Cole Davies Scores Back-to-Back 250MX Overall Wins at RedBud
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies closes the points gap with another overall victory, while Carson Wood sweeps SMX Next for his first combine win / Jul 7, 2026 /
As Pro Motocross nears the halfway point in the 11-round series, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies continued his upward trend in the 250MX Championship. The New Zealander delivered another impressive ride at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan, earning his second consecutive overall victory with 1-2 moto finishes and trimming the championship deficit to just four points. In the SMX Next Motocross Scouting Moto Combine, Carson Wood completed a perfect weekend, sweeping both motos for his first victory in the class.
After a weekend break, Davies picked up where he left off at the RedBud National. He was the fastest qualifier for the third round in a row. After the gate drop, he got a great start just shy of the holeshot and slotted into the runner-up spot behind his teammate Dudney. The young Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing duo battled, and although Dudney reclaimed the lead and built another gap, Davies launched another attack as the clock ran out, made the pass, and rode away to secure his third consecutive moto win and fourth of the season.
In the second moto, Davies grabbed the holeshot and led for most of the moto, with his title rival Jo Shimoda passing him with five laps to go. From there, Davies rode it on home to secure his second-consecutive overall victory with his 1-2 moto score, closing the gap to Shimoda to four points in the title fight.
“It was a really good day,” Davies said. “I qualified first and went 1-2 in moto scores for first overall. We’ll just keep building each round and keep gaining points back. We’re well in this thing, so we’ll just keep on fighting for this championship, and hopefully by the end of the season we'll be in a good spot.”
Caden Dudney also enjoyed a strong outing at RedBud, where the Fourth of July weekend once again delivered one of the most electric atmospheres on the Pro Motocross schedule. It was a hot one, though, with challenging track conditions due to the rain the day before. Despite that, Dudney qualified second and then grabbed the holeshot in Moto 1 and built a gap up front. With around 19 minutes on the clock, Davies closed back in. Dudney put up a good fight, but in the end he would finish second, earning his best moto result in the class. In Moto 2, he got another good start in fourth, but dropped back to 12th after a tipover in those opening laps. He continued to push, making it back to 10th and ultimately finishing 12th to end the day sixth overall.
“Qualifying went well,” said Dudney. “Then in Moto 1, I got the holeshot and led almost the whole race. In the second moto, I kind of messed up the start a little bit. Someone beside me flinched, but I still came around in the top five. Then I was just rushing it too much. I made a couple of mistakes and went down, but I managed to have a good race and got 12th in that moto for sixth overall. So it was a great day. This is my new favorite track. The fans are amazing!”
Coming off a career-best top-five result at High Point, Kayden Minear continued to push and secured his fourth top-10 finish of his rookie season. The 19-year-old Australian qualified 10th and got a top-10 start in the first moto, quickly making his way to sixth. As the race wore on, he was shuffled back to ninth and continued to fight, but ultimately would finish there. In Moto 2, he was 17th after the start and charged his way to eighth by Lap 3. He continued to battle for a top-10 result, finishing ninth and ending the day ninth overall.
“It was a struggle today,” said Minear. “I was just struggling with setup, but the results weren't bad. I executed the first start and kind of hustled my way through. Then the second start was average, but I went from 17th to 10th on the first lap. So I'm proud of how I was hustling at the start of the motos. There were a lot of positives to take away, like it was a much better qualifying than in the previous rounds. We're just going to keep working.”
After being sidelined for a few rounds, Nate Thrasher returned to action and brought home a top-10 result. The Tennessee rider qualified 14th and got a good start to the first moto in ninth. Although he dropped back to 12th on the opening lap, he kept pushing and made his way to 10th by the halfway mark and finished there. In Moto 2, Thrasher got a better start in sixth but dropped back to ninth on the opening lap. He found himself in a battle with his teammates and crossed the line 10th to secure 10th overall.
“It was a good day overall,” said Thrasher. “We were P10 on the day for my first race back. I will get better and keep working. I’d like to give a big thanks to the team.”
Michael Mosiman got the day off to a good start, qualifying fifth. Unfortunately, a bad start and a crash in Moto 1 made for an uphill battle. In 22nd after the start, he put his head down and made his way through to 11th by Lap 5. On the following lap, he crashed and then lost some time before rejoining the moto, and from there salvaged points in 30th. Despite the less-than-ideal gate pick, the Californian got a much better start to Moto 2 in 14th, then charged his way to ninth by the halfway mark. He continued to push, finishing eighth and ending the day 15th overall.
“Today was decent,” said Mosiman. “I rode well, but I have some things to clean up. I felt pretty good on the bike. I qualified fifth overall. In the first moto, I was making some passes coming through the field and had good pace, but I made a mistake and crashed in a blind spot. I had to flag other riders down so they wouldn't land on me, and I lost a ton of ground. Also, the crash caused an issue with my clutch tension adjuster that held me back for the rest of the moto. In the second moto, I had a good start but was way outside, and I came back from around 15th to eighth. I felt strong and made some good passes. I think the big thing that needs to be worked on right now is my starts. If I could get towards the front at the beginning of the moto, I’m sure I could put it on the box. Thank you to the team for their support and help.”
It was another tough outing for Pro Motocross rookie Landen Gordon, but the 19-year-old showed speed and kept fighting. He started the day with a solid qualifying in 13th and was 14th after the start of Moto 1. He battled for position but unfortunately crashed after hitting his teammate’s downed bike and finished 17th. In Moto 2, he got a great start in eighth despite the gate pick, but once again, he fought through adversity, coming back from crashes early in the moto that put him at the back of the field and charging to 15th, securing 17th overall.
“It was not an ideal day at Redbud,” said Gordon. “In the first moto, I was mid-pack and then hit my teammate’s bike on the ground, causing me to crash and tweak my bike. In the second moto, I had two crashes in the first few turns and came from dead last to 15th. I’m going to work on a few things for Southwick next weekend!”
Carson Wood enjoyed a top weekend at RedBud MX at the first SMX Next Motocross Scouting Moto Combine of the season. He was the fastest qualifier and then built on that with a holeshot in Friday’s Moto 1. Despite being under pressure, he led every lap en route to the moto victory. With all of the rain, Moto 2 was postponed to Saturday, and it was another great ride from Wood. In third after the start, he claimed the lead on the opening lap, and once again kept cool under pressure to secure another victory and his first overall win in the class.
“SMX Next at RedBud went really well,” said Wood. “It was a perfect day for me. P1 in qualifying and P1 in both motos, and I felt really good. It was great to get my first combine win. I came close a few times, but just came up short, so it felt really nice to finally get it done.”
“It was an awesome day with Cole once again, chipping away at that points lead and getting another overall, and Dudney finishing on the podium in the first moto,” said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 Team General Manager. “And also great to see Carson win both motos and the combine overall. So all around, it was good, having a lot of guys in the top 10, and we had all six guys in the top 11 in the first qualifier today. We’ll keep making progress.”
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad looks to keep the momentum rolling next weekend in the sands of Southwick, Round 6 of the Pro Motocross Championship and Round 23 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, on July 11.