Carson Wood completed a dominant summer at the SMX Next – Motocross programme, sweeping both Scouting Moto Combine events with an overall victory at Ironman Raceway on Friday. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider won three of four motos across the summer series, whilst AMA Hall of Famer Broc Glover earned the prestigious Coaches Cup.
The Ironman Scouting Moto Combine brought together 25 elite amateur prospects for the final race weekend of the regular season, combining on-track competition with classroom-style education sessions. The invited riders participated in training and fitness seminars, nutrition guidance, and media engagement workshops before the gates dropped.
Wood set the tone early, topping qualifying with a time of 2:08.226, 1.7 seconds ahead of ClubMX Yamaha’s Jesson Turner. The first moto saw Triumph Factory Racing’s Darren Pine grab the holeshot and lead impressively through the opening half of the 25-minute-plus-two-laps race. However, Wood methodically worked his way forward from sixth on the opening lap, overtaking Pine just before halfway and never looking back.
Pine held on for an impressive second place in his first SMX Next race, 4.2 seconds behind Wood, whilst Kade Johnson of Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green rounded out the podium ahead of Turner and newly crowned Nicky Hayden AMA Motocross Horizon Award recipient Landon Gibson.
The second moto belonged to Gibson, who stormed to the holeshot aboard his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna and eventually pulled away to a dominant 12.9-second victory. Despite losing touch with Gibson’s blistering pace, Wood secured second place, recognising he controlled his own destiny for the overall win. GDR Honda’s Dylan Rempel impressed with third, holding off KTM Orange Brigade’s Luke Fauser.
Wood’s 1-2 scorecard easily secured the overall at Ironman, replicating his triumphant effort from RedBud in July. Gibson’s 5-1 performance earned him his fourth runner-up finish in the Scouting Moto Combine, including three consecutive second-place results. Johnson completed the podium with a 3-6 effort, extending his current SMX Next podium streak to four across both Supercross and Motocross events.
“This [win] means a lot,” said Wood. “This is my second year [in SMX Next] and we got it done. We won RedBud and we won here [at Ironman] and almost a clean sweep [of the motos]. In this last moto I just wanted to bring it home and that’s what we did.”
SMX Next will continue into the postseason at the Monster Energy SMX World Championship Playoffs, with the SMX Next World All-Stars featured at Playoff 1 from Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on 12 September, and Playoff 2 from Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles on 19 September.
Photo: MX Sports Pro Racing Media
