A rain-affected Budds Creek round of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship resulted in a mixed weekend for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, where RJ Hampshire and Daxton Bennick both finished inside the top-10 overall. Hampshire and his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition made the most of the Mechanicsville circuit in 450MX qualifying, powering to third-fastest on the combined timesheets with a 1:55.501 lap-time to set a positive tone for the day. An incident in the early stages of Moto 1 and a damaged gear shifter forced Hampshire to charge from outside the top 20, eventually recovering to 12th by the checkered flag. He then improved to a consistent sixth in Moto 2 to claim 10th overall. He retains fifth in the 450MX standings heading into next weekend's finale at Ironman Raceway. "My day started good," commented Hampshire. "The skies then opened, and it got pretty muddy! I didn't get off the gate well in Moto 1, and then made contact with someone and damaged my gear shifter. I was stuck in second gear the whole first moto and salvaged what I could, and then second moto was a bit better. I just needed to be a little better today and didn't really have it, so we have one to go, and I want to finish the season strong in Indiana." Also equipped with the Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Malcolm Stewart posted 15-14 moto scores at Budds Creek to claim 13th overall, marking his second round back in action since the season-opener. "The crowd was awesome at Budds Creek – I felt nothing but love," said Stewart. "This is one of those races that I look forward to coming to every year, and although the results weren't exactly what we wanted, at the end of the day I felt like we rode a lot better than last weekend. I enjoyed myself. The rain threw a little plot twist into the mix for everybody, but anyway, we'll keep trying and I feel like we're making solid progress in getting back to race form." 250MX challenger Bennick showed promising speed at Round 10, qualifying 11th on the combined 250MX timesheets before finishing ninth in Moto 1 aboard his Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition. He followed that with an 11th-place score in Moto 2 to secure ninth overall for the weekend. "Budds Creek was good," said Bennick. "I felt like I went back to making it a little more simple for myself this weekend, and just tried to have fun with it. My start was really good in Moto 1, and then I had a big bobble with another rider on the opening lap, so had to work my way back to ninth. In the second moto, I was again able to charge forward, which I have been struggling with lately, so I think today was a good step for me, and I want to take this momentum into the final round to finish the outdoor season strong." Also aboard the Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition, Ryder DiFrancesco qualified third in 250MX with a 1:56.944 lap-time, carrying strong form into the opening moto. The 21-year-old started Moto 1 outside the top 10 before steadily working his way forward to sixth by race's end. A crash during the early stages of Moto 2 sent him down the running order, eventually recovering to finish 25th and that placed him 15th overall. "I had a good day going at Budds Creek," commented DiFrancesco. "Qualifying was good with P3, and Moto 1 was a good comeback ride from starting pretty deep in the pack. I was also in a good position in Moto 2, but I high-sided coming down the hill, which cost me a lot of time and positions. I'm looking forward to next weekend, because Ironman is a good track for me, so I want to finish the outdoors off on a good note." Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing prospect Landon Gibson also contested the Budds Creek National this weekend, gaining added experience in the pro ranks and posting a 12-15 scorecard for 12th overall in 250MX. "I didn't make it easy on myself!" recalled Gibson. "But overall, it was a good day. I crashed in each of the motos, so considering I was on the ground both times, I'm happy that I continued to fight all the way until the end and scored some decent results that we can build from." Next Race: August 29 – Crawfordsville, Indiana Results 450MX Class – Budds Creek National 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Jorge Prado (KTM) 3. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 7. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) 9. Eli Tomac (KTM) 10. RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 13. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 450MX Class 2026 after 10 of 11 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 442 points 2. Jett Lawrence, 441 3. Haiden Deegan, 376 4. Jorge Prado, 351 5. RJ Hampshire, 308 12. Aaron Plessinger, 129 17. Eli Tomac, 89 23. Lucas Coenen, 44 28. Malcolm Stewart, 31 Results 250MX Class – Budds Creek National 1. Chance Hymas (Honda) 2. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 3. Landen Gordon (Yamaha) 4. Julien Beaumer (KTM) 9. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 12. Landon Gibson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 15. Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 250MX Class 2026 after 10 of 11 rounds 1. Cole Davies, 378 points 2. Levi Kitchen, 364 3. Julien Beaumer, 322 5. Ryder DiFrancesco, 291 13. Casey Cochran, 146 18. Daxton Bennick, 118 20. Sacha Coenen, 83
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates RJ Hampshire and Ryder DiFrancesco earned top-five finishes in class at Saturday's Unadilla National, the pair making the most of a consistent day out in Round 9 of the 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Aboard his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition, Hampshire qualified eighth in 450MX, before battling inside the top-five for much of Moto 1. He ultimately took the checkered flag in P6, then backed it up with eighth in Moto 2 to claim fifth overall for the weekend. With that result following two weekends off in Pro Motocross, Hampshire currently remains fifth in the 450MX standings with two rounds remaining in the outdoor series for 2026. "It was an eventful weekend," said Hampshire. "I was riding well in the first moto and I felt good, before making a mistake there late and losing a position. Second moto, someone flinched off the gate, and I was pretty dang close to dead-last. I went down another two more times before putting in a heck of a charge to get me fifth overall. On a day where I wasn’t overly comfortable, we’ll take it." 450MX teammate Malcolm Stewart made his return to competition at Unadilla, having not contested a Pro Motocross round since the season-opener after sustaining a knee injury at Fox Raceway. Equipped with his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Stewart recorded 23-16 moto finishes and will now look to build momentum across the final two rounds. “Overall, we came to Unadilla with nothing but smiles,” commented Stewart. “This track can give you a reality check – everyone has been riding good all summer, so my first moto wasn’t the best showing, but I managed to find a little bit more form in race two. That’s racing when you try to jump back in with the guys, and we’ll look for improvements come Budds Creek.” The Unadilla National saw DiFrancesco qualify sixth in the 250MX division aboard his Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition, setting a 2:16.887 lap-time as his impressive mid-season form continued. The 21-year-old started Moto 1 in P10, before steadily working his way forward to fifth by the checkered flag. He backed it up with a convincing third in Moto 2 to secure fifth overall, further closing the gap to third in the 250MX championship standings with two rounds remaining. “Unadilla was good – a solid day,” recalled DiFrancesco. “Every session I was out there, I was inside the top-five, and that’s where I belong. Going 5-3 for fifth overall is tough, but we’ll keep digging. We closed the gap to third in the points, so it was a positive day, and the last two tracks are usually really good for me.” Also equipped with Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition machinery, Casey Cochran and Daxton Bennick displayed promising speed at Round 9. Cochran powered to the 250MX Moto 1 holeshot before suffering a heavy crash that brought his day to an early end. Unadilla also proved difficult for Bennick, who was credited 27th in Moto 1, before sitting out the second race. Next Race: August 22 – Mechanicsville, Maryland Results 450MX Class – Unadilla National 1. Jett Lawrence (Honda) 2. Jorge Prado (KTM) 3. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 5. RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 11. Eli Tomac (KTM) 20. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 40. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) Standings 450MX Class 2026 after 9 of 11 rounds 1. Jett Lawrence, 402 points 2. Hunter Lawrence, 392 3. Haiden Deegan, 336 4. Jorge Prado, 311 5. RJ Hampshire, 282 14. Aaron Plessinger, 102 19. Eli Tomac, 62 22. Lucas Coenen, 44 33. Malcolm Stewart, 16 Results 250MX Class – Unadilla National 1. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 2. Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki) 3. Chance Hymas (Honda) 5. Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 10. Julien Beaumer (KTM) 37. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 42. Casey Cochran (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 250MX Class 2026 after 9 of 11 rounds 1. Levi Kitchen, 334 points 2. Cole Davies, 333 3. Julien Beaumer, 290 4. Ryder DiFrancesco, 275 10. Casey Cochran, 146 18. Daxton Bennick, 94 20. Sacha Coenen, 83
