Eighteen-year-old New Zealander Cole Davies has navigated the most treacherous conditions of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship season and a chaotic main event in the Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class to secure his fifth victory of the year and clinch his first professional title in Philadelphia, USA.
“[This championship] means everything to me and my family,” Davies said afterwards. “We’ve sacrificed everything to come over here [and race in the US]. I cannot thank them enough. All the hard work, the ups and downs – it’s all worth it now. This track was treacherous, but we got it done. A dream come true.”
Eastern Divisional 250SMX Champion for 2026, Cole Davies celebrates with his team and family in Philadelphia. Photo: SMX
Davie’s win comes some 19 years after fellow Kiwi, and Davie’s mentor, Ben Townley, won the same championship back in 2007. Townley’s win was the first ever US supercross title for a Kiwi in what is considered to be the most competitive supercross series in the world.
The final East Coast stop of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship became the biggest wild card of an already captivating season as Mother Nature became the great equalizer for Round 15 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship inside Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia.
An afternoon of clear conditions and cool temperatures gave way to intermittent showers for the night show, which saturated the racetrack and made both track position and a patient approach the key to victory. Describes as “the most difficult and treacherous conditions of the season”, it was hardly the arena Davies would have expected to win his first major supercross title.
Cole Davies battling treacherous conditions in Philadelphia on his way to winning his first US supercross title. Photo: SMX
The penultimate race of the Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class Championship featured shortened 12 Minutes + 1 Lap Main Event, which began with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker out front for the holeshot in front of the hometown crowd just ahead of Davies, who slotted in right behind Hammaker. Moments later, the Pennsylvania native crashed his Kawasaki, which nearly collected Davies, and dropped to the tail end of the 22-rider field. That briefly handed the top spot to MX6 Racing Kawasaki’s Derek Kelley before Davies made a pass for the lead. Davies then went down but was able to remount just ahead of Kelley and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Daxton Bennick. A red flag for a downed rider halted the race with 7:22 remaining on the race clock, which necessitated a staggered restart.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies withstood a late-race restart to take his fifth win of the season and clinch the Eastern Divisional Championship. Photo: SMX
When racing resumed, Davies reclaimed his spot out front while Bennick moved up to second. Behind them, the ClubMX Yamaha duo of Devin Simonson and Coty Schock battled for third. Simonson briefly held the position, but Shock made the pass as Simonson tipped over. Hammaker, meanwhile, had fought his way to the cusp of the podium in fourth and made the move around Schock to take control of third. Back out front, Davies rode flawlessly and never faced any pressure en route to an impressive, championship-clinching victory by a margin of 12.9 seconds over Bennick. Hammaker closed within striking distance of Bennick on the final lap and needed a second-place finish to extend the title fight, but went down and was forced to settle for third in a resilient come-from-behind performance.
Wild conditions in Philadelphia. Photo: SMX
Hammaker’s inability to get by Bennick became the difference maker in the championship as it gave Davies the necessary advantage to clinch the title one race early. He became the second New Zealand native to win a Supercross title, joining his mentor Ben Townley, and gave Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing a clean sweep of the divisional titles alongside Haiden Deegan in the Western Division. Moreover, Davies’ victory was the 14th for Yamaha in the 250SMX Class this season, which equals the record for a single season set by both Honda (2023) and Kawasaki (2004). Two races remain for the bLU cRU to set a new all-time standard for success.
“[This championship] means everything to me and my family. We’ve sacrificed everything to come over here [and race in the US]. I cannot thank them enough. All the hard work, the ups and downs – it’s all worth it now. This track was treacherous, but we got it done. A dream come true.”
Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class Podium (left to right) Daxton Bennick, Cole Davies, and Seth Hammaker. Photo: SMX
