The 2026 Monster Energy Supercross Championship continues its west coast tour as the series returns to Anaheim, California for round three. We’re into the swing of this year now and points are getting established – Eli Tomac on top of the 450’s and Haiden Deegan narrowly leading the 250’s over his teammate Max Anstie. Tonight is also the first round for the SMX Next competitors. Stay tuned to this thread as we bring you all the action from A2.
450 MAIN EVENT
The 450 Main Event kicked off with Jason Anderson leading the way with a crucial holeshot over Chase Sexton and Hunter Lawrence. Anderson looked good on his Twisted Tea Suzuki and held the top spot for the opening laps as the race settled in. Behind him, battles ensued as Sexton, Lawrence, Tomac, and Webb slotted into the top five positions.
Sexton made his bid for the lead on lap seven. After a short battle with Lawrence for second, Sexton knew he needed to go forward if he wanted a chance at the win. He passed Anderson and made it look easy as he managed the gap from the front of the race. Sexton’s mistakes from qualifying and the heat race were clearly behind him as he checked off his first win of the season and his first with the Kawasaki brand. He now jumps to third in the championship standings.
“It’s been a long few months,” Sexton said. “Even after the heat race tonight I was wondering what I was doing wrong and knew I needed to just go out there and do my laps. I strapped up for the Main Event and just rode solid and more within myself…I just told myself I’m going to go out there and ride at a good pace and get into a flow and see what happens. I knew my speed was good enough to be able to ride not at 100% and still win.”
Hunter Lawrence finished second for the second week in a row. The Honda HRC Progressive rider once again found himself up at the front but came under fire from all fronts. He spent most of the early laps duking it out with Sexton and later with Eli Tomac for a spot on the podium. These two traded positions back and forth with Lawrence “threading the needle through the whoops” and ultimately holding off attacks from the points leader.
“The battle with Eli was really cool,” Lawrence said. “When we were going into the whoops, when he was on the inside and I was like kind of just “Hail Mary” let’s throw it and see kind of thread the needle and it worked out.”
Lawrence picked up the pace near the end and looked to be making a run at Sexton but a lapped rider blocked his lines on multiple occasions. This put the nail in the coffin for Lawrence and halted his forward progress. Still, two runner-up finishes in back-to-back weeks is a first-ever for Lawrence in the 450SX class. The Australian now sits second in the championship points.
“I just need a little more consistency throughout the day,” Lawrence said. “Every time I went on the track I made a change to the bike, so every time I was learning the track again and trying to adapt to the bike…I looked up and there was like six minutes left. And I was like, ‘Alright, let’s empty the tank.’ And I was just inching close. I would have loved to have seen how the last two laps unfolded had I not had the kind of traffic.”
Eli Tomac’s win streak came to an end but he still rounded out the podium in third for his third podium result of the season. Tomac found himself on offense at defense at the same time during the main event as he simultaneously tried to pass Hunter Lawrence while also keeping Cooper Webb behind. Tomac and Lawrence went at it for the second week in a row with Lawrence holding the advantage this time around.
“I felt like I was on offense and defense at the same time so it was very busy,” Tomac said. “I think back to a couple things I could’ve done to stay in front of Hunter. Like one time on the sweeper before the mechanics and we were both side by side and I probably should have went for the triple, but I ended up rolling out of the throttle there and letting him triple back by me. That was probably the most frustrating part for me was when he was able to really finish that pass on me there.”
After missing the triple by the mechanics section, Tomac lost his pace to the front and settled into third while dealing with late-race pressure from Webb before his fall. With two wins and a third to start the season, the number-three still holds the points lead by eight over Hunter Lawrence.
“I tried some moves and got passed, and vice versa,” Tomac said. “I’m happy to defend that podium spot, it was important for me, but that was a very intense race.”
Jason Anderson had his breakout ride of 2026 as he shot out to the early lead in the 450 main and held the top spot for the first six laps. The Suzuki rider looked comfortable but an eventual block pass from Tomac put the 21 off-track and seemed to take the wind out of his sails as he dropped back to fifth during the exchange. A late-race fall in the sand for Cooper Webb allowed Anderson to retake fourth position and the two finished less than a second apart at the line.
“To be out front and to be able to run that pace and not feel too uncomfortable running that pace was nice,” Anderson said. “I think I’m older so there’s a lot of times where I’m not threading the needle as much and I’m just checking up but at the same time, I’m just focusing on trying to make my own progress.”
Joey Savatgy finished sixth ahead of Jorge Prado and Ken Roczen, who came back from dead last twice. RJ Hampshire and Justin Cooper looked fast in qualifying but finished ninth and 10th in the main event
450SMX MAIN EVENT RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 21 Laps |
| 2. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 3.370 |
| 3. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 11.728 |
| 4. | Jason Anderson | (Suz) | 18.204 |
| 5. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 18.765 |
| 6. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 22.041 |
| 7. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 25.079 |
| 8. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 28.948 |
| 9. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 29.995 |
| 10. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 32.107 |
250 MAIN EVENT
Michael Mosiman rocketed off the line to take the early lead in the 250 main event. Behind him, disaster struck for front runners Chance Hymas and Levi Kitchen as they fell separately in the first turn. Both riders pulled off on lap one and forfeited the race.
All eyes were focused on the 250 points battle between Haiden Deegan and Max Anstie after their run-in last weekend. Deegan made it a one man show though as he came out with the win over his other Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha teammate, Michael Mosiman.
The defending champ slowly inched his way forward and finally struck with five laps remaining. Once into the lead Deegan dropped the hammer and gapped Mosiman by more than eight seconds for his second win in two weeks. Back to back wins leaves no argument of who the best 250 rider is at the moment and more importantly, he gained huge ground over his rival Anstie. He’s now nine points clear of Mosiman in second.
“The goal is to start top five and get to the lead,” Deegan said. “Got a decent start and just slowly picked them off…I had to play my cards right and wait until the end when fitness related and mistakes kind of caught up to the other riders, and I was able to capitalize.”
Mosiman finished on the podium for the second week in a row, improving one position over his San Diego result. The Star Racing Yamaha rider rocketed off to the early lead and circulated out front for the first three-quarters of the race. He looked comfortable out front and rode smart, hugging the insides to keep Deegan at bay. Eventually Deegan closed the gap and forced a pass in the bowl turn before the finish, albeit much less aggressive than the pass for the lead one week ago. Mosiman hung tough and held onto the second spot, marking his second podium in two weeks. He now jumps from fourth to second in the 250 points, nine back from Deegan and just one up on Anstie.
“I’m stoked on the race and stoked on my start,” Mosiman said. “Whenever you can get a holeshot that makes a world of difference…to have a really good start in the main event and get to lead laps, lead a bunch of laps, and have great pace it’s definitely a big step in the right direction.”
Ryder DiFrancesco crossed the line in third for his second podium of the season. He clawed his way through the field after starting outside the top five and found himself in a battle with Cameron McAdoo for the entire second half of the race.
DiFrancesco stalked the Kawasaki rider and finally pounced with just one minute left on the race clock. He left McAdoo with no time to respond and grabbed his second podium in three rounds. Hard to believe DiFrancesco had never podiumed a Supercross prior to this season as he now looks like a regular threat. He’s fourth in the championship, three points out of third.
“I knew if I could be there late in the race then I could get him,” DiFrancesco said. “I was nailing the three-three after the whoops each lap so I knew if I could get close there I could maybe make a pass. My plan was to wear him down and get him with a few laps to go and that’s exactly what I did.”
McAdoo finished fourth after DiFrancesco’s pass in the final stages of the race with Max Vohland rounding out the top five. The battle between DiFrancesco, McAdoo, and Vohland was one to watch as all three riders traded positions during the opening laps.
“The result doesn’t fully show how I felt on the bike tonight,” McAdoo said. “I had good starts and felt strong throughout the main event, and I was right there fighting for a podium position.”
Max Anstie had his share of troubles for sixth and gave up critical points to Deegan. Hunter Yoder, Carson Mumford, Parker Ross, and Josh Varize completed the top 10
250SMX MAIN EVENT RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 16 Laps |
| 2. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 8.500 |
| 3. | Ryder Difrancesco | (Hus) | 14.087 |
| 4. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 15.643 |
| 5. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 28.886 |
| 6. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 33.140 |
| 7. | Hunter Yoder | (Yam) | 37.104 |
| 8. | Carson Mumford | (KTM) | 49.043 |
| 9. | Parker Ross | (Yam) | 53.212 |
| 10. | Joshua Varize | (Kaw) | 54.715 |
SMX NEXT MAIN EVENT
A scary start to the SMX Next main event saw a huge pileup in the first rhythm section where two riders landed on each other and both hit the ground. This crash forced a full red flag restart while both riders – Ryder Malinoski and Max Shane were attended to.
After the restart, Star Racing Yamaha’s Kayden Minear grabbed the holeshot and commanded the early lead. The young Australian led every lap of the main event and looked like a veteran up at the front. He claimed the win over two Star Racing Yamaha teammates, Caden Dudney in second and Landen Gordon in third.
SMX NEXT MAIN EVENT RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Kayden Minear | (Yam) | 9 Laps |
| 2. | Caden Dudney | (Yam) | 1.742 |
| 3. | Landen Gordon | (Yam) | 8.301 |
| 4. | Vincent Wey | (Kaw) | 9.803 |
| 5. | Deacon Denno | (Tri) | 15.801 |
| 6. | Jesson Turner | (Yam) | 18.741 |
| 7. | Wyatt Thurman | (KTM) | 19.802 |
| 8. | Kane Bollasina | (Yam) | 21.275 |
| 9. | Landon Gibson | (Hus) | 22.254 |
| 10. | Cole Timboe | (Yam) | 19.126 |
450 QUALIFYING 2
The track keeps getting faster here in Anaheim as the dirt dries out and the track crew gets to work. Chase Sexton is the fastest rider on course today and was once again the fastest rider in the second 450 session. He set the fastest lap of the day – the only rider under 0ne-minute – but crashed spectacularly through the whoops shortly after. Sexton ended his session right after this mistake but still takes his time going P1 into the night show. Justin Cooper showed his qualifying pace for second overall with 450 rookie RJ Hampshire rounding out the top three. Ken Roczen and Joey Savatgy completed the top five with points leader Eli Tomac back in seventh. Note that the top 10 riders were all on the one-minute-flat range.
450SMX Q2 OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 59.950 |
| 2. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 1:00.453 |
| 3. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 1:00.496 |
| 4. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 1:00.508 |
| 5. | Joey Savatgy | (Hon) | 1:00.652 |
| 6. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 1:00.708 |
| 7. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 1:00.717 |
| 8. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 1:00.908 |
| 9. | Jason Anderson | (Suz) | 1:00.945 |
| 10. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 1:00.969 |
250 QUALIFYING 2
WOW. The qualifying sessions this year have been almost as exciting as the races themselves. Once again Haiden Deegan and Levi Kitchen traded fast laps going back and forth at the top of the time charts. Deegan managed to steal the pole position away in the late stages of Q2 with the best 250 time of the day at 1:00.591, two seconds better than his time in Q1. Kitchen looked fast per usual but his best time was just 0.3 seconds off of Deegan. He’ll go to the line second for tonight’s heat races. Round one winner Max Anstie posted the third best time. After a slow start, he picked up the pace and was the third and final rider on the one-minute mark.
250SMX Q2 OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1:00.591 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 1:00.817 |
| 3. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 1:00.884 |
| 4. | Ryder Difrancesco | (Hus) | 1:01.160 |
| 5. | Hunter Yoder | (Yam) | 1:01.607 |
| 6. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 1:01.648 |
| 7. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 1:02.085 |
| 8. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 1:02.796 |
| 9. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 1:02.975 |
| 10. | Dilan Schwartz | (Yam) | 1:03.273 |
450 QUALIFYING 1
Chase Sexton set the time to beat in the 450 class with the fastest lap of the day (so far). His 1:01.9 put him nearly a full second ahead of Eli Tomac who grabbed second with a 1:02.9. Sexton has a point to prove and has yet to land on the podium so far this season. Ken Roczen was a close third with Justin Cooper and Hunter Lawrence rounding out the top five.
450SMX Q1 QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 1:01.970 |
| 2. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 1:02.903 |
| 3. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 1:03.028 |
| 4. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 1:03.353 |
| 5. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 1:03.378 |
| 6. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 1:03.546 |
| 7. | Cooper Webb | (Yam) | 1:03.635 |
| 8. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 1:04.037 |
| 9. | RJ Hampshire | (Hus) | 1:04.045 |
| 10. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 1:04.304 |
250 QUALIFYING 1
The track is soft and rutted but that didn’t stop the top 250 riders from putting in their best laps during the first qualifying session. Points leader Haiden Deegan put his red plate on top with a time more than one full second faster than anyone else on track. Levi Kitchen clocked second, 1.2 seconds behind Deegan, with Chance Hymas rounding out the top three.
250SMX Q1 QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 1:02.745 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 1:03.962 |
| 3. | Chance Hymas | (Hon) | 1:04.395 |
| 4. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 1:04.488 |
| 5. | Michael Mosiman | (Yam) | 1:04.646 |
| 6. | Ryder Difrancesco | (Hus) | 1:04.946 |
| 7. | Hunter Yoder | (Yam) | 1:05.296 |
| 8. | Carson Mumford | (KTM) | 1:05.423 |
| 9. | Dilan Schwartz | (Yam) | 1:05.425 |
| 10. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 1:05.473 |
Press Day Video
