Six rounds into the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross season, no one outside the Lawrence family has won a 450 moto. At Southwick on Saturday, Jett and Hunter split the wins again, with Jett claiming the overall and the red plate by a single point.
The first moto went Hunter’s way by accident. Jett led early and controlled the pace, then went down late while holding the front spot. Hunter took over and a red flag ended the race one lap short. Jett remounted for second, but the moto win was Hunter’s fourth in his last five starts. Moto 2 looked like a repeat: Hunter grabbed the holeshot and led most of the race with Jett working his way to second behind him. Then Hunter bumped the gear shifter into neutral in the sand, went down with less than five minutes left, and Jett rode through for the win. Hunter recovered to fourth and salvaged second overall.
The 1-2 finish was Honda’s third of the season, and the championship math is stark. Jett sits at 271 points, Hunter at 270. Haiden Deegan is third at 218, which puts him 53 points behind Hunter with five rounds remaining. A full race deficit with half the season gone is not an easy gap to close.
Jett’s Southwick win was the 27th of his career, tying him with AMA Hall of Famer Bob Hannah on the all-time wins list. It was also his fourth overall at Southwick specifically, extending Honda’s record at the venue to 18 wins, 10 more than the next-closest manufacturer. The names on that list include Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael (three times), and Jeff Stanton (four times).
There was a custom fabrication note buried in the team’s weekend. On the Wednesday before the race, Jett requested a modified right footpeg with an extended rear platform. Fabrication and Engineering Specialist Ezra Ebberts and Honda Auto Division R&D associate Don Pastell built two versions by race day. Jett called it a success after the motos. Team manager Lars Lindstrom noted that Southwick, with its demanding sand conditions, was actually a track he expected would give Jett trouble, which makes the win sharper in context.
The 250 class story was harder. Jo Shimoda arrived with the red plate and left with a fractured left collarbone after a fall in qualifying. He was able to walk back to the truck, but the medical evaluation ended his day and shelved his title run. Shimoda held 194 points going into Southwick. He now sits third in the standings, tied with Julien Beaumer, with Cole Davies leading at 227 and Levi Kitchen at 225. The points deficit is manageable if he heals quickly, but missing even one more round tightens the window considerably.
Chance Hymas filled the Honda 250 gap as well as he could, recording a 5-7 moto tally for sixth overall. His team manager noted it was a step forward, and Hymas agreed, crediting two solid starts and solid front-of-pack riding before fading slightly in the second moto. He sits seventh in the 250 standings at 152 points.
Christian Craig, racing for Quad Lock Honda, suffered a hard crash in the first 450 moto and was diagnosed with a T3 spinous-process fracture. He is expected to recover without surgery.
The series moves to Millville, Minnesota this Saturday. Jett carries the red plate. Hunter is one point behind him. Every 450 moto this year has ended with a Lawrence on top, and nothing at Southwick suggested that changes anytime soon.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
