Cole Davies Reclaims 250MX Red Plate at Budds Creek
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies finishes second overall to lead the 250MX Championship, with Landen Gordon earning his first outdoor podium at Budds Creek / Aug 24, 2026 /
The 250 Pro Motocross title fight took another dramatic turn at the Budds Creek National, and this time, it was a 15-point swing in Cole Davies’ direction. Entering the penultimate round one point shy of the championship lead, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider put together a 1-3 moto score aboard his YZ250F to finish second overall and leave Mechanicsville, Maryland, with the red plate and a 14-point advantage.
There was even more to celebrate for the team at the Budds Creek Motocross Park, with rookie Landen Gordon having a breakthrough day and earning his first Pro Motocross overall podium in third. In addition to two riders finishing on the box, teammates Kayden Minear and Caden Dudney also finished inside the top 10 overall.
The conditions changed throughout the day, especially for the 250 class, and with heavy rains during the second qualifying session, everyone was bracing for a full-on mudder. But while it was muddy at the start of the first moto of the day, the track began to dry during the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, making for challenging conditions for both riders and machines.
Davies showed speed from the start, qualifying second and narrowly missing the holeshot in Moto 1. He slotted into second behind his championship rival before being shuffled back to third on the opening lap. The New Zealander stayed in the fight, and when the points leader went down, Davies moved back into second before making the pass for the lead on Lap 3. From there, he took control of the race, building a gap on the competition and remaining unchallenged to the checkered flag to score his eighth moto victory of the season and reclaim the championship lead.
In Moto 2, Davies got another great start in third and quickly made his way into the runner-up spot in those opening laps. He held the position for more than half the moto before his championship rival made his way past. Davies rode on to finish third, securing second overall and, more importantly, leaving Budds Creek with a 14-point championship lead and the red plate.
The 2026 250SX East Champion’s efforts also clinched the number-one seed in the 250 class for the SMX World Championship Playoffs, with Davies leaving Budds Creek with a 68-point advantage in the combined 250SMX standings.
“It was a really good day,” said Davies. “We got the points lead back for the last round, but it’s not over until it’s over. I’ve got to get two good starts next weekend. I reckon I can, and hopefully we’ll come out on top. So yeah, it was a good weekend at Budds Creek, but eyes are on next weekend.”
It was a milestone weekend for Gordon, who put together his best Pro Motocross performance to date. The rookie qualified fourth and got a great start to Moto 1, slotting into third behind his teammate Davies. Although he was shuffled back to fourth on the opening lap, Gordon regained third when the championship leader went down and rode a strong pace to the finish, earning his first career 250MX moto podium.
“I’ve been feeling it all morning,” said Gordon after Moto 1. “Qualifying was good, and I was just getting off to a good start and not being in a mess in the first turn. I’m stoked with the way I executed that moto. First podium checked off, and yeah, let’s put two together.”
Gordon backed it up with another strong start in Moto 2, coming through to fifth and quickly moving into fourth. Although he dropped back to 11th five laps in, the Californian regrouped and fought his way back through to seventh, securing third overall with his 3-7 score and his first Pro Motocross overall podium.
“I finally put together a good day,” said Gordon. “I got off the gate well all day, and qualifying was good. I was grooving with the track, but I think I’m also just starting to get comfortable with the racing. I finally brought my practice speed to the race, so I’m stoked, and I’m glad to be progressing as this year ends.”
After a tough couple of rounds, Minear bounced back with a solid sixth-place overall finish at Budds Creek. The young Australian qualified eighth and got a good start to Moto 1 in sixth. He quickly made his way into fourth on Lap 2 before being shuffled back to fifth a couple of laps later, where he rode on to earn a top-five finish.
Moto 2 was a different story, with Minear having more work to do after finding himself 12th on the opening lap. He continued to fight and broke into the top 10 before the halfway mark, ultimately crossing the line 10th to secure sixth overall. Minear heads into the finale sixth in the 250MX Championship and eighth in the combined 250SMX points.
“Budds Creek is done and dusted,” said Minear. “In the first moto, there were a lot of positives. I put myself in a good position off the start and found a flow. In the second moto, I spun off the gate and struggled to find a rhythm. Overall, there were a lot of positives to take away from the weekend and a great turnaround after struggling the last few rounds!”
Dudney also put together another consistent weekend, earning his second consecutive eighth-place overall finish. After qualifying 16th, the young Texan was 10th after the start of Moto 1. He was shuffled back to 12th early but fought his way forward to eighth and spent much of the first half of the moto inside the top 10. Dudney crossed the line 11th but was credited with 10th after a four-position penalty was assessed to Davies’ title rival for gaining an advantage off track. In Moto 2, Dudney got a much better start in fourth and battled for a top-five result. He continued to fight, eventually crossing the line eighth to secure eighth overall.
“I felt decent, but I definitely have more in the tank,” said Dudney. “I had another eighth overall, so it’s good to finally see some consistency. I'm feeling good about Ironman already!”
It was an up-and-down day for Michael Mosiman. The Californian started the weekend with another top-10 qualifying effort in ninth, but a pair of crashes and a three-position penalty for gaining an off-track advantage at the start of Moto 1 ultimately left him 29th in the results. Despite the setback and a less-than-ideal gate pick, Mosiman bounced back in Moto 2. He got a good start in 10th and quickly made his way to seventh by Lap 4. He continued to battle for position and moved into sixth on Lap 10, riding on to finish there and improving to 13th overall.
“It was a rough first moto,” said Mosiman. “I made a bad setup decision preparing for a full mud race and struggled a lot. In the second moto, we went back on the setup, and I rode to a solid sixth. It was a challenging day, but I’m proud of my resilience to finish on a stronger note. We’ll take the lessons and move forward.”
Pierce Brown continued to fight through adversity in his third race back. After qualifying 14th, the Utah rider was 15th after the start to Moto 1 and quickly charged forward, making his way to seventh. As the race wore on in the challenging conditions, he started to lose ground, with a technical issue around the halfway mark dropping him to 20th. Brown was able to get going again and salvage a 16th-place finish.
Unfortunately, more adversity came his way in Moto 2 when Brown fell in the first turn and rejoined at the back of the field. Undeterred, he put his head down and charged his way back to 16th, ending the day 17th overall.
“Yeah, it was a bummer day at Budds for me,” said Brown. “In the first moto, I had a decent start. I passed some guys early, got into seventh at one point, and then ran ninth for a little bit. Unfortunately, I lost my clutch about halfway through, stalled the bike, and couldn't get it fired up. It took me a while, and I got passed by a bunch of guys. Once I finally got going, I was kind of just stuck where I was and ended up 16th. In the second moto, I had a good start but clipped someone's wheel in the first corner and fell. I got back up and charged to 16th again. On paper, it was a terrible day, but we're just going to put our heads down and get to work this week. We have one more outdoor and then onto SMX, so we're going to try to put our best foot forward.”
Nate Thrasher’s results also didn’t reflect his speed at Budds Creek. After qualifying 12th, he was 17th after the start of Moto 1 but quickly charged into ninth by Lap 2. The Tennessee rider battled around the top 10 throughout the moto and had worked his way back to ninth with three laps remaining before a technical issue on the final lap left him 23rd in the results.
With a less-than-ideal gate pick for Moto 2, Thrasher found himself 34th after the start and once again had his work cut out for him. He steadily made his way forward throughout the moto, charging all the way back to 14th to finish 20th overall. Thrasher continues to hold a top-10 position in the combined 250SMX standings.
“We had terrible luck today, but a positive takeaway is that I felt really good on my bike,” said Thrasher. “We have one more until we take it into the playoffs.”
“What a good day again,” said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 Team General Manager. “For Cole to gain that many points today, it was just a brilliant ride. And getting Landen up there on the podium as well was great. We had a lot of guys up front in both motos, and had some mixed results, but all around, it was a really good day. We have momentum, and we’ve got to keep it rolling through Ironman, for sure.”
With one round and two motos remaining, Davies heads to the Pro Motocross season finale with the red plate and a 14-point advantage as he looks to add the 250MX crown to his 2026 250SX East Championship. The final showdown is next weekend at Ironman Raceway, with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team looking to finish the outdoor season strong in Crawfordsville, Indiana.