By admin 
The final round is here. Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri is hosting the Monster Energy SMX World Championship Final this weekend. The 31st and final round of 2026 began Saturday afternoon with timed qualifying sessions. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco led their respective classes in Friday’s free practice sessions and set the tone for race day.
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450 Class
450SMX points leader Jorge Prado led early in the first qualifier, putting the first 1:14 of the day on the board. Past the halfway mark, Prado cased the small jump after the tunnel and favored his shoulder a bit. He continued riding and worked out the issues. Haiden Deegan was second for the majority of Q1 and was on a fast lap that could’ve surpassed Prado until a bobble exiting the final corner. Hunter Lawrence jumped to second with a couple of minutes remaining, while Prado ran a 1:14.1 to improve as time expired.
Haiden Deegan led the final 450 session around the first corner, securing the holeshot of the practice start. Dangerboy went to the top with a 1:14.1 early on, knocking Prado’s Q1 time out of the overall lead. Prado ran another 1:14.1 but was slower than Deegan by three hundredths in his first fast lap. The Spaniard found a bit more pace and put together the first 1:13 of the day. Hunter Lawrence took the top spot briefly with a 1:13.7, but Deegan wouldn’t be denied, putting a 1:13.2 on the board after time expired.
- Haiden Deegan-1:13.296
- Hunter Lawrence-1:13.708
- Jorge Prado-1:13.936
- Ken Roczen-1:14.597
- RJ Hampshire-1:14.727
- Cooper Webb-1:14.775
- Eli Tomac-1:14.960
- Justin Hill-1:15.062
- Garrett Marchbanks-1:15.204
- Jordon Smith-1:15.384
250 Class
Pierce Brown kicked off the afternoon with a 1:17.2 in the opening wild card session. Levi Kitchen went to the top of the board early in Q1 with a 1:16.2, sitting a full second clear of his competition for nearly half of the session. Rookie Kayden Minear displaced KItchen with a time that was a tenth faster before being bumped from the top spot by Drew Adams. Kitchen broke into the 1:15 range with around 2:30 left in Q1 and returned to the top for around a minute, until Ryder DiFrancesco answered. Julien Beaumer pushed the pace further, running a 1:15.0 before time expired.
Julien Beaumer kept the momentum rolling with a holeshot in the Q2 practice start. Daxton Bennick led a Rockstar Energy Husqvarna 1-2 early until Cole Davies put down a 1:15.7. After Beaumer took the lead of the session, Davies answered with a 1:15.1, reaching second on the overall leaderboard. He went faster on the final lap, but was five hundredths slower than Beaumer’s best Q1 time.
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- Julien Beaumer-1:15.002
- Cole Davies-1:15.053
- Levi Kitchen-1:15.319
- Ryder DiFrancesco-1:15.383
- Landen Gordon-1:15.683
- Jo Shimoda-1:15.888
- Drew Adams-1:16.059
- Kayden Minear-1:16.065
- Caden Dudney-1:16.082
- Daxton Bennick-1:16.291
WMX All-Stars
In the first WMX qualifying session, SLR Honda’s Mayla Herrick set the pace early. The rookie ran a 1:33.7 to start the session. 3-time WMX champ Lachlan Turner jumped to the top with a 1:25.8 as the racers started to find their groove. Charli Cannon had a rough crash early in Q1, but got back aboard her machine and climbed to third. Turner went faster with a 1:22.8 in the final minute of the session, while Cannon and Mikayla Nielsen climbed into the 1:25s.
In the second session, it was a Honda 1-2 for most of the time. Charli Cannon and Mayla Herrick led the way until the closing moments. Lachlan Turner returned to the top with a 1:24.5 just before time expired. Cannon answered back, running a 1:24.1 as the session ended. The time was over a second faster than her Q1 best, but Turner’s Q1 time remained the fastest lap overall.
- Lachlan Turner-1:22.844
- Charli Cannon-1:24.153
- Mayla Herrick-1:25.241
- Mikayla Nielsen-1:25.941
- Taylah McCutcheon-1:26.322
- Hannah Hodges-1:26.654
- Jordan Jarvis-1:27.260
- Lotte van Drunen-1:30.547 (withdrew from the motos after the effects of a Friday crash)
- Jamie Astudillo-1:33.811
- Piper Bell-1:34.035
250 Wild Card
The Thunder Ridge 250 wild card race was a bit anticlimactic before the race began, as all seven riders were guaranteed into the field thanks to a few riders missing the event due to injury. The winner of the race would receive the 15th gate pick for the first 250SMX night show moto. Club MX Yamaha teammates Devin Simonson and Max Anstie led the field through the first corner, with Simonson securing the early lead. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Cameron McAdoo and Nick Romano ran third and fourth as Simonson attempted to pull away. Pierce Brown started to work forward and passed Romano a minute and a half into the race. Anstie gained ground on Simonson and started to look for a way around with two laps to go. He took the top spot in the sand on the final lap. Anstie scored the victory, building momentum for the night show.
- Max Anstie
- Devin Simonson
- Cameron McAdoo
- Pierce Brown
- Nick Romano
- Henry Miller
- Marshal Weltin
450 Wild Card
Stakes were higher for the 450 wild card, with ten racers competing for six spots. Shane McElrath scored the holeshot and nearly threw his race away, allowing Vince Friese to take the lead. Benny Bloss and Cornelius Tondel fell early as the pack tightened up front. Mitchell Harrison went for the lead just after taking the green flag but couldn’t make the move stick. Gizmo Racing teammates Valentin Guillod and Freddie Noren battled for the final spot early, as Shane McElrath went from third to first. A Harrison mistake and a quick pass put the Beta rider out front, with Colt Nichols following him into second. Noren and Guillod were side by side for sixth, with Noren securing the spot after Guillod took the inside before the finish line. As time expired, Benny Bloss started to mount a charge. He began to gain ground and make passes but ran into Guillod’s rear wheel, taking both men down. Bloss was slow to get up after getting his ankle caught in the back of the #39 machine. Spots continued to change hands on the final lap as Harrison passed Friese and Noren moved by Harlan for a moment. McElrath took his third consecutive wild card win, with Noren taking the final spot as Harlan moved back ahead in the final corner.
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- Shane McElrath
- Colt Nichols
- Mitchell Harrison
- Vince Friese
- Grant Harlan
- Freddie Noren
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This story was originally published September 26, 2026 at 1:46 PM.