SMX Championships Go To Levi Kitchen 250 and Jorge Prado 450

Thunder Ridge Nature Area, Ridgedale, MO — September 26, 2026

In front of a raucous capacity crowd, from one of the most dynamic venues to ever host an off-road motorcycle race, the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship drew to a historic conclusion inside Thunder Ridge Nature Arena as the sport crowned two first-time World Champions.

Triple points were on the line at the SMX World Championship Final, which meant the title fight for both the 450SMX Class and 250SMX Class came down to the final checkered flag. It’s all been building to this! Under the lights on Saturday night, two champions will be crowned in season finale at the Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri.

250SMX Moto #1

The first of two 20 Minute + 1 Lap 250SMX Class motos got underway with Levi Kitchen(47) leading the field to the holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher(25).

The other title contenders, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer(13) and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco(34) started in sixth and seventh, respectively. The clear track played heavily into Kitchen’s favor as he moved out to a lead of more than two seconds in the opening laps, while the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing trio of Thrasher, Landen Gordon(180), and Cole Davies(37) were locked into a fight for a spot in the top three. Behind them, Beaumer and DiFrancesco looked to close in. As the moto reached its halfway point Thrasher crashed out of second, which moved Davies behind Kitchen and a hard-charging DiFrancesco up to third. Beaumer, meanwhile, moved up to fourth. Davies started to close in on Kitchen and moved within striking distance in the late stages of the moto. He made a quick and decisive move to grab the lead with just over one minute left on the race clock and quickly pulled away. The New Zealander carried on to take the moto win by 2.1 seconds over Kitchen, well ahead of DiFrancesco in third, Beaumer in fourth, and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Pierce Brown(163) in fifth.

450SMX Moto #1

The first 450SMX Class moto kicked off with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Yamaha’s Haiden Deegan(38) out front with the holeshot ahead of Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen(94) and Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence(96).

Prado started his journey in 10th(26). Deegan took full advantage of his track position to quickly assert his hold of the top spot, as both Roczen and Lawrence settled in.

Behind them, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb(2) ran fourth, while Prado made a charge up to fifth. Inside the final three minutes, a bobble by Deegan allowed Roczen to close within just over a second of the Yamaha rider, but lapped riders allowed Deegan to reestablish his advantage.

Deegan completed a wire-to-wire performance to take the moto win by 3.1 seconds over Roczen, with Lawrence in third. Webb followed in fourth, with Prado fifth.

250SMX Moto #2

The championship deciding moto started as rain began to fall at Thunder Ridge with Davies at the head of the pack for the holeshot with Kitchen and Gordon in tow. DiFrancesco and Beaumer, meanwhile, both started deep in the field outside the top 10.

Davies quickly opened a multi-second lead over Kitchen, who controlled his own destiny and settled into a consistent rhythm. Davies continued to add to his lead and managed a margin of around 10 seconds over the second half of the moto to easily complete the 1-1 sweep by 6.4 seconds. Kitchen maintained his hold of second throughout to eliminate any threat to his title hopes, while Gordon ran third from start to finish.

While Davies enjoyed the spoils of victory, it was Kitchen who walked away with the night’s biggest prize.

After coming up short in several championship battles, including this summer’s Pro Motocross Championship, the Washington native prevailed with his first professional title and the first for the decorated Pro Circuit race team since the 2019 Pro Motocross campaign. A solid night for Gordon landed him on the overall podium for the first time in the postseason, finishing third after 6-3 finishes.

250SMX Overall Event Results

250SMX Championship Final Standings

450SMX Moto #2

The final moto of the 2026 season got underway with Prado out front for the holeshot ahead of Deegan and Lawrence.

Webb started fourth, with Roczen several spots back in eighth. Prado looked to take advantage of the clear track and inched out to a lead of just over a second over Deegan, with the championship in the balance. Lawrence asserted his hold of third. The top three settled in for the first 15 minutes of the moto until Deegan started to push the pace and run the fastest laps of the moto.

He chipped away at Prado’s advantage and moved within striking distance with three and a half minutes to go. The lead duo separated themselves from Lawrence and sat within a second of one another as lapped riders factored in. Both riders overcame bobbles on the final lap as Prado held off Deegan by 1.7 seconds to take the checkered flag and clinch his first championship on U.S. soil. Deegan’s 1-2 performance gave the rookie two wins in three postseason races as well as a runner-up finish in the championship standings. However, Prado’s comeback ride in the second moto placed him second overall with 5-1 finishes to clinch the Spaniard’s maiden title in just his second season of racing in America and during his postseason debut after missing the Playoffs and Final one year ago.

Lawrence rounded out the overall podium with a consistent 3-3 performance. In his final race Eli Tomac rode off into retirement with an 11th place finish.

450SMX Overall Event Results

450SMX Championship Final Standings

Thunder Ridge Recap

450SMX:  Prado finished off his championship run by a margin of seven points over Deegan, who nearly became the first rider in the sport to win the world championship in both classes. Lawrence capped off a breakthrough season with the final spot on the championship podium, 22 points behind Prado.

Prado said: “One year ago, I was watching these races and didn’t know if I’d ever be here. Red Bull KTM believed in me and gave me a chance to prove myself. We worked so hard for this goal and accomplished it. When I saw the rain, I was dreading what might come, but it stopped and everything worked out. Haiden [Deegan] was riding incredible, so I did all I could to keep him behind me. I showed with hard work that dreams can come true.”

Deegan quote: “I gave it everything I had [today]. I got the overall but not the championship, and that hurts. Credit to Jorge [Prado], he was riding great. I’ll go into the offseason and work my butt off. There’s a Supercross championship I want and I’m going to do everything I can to get it.”

Hunter Lawrence quote: “What a long year, but it was amazing. I’ve got a lot of good things in my life right now. A great result tonight and now we go into the offseason looking for more next year.”

250SMX:  Kitchen finished off his championship campaign with a 24-point margin over DiFrancesco, who battled his way into the top 10 in the final moto and finished seventh overall after 3-10 finishes. Davies’ triumphant effort moved him into the final spot on the championship podium, 25 points behind Kitchen.

Kitchen said: “It’s been tough [getting to this point]. I’ve been close [to a championship] a few times. I got a great start and just trusted my instincts. The rain was coming down, and I just needed to ride smart. It’s been a tough journey, for sure, and I couldn’t be more stoked [to finally finish it off].”

Davies quote: “I get to go into the offseason with a lot of momentum. I had an unreal year. All the hard work paid off. Two championships in Supercross and Pro Motocross, so I’m really proud of myself. The playoffs didn’t go as I wanted, but we’ll reset and come back stronger next year.”

Gordon quote: “I’ve made a big jump in my life, moving across the country to Florida [from California]. I had to warm up to it a bit. I’ve been working so hard, so I’m stoked. I don’t think people understand how much goes into this. I’ve put my whole heart into it and it’s paying off.”