AMA Pro Motocross series set to scorch this summer
By Image: David Dewhurst on 20th May 26
The 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship delivered one of the closest and most compelling title fights in recent memory and finally gave Ken Roczen the one thing missing from his CV.
At the 13th time of asking, the popular German broke through to secure his first Supercross crown, adding it to an already decorated career that includes two Pro Motocross titles. At 32, the Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki rider also became the oldest champion in the discipline’s history, clawing back a 31-point deficit over the final seven rounds to deny Australia’s Hunter Lawrence.
Given Roczen’s long and often brutal road back from injury, it was a title win that resonated far beyond the results sheet - one of the most widely celebrated in Supercross’ 50-year history.
The 17-round campaign forms the opening chapter of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, and if the indoor season is anything to go by, the outdoor half is set to be just as explosive.
As the series heads outdoors for the Pro Motocross Championship, all eyes shift to a rivalry that looks set to define the next era - Jett Lawrence vs Haiden Deegan.
Lawrence, already a champion across the board before turning 21, returns as the reigning outdoor king but does so with a question mark after off-season surgery on a broken ankle and foot. Deegan, meanwhile, arrives as the sport’s most talked-about young star, stepping up to the 450 class with momentum and no shortage of confidence.
It’s a first proper head-to-head between two generational talents and the kind of clash the sport thrives on.
While the spotlight sits firmly on that headline act, the depth in the 450 field is easy to underestimate.
Eli Tomac, now with Red Bull KTM, remains the winningest active rider and a constant threat outdoors. Chase Sexton (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Dylan Ferrandis (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati) both arrive on new machinery and upward momentum.
Then there’s Lawrence’s older brother, Hunter, who comes in off the back of that near-miss Supercross campaign still chasing a first premier-class title, alongside Jorge Prado, the two-time world champion looking to make a bigger impact in his second U.S. season.
Add in the ever-consistent Justin Cooper and the perennially underestimated Cooper Webb, and it’s a field stacked well beyond the headline names.
If the 450 class has a focal point, the 250 division is the opposite - wide open.
With Deegan stepping up, the door is open for a new champion, and several riders look ready to take it. Chance Hymas, Jo Shimoda and Levi Kitchen bring proven race-winning form, while New Zealand’s Cole Davies arrives fresh from a breakout Supercross title.
Then there’s experience in the form of Max Anstie, now with Star Racing Yamaha and carrying the kind of racecraft that could prove decisive over a long summer.
The outdoor campaign kicks off at Fox Raceway on May 30 and runs across 11 rounds, finishing at Ironman Raceway on August 29.
With 40-rider gates, 44 motos and some of the most iconic tracks in American motocross, it’s a very different challenge to Supercross - longer, rougher, and relentlessly physical.
