Australian champion Charli Cannon secured her first-ever victory in the United States at High Point, as the WMX Championship reached its mid-season break.
The third round of the 2026 Women’s Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony (WMX) took place at the legendary High Point Raceway, also known as the “Country Club of Motocross.” The first East Coast race of the season delivered plenty of surprises, new contenders at the front of the field, and a new winner. After six consecutive runner-up finishes, multiple-time Australian Champion Charli Cannon (Quad Lock Honda) finally broke through to claim her maiden WMX victory in the United States.
Joining her on the overall podium were reigning AMA Champion Lachlan “Lala” Turner and reigning FIM World Champion Lotte van Drunen.
Qualifying
Lotte van Drunen immediately showed her speed in her second appearance in the United States. The Dutch rider for HGS Slade Racing topped both qualifying sessions on Friday. Her fastest lap of 2:09.263 came in the second session, placing her nearly one second ahead of reigning WMX Champion Lachlan Turner, who posted a best time of 2:10.126.
Moto One
Much of the attention heading into the opening moto was focused on a potential showdown between Van Drunen and Turner, but it was Mayla Herrick who stole the spotlight. The Honda rider grabbed the holeshot and quickly pulled away from the field in her very first professional race, which also happened to be her 17th birthday.
Taylah McCutcheon initially moved into second place but lost traction approaching the first jump and held up several riders behind her. This allowed Van Drunen to move into second and Mikayla Nielsen into third. Turner completed the opening lap in eighth place, while Cannon was running around fifteenth.
Out front, Herrick delivered an impressive performance. Van Drunen managed to close the gap on several occasions but was never able to launch a serious challenge. Meanwhile, Turner charged through the field and passed both McCutcheon and Nielsen to move into third.
Herrick remained flawless throughout the race and maintained a lead of around two seconds for the entire moto. She secured a historic wire-to-wire victory, finishing 1.8 seconds ahead of Van Drunen. For the Dutch rider, it marked her first WMX moto podium finish. Turner came home in third, while Cannon fought her way back to fifth.
Moto Two
Saturday’s second moto got off to a chaotic start. A first-turn crash involving Herrick and several other riders resulted in a red flag and a complete restart.
The stoppage proved beneficial for Van Drunen. During the original start, she experienced problems with her holeshot device, and an oil leak was also discovered on her Yamaha. The break in action allowed the team to fix both issues, enabling her to take part in the restart.
When the gate dropped again, Turner grabbed the holeshot ahead of Cannon. McCutcheon briefly slotted in between them, but Cannon quickly reclaimed second place. With clear track ahead, Turner opened a three-second lead on the opening lap.
Further back, Nielsen passed McCutcheon for third place. Van Drunen started outside the top ten but steadily worked her way forward and into contention for a top-five finish.
At the front, Turner appeared to be cruising toward victory. However, shortly before the end of the race, she crashed after landing in a rut and had the wind knocked out of her. As she picked up her bike, Cannon moved past and inherited the lead.
Despite a determined effort in the closing stages, Turner was unable to regain the lost ground. Cannon went on to secure her third WMX moto victory by 5.1 seconds. Nielsen finished third, just ahead of Van Drunen.
Overall Classification
Cannon (5-1) and Turner (3-2) finished tied on 42 points. Thanks to her victory in the second moto, Cannon won the tiebreaker and secured her first overall WMX victory.
For Turner, it was only the third time in fifteen career starts that she failed to win a moto.
Van Drunen earned an overall podium finish in just her second WMX appearance. The Dutch rider now returns to Europe to defend her FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship title.
The podium featured three champions:
- Charli Cannon, four-time Australian National Champion
- Lachlan Turner, two-time AMA National Champion
- Lotte van Drunen, two-time FIM World Champion
Despite seeing her streak of seven consecutive moto wins come to an end, Turner did not lose any ground to Cannon in the championship standings. With three rounds remaining, her lead remains nine points.
WMX High Point Overall Results
- Charli Cannon (Honda) – 5-1 – 42 points
- Lachlan Turner (Yamaha) – 3-2 – 42 points
- Lotte van Drunen (Yamaha) – 2-4 – 40 points
- Mikayla Nielsen (Honda) – 4-3 – 38 points
- Jordan Jarvis (Yamaha) – 6-5 – 33 points
- Taylah McCutcheon (Kawasaki) – 7-6 – 31 points
- Jamie Astudillo (GASGAS) – 9-7 – 28 points
- Emma Milesevic (Yamaha) – 11-8 – 25 points
- Mayla Herrick (Honda) – 1-29 – 25 points
- Piper Bell (KTM) – 10-10 – 24 points
Championship Standings After Three of Six Rounds
- Lachlan Turner – 132 points
- Charli Cannon – 123 points
- Jordan Jarvis – 102 points
- Mikayla Nielsen – 101 points
- Taylah McCutcheon – 99 points
- Emma Milesevic – 83 points
- Piper Bell – 77 points
- Lotte van Drunen – 74 points
- Lilly-Ann Pettus – 74 points
- Ava Silvestri – 59 points
Rider Reactions
Charli Cannon:
“That was a crazy race. After the red flag, I knew I had to stay calm and execute a good start. Lala and I pulled away from the field, and I was able to capitalize on her mistake. I was disappointed after yesterday, but I knew it’s never over until the checkered flag falls. It feels amazing to finish the weekend like this.”
Lachlan Turner:
“The crash knocked the wind out of me, and I threw away the win. I’m sick, but I still rode a strong race. I was involved in the crash at the first start, but thanks to the restart I got a second chance and made the most of it.”
Lotte van Drunen:
“Yesterday went pretty well, but today I had some bad luck. I had to start without my holeshot device, which made things much more difficult. I gave it everything I had. I’m happy to be on the podium and hopefully I can come back to race WMX again in the future.”
The WMX Championship now heads into its summer break. Racing will resume in mid-August at the Unadilla National in New York. Rounds four and the next two motos of the season will take place on August 14 and 15, marking the beginning of the decisive final stretch that will determine the 2026 WMX Champion.
