With one day until the first gate drop of the 2026 Pro Motocross season at Fox Raceway in Pala, Calif., the atmosphere surrounding the sport could not be more exciting.
In the 450 class, Jett Lawrence makes his return to the sport after an ankle injury left him sidelined for the whole Supercross season. However, fans will wonder whether he will be fully ready to go.
The injury he sustained takes a year for full recovery. Some think he will just go out and play it safe to score points, while others believe he is fully ready to go and will be able to compete to defend his title.
Arguably the biggest name in the 450 class this season will be the rookie Haiden Deegan. He had one of the dominant 250 class careers in recent history, and he looks to take that momentum into the premier class.
He has set himself up in the perfect win-win situation: If he wins tomorrow, he can use his mind-game tactics and talk trash to his competitors. If he does not win, he can say this was his first race in this class, and he is just trying to build experience right now.
One of the other key title favorites is Jett Lawrence’s older brother, Hunter. He finished runner-up in the Supercross championship this year, and was able to score moto wins last summer.
Names like Jorge Prado, Eli Tomac, and Chase Sexton cannot be disregarded either. As of right now, out of those three, Prado would have the best chance at having the most success.
He is a former world champion in Europe and has stayed relatively healthy through Supercross. This will be his second year racing Motocross in the U.S., and he should be competing for moto wins this summer.
Tomac is a four-time Motocross champion, and he is always strong outdoors. After switching teams this past off-season, he looked really strong throughout the start of the Supercross season. However, after a few wrecks that left him out of racing, questions have been raised about his performance.
Sexton is the biggest question mark within the class, after this season in Supercross. After switching teams this off-season, he had his worst career season, with only two wins and a lot of sub-par races. Could Sexton turn it on in Motocross, or will he be stuck still trying to figure out his new bike?
With Deegan moving up to the 450 class, this leaves the 250 class wide-open for a new champion this year. Honda has Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas, who are both returning from injury. They have both had successes in Motocross before, and now they try to win their first championships.
Seth Hammaker is coming into Motocross healthy and could be one of the title contenders as well.
The biggest question in the 250 class will be how Cole Davies will do. He only raced two Motocross races, returning from injury last year. He showed flashes of brilliance in those races, but ultimately nothing special. This summer will help us to see how Davies stands in Motocross.
“Ryder’s Radar”
Both classes will make for a fun summer of racing, without a doubt. Here are my predictions for the first Motocross race of the year.
In the 450, Haiden Deegan should win. He will come out swinging, winning the overall and already starting to make enemies in the class. Second will be Jett Lawrence, who rides pretty well, but he is still nursing his ankle. Deegan will be taking shots at him. In third will be Jorge Prado, who will again prove the doubters wrong and have a good first Motocross race on his new team.
In the 250, Chance Hymas will win. He will have a solid day, and he will come back with the momentum he has had in past seasons. Cole Davies should finish in second. He will prove he is a good Motocross racer, but he will be edged out by Hymas’s experience. Jo Shimoda will take third. The “Jo-Show” will look strong all day, but he will fade late in the races because of a lack of riding time, due to his injuries.
This summer is stacking up to be something special, and viewers can watch the action live on NBC and Peacock at 4 p.m. Eastern Saturday. The journey for these individuals starts now.
