexton/Tom Vialle (2024) and Ken Roczen/Marvin Musquin (2014) are the other two.
In moto two, Beaumer put on a massive dig as he crossed the holeshot line in sixteenth. He still managed to get into the lead by lap eight from that position. That sixteenth from the holeshot line to first is the biggest comeback for a moto victory this season out of both classes. The second biggest was also Beaumer in his other moto wins this season at Spring Creek. He crossed the holeshot line in eleventh in his moto victory there.
Chance Hymas
Chance Hymas, one of America’s recently announced MXdN riders, went 1-2 at Ironman for second overall. Hymas was electric in the first moto as he had the fastest average lap time despite crashing. From laps five to fifteen, he set the fastest lap of all of them except one and eventually won by 26.293 seconds, the second largest margin of victory in the class this season. In moto two, despite crashing twice, he still had the second fastest average lap time. He had the fastest segment times in four of the five segments.
Hymas ended up tied with Levi Kitchen in the points standings but lost the tiebreaker and ended up fourth. Despite the slow start to the season, this was Hymas’ most successful season of his career. He had a career best five podiums, all coming at the final five rounds, and 364 points which are the most he has scored in a season. His three moto wins this season are a career high and his one overall win ties the most he’s had in a season.
Ryder DiFrancesco
Ryder DiFrancesco started the SMX regular season with a third placed podium in Anaheim and he capped it off with a third placed podium at Ironman. He went 7-3 despite two bad starts. He was 36th (!!) across the holeshot line in moto one and charged to seventh and was 15th across the holeshot stripe in moto two before charging to a moto podium. He made 42 forward passes on the day, tied for the most with Lux Turner.
DiFrancesco started the season without a podium and ended up earning three. He didn’t have a moto podium either and finished on the podium this season in 8 of the 22 motos. He did most of his damage in the second motos, earning six of those eight in second motos. He earned 326 points this season, 76 more than his previous best points tally. His fifth place finish in the standings halves his previous career best of tenth.
Landen Gordon
Landen Gordon came to life at the final two rounds. The Star Racing Yamaha rider finished fourth overall at Ironman with 5-6 moto scores. It was an impressive ride backing up his third place at Budds Creek one week ago. He averaged a moto finish of 15.86 prior to Budds Creek and cut that down to an average of 5.25 at the final two rounds. He did not have a top ten overall finish and had just one moto top ten prior to his stellar performances at these final two rounds.
Gordon earned the first holeshot of his career in the second moto at Ironman making him the fourth different Star rider to earn one this season. His eighth in qualifying was his second best qualifying result of the season after his fourth one week ago.
Pierce Brown
Pierce Brown mentioned on Friday in a press day interview with Lewis Phillips a top five would feel like a win, and he did just that by going 6-7 for fifth overall. That finish ties his career best MX overall finish which he originally set in 2024 at Washougal. This was his first top ten overall since Budds Creek in 2024 and first for Star Racing Yamaha. That year, 2024, was also the season he rode that momentum into the SMX Playoffs and earned an overall victory.
Brown is the fifth rider on a Yamaha team to earn a top five this season. That is the most riders on a certain manufacturer to earn a top five overall in the same season since 2017, which was also Yamaha.
WMX Class
Lachlan Turner
Despite overcoming her worst career moto and overall finishes (5-4 for fourth O/A), Lachlan Turner won the war at Ironman and earned her third straight WMX championship. She is just the third woman to do so, joining Jessica Patterson and Kylie Fasnacht. Turner ended the season with the most overall wins (4), moto wins (8), pole positions (3), and laps led (48).
All of her season averages were less than 2.00. Her average overall finish was 1.67, tied for the best, average moto finish was 1.83, best in class, and average qualifying position was 1.50, best in class. From the twelve motos this season, Turner set the fastest lap of the race in nine of them.
Charli Cannon
Charli Cannon dominated Ironman, earning her second career overall victory and first career 1-1 moto sweep. She got the holeshot in both motos, her first two of the season, and led every lap of both motos. Her second place in qualifying kept her from the most immaculate of perfect days. Cannon had the speed in both motos, having the fastest average lap time in both of them. Her 24.408 second margin of victory in moto one was the third largest this season and largest of her career.
This was Cannon’s eleventh podium of her career and in a row. That moves her into a tie with Steffi Laier for fourth longest podium streak of all time. Jessica Patterson holds the third longest at 12. Cannon’s podium streak is now the longest current streak after Lachlan Turner finished fourth at Ironman.
Mayla Herrick
Mayla Herrick earned a career best second overall at Ironman with 3-2 moto scores. The rookie earned the second podium of her career in just four races. Her four moto podiums this season were the fourth most in the class despite only racing seven motos. She ended the season with eight laps led, good enough for third most in the class. Her average lap one position was 3.12, best in class for the season.
Herrick had a very strong second moto at Ironman. On her way to finishing second, she set the fastest lap of the race and had a top three fastest average segment time in all five segments. She set the first or second fastest lap time in all six laps of the moto.
Daniela Guillen
Daniela Guillen hopped over the pond to make her WMX debut at Ironman. The Spaniard made the most of it and earned a podium in her first career race with 2-3 moto scores. In moto one, she had the second best average lap time and third best raw lap time of the race. She had to fight her way forward in moto two, crossing the holeshot line in 21st and charging all the way to third. Coming through the pack she still managed to set the third fastest lap time of all five laps. Her consistency lap rating was third best in the moto.
It was a banner day for Spain as it saw Guillen earn Spain just their second ever WMX podium finisher and Jorge Prado earn Spain their first ever overall victory in any discipline SX, MX, or WMX. Mercedes Gonzalez-Natvig was the first Spanish rider to podium in WMX, doing so twice in 2000 at Glen Helen at Hangtown.