The 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship has entered its final stretch, and Jorge Prado has put himself firmly in control.
At Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles on 20 September, Prado survived a pair of intense 450SMX motos to claim his first SMX Playoff victory, while Julien Beaumer delivered a breakthrough 250SMX performance for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
With double points on the table, every pass, crash and recovery carried championship consequences.
Now, with triple points waiting at the Final in Missouri, the title fight is wide open.
Prado Turns Pressure Into Consistency
The contrast from the opening Playoff round was immediate.
After rain and mud dominated Columbus, Los Angeles delivered sunshine and a dry circuit. The longer 20-minute-plus-one-lap motos created more time for riders to attack, recover and make mistakes.
Prado started Moto 1 exactly where he wanted, grabbing the holeshot and establishing himself at the front.
Ken Roczen quickly moved into second and began applying pressure. The German eventually made an aggressive pass on Prado and opened a small advantage.
But Prado didn’t disappear.
As the race entered its closing stages, he closed back in while navigating lapped traffic. The two international champions were separated by less than a second heading into the final lap.
Roczen held firm to take the moto victory by 1.3 seconds, with Prado second and Haiden Deegan third.
The second moto was even more chaotic.
Sand, Crashes and Championship Consequences
Hunter Lawrence took the early lead in Moto 2, while Prado battled behind him.
A mistake temporarily dropped Prado back, but the KTM rider recovered and continued fighting near the front. Then came the decisive sequence.
Prado went down in the sand at the halfway point, allowing Deegan to move into second. Rather than settle, Prado immediately went back on the attack and recovered to third.
The battle intensified again late in the moto.
Deegan crashed while fighting Prado, and further contact involving Deegan and Roczen created another dramatic shake-up. Through it all, Prado kept pushing forward.
The Spaniard’s reward was a resilient second-place finish.
Lawrence dominated the moto to take the win, while Prado’s 2-2 score was enough to secure the overall victory. Lawrence finished second overall and Roczen third.
For Prado, the victory was less about dominating every lap and more about surviving the moments that could have destroyed his championship advantage.
“Sometimes you have to take those risks,” .
Prado said after the race
The Championship Picture Tightens
Prado’s consistency became especially valuable because double points were awarded in Los Angeles.
He now leads the SMX World Championship by 16 points over Deegan and Lawrence, who are tied for second.
Roczen sits 18 points behind Prado, while Cooper Webb is 20 points back.
That means the championship can still change dramatically when triple points are awarded at the Final.
One bad moto in Missouri could completely reshape the title fight.
Beaumer Completes KTM’s Double
The 250SMX Class produced another major KTM storyline.
Julien Beaumer delivered a composed 1-3 performance to secure his first SMX Playoff victory.
Moto 1 was relatively straightforward for Beaumer. He grabbed the holeshot and controlled the race from the front, keeping Ryder DiFrancesco behind him for the victory.
The second moto was considerably more complicated.
Beaumer again launched into the lead, but crashes involving Cole Davies and DiFrancesco changed the complexion of the race.
Levi Kitchen eventually worked his way forward and passed Beaumer with less than 13 minutes remaining.
Rather than force the issue, Beaumer recognised the championship implications and managed his race.
He chose points over unnecessary risk—and the strategy paid off with the overall victory.
Kitchen won the moto, while Jo Shimoda moved into second late in the race. Beaumer’s third-place finish was enough to secure the overall.
Kitchen Still Leads Heading to Missouri
Kitchen’s 7-1 score put him third overall but, crucially, kept him at the top of the championship standings.
He carries a three-point advantage over DiFrancesco into the Final.
Beaumer’s victory was equally significant for his championship campaign. The KTM rider jumped seven positions in the standings and now sits third, 16 points behind Kitchen.
DiFrancesco also gained valuable ground after recovering from his Moto 2 crash to finish fifth.
Three riders remain within the thick of the 250SMX title fight, with triple points still available.
Everything Comes Down to the Final
Los Angeles has left the SMX championship with little room for error.
Prado has momentum and a 16-point advantage in the 450SMX standings, while Deegan, Lawrence and Roczen remain within striking distance.
In the 250SMX Class, Kitchen’s three-point lead over DiFrancesco sets up another tight championship battle, with Beaumer now firmly back in contention.
The conditions, the pressure and the points will all change again in Missouri.
But after the chaos of Los Angeles, one thing is clear:
The SMX World Championship Final will be decided under maximum pressure.