CLEVELAND — For the first time in three decades the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship visited the shores of Lake Erie, where an enthusiastic crowd inside Huntington Bank Field braved rain showers, cold temperatures, and swirling winds for Round 14 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship.
The conditions were certainly a factor as the 450SMX Class title fight took yet another dramatic turn in what has become a historic season for the sport’s premier crown. A wild afternoon of racing saw Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen prevail with his fourth win of the year following an unbeatable level of consistency across all three races that brought him within a single point of the championship lead after an adversity plagued effort for Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence.
The first of three 12 Minutes + 1 Lap premier class races told a very different story from the final outcome as Lawrence started out front with the holeshot and early lead over Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper and Roczen. The clear track paid big dividends for Lawrence as he established a multi-second advantage over the field that proved to be insurmountable.
Behind him, Roczen made the pass on Cooper for second and after a brief push forward elected to settle into the position. Lawrence went unchallenged and began the afternoon with a wire-to-wire win by a margin of 5.4 seconds over Roczen, with Cooper in third. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Start followed in fourth, while Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb rounded out the top five.
The field was forced to navigate a wet racetrack, a light drizzle, and increased wind for Race 2, which started with Cooper edging out Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton for the holeshot to grab the early lead. An intense early battle for third unfolded between Stewart, Roczen, and Webb, from which Webb got the upper hand. Lawrence, meanwhile, fought his way forward from a start deep in the top 10.
The intensity picked up from Roczen, who made a move on Webb for third and then charged by Sexton for second. Sexton regrouped and fought back to reclaim the position, which helped Cooper open a lead of more than five seconds. Sexton, Roczen, and Webb continued their fight as Roczen once again got by Sexton with less than 30 seconds remaining.
Out front, Cooper completed a wire-to-wire effort of his own by a margin of two seconds over Roczen, with Sexton third and Webb fourth. Lawrence fought his way forward to finish fifth, well back of the lead group.
The third and deciding race began with Roczen out front for the holeshot and early lead over Webb, Sexton, and Cooper while Lawrence emerged in eighth. Roczen dropped the hammer in the opening laps and sprinted out to a five-second lead over Webb, while Sexton and Cooper settled into third and fourth, respectively.
As he looked to move forward Lawrence crashed in the whoops and fell outside the top 10, reentering the race in 14th place. Back up front, Cooper crashed while running fourth and reentered in ninth, which moved Quad Lock Honda’s Shane McElrath into fourth. A couple laps later, Lawrence crashed again as he looked to move back into the top 10 and dropped to 14th once more.
Out front, Roczen ran away from the field to put the finishing touch on his winning performance by a margin of 8.7 seconds over Webb, while Team Tedder Racing KTM’s Justin Hill passed Sexton on the final lap for third. Cooper recovered for seventh, while Lawrence soldiered home in 14th.
An incredibly consistent effort for Roczen easily brought him the overall win with five points on 2-2-1 finishes, as his 27th career victory has moved him into a tie for 10th on the all-time wins list. Webb (5-4-2) and Cooper (3-1-7) finished in a tie for the runner-up spot, six points behind Roczen with 11 points apiece. Webb earned the edge over Cooper by virtue of the Race 3 tiebreaker.
Lawrence’s misfortune in the final race relegated him to sixth overall with 20 points on 1-5-14 finishes. As a result, his points lead went from 10 points to just a single point over Roczen with three races remaining. The battle for the championship could be down to a two-rider affair after Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac was forced to miss the Triple Crown following a crash in qualifying that left him with a hip injury. Tomac’s absence allowed Webb to move into third, 22 points out of the lead, while Tomac is now fourth, 31 points back.
“Wow. I had no idea I was one point back [in the championship]. I am so blown away with the gamble we took with the weather,” Roczen said. “It was supposed to be clear for the last two races, but it kept raining. That affected my decision with goggles, and I kept sticking with roll-offs just to be safe. After I got the holeshot in the last race I had a clear track and just felt really comfortable. Once I had a gap, I just made sure I didn’t do anything silly. I’m just so grateful I’m able to ride like this.”
The first of three 10 Minutes + 1 Lap Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class races began with points leader Cole Davies alongside his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Nate Thrasher exiting the first turn. While Davies earned the holeshot, he gave way to Thrasher and soon dropped to third behind Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker, Davies’ championship rival. Davies regrouped and found a rhythm that allowed him to reclaim second from Hammaker and close in on Thrasher for the race lead.
The teammates engaged in an exciting battle until Davies went down. The New Zealander remounted quickly and resumed in sixth place. Out front, Thrasher came under fire from Hammaker, who bided his time and made the pass. With the lead in hand, the Kawasaki rider pulled away to grab the Race 1 victory by 4.2 seconds over Thrasher. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Daxton Bennick finished third, followed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Landen Gordon in fourth. Davies overcame another near crash and made a last lap pass for fifth.
A rain shower made for more challenging track conditions for Race 2, which was halted by a red flag following a crash initiated by Davies on the opening lap and resulted in a restart. As racing got underway once again it was Gordon who emerged with his first career holeshot. He led briefly but gave way to Thrasher, while Davies charged up to third to position to put himself a couple spots ahead of Hammaker. The championship rivals soon battled for third, as Hammaker made an easy pass for the position but was later repassed by Davies.
The pair duked it out once more, late in the race, as Hammaker reclaimed the position just before the final lap. Back out front, Thrasher easily controlled the race and cruised to victory by a margin of 3.7 seconds over Gordon. Hammaker held off Davies for third, while Bennick completed the top five.
The third and final race got underway with Davies at the head of the pack for the holeshot ahead of Gordon. Behind them, Thrasher started deep in the top 10 while Hammaker made contact with his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Nick Romano, went down, and was forced to start at the tail end of the field. Davies seized the moment with his premium track position and quickly established a multi-second lead on the field as Gordron settled into second.
Thrasher was able to make early passes and claw his way up to third but dropped to fourth as Bennick moved into podium position. Hammaker, meanwhile, broke into the top 10 a few minutes into the race and continued to move forward. Davies managed his advantage through the slippery conditions to end the day on a high note with a winning margin of 2.6 seconds over Gordon, with Bennick third and Thrasher in fourth. ClubMX Yamaha’s Devin Simonson was fifth, while Hammaker battled back for sixth.
Thrasher’s 2-1-4 finishes put him atop the overall standings with a combined score of seven points for the seventh win of his career. He also extended a personal streak of at least one Supercross victory each year of his professional career, which dates back to the 2021 season. Thrasher is the fifth different Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider to win in the 250SMX Class this season for a combined total of 13 victories, which is one shy of the class record for a manufacturer. The runner-up spot went to Gordon, who finished one point behind his teammate for the win following 4-2-2 finishes, while Davies completed a podium sweep for Star Racing in third after the Race 3 victory gave him 10 points with 5-4-1 finishes. Hammaker (1-3-6) finished tied with Davies but settled for fourth by virtue of the Race 3 tiebreaker.
