With Anaheim 1 kicking off this weekend for the first of 31 rounds in the SuperMotocross World Championship, racing is finally here for the 2026 season.
Although titles are not won at A1, racers can set the standard on how ready they are this year.
Some of the biggest news coming into this weekend comes from the 450 class, and it concerns the injury of Jett Lawrence, who fractured his right ankle and foot at his training facility, The Dog Pound, in Florida. Lawrence will likely be back at the end of Supercross and be ready to compete for the Pro Motocross Championship, starting in May.
Lawrence had been the title favorite, so this opens up the title for other racers.
Jett’s brother, Hunter, could finally have his opportunity to win his first Supercross race, along with the chance to win the title. Other racers, such as Chase Sexton, Eli Tomac, and Ken Roczen, could also win the title now.
Out of everyone, Sexton should be favored to win the title. He is the youngest racer and is a championship winner. However, he moved from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing to Monster Energy Kawasaki. He has not had a race under his belt on this new team yet, so time will only tell how comfortable he looks.
Tomac made the move this offseason from Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha to Red Bull KTM. However, he has raced select World Supercross races and won in Vancouver with the new team.
Roczen is in his third year of racing on a Suzuki. The veteran has grown each year while racing with that team. With a career full of “what ifs” and injuries, this could finally be the year he can strike and win the title.
There is one man who is often overshadowed and forgotten earlier in the season, it would be Cooper Webb.
Webb is the reigning champion, and he could be the first back-to-back winner in 10 years. However, Webb tends to underperform while having attention to him. He starts dominating toward mid-season, so time can only tell how Webb performs early this year.
Other racers, like Justin Cooper and RJ Hampshire, can possibly earn their first ever 450 SX win. They could possibly be title contenders, but of course that is not guaranteed.
In the 250 class, teams tend to keep quiet on who is racing East and West Coast championships. A1 is a West Coast race, and there is one racer who is going to race West and likely win.
Haiden Deegan is one of the most dominant racers in the 250 class. Levi Kitchen should be the only racer who really gives him a challenge.
There is always a racer or two in the 250 class, however, who has a huge coming out year and surprises fans.
On Saturday, Race Day Live starts at 1 p.m., then there will be a live look-in at 4:30 p.m., the pre-race show at 6:30 p.m., and the racing starts at 7 p.m.
Saturday will be filled with exciting moments and fans will be able to catch all of the action live on Peacock throughout the day.
