SMX Next – Motocross Scouting Moto Combines to be Held at RedBud and Ironman for 2026 Season
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (January 29, 2026) – MX Sports Pro Racing, in conjunction with the SMX LeagueTM, has confirmed the venues that will host SMX Next – Motocross events this summer!
A pair of Scouting Moto Combine Presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare gatherings will be held in conjunction with the Pro Motocross Championship. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, at the Independence Day tradition of the RedBud National (July 4). The season-ending Ironman National Finals (August 29). Both SMX Next events will take place the Friday prior to each respective race.
Specifically, the RedBud Combine will be on July 3 and the Ironman Combine on August 28.
SMX Next combines the two Scouting Moto Combines with the five races that comprise SMX Next – Supercross. It will culminate with the SMX Next World All-Stars during the Monster Energy SMX World ChampionshipTM Playoffs.
Importantly, this season-long collaborative effort is focused on cultivating the development of the top A & B class prospects in amateur motocross. The 2026 SMX Next campaign officially began this past weekend. At the Anaheim 2 stop of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. It will continue this Saturday in Houston.
“SMX Next remains one of the most practical and effective amateur development programmes in motorsports and continues to provide an unparalleled opportunity for the sport’s most talented prospects to compete in a world class environment,” said Jim Perry, Programme Director for the Scouting Moto Combine. “Both RedBud and Ironman have proven to be exceptional venues for SMX Next – Motocross. As a result, we look forward to welcoming a new crop of talent to the Nationals for this summer’s Combines. These promising young athletes will receive hands-on mentoring from some of the most decorated and respected figures in the industry. Subsequently, they will have the chance to fight for victory at two of American motocross’ premier events.”
The first Scouting Moto Combine event of the summer will be held at Michigan’s legendary RedBud MX as part of the Pro Motocross Championship’s storied Independence Day tradition.
Photo Courtesy MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.
Each Scouting Moto Combine will bring together 25 up-and-coming prospects from the highly competitive ranks of amateur motocross.
Many of the racers have amassed a decorated racing résumé. Filled with success at the various American Motocross Majors, including multiple AMA Amateur National Championships. At each Scouting Moto Combine, athletes will be mentored by a group of rider coaches.
These coaches are hand-selected to provide insights and guidance around on-track and off-track skills. This esteemed collective of coaches had included the likes of AMA Hall of Famers; Broc Glover, Chad Reed, and Kevin Windham. In addition, the group also has other championship calibre stalwarts from years past.
In addition to coaching, Combine participants will be provided with classroom-style education sessions. On other aspects of competition such as health, fitness, and nutrition. They will even receive training in media engagement.
Each group of prospects invited to compete in SMX Next are determined through a collaborative effort with the SMX World Championship’s competing manufacturers in GASGAS, Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha.
While the Scouting Moto Combine will be a focal point on Friday at each of the designated Nationals, its inclusion will extend into the fanfare of Saturday’s professional races. This will include a commemorative parade lap for all 25 prospects in front of the thousands of fans in attendance.
The second Scouting Moto Combine event will be included as part of the Pro Motocross Championship finale from Indiana’s Ironman Raceway.
Photo Courtesy MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.
2026 SMX Next – Motocross // Scouting Moto Combine Events
- July 3 RedBud National
- August 28 Ironman National Finals
The ever-growing list of graduates from SMX Next continue to make a significant impact at the professional level. This group is led by its most successful alum in two-time SMX World Champion and back-to-back Pro Motocross 250 Class Champion Haiden Deegan.
This talented group also includes Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas, the Phoenix Racing Honda duo of Evan Ferry and Gavin Towers, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing trio of Daxton Bennick, Casey Cochran, and Ryder DiFrancesco. In addition, it includes Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Drew Adams, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer, Deegan’s Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team-mate Cole Davies, and the Toyota Redlands BarX Yamaha duo of Parker Ross and Lux Turner.
Reigning back-to-back 250SMX Class Champion Haiden Deegan
is the most successful graduate of the SMX Next program.
Photo Courtesy MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.