Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Opens 250MX Season with Double Podium
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Caden Dudney and Cole Davies finish second and third, respectively, at the Pro Motocross opener at Fox Raceway / Jun 2, 2026 /
With Haiden Deegan moving up to the premier class for the 2026 Pro Motocross season, the spotlight shifted to the next wave of title contenders in the 250MX Championship. It takes more than one round for a title chase to take shape, but Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Caden Dudney and Cole Davies threw their names into the conversation with overall podium finishes at the season opener in Pala, California.
It's safe to say Dudney came into the 2026 season under the radar. It's also safe to say that expectations were high for Davies, who is coming off a stellar Supercross season where he earned his first 250SX East Championship and finished the year with the East-West Showdown win at the season finale. Regardless of the expectations coming in, it was an impressive start to the season for both riders, both of whom had just two Pro Motocross rounds under their belts heading into Fox Raceway.
Dudney had a solid qualifying effort in eighth and built on that to put together two good motos for the overall podium. It started with two great starts. In Moto 1, he was third after the start and battled up front, briefly holding the runner-up spot before ultimately finishing sixth. The 16-year-old built on that in the second moto. After getting another great start in third, he maintained the position for most of the moto, crossing the line fourth to secure a runner-up overall finish and his first overall 250MX podium.
“Qualifying wasn't so great, but it was still pretty decent,” said Dudney. “I was just kind of overriding in qualifying, so I needed to calm down for the motos, which I did. Starts are everything, and I got a couple of good starts and just worked my way from there. In the first moto, I ended up sixth, and then the second moto ended up fourth for second overall. So it was a really good day, and I'm happy with it.”
Davies got the day off to a good start, qualifying fourth. In the first moto, he was 10th, but quickly made his way through to sixth on that opening lap. From there, he steadily made his way forward to third, where he would finish to secure a podium in the opening moto. In 12th after the start of Moto 2, he once again went to work, charging his way to fifth by Lap 2, where he rode for most of the race before dropping back to eighth in the final laps. His 3-8 moto score secured third overall for a strong start to the outdoor season and a career-first overall podium.
“It wasn’t perfect, but P3 overall to kick off the outdoor season is a solid start,” said Davies. “Moto 1 showed what’s possible. I worked my way from 10th to third, and the pace was there. In Moto 2, I faded at the end, so I have work to do. No excuses. We’ve just got stuff to fix. The goal for Round 2 is simple: be more consistent across both motos.”
Also embarking on his first full Pro Motocross season was Kayden Minear. The young Australian had a strong qualifying in ninth, but his starts made for a challenging outing at Fox Raceway. In Moto 1, he was 27th on the opening lap but kept pushing and made his way through to 15th. Minear got a better start to Moto 2 in 14th and was seventh in the opening laps. Although he slipped back in the latter stages, Minear continued to push and crossed the line 10th, ending the day 12th overall for his best result thus far in 250MX.
“Round 1 in Pala is done and dusted,” said Minear. “It’s not the day I was expecting with my starts letting me down, but I know what I need to work on, so I will be back better than ever next weekend in Hangtown."
Another one of the team's top up-and-coming riders, Landen Gordon, made his Pro Motocross debut at Fox Raceway. He qualified 12th, and after the first gate drop, the 19-year-old Californian got a great start in fourth. Gordon ran fifth through the opening stages before dropping back to 14th as the moto wore on. In Moto 2, he found himself 16th after the start and ultimately finished there, ending the day 15th overall.
“My first pro national is in the books,” said Gordon. “I had a good first moto going and was running fifth, but faded a few positions towards the end. Then in the second moto, I had a mid-pack start. I’m looking forward to building off this at the next few rounds!”
Despite the less-than-ideal gate pick in 17th, Nate Thrasher had a decent start in 13th and quickly made his way to ninth on that opening lap, where he would finish. Moto 2 saw Thrasher start 13th once more before beginning another charge through the field. Unfortunately, he was collected by another rider, which damaged his bike and ended his day early, resulting in 16th overall.
“There were some positives to take on the day, but I need to get better in all facets of my riding,” said Thrasher. “We’ll get back to work and get ready for Round 2.”
It was also a difficult round for Michael Mosiman, who returned to action at the season opener after being sidelined since March with an arm and hand injury. Unfortunately, crashes in both motos prevented him from showing his full potential. The highlight of the day was a great start to Moto 2, with Mosiman narrowly missing the holeshot. However, an early-race incident on that opening lap put him at the back of the field, ending the day 27th overall with his 25-23 score.
“I’m very proud of all the work I put in to come back as quickly as I did,” said Mosiman. “There were many times when I thought it wouldn’t be possible to make it to Round 1, but we made it. Unfortunately, it was a rough first race back. The way I see it, I was a few small crashes away from a great first race back. Some of it was my fault, and some were racing incidents. A huge thank you to everyone on the team. There’s lots of work behind the scenes and lots of bike changes throughout the weekend. We will make adjustments and show up strong for Hangtown.”
Max Anstie started the day off eighth in the first session, but unfortunately had a big crash in the second one. The British rider made a valiant effort despite feeling beat up from the crash, racing over half the first moto before withdrawing from the event.
“I crashed in the second quali and hit the ground hard,” explained Anstie. “I did all I could, but the body was too beat up to race. I will do everything I can this week to be back in good form for Round 2.”
“Honestly, it was a really good start to the series to have two guys on the podium with a bunch of unknowns for us coming into the season,” said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 Team General Manager. “I thought all in all it was a good day. We know what we need to work on this week. The biggest bummer of the day was losing Max, but I know he'll do everything he can this week to be back next weekend.”
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad heads north to Rancho Cordova, California, for the Hangtown Motocross Classic on June 6 – Round 2 of the Pro Motocross Championship and Round 19 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship.