Minear Earns Career-Best Result as Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Riders Continue to Progress Outdoors
Kayden Minear and Michael Mosiman finished eighth and ninth overall, respectively, while Cole Davies salvaged valuable points with a top-10 result at the Thunder Valley National / Jun 16, 2026 /
It was another up-and-down day for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad in tricky conditions at the Thunder Valley Motocross Park, but there were some silver linings in Lakewood, Colorado, with career-best results, strong starts, and three riders finishing inside the top 10. With a team rich in up-and-coming talent, the entire lineup continued to make gains three rounds into the 2026 outdoor season.
Leading the way was Kayden Minear, who earned a career-best eighth-overall finish, followed by Michael Mosiman, who earned a top-five finish in Moto 1 to end the day ninth overall. Joining them in the top 10 was Cole Davies, who overcame adversity to score valuable points in the title chase.
Although it was a bit of a rocky start for Minear, the young Australian rallied back. After qualifying 18th and starting 20th after the opening lap of Moto 1, he put his head down and steadily made his way through to 13th. Minear’s upward trend continued with a much better start to Moto 2 inside the top 10. He made his way to sixth by Lap 4, and continued to battle for position, making the pass in the final laps to reclaim sixth for a career-best moto finish and eighth overall.
“I started off a little slow in qualifying,” said Minear. “The first moto, I didn't execute my start. That was my mistake, but I fought my way through to 13th. So it was a rough start, but in the second moto, I bounced back, got a good start, and ended up sixth. So, it was a good day.”
Despite not feeling 100%, Mosiman continued to make improvements at Round 3. The Northern Californian qualified sixth, and although he did not get the start he was looking for in Moto 1, he charged from 14th to third by the halfway mark. Unfortunately, in the closing laps, he dropped back to fifth, where he would finish. In Moto 2, he was 16th after the start and quickly worked his way up to 11th. He continued to fight but ultimately finished 14th, ending the day ninth overall.
“In the first moto, I didn't get the best start, but I was able to work my way up to third and held it for a while,” said Mosiman. “Then I made a silly mistake, down the stretch, with two laps to go, and ended up fifth. The second moto was a little bit messy. I was just really depleted all day. I wasn’t feeling well, and my stomach was upset, and it caught up to me in the second moto. I was just a bit flat, but even still, I was pushing to the end.”
“It was massive progress,” Mosiman continued. “I'm really thankful for the team. We put in a ton of work over the past three weeks – testing and developing the bike – and it got me a lot happier. Just from press day on, it was a pretty good feeling. There were a couple of laps where I was fast on track, and you really wouldn't have expected that a couple of weeks ago. Coming back from injuries is a process, and the process has gone well. Overall, I'm gonna look fondly on this weekend with the progress made, and I’m looking forward to High Point to move on and be a little bit more solid.”
As for Davies, the day started out great as the 2026 250SX East Champion earned fastest qualifier honors. But bad starts and a crash in Moto 2 made for an uphill battle at the Colorado track, which was difficult to make passes on. After not getting the start he was hoping for in Moto 1, he made an impressive charge through the field to eighth before the halfway mark, and then in the final laps made passes in successive laps to sixth, where he would finish.
In Moto 2, Davies was 11th after the start but quickly went to work making his way through to fourth. After making the pass on Nick Romano for third, Davies set his sights on second before unfortunately going down. He rejoined in eighth and made his way back to seventh a couple of laps later, but some damage to the bike made for a tough moto, and he ultimately dropped back to 15th, ending the day 10th overall. He leaves Colorado sixth in the championship, 24 points from the top spot.
“I started the weekend strong, qualifying fastest, but bad starts in both motos made the races challenging from the beginning,” said Davies. “In Moto 1, I worked my way from 20th to sixth, which showed the pace is there. In Moto 2, a crash pushed me down the field, and I finished 15th for 10th overall. It’s not where I want to be or where I feel I belong. I’ve got work to do to claim back points and get back in the fight for the championship. Eyes forward to High Point.”
In just his third round of Pro Motocross, Landen Gordon also earned a career-best result in the class. The rookie had a solid qualifying in 11th and got two great starts. He was second after the start to Moto 1, but dropped back to seventh on that first lap. He continued to fight and regained sixth, but as the moto wore on, he fell back to 15th. In Moto 2, he once again slotted into the runner-up spot. Although he dropped back to fourth on that opening lap, he continued to battle for a top-five result, but ultimately would cross the line seventh, for his best moto result thus far, securing 11th overall for another personal best.
“I was 11th overall at Thunder Valley,” said Gordon. “I’m stoked on the second moto, and there were definitely a lot of positives to take from the weekend. I’m excited to keep building these next few weekends.”
Despite having a less-than-ideal gate pick after qualifying 15th, Caden Dudney got a great start to the first moto right behind his teammate and was fourth on the opening lap. He rode in fifth for the first half of the moto, but ultimately finished eighth. In Moto 2, a bad start had him back in 21st, but he continued to push and made his way to 18th, finishing 13th overall.
“The day was good, overall,” said Dudney. “Qualifying was all right. I need to work on that a little bit more, but the first moto was good. Then the second moto, I got a bad start, and just tried to push my way up there. Overall, there are a lot of positives to take away, and I'm happy with it.”
Carson Wood made his pro debut in Colorado this weekend, and it was a strong showing for the young rider from Florida. He qualified 13th and got two top-10 starts. In the first moto, he was 10th after the start and running around 14th before dropping back to 27th with four laps remaining. In Moto 2, he got an even better start in sixth, despite having the 27th gate pick. Wood then battled for a top 10 result all the way to the finish, coming back from 12th to finish 10th and end the day 17th overall.
“The day went really well. I qualified 13th and then was 27th in my first moto, and 10th in my last moto. I was really excited for my pro debut, and I definitely learned a lot. I was having a good time and learning from everyone. It was sick.”
“It was definitely an up-and-down day for what seemed like the entire class,” said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 Team General Manager. “Cole had a really good second moto going. He was going to the front pretty quick and then crashed. Unfortunately, it broke some throttle cables, and the front brake went out, so that was a shame. We had a lot of good results for the guys, and with some of the young guys, like in Moto 2, with Landen and Minear getting their best results of the year, and a top 10 for Carson in his pro debut. Then Dudney and Mosiman in Moto 1. We’ve just got to get the overall results better, but a good weekend overall.”
The focus shifts to the High Point National – Round 4 of the Pro Motocross Championship and Round 21 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship, at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, on June 20.