RedBud Combine Opens Amateur Scouting Ahead of Pro Motocross Return
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 30, 2026
RedBud combine
The SMX Next Motocross Scouting Moto Combine gives RedBud weekend an early start and puts 25 of the country’s top amateur A and B class prospects on the same stage before the 53rd 5.11 RedBud National. The program opens on Friday at RedBud MX in Michigan and sends the riders through two 25-minute-plus-one-lap motos. Officials will crown a winner and overall podium after the motos, a format that keeps the focus on race pace and consistency instead of a single flash run. The rider group came together with input from Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha, which gives the combine a direct line to the manufacturers that shape the sport’s next level. Broc Glover, Kevin Windham, Michael Byrne and Gareth Swanepoel are set to coach the group, and their presence adds a proven championship voice to the weekend. The combine also includes classroom work on health, fitness, nutrition and media, a reminder that the pipeline reaches beyond lap times. The SMX Next program is built as a year-round talent track, and it has already produced professional standouts such as Haiden Deegan. That matters at RedBud because the combine is not a stand-alone showcase. The riders will also take part in a 10-minute practice session during Saturday’s National, which links the scouting event directly to the Pro Motocross card and gives the amateurs a look at the environment the next step demands.
RedBud National
The 53rd running of the 5.11 RedBud National brings the outdoor series back after its summer break and returns it to RedBud MX in Michigan. The race is part of the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship. It is framed as a midpoint event in the outdoor season and a major checkpoint for championship standings. That gives the weekend a clear place in the title picture as the summer campaign moves forward. The holiday weekend stop also continues RedBud’s long Fourth of July tradition and comes during America’s 250th anniversary year. The event has a larger footprint than a single race because the amateur combine feeds into it and the National practice session gives the next wave of riders a direct look at the pro stage. RedBud, in turn, becomes the point where the field resets after the break and the rest of the outdoor season starts to take clearer shape. The site, the timing and the championship stakes all line up around a weekend that carries weight for riders at both levels. It is a familiar stop on the calendar, and it again sits at the center of the sport’s summer stretch.
250SMX race
The 250SMX Class arrives at RedBud with a tight points race and a run of parity that has already shaped the first four events. Those four races produced four different winners, which has kept the class unsettled and put a premium on every moto. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen carries the red plate into RedBud and leads Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda by one point. Kitchen also leads Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer by two points, and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies sits seven points back. That spread keeps the top of the standings close, but it also leaves room for a single race to shift the picture fast. RedBud gives each of the contenders a different angle. Davies arrives after earning his first Pro Motocross victory before RedBud, which gives him a recent breakthrough to build on. Shimoda has owned this venue, winning both of his previous RedBud appearances and last year’s race there. Kitchen brings the red plate and the points lead, while Beaumer stays within striking distance if the front-runners stumble. The combination of form, venue history and narrow margins gives the class a clear storyline heading into the weekend. Every point counts, and RedBud offers another chance for the order to change again.
