Ken Roczen claimed his first victory of the 2026 AMA Supercross season at the Glendale race, capitalizing on Eli Tomac’s crash right at the start. Roczen began the race in second, trailing Hunter Lawrence, who had another strong launch on his Honda CRF450R.
Similar to last month’s San Diego event, Roczen managed to overtake Lawrence within the initial five minutes. Unlike the earlier race where Lawrence regained momentum, this time Lawrence gradually lost pace, allowing Roczen to maintain a lead unchallenged until the finish. Despite this, Lawrence held onto second place with a comfortable gap over Cooper Webb, securing his third straight podium finish after recent successes in Houston and at a venue that typically poses challenges.
Justin Cooper took fourth place, demonstrating strong speed in earlier sessions but becoming a focal point during the main race. Jorge Prado rounded out the top five, illustrating that starting position is less crucial than consistent performance. Joey Savatgy, riding for Quadlock Honda, notched his third top-six finish of the season.
Chase Sexton finished seventh after a tough start and has shown concerning lack of pace over the past two races. Aaron Plessinger pushed hard mid-race but couldn’t advance past Sexton, eventually having to defend against Dylan Ferrandis, who finished ninth. Justin Hill achieved his best season result, coming in tenth.
Eli Tomac, despite leading the championship by a narrow four points, saw his advantage vanish following the first-corner crash involving Christian Craig and Colt Nichols. After remounting, Tomac initially appeared unsettled but then posted the fastest lap of the race and climbed to 12th place. Still, his comeback wasn’t enough to retain the championship lead, which now belongs to Hunter Lawrence. Roczen moved into second, five points shy of Lawrence, with Tomac third, three points further back. Houston winner Cooper Webb trails by 15 points, and Chase Sexton is fifth, 17 points behind the leader.
In the 250SX class, Hayden Deegan continued his dominance with yet another straight victory, showing impressive consistency and speed reminiscent of Marc Marquez’s early career. After conquering bad starts in previous seasons, Deegan now leads the championship decisively, exemplified by his flawless win at Glendale.
Michael Mosiman held second place for much of the race but was overtaken late by Levi Kitchen and Cameron McAdoo. Kitchen’s rapid rise from 13th to 2nd was particularly notable, although poor starts continue to challenge the Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders. Behind Mosiman was Ryder DiFrancesco in fifth, pushed back by the rivalry between Kitchen and McAdoo. Max Anstey struggled to recover from a poor start, only managing eighth, making Anaheim 1 feel like a distant memory for the 2025 SX2 World Champion.
Fan Take: This round of the AMA Supercross season highlights the unpredictable nature of racing—where a single crash can shake up championship standings, making every race critical. Fans should be excited as the title fight tightens and rising stars like Deegan command attention, signaling an exhilarating season ahead for both the sport’s veterans and newcomers alike.
