The Women’s Motocross Championship Powered by Synchrony returned to action at Unadilla MX this weekend for the fourth round of the 2026 season, marking the beginning of a crucial three-round run to decide the championship.
After the midsummer break, Lachlan Turner returned to the top step of the podium in dominant fashion. The Altus Motorsports bLU cRU Yamaha rider swept both motos with a pair of wins to claim her third overall victory of the season and extend her championship lead.
Moto 1: Turner takes control
Mayla Herrick grabbed the holeshot ahead of teammate Mikayla Nielsen and Charli Cannon, while Turner started seventh.
The Yamaha rider wasted little time moving forward. Turner passed Cannon and Nielsen before catching Herrick and taking control of the race on the opening lap.
Once in front, Turner immediately began to pull away. Her advantage continued to grow as the battle behind her became increasingly chaotic.
Cannon moved into second after passing Nielsen and then caught Herrick, but a crash after taking the runner-up position dropped her back to fourth. Herrick then went down, allowing Nielsen to move into second and Cannon to recover to third.
Cannon eventually fought her way back past Nielsen with less than a minute remaining. Nielsen then crashed out of third, promoting Jordan Jarvis into the final podium position.
Out front, Turner was in a class of her own. Her advantage grew to almost 20 seconds before she crossed the finish line for a convincing victory, 15.6 seconds ahead of Cannon.
Jarvis held off heavy pressure from Herrick on the final lap to finish third, an impressive result after starting outside the top 10. Herrick finished fourth, while Piper Bell completed the top five.
Moto 2: Another win for Turner
Saturday’s second moto began with Taylah McCutcheon taking the holeshot ahead of Piper Bell and Brandy Richards. Turner started strongly in fourth, with Herrick fifth, Nielsen sixth and Cannon seventh.
Turner quickly moved through the field and reached second, setting her sights on McCutcheon and a three-second gap.
It did not take long for the Yamaha rider to close in. Turner seized her opportunity and moved into the lead, immediately beginning to build an advantage.
Cannon was also on the charge. She moved into fourth before passing Bell for third and then McCutcheon for second. The former runner-up began closing the gap to Turner, but the championship leader had already established a lead of almost five seconds.
As Turner extended the advantage to around six seconds, Herrick produced another strong ride. The rookie passed Bell and McCutcheon to move into third and put herself in position for her first career overall WMX podium.
Cannon was the faster rider during the closing stages, but there was not enough time to catch Turner.
The Yamaha rider completed the moto sweep with a 1.5-second victory over Cannon, while Herrick finished third, more than 20 seconds behind the winner.
Turner extends championship lead
With a perfect 1-1 scorecard, Turner secured her third overall victory of the season and strengthened her position at the top of the championship standings.
Cannon finished second overall with a consistent 2-2 result, marking her third runner-up finish in the last four rounds.
The biggest breakthrough of the weekend came from Herrick. Competing in just her second career WMX round, the rookie claimed her first overall podium with 4-3 finishes, just one week after winning the Women’s class at the AMA National Championship at Loretta Lynn’s.
Turner gained six points on Cannon at Unadilla and now leads the championship by 12 points with two rounds and four motos remaining.
With the championship entering its decisive final stretch, Turner and Cannon will now go head-to-head over the final two rounds of the 2026 WMX season.
