・Fourth consecutive premier-class overall win at Thunder Valley for Jett Lawrence
・Jo Shimoda tops 250 division, moves into title contention
・Hunter Lawrence takes third overall in 450 class

Honda HRC Progressive continued its strong showing in the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship this weekend at Thunder Valley, not only winning both 450 motos (as they have done at every round so far), but also taking the overall victory in the 250 class, with Jett Lawrence and Jo Shimoda doing the honors. Also notable was Hunter Lawrence’s podium overall result in the 450 class.

Jett delivered a flawless performance, nailing both holeshots and leading every lap in both motos aboard his CRF450RWE. Despite needing to manage the effects of his still-recovering ankle injury, the Australian once again showed remarkable composure and adaptability. Faced with pressure from multiple challengers—including Hunter—he consistently responded and controlled the races from the front. Jett is the only rider to have ever scored four consecutive premier-class overall wins at the Colorado venue, and he also took over the championship points lead.

Hunter continued his strong run of form, topping the combined qualifying times and getting two excellent starts, putting himself in contention for the lead early in both motos. He regularly applied pressure at the front and overcame falls in each race, notching 4-4 moto scores for third overall (Hunter crossed the moto 1 finish line in third but was docked a position for inadvertently cutting a corner).

In the 250 class, Shimoda broke through for his first overall victory of the season, with consistent 3-3 moto scores. Despite starting 13^th in the opening moto and even suffering an early crash, Shimoda methodically worked his way forward, remaining composed and mounting a late-race charge to secure third place. The Japanese rider’s moto-2 start was a bit better (seventh), and he advanced into podium position around the midway mark. That was already enough to secure the overall victory, but Shimoda also overtook Ryder DiFrancesco near the end, further cementing the result.

Unfortunately, Chance Hymas entered the weekend feeling under the weather and was unable to repeat the past success he has enjoyed at Thunder Valley, going 20-13 for 11^th overall. Nonetheless, Hymas battled throughout the day and earned valuable championship points. The focus now shifts to recovery and preparation for the upcoming rounds, as the team remains confident in his ability to compete near the front.

With overall victories in both classes, Honda HRC Progressive leaves Thunder Valley with positive momentum heading east to High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.

NOTES

・All four Honda HRC Progressive riders took part in Friday’s media activities, conducting interviews with the attending outlets. They also took part in two 15-minute practice sessions. As was the case at the previous round, temperatures were much warmer on media day than on race day.

・Peak Honda World—a Powerhouse dealer about 25 minutes south of the track—worked a popup display in the Honda HRC Progressive pits, showing a 2026 CRF450R and CRF250R (Honda also had a 2027 CRF450R on display). Dealership staff took the opportunity to engage with local fans and customers.

・Between the first and second qualifying sessions, Honda HRC Progressive organized an autograph signing for fans, with all four team riders taking part.

・Thunder Valley marked the second round of the WMX series, and Quad Lock Honda’s Charli Cannon finished second overall with 2-2 results. SLR Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen was also in action but experienced a technical issue in the first moto and ended the day ninth overall, with a 16-3 tally.

・The first 250 first moto and the second 450 moto were televised on NBC, in addition to streaming on Peacock along with the other motos.

・Hunter Lawrence topped 450 combined qualifying for the second time in three weeks, while Jett Lawrence was third. Quad Lock Honda rider Christian Craig qualified in 13^th, while Short Racing’s John Short was 25^th and SLR Honda’s Justin Rodbell was 28^th. Hoag Racing’s Blake Hoag was 32^nd, Limited Decal-backed Sage Powers was 33^rd, GFR’s Dean Gall was 37^th, JCR Honda’s Ryan Surratt was 39^th, 110 Racing’s Brett Heidorn was 40^th, Clinton Racing’s KC Clinton was 48^th, Bloxom Racing’s Ashton Bloxom was 49^th, Lasting Impressions’ Ronnie Orres was 52^nd, Sun Powersports’ Raice Hernandez was 53^rd, Feine Tune Racing’s Gavin Tilford was 57^th and Storm Lake Honda’s Deegan Hepp was 61^st. Gall finished second in the 450 last-chance qualifier, slotting him into the motos.

・Honda HRC Progressive riders Chance Hymas and Jo Shimoda had respectable showings in 250 combined qualifying, placing seventh and ninth, respectively. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Gavin Towers was 32^nd, three spots ahead of teammate Aden Keefer. MPS Enterprise-backed Ty Freehill was 52^nd, Sun Powersports’ John Douglas was 55^th and McGinley Clinic’s Kyle Czworkowski was 58^th.

・Jett posted the fastest lap times in both 450 motos. Hunter was third on the lap-time sheets in the second moto.

・This weekend takes Honda’s premier-class overall-win streak at Thunder Valley to six in a row, with Ken Roczen victorious in 2021 and ’22, and Jett Lawrence winning the last four times (Roczen also won on a Honda in 2019). This also extends Honda’s 450 overall-win record at the track to eight (three more than the next-closest manufacturer), with Ivan Tedesco having won in 2009.

・Meanwhile, Honda now has seven 250 overall wins at Thunder Valley, with Shimoda joining past winning Red Riders including Justin Barcia, Eli Tomac, Jeremy Martin, Jett Lawrence and Hunter Lawrence.

・Thunder Valley marked the 30^th AMA Pro Motocross premier-class event Jett has competed in. He has taken the overall wins at all but four of those, for an incredible 86.7% winning percentage (a record). Twenty of those 26 wins were two-moto sweeps.

・Shimoda’s Thunder Valley 250-class overall win was the seventh of his career.

・The last time Honda HRC Progressive posted a two-class overall-win streak was just four rounds ago, when the same two riders accomplished the feat at last year’s Unadilla event.

・With this win, Jett takes the premier-class points lead from Hunter, who is now eight points behind his brother. In the 250 ranks, Shimoda vaults to third place, just six points out of the lead.

・Honda HRC Progressive now heads to Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, for the High Point round this Saturday, when Jett will carry the red plate on his CRF450RWE. The event will also mark the third round of the WMX Championship, where new SLR Honda rider Mayla Herrick will make her WMX debut and Storm Lake Honda’s Kyleigh Stallings will make her season debut. Charli Cannon and Mikayla Nielsen will be back in action as well.

Jett Lawrence 18 “I’m super pumped with that red plate; it’s obviously good to have, even if it doesn’t mean anything at this point, really—it’s more important if you have it in the last round. They added mulch to the track, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing; it’s adding it too close to the race that’s not ideal. If they would’ve added it months prior, where the mulch could work into the soil and mix together, then I think it would hold moisture better. My first few laps, I had both wheels sliding because of the mulch and the water on top of it. In that first moto, I didn’t have the flow of the track at all, and because I was so disjointed and didn’t have much of a fire, I almost got more tired in the first moto than I did in the second one—we were just in defense mode in the first one. To be fair, my ankle felt really good this weekend. I still can’t ride normal, but I just have a little bit less pain. It was still pretty stiff to move side to side, but this week we had a lot more range of motion.”

Hunter Lawrence 96 “It was kind of a crappy day in the office. I just kind of struggled a little bit with connectivity—feeling what traction I had with the front and the rear—so I hit the ground way too many times today. I feel like my riding and my pacing speed were good enough to win. The starts were good, even though they weren’t holeshots, which I think is a huge difference, especially when battling Jett. I was trying to take different lines to pass Jett, and on this track, you pretty much took the same line from the first corner all the way to the end of the motos. Anytime you tried to take a different line, you just lost time, and that’s exactly how Haiden [Deegan] ended up getting me in that first moto; I was just trying a different line to go around Jett, I lost time and he was on the inside. For the penalty, I’ve never intentionally gone off the track or tried to run over markers, so kind of a bummer. I got 4-4 today when it was really 3-4, but my crashes were the main problem.”

Jo Shimoda 30 “Winning normally comes from getting starts and just running away in the first few laps. My first-lap position in the first moto wasn’t bad; I just crashed right before the small double and then fell back to 15th or whatever and had to come back, but it was a good day overall. I think one of my strong points is keeping my pace up till the end, and kind of making some moves when everybody else drops. Compared to the first two rounds, my pace and riding were better today. We made some suspension changes, and we found some things where I could push through to another level. Overall, I think my riding was a lot better today, so I was able to come back through and win.”

Chance Hymas 29 “Round 3 at Thunder Valley wasn’t the greatest for me. I came in under the weather, and it was just more about starts on the weekend, which wasn’t ideal. We’re just doing our best to be better each weekend and get back to where I need to be.”

Lars Lindstrom Team Manager “It’s really tough to get an advantage over the competition in the 250 class. We need to get our starts better, and we’re getting there. We know that this class is so inconsistent, so we try to be there every weekend; that’s kind of what Jo gave us today. He came from way back in the first moto to get third place. In the second moto, he had a decent start and was able to make his way up and get enough points to win the overall. Chance came into this weekend under the weather, and it was going to be a struggle no matter what. It’s unfortunate because this has been his strongest race. In the first moto, he had a bad start and couldn’t really work his way up. In the second moto, he really gritted it out and was able to get 13th. I think we still have lots to improve on, and we’re going to keep doing our thing on the bike." “On media day, Jett was trying to save his ankle, so he just focused on getting the starts down. They’re different here in first gear, but I think our 450 is suited really well. I actually thought Jett’s first moto wasn’t the best—he didn’t ride as well as he typically does, but he’s really good at managing. The second moto was a different story, and he was able to pick great lines. As for Hunter, his result doesn’t represent how well he was riding today. He was fastest qualifier, and he was ripping that first moto especially—all over Jett, and I thought it was his day. We’ll see next week; I’m anticipating more battles at High Point!”