Hunter Lawrence beat Ken Roczen to the finish line by 2.391 seconds at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, to win his third race in the last four rounds and extend his points’ lead to nine points.
“That’s a loaded question,” Lawrence said to Peacock’s Will Christien when she asked if the championship battle was beginning to feel different. “I’m just trying to take it one race at a time. It’s easy to think about the final result, but I’m just trying to stay focused on the moment.
“Anything can happen, as we’ve seen tonight.”
Roczen was the only rider who could challenge Lawrence as he struggles to stay in contention for the championship. He is 31 points behind Lawrence.
“I’m ecstatic, honestly,” Roczen told Jason Thomas. “I think I rode really well, but you can’t start 15th and expect to win a race. Inconsistency on the start. I’m not happy with it, but I rode so good tonight. Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, but with racing like that, I’m totally fine with it. Hunter was doing really well. I closed up big time and just made a couple of mistakes.”
Eli Tomac took the final podium position after advancing through the Last Chance Qualifier, following a freak accident in Heat 2 that pinned Justin Cooper’s leg in the back wheel of Tomac’s KTM.
“I just wasn’t as good tonight as the front two,” Tomac said. “That’s it. Of course, the LCQ was very stressful and a high-pressure moment, but I got myself out of there, and had a good start with the inside gate and did it right. I just got beat tonight.”
Tomac finished 33 seconds behind Roczen.
Cooper also survived the heat crash and finished fourth.
Malcolm Stewart rounded out the top five. It was his first top-five of 2026. Stewart’s best finish prior to Birmingham was a sixth in Seattle.
Cooper Webb crashed midway through the heat and dropped to eighth before battling back to finish sixth.
In-Race Notes
Tomac and Lawrence were the two fastest riders in qualification, but it Webb and Roczen won the heats. Tomac had one of the worst gate picks to start the Main.
Jorge Prado earned the holeshot with Lawrence giving chase. Tomac had an amazing start and completed Lap 1 in third.
Webb and Roczen rounded out the top five.
Justin Cooper was sixth after his involvement in the freak Heat 2 accident.
Tomac moved around Prado on Lap 6, bringing Roczen with him.
Prado fell to fourth.
Roczen got second away from Tomac on Lap 7.
Webb moved around Prado on Lap 9. The top four points earners through nine rounds are racing first through fourth.
That didn’t last long: Webb crashed on Lap 9 and fell to eighth.
With seven minutes remaining, Lawrence built a big lead of 2.8 seconds over Roczen. Tomac was nearly 12 seconds behind Roczen.
Aaron Plessinger crashed with four minutes on the clock. He took his boot off and limped away from the scene.
With Webb’s issue, Cooper (fourth) and Stewart moved into the top five.
Lawrence maintained the lead to win his third race in the past four rounds. He began the 2026 season without a 450 victory.
