After a 12-year wait, Ken Roczen has finally won the 450 class Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
Going into Salt Lake City, Roczen and Hunter Lawrence were separated by one point in the championship standings.
Throughout the day, Roczen and Lawrence had their fair share of highs and lows. Roczen had a tough time in qualifying and went on to have a tip over in the heat race. On the other hand, Lawrence had a good qualifying and heat race.
However, those are not points paying, so it all came down to the main event. Fans could not ask for a better start: Lawrence came across the holeshot line in first and Roczen was in second.
Roczen went on to pass Lawrence in the second corner and he stayed in front of Lawrence for the rest of the race. However, Lawrence was closing in on Roczen, and nine minutes into the 20-minute race, Lawrence was within a second of him.
Lawrence went on to make a mistake exiting a corner, making him lose a second. This led into a continuation of a common theme this season for Lawrence: When he makes one mistake, he continues to compound it. Less than 30 seconds later, Lawrence overjumped a rhythm section, leaving him on the ground in a corner.
By this point, Roczen had a 15-second lead and was able to bring home the championship in fifth place. In the last few minutes, he turned his intensity down so he did not make a mistake and jeopardize the title. Lawrence went on to finish in seventh.
Chase Sexton went on to win and this leaves him with two wins on the season. It has been a remarkable comeback for Sexton, as he has had major bike issues for comfortability throughout the season. Justin Cooper took second place, leaving him with four podiums on the season. He will, still, be looking for his first career 450 win in 2027.
Jorge Prado rounded out the podium in third, which is great for the rider who had tons of doubts about his performance going into the season. He ended the Supercross season with four top-five finishes.
Post-race, Prado and fourth-place finisher Cooper Webb shared some words of frustration with each other. Prado and Webb are both “stand on business” type of racers, and this whole interaction was missed in the moment, as everyone watched Roczen celebrate as he approached the podium.
The title won by the German-born Roczen makes him the sixth champion born outside the U.S. in the 450 class since the sport’s conception. Also, he is now the oldest 450 class champion at 32 years old.
In the 250 class, Cole Davies was able to win the East-West shootout. He and Haiden Deegan had one of the best battles of the year until Deegan took himself out trying to pass Davies.
Deegan finished fourth, with Levi Kitchen in second and Max Anstie in between the two racers. Post-race, Deegan and Davies celebrated together and shared good laughs.
Davies’s win marks the 16th win for Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha, leaving the team with the new record of 16 wins and both the East and West Championships in one season. Seth Hammaker was the only winner not on Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha this season; he won one race, at Daytona.
For Deegan, this ends his 250 career. He is the first rider to never miss one gate drop and he set the bar for 32 wins, which is the new record in the modern 250 class-era.
For now, the racers get a few well deserved weeks off before the Pro Motocross Championship starts on the last Saturday of May, in Pala, Calif., at Fox Raceway.
Until then, fans can look forward to the key storylines of how Deegan will stack up in the 450 class, how European world-champion Prado will perform in his sophomore season, and who will become the new face of the 250 class.
