Two races into the 31 rounds of racing in the 2026 SuperMotoCross World Championship, 20-year-old 250 class veteran Haiden Deegan is already feeding into the drama.
In the main event over the weekend at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Deegan stuffed his own teammate, Max Anstie, in a bowl turn. Although racing is an individual sport, it is questionable to see racers on the same team take each other out.
After Deegan rode away to a win with a seven-second gap on Cameron McAdoo, he booed on the podium. He later went online to compare himself to basketball legend Kobe Bryant because of the multiple times Bryant was booed after winning.
Fans either love him and enjoy his presence or hate him with a passion. Either way, it is undeniable that he is one of the most talented 250 class racers, and he has a chance to be a threat in the 450 class when he moves up this summer.
The 250 podium consisted of Deegan, McAdoo, and Michael Mosiman. For McAdoo and Mosiman, they have had careers filled with uncertainties and injuries, so to see both on the podium provided a good feeling for all fans around.
In the 250 class, the racers have four more weeks of racing before the class shifts to 250 East Coast. In the West Coast, Deegan is the points leader with 43, Anstie is second with 42 points, and Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas is in third with 38.
In the 450 class, the crowd is saying, “Tomac is back.” Eli Tomac, a 33-year-old veteran of the sport, made the switch from Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing this past offseason, and it has been paying off. Tomac has now won both races in the 2026 season, in impressive fashion.
For several years now, Tomac has thought about the possibility of retirement at the end of each season. But after moving teams, he is looking like a younger version of himself. This also is driving the narrative that careers within the sport do not have to be over when the racer hits 30.
Multiple other racers, such as third-place finisher Ken Roczen and his teammate, Jason Anderson, are over 30 and proving that they are still competitive.
Runner-up Hunter Lawrence has yet to win a 450 class main event. However, this weekend was the first sign of him having a real chance of winning. He was able to battle with Tomac until the checkered flag.
In the 450 class, Tomac is the points leader with 50, Roczen is second with 42, and Lawrence is third with 40.
This weekend, racers are headed back to Anaheim for A2. Racing will also include SMX Next Racing, which consists of high school age racers, looking to showcase their skills for the factory teams.
Fans can watch the action throughout the day live on Peacock. Qualifying starts at 12:30 p.m. Eastern and the racing starts at 7 p.m. As usual, another exciting night of racing awaits.
