Honda walked out of Budds Creek MX Park with every championship that could be decided Saturday, and the only one that couldn’t is still entirely in-house. Hunter Lawrence swept both 450 motos, Chance Hymas took his first 250 overall of the season, and Honda clinched its fourth AMA Pro Motocross Manufacturers Championship in five years before the series reaches its finale at Ironman Raceway.
The math in the 450 class is now this: Hunter carries 442 points into Crawfordsville, Indiana, Jett Lawrence has 441. Third place is eliminated. Whatever happens at Ironman on August 29, Honda wins the 450 title. The only open question is whether Hunter earns his first outdoor championship or Jett claims his third.
Saturday did not go smoothly for Jett. In moto one, he drifted wide on the start straight, went off the track, and was assessed a license point for the unintentional move. He recovered to fifth after running outside the top 20, a useful salvage job given the points gap that was opening up. Hunter, meanwhile, led from the end of the opening lap and won by five seconds. Moto two played out similarly: Hunter grabbed the holeshot on his CRF450RWE, Jett started 11th, and both finished the moto in that order after Jett passed Jorge Prado on the final lap for second. Hunter’s margin at the flag: five seconds again. The consistency across both motos was methodical. Six overall wins this season for Hunter, 12 moto wins on the year, and his seventh 450-class career overall.
Jett’s post-race read was measured. His starts were the liability, and he knew it. From outside the top 20 to fifth in moto one, and from 11th to second in moto two, the pace was there when he had space. One point down with one round to go is not a crisis, but Budds Creek narrowed his margin for error at Ironman considerably.
Hymas needed the Budds Creek result more than most riders needed anything this weekend. He came into the season with shoulder rehabilitation limiting his first four nationals, watched his confidence crater, and spent the middle portion of the year clawing back consistency. Saturday he delivered. In the 250 opener he ran second for most of the moto, closing to 2.2 seconds of the winner. Track conditions improved for moto two, and Hymas grabbed the holeshot aboard his CRF250RWE and held it to the checkered flag, managing late pressure from Levi Kitchen. The 2-1 tally gave him his first overall of 2026 and the second of his career. He moved from fifth to fourth in the standings, now 317 points, five behind third-place Julien Beaumer with one round remaining. Third in points is a realistic target at Ironman, and Hymas said explicitly that is his goal.
The manufacturers title context is worth noting: Honda’s 11 overall wins at Budds Creek across the history of the event are three more than the next-closest manufacturer at that venue. The 2026 manufacturers championship is the brand’s fourth in five seasons, secured with one round still on the schedule.
In the WMX class, Quad Lock Honda’s Charli Cannon qualified fastest and finished second overall with a 2-2 score. SLR Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen was third overall at 3-3. Cannon holds second in the WMX championship standings with 211 points, 21 back of the lead and 50 clear of third, heading into the series finale at Budds Creek’s sixth and final round.
One round. One point. The Lawrence brothers have traded the red plate all summer. Ironman settles it.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
