Davies takes 250MX lead into AMA Pro MX championship finale

Cole Davies went 1-3 at Budds Creek to finish second overall
The Kiwi turned a one-point deficit into a 14-point championship lead
Just two motos remain, with the 250MX title to be decided at Ironman Raceway

The Kiwi heads into the final round of the US Pro Motocross Championship with the red plate after a crucial 1-3 performance at Budds Creek.

New Zealand’s Cole Davies has reclaimed the red plate with just one round remaining in the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, taking a 14-point lead into this weekend’s season finale after a dramatic Budds Creek National.

Cole Davies is within touching distance of the biggest title of his young career after emerging from a rain-hit Budds Creek National with the lead in the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship.

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider produced a 1-3 scorecard at the penultimate round of the series to finish second overall behind Honda’s Chance Hymas, but far more importantly, Davies turned a one-point championship deficit into a 14-point advantage over title rival Levi Kitchen.

“Cole Davies is within touching distance of the biggest title of his young career after emerging from a rain-hit Budds Creek National with the lead in the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship.”

With only the Ironman National and two motos remaining, the 18-year-old Kiwi will carry the red plate into the championship decider.

Davies arrived at Budds Creek just one point behind Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Kitchen following his victory at Unadilla the previous weekend.

And with four motos remaining in the season, there was precious little separating the pair.

Cole Davies Budds Creek action corner — *Budd Creek didn’t stay dry for long. Pic: SMX*

Rain changes everything

Heavy rain during the morning transformed the Maryland circuit and ensured the times from the opening qualifying session would determine the order.

Kitchen was quickest with a 1:56.283 lap, with Davies only 0.313 seconds behind on a 1:56.596. Ryder DiFrancesco was third quickest.

Conditions had deteriorated significantly by the time the riders lined up for the opening moto.

Kitchen made the most of first gate pick to grab his first holeshot of the outdoor season, with Davies second and Chance Hymas third.

Hymas immediately attacked and passed Davies before putting pressure on Kitchen at the front. Kitchen then went down, rejoining the race back in 17th and suddenly throwing the championship battle wide open.

Hymas inherited the lead, but Davies wasn’t prepared to settle for second.

The Kiwi closed the gap and found his way past the Honda rider to take control of the race. A lap later Davies had already opened a 3.5-second advantage, with fellow Star Racing Yamaha rider Landen Gordon moving into third.

Cole Davies Budds Creek start action — *Kitchen was penalised for going out of bounds. Pic: SMX*

Davies continued to control proceedings out front while Kitchen attempted to recover through the field.

Kitchen climbed back inside the top 10 with 23 minutes left on the race clock, but his problems weren’t over. After running out of tear-offs, the Kawasaki rider was forced to remove his goggles with 18 minutes remaining and began losing ground in the muddy conditions.

Up front, Davies remained in charge.

Hymas closed during the final lap, but the Kiwi had enough in hand to take the chequered flag 2.2 seconds clear and secure his eighth moto victory of the season.

Gordon completed the podium in third.

Kitchen crossed the line tenth, only for his afternoon to get significantly worse. Officials penalised him four positions for exceeding the track limits as the field emerged from the start, dropping him to 14th in the official results.

It represented a huge swing in the championship in Davies’ favour.

Cole Davies Budds Creek winner jump over finish line — *Hymas took the overall with a 2 – 1 for the day. Pic: SMX*

Kitchen fights back

The sun appeared ahead of Moto 2 and conditions improved considerably.

This time Hymas took the holeshot ahead of Parker Ross and Davies, while Kitchen emerged sixth.

Davies made short work of Ross before the end of the opening lap to move into second and begin chasing Hymas.

The Honda rider initially established a 2.4-second lead while Kitchen charged through the field, passing Ross for third and setting off after the championship protagonists.

By halfway Hymas had stretched his advantage to almost four seconds, although Kitchen was gradually closing on Davies.

As Kitchen pushed, Davies responded and began reducing Hymas’ lead himself, but with a little over 10 minutes remaining Kitchen had caught the Yamaha rider.

A small mistake from Davies provided the opportunity Kitchen needed and the Kawasaki rider moved into second, leaving him 3.2 seconds behind Hymas with just under seven minutes remaining.

Kitchen continued to close and threatened the Honda rider over the final laps, but Hymas resisted the pressure to take the win by 2.5 seconds.

Davies came home third, nearly half a minute behind the leading pair.

Hymas’ 2-1 results secured his first overall victory of the 2026 outdoor season, while Davies’ 1-3 gave the Kiwi second overall.

Gordon’s 3-7 scorecard earned the rookie his first career Pro Motocross overall podium in third, while Kitchen’s disastrous opening moto left him fifth overall despite finishing second in Moto 2.

Cole Davies Budds Creek start holeshot — *Pic: SMX*

Championship swings Davies’ way

For Davies, the most important number wasn’t second overall. It was 14.

The Budds Creek results produced a 15-point swing in the championship battle. Davies had entered the weekend one point behind Kitchen but left with 378 points compared with the Kawasaki rider’s 364.

Davies has now finished on the overall podium at three consecutive rounds and has seven podium finishes across the first 10 rounds of the championship.

More importantly, the New Zealander is now in control of his championship destiny.

“It’s not over ’til it’s over,” Davies said after the race. “I just need to focus on getting two good starts next weekend and see how it plays out. Another good day and we’ll try to do it again next weekend.”

There are still 50 points available across the final two motos, so the title battle is far from finished.

But after one of the most important performances of his career at Budds Creek, Davies will line up at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana, this Saturday, August 29, wearing the red plate and with a 14-point cushion over Kitchen.

Two motos now stand between the young Kiwi and the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship.