Hunter Lawrence entered the opening round of the 2026 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) Playoffs at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, as the No. 1 seed. He left sixth in the championship standings, 10 points behind Jorge Prado.
Given the structure of SMX Playoff points, with double the award this week in Carson, California, and triple in the finale in Ridgedale, Missouri, there is no reason for Lawrence to panic. He continues to control his fate.
Probably.
Two things leveled the playing field in Columbus and raise concern. Lawrence looks up from outside the top five and the crowd ahead of him is daunting. Points’ leader Jorge Prado and the winner of Columbus, Haiden Deegan, finished on the podium. So did the Monster Energy Supercross champion Ken Roczen, who finished second in both motos last week.
The other two riders ahead of Lawrence are veterans with a lot to prove. Cooper Webb is one of the toughest riders in the field when he has confidence on his side. He is at his best on Supercross-styled tracks like the one in Carson. Dylan Ferrandis is one of the most aggressive riders in the field and he wants to prove that Ducati belongs among the top five.
Mud is a great equalizer, but Lawrence was fifth and fourth in the two Free Practice sessions on Friday.
In dry conditions, Hunter Lawrence was fifth and fourth in Friday’s two Free Practice sessions at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Feld Entertainment / Align Media
In dry conditions, Hunter Lawrence was fifth and fourth in Friday’s two Free Practice sessions at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Feld Entertainment / Align Media
The other concern is Lawrence’s health.
In the Pro Motocross season finale, he crashed into Deegan when the rookie put his bike on the ground while leading the pack. That was one of several sketchy moments in the Ironman National.
“I think you’re being generous when you said a couple moments,” Lawrence said following that race. “I think there was way more than a couple there. Today was our worst performance of the year by a long shot. I mean, I just felt terrible. The crash in the first one kind of hurt my wrist, so the second moto was tough to hold on. Not a great day in the office performance-wise.”
While admitting to minimal testing to protects his wrist, Lawrence downplayed the injury ahead of the Columbus race.
“Kind of a light week after Ironman,” Lawrence said during a press conference on Friday. “I kind of partially tore, I think it’s a TFS ligament, from my wrist to my hands. So just kind of tread lightly on that and get that as much recovered as we could. Not amazing testing, but with rain this week and stuff, we got to ride once and I think it was probably good practice for what we’re going to ride today and tomorrow. It should work out.”
It did not work out.
Lawrence crashed multiple times during both Columbus features, finishing next-to-last in Moto 1 and two laps off the pace in Moto 2. Incredibly, he salvaged an eighth-place finish in the second race through a force of will. But the damage from the first moto dropped him to 15th overall, which accounted for the huge points deficit.
Again, Lawrence downplayed the wrist injury.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” Lawrence said after the race. “What a day in the office. It sucked. I sucked. Just got to figure out what this big girl likes in the mud. Anytime we get on wet condition, it’s just a whole ‘nother ball game. I feel like I’m riding a completely different track to some of the other guys. So go back, get a week of training in. That’ll be good. And we’ll come back bouncing in LA.”
Partly cloudy skies are forecast for Friday and Saturday, but there is no rain on the horizon.
This is a test Lawrence needs to pass. After finishing second in the Supercross championship and winning Motocross, Lawrence stands on a precipice. This is his time to prove he can win multiple championships.
“These SMX playoffs are a lot closer than you have seen in the past few years,” Lawrence said. “Nothing’s gifted in this sport. You still got to go out there and show up and execute good starts and win races, especially with the points, how they double up next weekend and triple up. So everyone up here is capable to win and I’ve still got to focus and do the same as what I’ve been doing all year.”
