Cole Davies has done what no other New Zealand motocross racer has ever been able to do: win the 250 Pro Motocross Championship. The history making result came in the first moto at the final round held at Ironman Raceway this weekend.
Cole Davies #37 claims first AMA National Motocross Championship title in 250SMX class on his 19th birthday, becoming the first New Zealand rider ever to win the coveted title. Photo: SMX
The Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, came to a historic conclusion at Ironman Raceway where, for the first time, a trio of champions were crowned at the season finale.
Perfect weather conditions and the largest crowd ever in the event’s 13-year existence were on hand for the U.S. Army Ironman National Finals Presented by Tucker Freight Lines, the 28th and final round of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship regular season.
One of the sport’s most compelling storylines in more than five decades headlined the day as the Australian siblings from Honda HRC Progressive, Hunter Lawrence #96 and Jett Lawrence #1, came in separated by a single point. After an uncharacteristically unpredictable afternoon of 450SMX Class racing, it was Hunter who endured through adversity to prevail with his first premier class title and the prestigious Edison Dye Cup.
In the 250SMX Class, a season-long battle between Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies #37 and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen #47 was ultimately decided in the first moto when heartbreak befell Kitchen and allowed Davies to clinch before the final gate drop. On his 19th birthday, the New Zealander became the first Kiwi to capture the Gary Jones Cup in its 55 years of existence.
Cole Davies AMA 250SMX Pro Motocross Champion for 2026. Photo: SMX
The morning qualifying sessions began Davies’ journey to the title, as he set the tone for the afternoon by setting the fastest time of the first session at 2:10.092, followed by Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas #29 with a 2:10.505.
Each of those times held through the second session, which was paced by Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams #35 and his time of 2:10.559, which ultimately ended up third on the combined sheet. The top six riders in qualifying sat within one second of one another.
The first moto of the afternoon started with Beaumer out front with the holeshot, followed by Hymas and Davies. Hymas went on the attack and made the move for the top spot. Kitchen, meanwhile, started outside the top 10 but quickly moved his way forward. Just before the completion of the opening lap Kitchen went down and dropped to the tail end of the field.
Five minutes into the moto the top three settled into their respective positions, with Hymas managing about a one-second lead over Beaumer as Davies pursued from third.
Hymas went down and gave up the lead with more than 23 minutes left on the race clock, which allowed both Beaumer and Davies to move into first and second, respectively, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Landen Gordon #180 slotting into third as Hymas remounted in fourth.
As the moto surpassed its opening 10 minutes, Kitchen was seen on the side of the track’s steepest hill, with his Kawasaki in the middle of the track. While he eventually got back on the bike, he endured through an extended period to get back into the race and eventually pulled out of the moto with a 40th-place finish.
Back out front, Beaumer built a lead of more than six seconds over Davies at the halfway point as Hymas regained control of third.
Hymas’s comeback effort continued as he eventually closed in on Davies, who didn’t put up much of a fight, to take control of second. As the moto entered its closing stages Hymas dropped the hammer and was able to erase a deficit of more than seven seconds to Beaumer.
The Honda rider closed in quickly on his KTM counterpart, and after a brief battle Hymas completed his recovery from the early crash to reclaim the lead as time ran out on the race clock.
Hymas pulled away over the final two laps and stormed to his third moto win of the season by 26.2 seconds over Beaumer, who went down on the final lap but didn’t lose a position. Davies followed nearly 30 seconds back in third, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Daxton Bennick fourth and Gibson fifth.
Davies’ third-place finish, combined with Kitchen’s DNF, clinched the championship for the Yamaha rider – first for a New Zealand rider.
Cole Davies #37 on his way to his first AMA National Motocross Championship title in 250SMX class on his 19th birthday at Ironman Raceway. Photo: SMX
Prior to the field returning to the track, Kawasaki announced that Kitchen would sit out the final moto following his incident in Moto 1 and was slated to undergo further evaluation next week.
With the championship decided, the final gate drop of the season was an all-out battle for victory that started with Gordon leading the field to the holeshot ahead of teammates Kayden Minear #99 and Davies. Further back, Beaumer started in ninth, while Hymas went down and started outside the top 20.
Davies put in a charge on the opening lap to pass both of his teammates and seize control of the race lead, with Gordon in second and Minear in third.
Five minutes into the moto. Davies extended his lead to just over two seconds over Gordon, while Minear came under fire from Beaumer. Soon, the KTM rider made the pass to break into podium position.
The leaders settled in as the moto reached its halfway point, while Hymas battled his way back into the top 10. Moments later, Beaumer made the pass on Gordon for second and put in a charge to track down Davies. Further back, Hymas was posting the fastest laps on the track and closing in quickly on the top five.
Beaumer caught Davies and made the move for the lead with just over 12 minutes to go. Behind them, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco #34 moved into third. He continued his forward progression and closed in on Davies, easily taking over second. Moments later, Hymas’ hard charge carried him around Davies for third.
With less than five minutes remaining in the moto Beaumer sat more than 12 seconds clear of the field, but DiFrancesco and Hymas engaged in a tight battle for second. DiFrancesco fended him off briefly, but Hymas made the move.
Beaumer put an exclamation point on the season with his second career moto win. He took the checkered flag 7.2 seconds ahead of Hymas, with DiFrancesco in third. With the title in hand, Davies dramatically dropped his pace over the second half of the moto and finished a distant 13th place.
Beaumer’s emphatic performance in the final moto put him atop the overall standings with 2-1 finishes and the second win of the season and his career. The win also moved him into second in the championship standings.
Hymas equalled Beaumer’s results with a 1-2 effort but lost out on the second moto tiebreaker. It capped off a torrid second half for the Honda rider, with five straight podium finishes to end the season. DiFrancesco completed the best season of his career with his third podium finish (7-3).
Davies ended up seventh overall (3-13) in his championship-winning performance, finishing 38 points ahead of Beaumer in the final standings, while Kitchen dropped into a tie with Hymas for third.
Tauranga’s Brodie Connolly went 18-18 for 18th overall at Ironman Raceway.
In addition to his distinction as the first AMA National Champion from New Zealand, Davies became the third-youngest rider to win a 250SMX Class title in Supercross and Pro Motocross in the same season. He’s the 35th different champion in 250SMX Class history and also secured the top seed in the SMX World Championship postseason.
Watch: Cole Davies Wins 250 Pro Motocross Championship
250SMX Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
1. Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (1-2 // 47)
2. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda (2-1 // 47)
3. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna (7-3 // 35)
4. Landen Gordon, Atascadero, Calif., Yamaha (5-6 // 33)
5. Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, Yamaha (6-7 // 31)
6. Drew Adams, Chattanooga, Tenn., Kawasaki (9-5 // 30)
7. Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha (3-13 // 29)
8. Kayden Minear, Perth, WA, Australia, Yamaha (8-8 // 28)
9. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (15-4 // 25)
10. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha (10-9 // 25)
18. Brodie Connolly, Tauranga, New Zealand, Honda (18-18 // 8)
250SMX Class Final Championship Standings (Race 11 of 11)
1. Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 407
2. Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 369
3. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 364
4. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 364
5. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 326
6. Kayden Minear, Perth, WA, Australia, Yamaha – 297
7. Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., KTM – 244
8. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 194
9. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha – 187
10. Drew Adams, Chattanooga, Tenn., Kawasaki – 181
SMX World Championship Final Regular Season Standings (Round 28 of 28)
1. Cole Davies, Waitoki, New Zealand, Yamaha – 638
2. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 541
3. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., Husqvarna – 490
4. Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 402
5. Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 369
6. Kayden Minear, Perth, WA, Australia, Yamaha – 324
7. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha – 316
8. Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 314
9. Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., KTM – 314
10. Daxton Bennick, Morganton, N.C., Husqvarna – 302
