Early January brings another Supercross season to kick off the motorsports year. Ahead of us are 17 rounds over 18 weekends, and the championship has been shaken up since the 2025 season finale. A handful of notable riders have switched manufacturers, and there is even a new make in the starting gates.
Last year was notable for the number of top riders who had season end prematurely due to injury. With a number of top riders healthy, results should be mixed up from what occurred in 2025, however, one key contender is sidelined, and it leaves the door open for others.
Supercross is still on the verge of history. With four different champions in the last four seasons, we could still see something that has not occurred since the 1980s: Five different champions in five years. Yamaha and Honda have split the last four championships. Yamaha is attempting to win consecutive titles for the first time since 2008-09.
Schedule
Anaheim hosts another season opener and leads off a trio of California races to begin the season. From the Anaheim opener on January 10, the series will move to San Diego on January 17 before returning for the second Anaheim event on January 24.
The first venture out of the Golden State will be on January 31 to Houston, and Houston is the first Triple Crown event of the season. Glendale will be on February 7 before and early trip to Seattle the following week. Supercross returns to Texas for the Arlington round on February 21. Daytona Bike Week closes out the shortest month with the Supercross round on February 28.
The season passes the midway point on March 7 with the second Triple Crown weekend in Indianapolis, which has the lone off-week following on March 14. Competition resumes in Birmingham on March 21 before Detroit on March 28. After being a SuperMotocross playoff round in 2025, St. Louis is back on the Supercross calendar for a race the day before Easter on April 4.
Round 13 is at Nashville before Supercross visits the only new stadium on the schedule, Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, which also doubles as the final Triple Crown race of the season. It is the series' second trip ever to Cleveland. On May 20, 1995, Jeremy McGrath won at Cleveland Stadium ahead of Jeff Emig. Philadelphia is the only Northeast venue on the calendar with a race on April 25. The season concludes with a pair of races in the Rocky Mountains, Denver on May 2 and Salt Lake City hosts the finale for the seventh consecutive season on May 9.
What Happened Last Year?
Cooper Webb took his second Supercross championship by two points over Chase Sexton despite Sexton having won seven races over the 2025 season to Webb's five.
Webb had only one finish worse than fourth all season, and that was eighth in the third round of the season. Sexton never finished worse than sixth, a significant improve from past seasons where he let results slip away, but Webb had 13 podium finishes while Sexton had 12. Sexton won four of the final five races with Webb finishing runner-up in three of them.
What led to this two-man race was the early exits for two early championship contenders. Jett Lawrence was knocked out after the fourth round of the season due to a torn ACL. Lawrence had won at Anaheim, and he was second in San Diego. Two rounds later, Eli Tomac suffered a broken left fibula and Hunter Lawrence suffered a torn labrum. Tomac was victorious in San Diego.
Ken Roczen was an early front-runner in the 2025 season. Through the first eight races, Roczen had six podium finishes, which was highlighted with a victory at Daytona. However, in the final nine races, Roczen's had only one podium finish, and he missed the final two rounds due to an ankle injury.
Last season did see Justin Cooper score his best championship finish in third with Cooper standing on the podium four times. Malcolm Stewart took a popular first career victory in the 450cc class at Tampa Bay, and Stewart was a career-best fourth in the championship. Aaron Plessinger took a surprise victory at Foxborough ahead of Shane McElrath in an even more stunning second.
Jason Anderson had three podium finishes in the first five races before his season ended due to injury, and Jorge Prado, in his first attempt at a full Supercross season, was hurt at the third round in Anaheim.
What is Different This Year?
Many riders have switched teams.
Sexton has left Honda and he will be the lead rider at Monster Energy Kawasaki with Garrett Marchbanks as his teammate. Marchbanks was fifth in the 250cc West championship last year.
KTM has expanded to three bikes with Tomac and Prado joining Plessinger. Prado's two MX2 Motocross World Championships came with KTM in 2018-19.
With Tomac's departure, Yamaha will remain at two riders with Webb and Cooper.
Jason Anderson has moved to the Twisted Tea Suzuki team with Colt Nichols as his teammate.
Rockstar Husqvarna has brought RJ Hampshire to join Stewart. After finishing third in the 250cc East championship, Hampshire moved up to the 450cc class for the Motocross season and finished fifth in the championship with three podium finishes. Hampshire did suffer a broken scapula and broken ribs in a training crash during the offseason.
GasGas has exited the AMA Supercross championship, but it will be replaced with Ducati, as Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing takes on displaced GasGas rider Justin Barcia, and Dylan Ferrandis joins the fold after running for Phoenix Racing Honda for the last two seasons.
Ducati isn't the only new manufacturer for 2026. Triumph will field two bikes for Jordon Smith and Austin Forkner. Smith won a round in each of the last two 250cc West championships, but he will miss the first part of the season due to a shoulder injury suffered in the SuperMotocross finale last year. Forkner competed with Triumph in the 250cc East championship and 250cc Motocross championship last year.
How Will it Play Out?
The 2026 season was turned upside down three weeks before the season started when it was announced Jett Lawrence suffered a broken ankle in a training crash, and Lawrence will be sidelined for three months, effectively ending any hopes of the championship. After missing most of the 2025 Supercross season, Lawrence returned for the Motocross season where he won 16 of 22 races, and he was on the podium 21 times as he claimed his second 450cc championship. He capped off the season with a second consecutive Motocross des Nations title for Australia with his brother Hunter and Kyle Webster.
Prior to Jett's injury, it was difficult to envision the Lawrence brothers losing many races this season. With Jett out, the door is more open.
Hunter Lawrence won twice and never finished worse than fifth on his way to finishing second in the Motocross championship in 2025. The Lawrence brothers capped off the year splitting the SuperMotocross playoff events with Jett winning two and Hunter winning the other, and they finished 1-2 in that championship as well. However, in his two seasons in Supecross' 450cc division, he has only two podium finishes. It is not as simple as Hunter filling the void his brother has left.
With Jett Lawrence out, Webb's chance of a successful title defense shoot up significantly. He can control this championship and be the man to beat more often than if Jett Lawrence was competing. With Webb becoming more of a favorite than an underdog, he will become an obstacle to others, and it will allow him to be more confident in his aggression.
Meanwhile, Sexton has something to prove at Kawasaki. Kawasaki has not won a 450cc Supercross race since Jason Anderson closed the 2022 season with four consecutive victories. We saw a different Sexton in 2025, but the uncertainty at his new team could lead Sexton to push more and perhaps lapse back into some of the unforced errors we were accustomed to seeing in previous seasons.
Tomac was a stunner in the Motocross season as he finished third, and he was third in all three SuperMotocross playoff rounds as well. Tomac still has a spark, but it only flashes infrequently. There will be a race or two where Tomac is the man, but there will be a few rounds where he is rather anonymous.
Without Jett Lawrence, the chance for a surprise winner also increases. Stewart, Anderson and Cooper likely would be hoping to get on the podium at some point in 2026 with a healthy Jett Lawrence on track. Now, they all have a chance at the title. Hampshire felt like a promising dark horse, but his offseason injuries must be kept in mind. The most curious situation is Prado at KTM. He is returning to a make he has great comfort with, but Supercross is still mostly an unknown. He had promising moments in his three-round sample in 2024, but the 2025 was tough prior to his injury. The Spaniard was also competing on a Kawasaki.
There is no clear favorite. Hunter Lawrence will have good days, and he should probably win a few rounds, but on his off days, he will be fighting for the top five. Webb will not struggle to beat Hunter Lawrence, and he should be the championship favorite. The pressure will be on Hunter Lawrence to show he has what it takes to be the rider to beat, and we don't know how he will handle that pressure. Tomac has not quite had the pace the last two seasons to push for a title. Sexton will be trying to lift a manufacturer that has been down the order the last few seasons, and Sexton will be hoping his consistency from 2025 at KTM will carry over to a new bike.
Which Ken Roczen will we see? Your guess is as good as mind. He will have a few competitive races, but a full, 17-race calendar worth of competitive races is a great stretch.
One injury changes the outlook of this season. With a healthy Jett Lawrence, there is a clear direction where the championship heads. Without him, it is open, maybe not as much as we saw in 2025, but it sets up to put a few riders more into the spotlight. A successful title defense feels possible when it previously felt unlikely. For Webb, familiarity could be his greatest advantage, as his rivals are all in new places and will be learning each time out of the gate.
Coverage of the 2026 AMA Supercross season opener from Anaheim will begin on Saturday January 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Peacock.
