It took just one round to get a good sense of where the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship Series is going. That makes fantasy motocross tricky, as you can pick riders in the top five consistently, but still do poorly if you’re off in the order. Going into the Hangtown Motocross Classic, round 2 of the AMA National Championship, there are six strong contenders for your top five RMFantasyMX picks. Let’s see who is left on the outside looking in in my 2026 Hangtown motocross fantasy picks.
Hunter Lawrence.
Hunter Lawrence is the top pick to win. Hunter went 1-1 at the opener at Fox Raceway, and looked untouchable. When you’re riding like that, you are the prohibitive favorite until proven otherwise.
Jett Lawrence.
Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan fought off poor starts in both Fox Raceway National motos to still finish in the top five. Jett went 4-3 and Deegan climbed to 5-4 on a day where their starts might have kept them out of the top five. Expect Jett and Deegan to get back to their strong starting ways at Prairie City SVRA. As Jett had an edge over Deegan, finishing eight seconds ahead of Deegan in Moto 1 and nine seconds ahead in Moto 2, put Jett down for P2 and Deegan in P3.
Jorge Prado.
It was a strong opener for Jorge Prado, though he will likely have to contend with good starts from Jett and Deegan. In the second moto at Fox Raceway, Jett nearly caught Prado, even with a bad start. Jett is the top choice for P2, with it more of a toss-up for P3 between Deegan and Prado. Deegan will have the strongest motivation, so I have Prado down for P4.
You have to choose between Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton for P5. Cooper beat Sexton by 33 seconds in Moto 1 last week, while Sexton bested Cooper by 29 seconds in Moto 2. That’s a wash. If Sexton can stay on two wheels, he has an edge over Cooper. However, Sexton is a notorious crasher, so I have Cooper down for P5 by the narrowest of margins for the 2026 Hangtown Motocross Classic.
Justin Barcia.
The RMFantasyMX Wild Card is P15, which is an impossible call. At Fox Raceway, Jordon Smith and Dante Oliveria finished a moto in P15, though both finished the day lower in the overall. Riders who had a finish within one slot of P15 in Pala include Justin Barcia, Benny Bloss, Mikkel Haarup, and Kyle Webster. That gives you six good choices. Barcia went 17-16 last week, and that was good enough for P15 overall. At Hangtown, he may end up improving to 15-15 and still finish in P15 overall. Barcia is my P15 pick, though the other five riders all make sense for the Wild Card.
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In our first segment, Don Williams and Nic de Sena chat about the latest Yamaha MT-07. The amazing motor in the Yamaha is mostly unchanged, however just about everything else with this bike has changed. Don and Nic have extensive experience riding this beast and you’ll hear both their likes and a couple of dislikes too.
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Our guest for this episode is Nikolas Lazos, a 15-year old young man from Melbourne, Australia who starting racing in the Supersport 300 category in Australian Superbike last year. Nikolas had an awful crash at the tail end of last year that put him out of contention for the Championship. Teejay chats with Nikolas about his journey so far, and the physical and mental challenges he’s facing coming back from injury.
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Here’s quick reminder to check out our monthly digital magazine. It’s filled with everything you want to read on motorcycling, including some things you’ve probably not seen elsewhere. It’s absolutely free and you will find it on the Apple App Store and of course on Google Play as well.
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