SMX Insider Post Race Show | Round 20 Thunder Valley | SuperMotocross 2026

It's the SMX Insider Post Race Show brought to you by Bass Pro Shops From high atop Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado about a half hour from Denver. A lot to unpack in the racing today Going into this championship. He's James Stewart. I'm Jason Wygant by the way We had so many questions going with the opener two weeks ago in California But somehow today we ended up having more questions. We had some visitors from Europe They were gonna factor in we had Hayden Deegan leveling up and we had the injury watch with Jet Lawrence How much better could he get and honestly it delivered some great racing? No, it did and when you're looking at 450 class, I mean, I know Jet Lawrence led every lap today Pretty much and the whole shot it but there was a lot going on. I think Hayden Deegan's got a lot to look for Look forward to you heard him in that interview after that first moto That's the 250 Hayden Deegan Hunter Lawrence. It's gonna be fine I know that and then Lucas Coonan coming over here really showing You know how deep the world is and and living a dream come true so great action 250 classes, it's crazy But we'll break it all down in a second. Yeah, we'll give you some highlights It's been wild in all the classes so far this year. Let's give you the highlights This is Thunder Valley round three of the pro moto cross championship and monster energy SMX 6,000 feet of elevation and an absolutely massive crowd on hand for 50 class joined by the 104 That's Lucas Coonan leading the FIM MXGP championship for 450s, but coming over here It's a dream to race in America, and he showed the American fans what he can do Yeah, he did and not the best start this first moto I mean it was top ten, but when you allow Jet Lawrence and Hunter Lawrence out front Third place starts bad when you consider that but they did good, but it was Jet Lawrence You know really kind of made me struggle a little bit during practice and even this first moto You had Hayden Deegan you see Cooper Webb and third place You're gonna watch Hayden Deegan slide up the inside of him But you had these guys really attacking him right here Hunter Lawrence was the quicker of the two actually made a pass But that didn't even last 100 yards as Jet Lawrence gets back Hunter tries to stay there and then Hayden Deegan as these two were Battling Hayden Deegan was the first one to make another strike gets up the inside of a Hunter Lawrence And these two would battle Hayden Deegan kind of found himself. There's moto. Not only was he made a few mistakes This was the first one trying to chase Jet Lawrence down goes off the racetrack, but just wait He's gonna close back up pretty quickly, and then this was the second mistake gets back up, and then he'll fall again, so That was a tough first moto for him, but showed a lot the inside right here He where he was making some time up it's gonna cost him Seven penalty out of seven positions and this was towards the end of the moto Hunter Lawrence running solid second goes down And allows Hayden Deegan I believe the yeah, Hayden Deegan to get up in that second place that first or excuse me Lucas Coonan Get up in that second and look how close together. Yeah, we've got a forgot about him, but unless um yeah great ride Another win by Jet Lawrence like you said he somehow that every lap But he was getting attacked from all angles go to moto to an unbelievable start for Jet Lawrence here Hunter is on the inside Better start for Lucas Coonan. He's there replacing her Deegan a little bit further back Hunter wants to take it to his brother, but it's not gonna happen Yeah, Hunter is gonna try to get up the inside you can see that bike sliding the whole time He mentioned afterwards trying to fight that you know Maybe be a little bit more aggressive on that opening lap the track was just not letting these guys have it so tough Position for him to be in then it was Lucas Coonan getting around his temporary teammate Aaron Plessinger for second place And then he went after the alien and Jet Lawrence the second moto, but I was gonna be a challenge Hey Deegan bad start actually makes his way up as he's getting past Aaron Plessinger for third place I know it wasn't the best ride like as far as what he did that first moto But I'm happy to see what he did Hunter Lawrence is gonna do the same thing after AP did a great job at holding these guys on Probably not racing all year caught up to him, but another mistake by Hunter Lawrence It's gonna actually before that he runs hate Deegan down this towards the end you remember what happened last weekend Just give a little bump right there tried to push him off hunter Lawrence is able to get in front of hate Deegan But unfortunately for him another mistake here as he goes down in the same corner He does on the opening lap and be costly hate Deegan gives a little roost right there It takes off and that was kind of a way hunter Lawrence day went, but nobody was close to this guy right here Look better than he did any moto so far this year He slapped on the number one plate see how many fist pumps that is aggressive tear off and it was a whip in a wind by jet Lawrence two in a row, but this one felt different and Lucas tuning will go second in both motos a lot of respect there between the Belgian and the Australian and Despite some of the crashes hunter Lawrence does hang on for third overall There were a bunch of penalties in the first moto for some course cuts Deegan the most Did it the most times as deemed by the AMA so he ended up credited with an 11th place finish in the first moto Hunter Lawrence to the one position penalty Jorge Prado a two position penalty you see how that affects the overall Shout out to fourth place Garrett March banks credited with third and moto one fourth overall great ride by the Kawasaki man Yeah, really happy. I mean happy for Garrett happy for the whole Kawasaki team tough break with chase going out, but That was great ride by Garrett I expect more of those to come in soon and Now jet Lawrence takes the point lead away from hunter They'd split the winds to start the gear in the first two rounds But the crashes for hunter today jet gets away from him and now has the red plate headed to high point What foot injury unbelievable now? This is interesting you combine the points from supercross and motocross together and Ken Rockson is going to keep dropping because he's not racing pro motocross at least for now hunter Lawrence easily the point leader Justin Cooper for the first time ever missed a pro motocross race today after a big crash last week Sexton didn't race Tomas out with injury But the real interesting thing will be when will vegan and jet Lawrence move it into that top 10 as they keep scoring big points Every single weekend, that's Thunder Valley in the 450 class 250 class highlights from Thunder Valley and Monster Energy SMX Class has been wild all year at the top. It has been owned by the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team They've won the first two races with Seth Hamaker and Levi kitchen But the racing has been very competitive the starts have been the greatest asset for the 10 of Hamaker and no different here There was no difference set this fast in practice whole shots this moto and and and actually got a pretty good lead But it was his teammate Levi kitchen as you can see him in the back got a decent start Sasha Koonin Which we'll talk more about him goes down to opening lap had a couple crashes that first moto And then one of the first ones to make another mistake was Joe Shimoda grow great goes down This is actually making some passes and then it was time for the kitchen to open up But before that you can see his teammate Nick Romano who wrote great all day long Congrats to him on that this third place started to spoil it for you But it was Levi kitchen making his way around Julian for more a premier who had a great day as well But started kind of moving back, but then it was Levi kitchen Makes a great save two feet soft a little up there But gets back on the racetrack And this is when I kind of knew Levi had these guys covered because it only took him a couple more laps as he's back on his teammate Makes his way up in the second place And if you look right ahead of him Seth Hamaker was still right in front of him But Seth did a great job holding on and we thought maybe it was over But two laps ago Levi kitchen makes his way up the inside of Seth and puts a pretty big gap and then wins again First photo here at Thunder Valley see if I look good Won the overall last time out at hang time looking to do it Again, but kitchen and Hamaker. They're in trouble up to start this time Yeah trouble again, and I wouldn't even say their starts are bad because both of them are up front That's what's like second or a third there, but costly for Seth as he goes down He has to regroup with Sasha Cooney. You heard me say earlier. We'll talk about him in a second Well, I'm gonna talk about him cuz he's gonna pull a gap And then we ain't gonna talk about it no more cuz the guy rides around Ryder D Looking great a better start for him He's gonna make his way up on the inside for second place to Nick Romano Ryder D wrote greatness next photo Cole Davies got a terrible start that first photo Not the greatest start here in the second one, but looking good starts making his way up This is for Ryder D for second place goes down, and I'm not sure if that bothered him, but tough Ended a moto for Cole what could have been for him, but it was Joe wasabi Joe Towards the end of the race and Howard already Actually, this was for the overall to get around Nick Romano He's gonna get another pass, but Joe Shimoda makes his way up and gets another overall Levi kitchen made some great passes Going down in the first corner and making a mini passes and what that's gonna do for him It's gonna tie him with his teammates set pen maker for the points lead some great ride by Levi a win But no one was close to this dude because he was way way way way way out front Sasha Coonan Congrats Welcome to America, but it was Joe Shimoda that gets the overall victory today Wasabi time didn't win either of the photos, but on a another Topsy-turvy day for everyone in the 250 class you didn't need to win a moto to get the overall And he congratulates the moto winner Sasha Coonan, but Sasha two crashes a moto one so he was 14th there So not the overall podium look at the beaming grin of Nick Romano Who is on the podium in pro motocross for the first time in his career in third? Coonan ended up fourth overall deep Francisco fifth hammock or salvages 12 back-to-back weekends for the first turn crash a moto to loses a few points to his teammate kitchen and Incredibly look at this. They are now tied for the point lead There'll be two red plates under that monster pro circuit Kawasaki tent next weekend Joe's right in it yeah Joe's in it and we said on the broadcast that this is probably the closest that he's been to the points lead this early in The season and we know he only gets better, but you know you start to see those signs from Joe. He looked great today Yeah, overcoming the first moto crash to still win the overall combine the points together this will be playoff seating It's Cole Davies over ham anchor and kitchen, but that's gonna change wildly I'm sure as this summer goes on just as much as the pro motocross standing will so that's that Set it down to Jason Thomas All right, well we have the big interview and also we're here at Thunder Valley I have two men of the moment here Lucas and Sasha Coonan I'm gonna talk to Lucas first Lucas you guys race first today And I think a lot of people were wondering how would you stack up against not only the Lawrence brothers? But Hayden Deegan or hey Prado who is in this you know has won the championship you're in twice What was your expectation coming in and did you personally live up to that today? I mean I didn't come in with expectations at all I just wanted to have fun and live the moment you know dream come true So overall was a good weekend that second and second in both motors. Just ride road safe, and I felt good So what's fun so thinking about the track when I watch MXGP? I get to visit those races sometimes the tracks look really difficult really challenging this one I felt like was a little bit more groomed Maybe not necessarily like the same way like a palmer evolve would shape up really ruddy Is that easier to transition to or how did you find that just getting up to speed on that type of racetrack? I feel like on those tracks are quite big so you kind of could find your flow compared to our tracks I get up and quick because it's really tight. You know so no overall. I feel good I love the check the club was amazing so I know it's perfect great job. We'll see you at Southwick. I'm gonna switch over to Sasha Coonan our moto to winner in the 250 class now that first moto Didn't go to plan get didn't get the start you wanted a couple of tip overs And I had text people saying I thought he was going to be at the front And I'm like just just be patient so what was your thoughts coming in after moto one and preparing for moto two? Yeah, it was a difficult one. I'd say, but it's like it is we need to accept It was didn't have the best start I was not really ready for it, but it's like it is we had some we had some good passes It's I came back to 14 was not too bad, and yeah It's like a mother just made it happen was really happy because it was a dream and it came true So that's that's really nice, and yeah, I really looking forward to To end up the season in Europe and come back to do some races here in the US So when you're winning that second moto you're trying to stay focused trying to think was there thoughts creeping in about I can't believe I'm gonna win the moto my first trip over here Was there any like big picture thoughts about that the journey to get here, or were you able to to stay locked into the moment? No, I think I knew I had the speed everything I just didn't know where I would be at let's say, but yeah I knew I if I took the whole shot I could make it happen, so I'm really happy and yeah We're looking for for the future Congratulations great opening weekend. I think everybody's excited to see these guys return at Southwick in a couple weeks Yeah, absolutely JT because the fan response was impressive as well So if you want to watch them the next couple weekends Before they're back in Southwick go to mxgp.com to follow the series or Mxgp.tv to subscribe to their package if you want to watch them racing when they're not here should be good at Southwick should be good At Ironman, but that's an impressed me the fans I think from the autograph line to see them on track yesterday and today They really seem to like these guys no I mean they did and and then shout out to the fans for sticking around all day supporting all our riders And you know men and women it was really cool that Thunder Valley They always show up, but yeah the support for them Just shows you how much they they do pay attention, and they're relevant even over here I'm really cool to kind of see the world coming together our fans appreciate I'm sure their fans They probably had a lot of people from Europe tuning in to seeing what they can do and I've been very impressed by these two boys like they're they're boys. They're kids. Yeah, they're young I'm impressed, and I love the story what will set this an honor, but I want to say this It was great to see these guys come over here and race for the first time in person And you got a fan in JS here big fans right now That's probably better than finishing on the podium here in that Let's give you the manufacturer's standings here when you combine the best of 450 and 250 finishes of each Manufacturer Honda has a slight lead over Kawasaki, which is really been doing well in that 250 class Mark makes not too shabby in the 450 division Yamaha KTM Husqvarna. That's the top five Manufacturer's points we're gonna talk WMX here Women's motocross championship powered by synchrony would give you the highlights of the two photos from Thunder Valley and the Toyota National First moto on a Friday. It is Taylor McCutcheon out of Australia with the whole shot Pressure being applied by fellow Australian Charlie Cannon Yeah, Charlie was a little bit better start that uh actually she had pretty good starts But it was Lachlan who didn't get the best to start But she's gonna creep in here as Charlie makes the pass up in the inside for the lead But this ain't later on in a race. This is that same lap here comes Lachlan turn and Charlie takes a look over Charlie ends up getting passed by Lachlan here, but she wouldn't give up going up the uphill They were fighting just hanging off the back. This was very tough on these two CF But eventually Lachlan's gonna get on the outside What's gonna lead to the inside and make this pass for her and you know right away with this victory on this moto Impressive and then late Cannon crashes that allows KK Nielsen to take over second until her bike has issues on the final lap Tough for one of the title contenders in the series that'll put Cannon back in the second They'll be bad news for Turner is her and a couple of riders jumped with the red cross safety lights on She'll actually take a 10-point penalty in the championship It does not affect the results of the race moto to a way way way way better start for Turner Yeah, that was way. I mean even she was so surprised and you heard our interview a couple girls go down that first corner But yeah, Charlie's in second right there and you know for her I'm sure she kind of knew like how good Lachlan has been in these opening lap Charlie mentioned that she needs to work on that But Lachlan has been doing this a lot this year She's been staying close as she goes down the end of the first lap a little love tap right there But as quickly as that same lap she gets up the inside and actually passed her in the same spot She did the first moto, but Charlie just like she did in that first moto gonna hang on and she did a great job We thought how quickly Lachlan was able to catch her She was gonna pull away, but Charlie did a great job at keeping her honest And I know she hasn't been able to win but these second voters She's been a lot closer to Lachlan than compared to the first one So continue to work on that then you got Michaela fighting that whole race after a bad start She mentioned that she went with it tired I was gonna work on the race track and hit some of these guys out there and the other classes Take it out and she started running up, but no one was close to the champ today 1-1 again, even without their points Lachlan wins again Yeah, so her points ain't not quite as big as it could have been but she's got a gap on the track That's gonna be hard to make up. There's her brother Lux who races the 250 class And it's also dating the ride to the finish second Charlie Cannon and well done Taylor McCutcheon on the podium in just her second race In the American WMX series powered by Synchrony Good recovery for Nielsen took that 16th in the first motor with the bike problem But a good charge there for third in the second motor to salvage some points I'm gonna show you how the math works out now Charvis and McCutcheon move ahead of Nielsen third and fourth and Turner has a nine-point lead over Cannon WMX will race next weekend at High Point and then take a summer break and be back for three more rounds That's the partial loaded upcoming schedule will be that next round at High Point race day live will start at 10 a.m Easter time you can watch that coverage on Peacock racing will be begin at 1 o'clock Eastern And of course, we'll follow it up with this which is the SMX insider post race show brought to you by Bass Pro Shops Man, great racing today. They were pushing Jett Lawrence Hunter Lawrence Hayden Deegan Lucas Coonan Sasha Coonan a great job on the 250 class But Jett gets the overall the 450s Joe Shimoda perseveres in the 250 class Lachlan Turner in WMX Racing keeps getting better each weekend. See you next week at a high point. Congrats to Jett Joe and Lala wins, Colorado