Feld Entertainment Photo
LACHLAN TURNER TIGHTENS GRIP ON WOMEN’S MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
LEAD WITH DOMINANT VICTORY AT BUDDS CREEK
HEAD-TO-HEAD SHOWDOWN WITH RIVAL CHARLI CANNON AWAITS AT SEASON FINALE
MECHANICSVILLE, Md. (August 23, 2026) – The penultimate round of the
2026 Women’s Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony [WMX] was a
tale of two motos, with dramatically different weather and track
conditions across the two days of competition. While sunny skies shined
down for Friday’s first moto, heavy morning rain on Saturday gave way
to sunny skies in the afternoon, with a continuously evolving racetrack.
Through it all, Altus Motorsports bLUcRU Yamaha’s Lachlan Turner [#1]
proved why she has the No. 1 on her motorcycle and why she’s held
possession of the red plate all season, with another dominant
performance that tightened her grip of the points lead and moved her one
step closer to a third consecutive title.
Qualifying
* Due to weather mitigation efforts to protect the racetrack,
Friday’s morning qualifying was limited to a single session. In it,
Quad Lock Honda’s Chari Cannon [#7] emerged with a top time of
2:08.261, which placed her a tenth of a second ahead of Turner’s time
of 2:08.340. SLR Honda’s Mayla Herrick [#7] rounded out the top three
[2:14.410].
Moto 1 [12 Minutes + 1 Lap]
* Before the gate dropped on the first moto of the weekend misfortune
struck Dusty Rocks Yamaha’s Jordan Jarvis [#301], who sits third in
the championship, when she lost power on her motorcycle and missed the
start of the moto. She was able to get on track and log a single lap but
ultimately retired from the moto.
* The moto began with Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX Kawasaki’s Taylah
McCutcheon [#10] out front with the holeshot ahead of Phoenix Racing
Honda’s Tayla Jones [#713] and Team KOH-Z Yamaha’s Nanami Honda
[#33]. The series’ championship rivals were both forced to fight
through starts outside the top 10, with Cannon 12th and Turner 15th.
* As the field jockeyed for position on the opening lap it was SLR
Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen [#51] who made a charge up to second, followed
by her teammate Herrick and Cannon. Turner, meanwhile, clawed her way up
to fifth.
* Soon a five-rider battle unfolded at the front of the field, as
Nielsen was able to take the lead from McCutcheon with around nine
minutes to go. Cannon followed through into second, while Turner made
her way into third. Amidst this battle, Herrick lost touch with the
leaders and eventually dropped out of the moto after her Honda lost
power.
* While Nielsen looked to assert her hold on the top spot Cannon and
Turner began a battle for second. That allowed Cannon to push onto the
rear fender of Nielsen. As Cannon attempted to make a move for the lead,
Nielsen took her line, which allowed Turner to capitalize and make the
pass for second. That sequence was replicated moments later when
Turner’s pass attempt was also defended by Nielsen, which allowed
Cannon to reclaim the position.
* With a little more than six minutes remaining on the race clock
Cannon made the move around Nielsen to grab control of the lead. Turner
quickly followed through with a pass for second. The lead duo then
pulled away from Nielsen.
* On the following lap, Cannon overjumped a section and went wide in a
turn. That opened the door for Turner to slip into the lead with about
four minutes to go. On the following lap, Turner dropped the hammer and
laid down her fastest lap of the moto, which was 2.6 seconds quicker
than Cannon and allowed Turner to establish nearly a three-second
advantage.
* The distance between Turner and Cannon continued to grow over the
final stages of the moto as the reigning champion and points leader put
the finishing touch on her seventh moto win of the season by 4.4 seconds
over Cannon. Nielsen carded her fifth moto podium of the season in
third, with McCutcheon in fourth and Built Hard Racing KTM’s Piper
Bell in fifth.
Moto 2 [12 Minutes + 1 Lap]
* Saturday’s second moto began under improving track conditions and
sunny skies, as Nielsen stormed to the holeshot ahead of Turner and
Cannon, while McCutcheon was involved in a first-turn incident with
another rider.
* Turner went on the attack right away and was able to make the move
around Nielsen for the lead after just a few corners. Cannon followed
into second moments later.
* The clear track allowed Turner to push the pace as she opened a near
three-second lead on Cannon. Behind them, Nielsen ran solidly in third
as her teammate Herrick gave pursuit from fourth. As she closed in on
Nielsen to begin a battle for third Herrick went down and dropped to
sixth.
* As the moto dipped into its final five minutes, Turner’s lead grew
to more than eight seconds over Cannon. She continued to add to the
advantage, which grew to double digits as the moto wore on.
* Turner wrapped up another dominant performance with her eighth moto
win, crossing the finish line 14.9 seconds ahead of Cannon. Nielsen
followed in third.
Overall
* Turner’s fourth victory and fourth 1-1 performance of the season
further asserted her hold on the championship lead heading into the
final round.
* Cannon was once again consistent in pursuit of Turner, finishing in
the runner-up spot for the fourth time this summer, posting her third
2-2 effort.
* Nielsen ended an overall podium drought that dated back to the
opening round, posting a solid 3-3 effort for her second top three
finish of the season.
* With the sweep of the motos, Turner extended her points lead to 21
points over Cannon heading into the final round. McCutcheon, who
finished fourth overall (4-10), remained third, 71 points out of the
lead, but just three points ahead of Nielsen and Jarvis, who finished
12th (33-4).
Taylah McCutcheon [#10] grabbed the holeshot to begin Friday’s moto
before a spirited battle for the win unfolded between several riders.
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.
_Mikayla Nielsen [#51] started Saturday’s moto out front with the
holeshot, before giving way to Charli Cannon [#7] and Lachlan Turner
[#1]._
_MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc._
Results & Standings
WMX Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)
* Lachlan Turner, Gardnerville, Nev., Yamaha (1-1 // 50)
* Charli Cannon, Maroochy River, Qld., Australia, Honda (2-2 // 44)
* Mikayla Nielsen, Riverside, Calif., Honda (3-3 // 40)
* Taylah McCutcheon, Cornubia, Qld., Australia, Kawasaki (4-10 // 30)
* Brandy Richards, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (6-9 / 29)
* Kaylie Kyler, Savona, B.C., Canada, Yamaha (9-7 // 28)
* Lilly-Ann Pettus, Hanceville, Ala., Triumph (8-8 // 28)
* Piper Bell, Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., KTM (5-14 // 25)
* Jamie Astudillo, Gilbertsville, Pa., GASGAS (7-13 // 24)
* Tayla Jones, Yass, NSW, Australia (10-11 // 23)
WMX Championship Standings (Round 5 of 6)
* Lachlan Turner, Gardnerville, Nev., Yamaha – 232
* Charli Cannon, Maroochy River, Qld., Australia, Honda – 211
* Taylah McCutcheon, Cornubia, Qld., Australia, Kawasaki – 161
* Mikayla Nielsen, Riverside, Calif., Honda – 158
* Jordan Jarvis, Leesburg, Fla., Yamaha – 158
* Piper Bell, Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., KTM – 133
* Lilly-Ann Pettus, Hanceville, Ala., Triumph – 124
* Ava Silvestri, Tahoe City, Calif., Husqvarna – 91
* Emma Milesevic, Lal Lal, Victoria, Australia, Yamaha – 83
* Mayla Herrick, Thornton, Colo., Honda – 80
Overall Results [3]
Box Score [4]
Championship Standings [5]
Quotes
1st Place – Lachlan Turner | #1 Altus Motorsports bLUcRU Yamaha (1-1)
_“I told my dad I was going to get the holeshot and win this, and I
pretty much did that. I think the track was awesome and I really felt
comfortable. I’m just excited to get another win and looking forward
to the final round next weekend.”_
2nd Place – Charli Cannon | #7 Quad Lock Honda (2-2)
_“I just let [Turner] go a bit too far. I struggled with finding my
flow today. It was a tough weekend, but we’ll go back to the drawing
board and keep working on the small things. Still a solid day. We’ll
try to come out strong next weekend.”_
3rd Place – Mikayla Nielsen | #51 SLR Honda (4-3)
_“I got a sick holeshot, which was a great start to the day. I
struggled with finding my flow, but I got on the podium, so who cares.
It’s been a great weekend and I’m just so happy to be back up here
[on the podium].”_
The 2026 Women’s Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony will
crown a champion next weekend, August 28-29, with the final round from
Indiana’s Ironman Raceway. The U.S. Navy Ironman National Finals
Presented by Tucker Freight Lines will feature two days of racing, with
Moto 1 on Friday, August 28, followed by the championship-deciding moto
on Saturday, August 29. Free coverage of Friday’s moto will stream live,
exclusively on _SMX Friday Live Presented by Honda_ on the
SuperMotocross YouTube channel. Saturday’s second moto will be
featured as part of the comprehensive and exclusive live coverage from
Ironman on Peacock, beginning at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
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