DENVER — The penultimate race of a historic 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship traveled to the Mile High City for Round 16 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship, where a jubilant crowd gathered inside Empower Field at Mile High to watch the latest chapter in one of the closest 450SMX Class title fights of all time.
On a night in which he would greatly benefit from a winning performance, Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence rose to the occasion to wrestle away the championship momentum from points leader and Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki racer Ken Roczen to set up the first winner-take-all showdown between two international athletes at the season finale.
The tension packed 20 Minutes + 1 Lap 450SMX Class Main Event began with a holeshot by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, just ahead of Lawrence and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac, the Colorado native making his anticipated return from injury. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb, the reigning Supercross champion, slotted into fourth ahead of Roczen, who was carrying the red plate for the first time this season.
Lawrence went on the attack immediately and was able to take control of the race lead on the second lap, as Webb slotted into third and Roczen up to fourth after Tomac stalled his motorcycle and lost several positions.
A clear track allowed Lawrence to sprint to a multi-second gap over the field, which forced Roczen to push the pace and move forward. The German native got by Webb and then made his way around Prado to move into second.
Roczen faced about a 4.5-second deficit to Lawrence with just under 17 minutes left in the race. As the lead pair pulled away, a spirited battle for third unfolded between Prado, Webb, and Tomac, who bounced back from his early misfortune.
The hometown favorite got by both riders to move within podium position just past the halfway point of the race. Lawrence, meanwhile, added to his lead and moved out nearly 10 seconds clear of Roczen. The Australian continued to build on his advantage to put the race out of reach.
Lawrence wrapped up his fifth win of the season by 13.2 seconds over Roczen to swing the championship momentum into the Honda rider’s favor. Tomac rode to his ninth podium finish of the season in third after missing the previous two races. It marked the 111th podium of his Supercross career, which moved him into a tie with the “King of Supercross” Jeremy McGrath for second all-time.
Just a single point separates Lawrence and Roczen heading to the Salt Lake City finale, with Roczen holding the slim edge. The duo shares the class lead in both wins, with five apiece, and podiums, with 12 each, and are in pursuit of their maiden premier class crown in Supercross. They’ll be the lone combatants for the championship after mathematically eliminating Webb, who finished 11th following a late crash with Prado.
“It’s good. When I see the [30] second board go sideways I get so excited,” Lawrence said. “Let’s go out, have fun, and do what I love to do. It couldn’t have been much better than that. I’m really happy. Let’s go to Salt Lake, baby.”
Even though the championship had already been decided, anticipation was high for the return of the Western Divisional 250SMX Class, which last competed for a standalone race in February. All eyes were on newly crowned back-to-back champion Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad, as both have been in the midst of dominant seasons rewriting the record books. The 15 Minutes + 1 Lap Main Event kicked off with the Star Yamaha duo of
Deegan and Max Anstie side-by-side, as Anstie narrowly grabbed the holeshot but quickly gave way to Deegan, who sprinted out to a multi-second advantage. Anstie proceeded to drop to fifth as Toyota Redlands BarX Yamaha’s Lux Turner moved up to second, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen up to third, and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco into fourth.
As Deegan’s lead grew to nearly five seconds, Kitchen was able to take control of second from Turner, as the Yamaha rider soon dropped out of podium position following passes by DiFrancesco and Anstie. The lead group went unchanged through the remainder of the race as Deegan managed a gap between five and six seconds over Kitchen, who strengthened his hold of second as the race wore on while DiFrancesco did the same from third.
Deegan lapped his way up into the top 10 and cruised to his seventh victory of the season, the most in all of Monster Energy Supercross, by a margin of 3.5 seconds over Kitchen, with DiFrancesco in third.
Deegan’s triumph signified the 14th win of his career, which moved him into sole possession of third on the all-time 250SMX Class wins list in Supercross. It also set a new single season record for 250SMX Class wins by a manufacturer with 15, which have come from five different Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing athletes.
With the title in hand, Deegan heads to the East/West Showdown in Salt Lake City with an eye on cementing his status as one of the all-time greats in the smaller displacement in his final 250SMX Class start. The battle for second in the championship will come down to the wire between Kitchen (2nd), Anstie (3rd), and DiFrancesco (4th) with eight points separating the trio.
