On January 10, 2026, dirt bike racing fans’ long suffering will end as the SuperMotocross World Championship kicks off with the Monster Energy Supercross series’ lid lifter. When the gate drops in Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, it will have been 112 days (three months, three weeks) since the boys last competed.
Defending champion Cooper Webb returns to his Yamaha Star Racing team in an effort to defend the title, second-place finisher Chase Sexton moves to a new team in hopes of improving by one position, and third-place finisher Justin Cooper intends to make his second full-time season better than the first.
The first race of the season is typically filled with healthy riders who all have their eyes set on three championships. Unfortunately, Jett Lawrence is already out of the picture after suffering an ankle and foot injury in a practice crash during the off-season. He missed most of last year’s Supercross schedule and will not have an opportunity to prove he is just as dominant in the stadium series as he is in the outdoors. So far, Jett has won every championship in which he’s competed the entire season, but he has only one Supercross title from 2024.
Webb had a relatively slow start to his 2025 campaign with finishes off the podium in two of the first three rounds. Webb has never won in Anaheim and feels that he has something to prove. Although he remains with the same team, his bike is new for 2026.
Other major riders who have switched manufacturers include Eli Tomac, who takes Sexton’s place at Red Bull KTM; Jorge Prado, who will join him as a teammate; and Jason Anderson, who moves to Dustin Pipes’ Suzuki team. Sexton also moves from KTM to take Jason Anderson’s ride at Kawasaki.
Sexton won last year’s season opener and then failed to podium in three of the following four rounds. With Hunter Lawrence lurking in the wings, he and Webb cannot afford to stumble out of the gate.
According to WeWentFast.com, the last time Kawasaki won a 450 Supercross race was in 2022 at Salt Lake City when Anderson scored a Main Event victory. Anderson is typically at his best in the first part of a season.
Angel Stadium has hosted the most opening rounds of Supercross with 34. Additionally, the venue has hosted the most races in history (85).
250 Notes
Teams are typically quiet about who will race each coast in the 250 divisional contest. That allows them to swap riders from the West to the East, which does not begin until deep into the season, in Round 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
One thing is sure: Haiden Deegan will return to the West to defend his 2025 250 title before he graduates to the 450 class for Pro Motocross. He finished fifth last year but immediately began climbing the championship standings. Teammates Max Anstie and Michael Mosiman are scheduled to join him.
Levi Kitchen and Drew Adams (Pro Circuit), Max Vohland and Hunter Yoder (ClubMX), Ryder DiFrancesco (Husqvarna), and Chance Hymas (Honda) are also expected to lineup for the 250W opener.
Deegan will be the favorite when the gate drops since he has won five of his last seven championship bids. If he wins another, he will join Jett, James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, and Ryan Villopoto for the most. If Deegan wins six rounds this year, he will land in a three-way tie for second on the all-time wins list.
Kitchen has seven wins in his last three Supercross 250 attempts, and he’s come close twice in the past three years with a third-place finish in 2023 and a runner-up finish in 2024. Both near misses occurred in the Western division.
2025 SuperMotocross Top-10 finishers
450s
Jett Lawrence (12 wins, 15 podiums, 15 top-fives, 17 top-10s) [18 moto wins]
Chase Sexton (8 wins, 15 podiums, 19 top-fives, 23 top-10s) [1 moto win]
Cooper Webb (5 wins, 13 podiums, 17 top-fives, 25 top-10s)
Hunter Lawrence (2 wins, 12 podiums, 17 top-fives, 18 top-10s) [4 moto wins]
Eli Tomac (1 win, 11 podiums, 14 top-fives, 16 top-10s) [2 moto wins]
Ken Roczen (1 win, 7 podiums, 13 top-fives, 16 top-10s)
Aaron Plessinger (1 win, 7 podiums, 12 top-fives, 20 top-10s)
Malcolm Stewart (1 win, 3 podiums, 7 top-fives, 24 top-10s)
Justin Cooper (7 podiums, 19 top-fives, 26 top-10s)
Jason Anderson (3 podiums, 3 top-fives, 10 top-10s)
RJ Hampshire (1 podium, 7 top-fives, 14 top-10s)
Shane McElrath (1 podium, 1 top-five, 8 top-10s)
Justin Barcia (4 top-fives, 20 top-10s)
Dylan Ferrandis (2 top-fives, 14 top-10s)
Joey Savatgy (2 top-fives, 14 top-10s)
Jorge Prado (2 top-fives, 7 top-10s)
Justin Hill (1 top-five, 12 top-10s)
Valentin Guillod (5 top-10s)
Dean Wilson (5 top-10s)
Benny Bloss (4 top-10s)
Colt Nichols (2 top-10s)
Benoit Paturel (1 top-10)
Coty Schock (1 top-10)
Harri Kullas (1 top-10)
Mitchell Harrison (1 top-10)
Kyle Webster (1 top-10)
Logan Leitzel (1 top-10)
Mitchell Oldenberg (1 top-10)
250s
Haiden Deegan (12 wins, 20 podiums, 22 top-fives, 24 top-10s) [15 moto wins]
Jo Shimoda (6 wins, 12 podiums, 16 top-fives, 24 top-10s) [6 moto wins]
Seth Hammaker (2 wins, 6 podiums, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s) [1 moto win]
Cole Davies (2 wins, 4 podiums, 7 top-fives, 11 top-10s)
Chance Hymas (2 wins, 2 podiums, 5 top-fives, 10 top-10s) [2 moto wins]
Tom Vialle (1 win, 12 podiums, 16 top-fives, 18 top-10s) [1 moto win]
Levi Kitchen (1 win, 6 podiums, 7 top-fives, 13 top-10s)
RJ Hampshire (1 win, 5 podiums, 7 top-fives, 8 top-10s)
Julien Beaumer (1 win, 5 podiums, 9 top-fives, 12 top-10s)
Nate Thrasher (1 win, 3 podiums, 7 top-fives, 12 top-10s)
Jordon Smith (1 win, 3 podiums, 5 top-fives, 12 top-10s)
Max Anstie (1 win, 2 podiums, 2 top-fives, 5 top-10s)
Garrett Marchbanks (3 podiums, 10 top-fives, 19 top-10s)
Michael Mosiman (2 podiums, 5 top-fives, 11 top-10s)
Daxton Bennick (1 podium, 3 top-fives, 13 top-10s)
Maximus Vohland (1 podium, 2 top-fives, 10 top-10s)
Coty Schock (1 podium, 2 top-fives, 10 top-10s)
Cullen Park (1 podium, 2 top-fives, 5 top-10s)
Jalek Swoll (1 podium, 1 top-five, 3 top-10s)
Jeremy Martin (1 podium, 1 top-five, 1 top-10) [1 moto win]
Cameron McAdoo (1 podium, 1 top-five, 1 top-10)
Gage Linville (1 podium, 1 top-five, 1 top-10)
Ty Masterpool (2 top-five, 9 top-10s)
Mikkel Haarup (2 top-fives, 7 top-10s)
Austin Forkner (2 top-five, 7 top-10s)
Ryder DiFrancesco (2 top-fives, 7 top-10s)
Drew Adams (1 top-five, 5 top-10s)
Dilan Schwartz (6 top-10s)
Anthony Bourdon (3 top-10s)
Henry Miller (3 top-10s)
Enzo Lopes (3 top-10s)
Casey Cochran (2 top-10s)
Parker Ross (2 top-10s)
Hunter Yoder (2 top-10s)
Carson Mumford (2 top-10s)
Hardy Munoz (2 top-10s)
Cole Thompson (2 top-10s)
Devin Simonson (2 top-10s)
Lux Turner (2 top-10s)
Jett Reynolds (1 top-10)
Gavin Towers (1 top-10)
Lance Kobusch (1 top-10)
Jack Chambers (1 top-10)
Mark Fineis (1 top-10)
Preston Taylor (1 top-10)
Luke Neese (1 top-10)
Bryce Shelly (1 top-10)
450 Playoff Results
Las Vegas 2025: Jett Lawrence [1-2] (Followed by Hunter Lawrence [3-1], Eli Tomac [2-3])
St. Louis 2025: Hunter Lawrence [1-3] (Jett Lawrence [4-1], Eli Tomac [3-2])
zMax Dragway 2025: Jett Lawrence [1-X] (Chase Sexton [2-X], Eli Tomac [3-X]) ^
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2024: Jett Lawrence [1-1] (Hunter Lawrence [3-2], Eli Tomac [2-3])
Texas Motor Speedway 2024: Hunter Lawrence [1-3] (Chase Sexton [4-1], Jett Lawrence [3-2])
zMax Dragway 2024: Jett Lawrence [2-1] (Eli Tomac [1-2], Chase Sexton [4-3])
LA Coliseum 2023: Jett Lawrence [1-1] (Ken Roczen [2-2], Cooper Webb [5-3])
Chicagoland Speedway 2023: Jett Lawrence [1-2] (Ken Roczen [3-1], Chase Sexton [2-3])
zMax Dragway 2023: Chase Sexton [1-1] (Ken Roczen [3-3], Dylan Ferrandis [2-4])
250 Playoff Results
Las Vegas 2025: Jo Shimoda [1-2] (Followed by Seth Hammaker [3-1], Tom Vialle [4-3])
St. Louis 2025: Jo Shimoda [2-2] (Seth Hammaker [3-3], Nate Thrasher [6-4]) **
zMax Dragway 2025: Haiden Deegan [1-X] (Seth Hammaker [2-X], Jo Shimoda [3-X]) ^
Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2024: Pierce Brown [2-1] (Haiden Deegan [1-2], Jordan Smith [5-3])
Texas Motor Speedway 2024: Haiden Deegan [1-1] (Tom Vialle [3-2], Jo Shimoda [2-3])
zMax Dragway 2024: Haiden Deegan [1-1] (Julien Beaumer [2-4], Levi Kitchen [5-2])
LA Coliseum 2023: Haiden Deegan [5-2] (Jo Shimoda [4-4], RJ Hampshire [2-6]) *
Chicagoland Speedway 2023: Hunter Lawrence [1-1] (Jo Shimoda [2-2], Haiden Deegan [3-3])
zMax Dragway 2023: Jo Shimoda [4-1] (Tom Viall [3-2], Haiden Deegan [1-5])
** Moto winners Tome Vialle (Race 2) and Haiden Deegan (Race 1) finished 10th and 14th in their other race, combining for fifth and sixth overall, respectively.
* Moto winners, Levi Kitchen (Race 2) and Jordon Smith (Race 1), finished 10th in the other race. They finished sixth and seventh overall, respectively.
^ Only one moto was run because of lightning and looming darkness. Jo Shimoda was advanced to third when Kitchen was penalized a position for passing on a red cross flag.
2025 SuperMotocross Previews
Las Vegas | St. Louis | xMax Dragway
Motocross Previews
Budds Creek | Unadilla | Ironman | Washougal | Spring Creek | RedBud | Southwick | High Point | Thunder Valley | Hangtown | Fox Raceway
Supercross Previews
Salt Lake City | Denver | Pittsburgh | New Jersey | Philadelphia | Foxborough | Seattle | Birmingham | Indianapolis | Daytona | Arlington | Detroit | Tampa | Anaheim 2 | San Diego | Anaheim 1
More SuperMotocross News
Jett Lawrence to miss start of 2026 Supercross with ankle injury
Team Solitaire will compete in SX and Arenacross in 2026
Austin Forkner to ride Triumph 450 in first six SMX rounds
Dave Prater reflects on the health and future of SMX
Cooper Webb truly believes it’s never over until the checker flag waves
Jordon Smith prepares for 450 debut | likely to miss SX with shoulder surgery
Justin Barcia expects to race Supercross opener despite broken collarbone
2026 NBC TV schedule features all 31 rounds of the SMX Championship
Haiden Deegan indicates plan remains to race 250s in Supercross
ClubMX announces Vohland, Yoder as 250W riders, Schock, Simonson 250E
