Charli Cannon Breaks Through for Maiden U.S. WMX Victory

The 2026 Women’s Motocross Championship reached its halfway point in dramatic fashion at High Point Raceway, with the iconic “Country Club of Motocross” producing unpredictable, momentum-shifting racing across both motos.

As the series hit its first East Coast stop of the season, the UFO Plast High Point National delivered the most chaotic round yet, with new winners emerging, established champions tested, and a historic podium forming at the end of the day. After six straight runner-up finishes, Australia’s multi-time national champion Charli Cannon finally broke through for her first U.S. victory, leading a podium stacked with world and national champions.

Qualifying had already hinted at a showdown, with reigning FIM World Champion Lotte van Drunen fastest in both sessions ahead of reigning WMX Champion Lachlan Turner, setting up a much-anticipated battle. But when Moto 1 began, it was Mayla Herrick who stunned the field, grabbing the holeshot in her first professional start on her 17th birthday and immediately sprinting clear of the pack.

Behind her, another Australian standout, Taylah McCutcheon, initially held second before losing traction on the approach to the first jump, bottlenecking the field and allowing van Drunen into second and Mikayla Nielsen into third. Turner found herself buried outside the top five early, while Cannon started deep in 15th.

Herrick quickly settled into a composed rhythm at the front, controlling the pace with impressive maturity, while van Drunen shadowed her throughout without ever quite finding a way through. Turner mounted a strong recovery, working her way forward and eventually passing both McCutcheon and Nielsen on the same lap to move into third, but Herrick remained steady under pressure and managed lapped traffic with ease, holding a margin of around two seconds.

In a landmark performance, Herrick delivered a wire-to-wire win by 1.8 seconds over van Drunen, who secured her first WMX moto podium in second, while Turner, battling illness, held onto third. Nielsen finished fourth, and Cannon completed a strong charge to fifth after a difficult start.

Moto 2 began in chaos when a first-turn crash involving Herrick and multiple riders brought out a red flag, ending her race, while also reshuffling the entire complexion of the moto. The stoppage proved significant for van Drunen, who had suffered a holeshot device issue and later discovered oil leaking from her Yamaha, with the delay allowing her team to resolve both problems before the restart.

At the second gate drop, Turner launched into the holeshot ahead of Cannon, with McCutcheon briefly slotting into second before Cannon reclaimed the position. Turner immediately stretched a gap of around three seconds on the opening lap as she set the pace out front, while Nielsen moved into third and van Drunen began another charge from outside the top ten, working her way into the leading group after early setbacks.

Turner continued to build her advantage and looked in control of the moto, stretching her lead to nearly ten seconds before disaster struck shortly before the finish. She landed awkwardly after crossing a rut on a jump, crashing heavily and momentarily knocking the wind out of herself. Cannon swept through into the lead as Turner remounted and rejoined several seconds later in second. Despite a determined push to recover, Turner was unable to close the gap, and Cannon went on to secure her third WMX moto win by 5.1 seconds, sealing the overall victory. Nielsen finished third in the moto, just ahead of van Drunen, who once again recovered strongly after early issues.

After the race, Cannon reflected on finally converting her consistent form into victory, saying, “That was wild. With the red flag, I knew I had to stay calm and execute a start. Me and Lala checked out and I capitalised on her mistake. After yesterday [finishing fifth], I was disappointed, but I knew it’s never over until it’s over. It feels amazing to end the weekend like this.”

Turner, meanwhile, admitted frustration after coming so close to victory, explaining, “I knocked the wind out of myself [with the crash] and threw [the win] away, but I’m sick and still rode really well. I was caught up in the first start crash [before the red flag] but had another chance and made it count.”

Van Drunen completed the podium in only her second WMX appearance, noting, “Yesterday was pretty good, but today I had some bad luck. I had to start without my holeshot device, which made it so much harder, but I did my best. I’m happy to be here on the podium, and hopefully I can come back [to race WMX].”

The result leaves the championship finely balanced heading into the midseason break, with Cannon closing the gap to Turner, while van Drunen’s podium highlighted the growing international depth shaping the 2026 WMX title fight.