ANZAC attack sharpens for 2026 Pro Motocross opener

Lawrence, Deegan, Tomac, Sexton headline huge outdoor season

The 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship delivered a title fight for the ages, but the second half of the SMX regular season now heads outdoors, where the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship is shaping as one of the most anticipated American motocross seasons in recent memory.

The 11-round outdoor campaign gets underway at Fox Raceway in Southern California on Saturday, May 30, before criss-crossing the United States through a brutal summer schedule that concludes at Ironman Raceway in Indiana on August 29.

And if Supercross gave us the drama, Pro Motocross now gives us the unanswered questions.

Jett Lawrence is back, but how ready is he?

At the centre of it all is the ANZAC attack. Jett Lawrence returns to the 450 class as the reigning Pro Motocross champion, but also as something of an unknown quantity after ankle and foot fractures, followed by surgery, destroyed his 2026 Supercross campaign before it had a chance to properly begin. We know what Jett is capable of outdoors, and the smoothness, patience and sheer technical efficiency that made him so formidable in the 450 ranks. What we do not yet know is how close he will be to peak race condition when the gates drop at Pala.

Jett Lawrence returns to Pro Motocross as the defending 450 champion, but with question marks over his race readiness after ankle and foot injuries derailed his Supercross campaign.

Hunter eyes redemption in Pro Motocross

Hunter Lawrence, meanwhile, arrives with a different kind of fire underneath him. The elder Lawrence brother went within three points of the 450SX crown after a Supercross season that confirmed he is no longer merely a contender, but one of the genuine benchmarks of the premier class. Ken Roczen’s late-season charge denied Hunter the stadium crown, but the Australian now heads outdoors with both form and frustration on his side. Back-to-back runner-up finishes in his first two 450SMX campaigns underline just how close he has been to that first major premier-class title.

Hunter Lawrence heads outdoors with unfinished business after coming within three points of the 450SX crown in what was his strongest premier-class campaign yet.

Cole Davies carries Kiwi momentum into Pro Motocross

Then there is New Zealand’s Cole Davies, who brings another Antipodean storyline into the summer. Davies’ Supercross campaign was a breakout in every sense, the young Kiwi delivering a championship-winning season indoors and now taking that confidence outdoors with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. Importantly, this time he enters the outdoor stretch healthy, settled and with momentum, rather than trying to build form while managing physical setbacks.

Cole Davies carries Kiwi momentum into the outdoors after a breakout Supercross campaign, joining a wide-open 250 Pro Motocross title fight with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing.

Davies will not be short of reference points inside the Star Yamaha awning either, with English veteran Max Anstie alongside him in the 250 class. Anstie brings a very different profile to the fight: vast Grand Prix and American experience, racecraft, and the patience of a rider who knows this may be his best chance yet to finally land a major U.S. title. Together, Davies and Anstie give the dominant Star Racing program a potent youth-and-experience pairing in a 250 category left wide open by Haiden Deegan’s graduation.

Max Anstie brings a wealth of European and American experience to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, giving the 250 class one of its most intriguing veteran contenders.

And that graduation is perhaps the biggest storyline of all.

Can Deegan run with the big boys outdoors?

After dominating the 250 category in recent seasons, Deegan finally steps into the 450 class to go head-to-head with the major-league names. His arrival gives the series a fresh focal point, not only because of his results and profile, but because it sets up the first true 450 meeting between Deegan and Jett Lawrence. The sport has been building towards that rivalry for some time, and outdoors now provides the stage.

Haiden Deegan arrives in the 450 class after dominating the 250 ranks, with Pro Motocross set to provide his first full outdoor test against the sport’s biggest names.

Deegan’s task, however, is immense. The 450 field is stacked, even with the newly crowned Supercross champion Roczen expected to race only selected rounds of the outdoor season. The Lawrence brothers will be there. Cooper Webb will almost certainly be there every week, doing what Cooper Webb does: maximising bad days, staying in the points hunt and becoming increasingly annoying to race against as the season wears on.

Cooper Webb may not always dominate the spotlight, but his consistency and racecraft should keep him in the podium conversation throughout the outdoor season.

Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton both arrive as major threats, even if their recent form has been a little hot and cold. Tomac remains the most successful active outdoor rider in the field, and Pro Motocross is the arena where “Beast Mode” first became more than a nickname.

Eli Tomac remains the winningest active rider outdoors and will be looking to reassert himself in the discipline where “Beast Mode” first became a benchmark.

Sexton, meanwhile, ended Supercross on an upswing and has the raw speed to dominate outdoors when everything aligns.

Chase Sexton finished Supercross on an upswing and has the raw outdoor speed to be a title threat if he can string the motos together.

Aaron Plessinger should also be expected to figure in the podium battle at times, particularly on the rougher, more physical circuits where commitment and comfort can count for plenty. Jorge Prado is another fascinating watch. The Spaniard’s first full year in the U.S. came with plenty to learn, but the outdoors should offer more familiar terrain for the multiple-time World Champion. If there is a place for Prado to properly remind the American paddock of his pedigree, this is it.

Jorge Prado should feel more at home outdoors, where the Spaniard’s World Championship pedigree could translate into a stronger second American season.

The Ducati story adds further intrigue. Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing is still in the early stages of its American motocross project, but Justin Barcia gives the program exactly the sort of hard-edged, high-profile rider capable of forcing the bike into the conversation. Whether that translates into podium pressure across a full outdoor season remains one of the more compelling technical and competitive subplots.

Davies and Anstie give Star Yamaha plenty of 250 firepower

In the 250 class, Deegan’s departure leaves a genuine power vacuum. Chance Hymas, Jo Shimoda and Levi Kitchen bring proven speed and race-winning credentials, but Davies’ Supercross breakthrough has changed the conversation. He is no longer a prospect to watch. He is now a rider expected to deliver. Anstie, meanwhile, may be the class wildcard: experienced enough to manage a championship, fast enough to win motos, and hungry enough to make this opportunity count.

Jo Shimoda enters the 250 outdoor season as one of the proven race-winning contenders in a class blown wide open by Haiden Deegan’s graduation.

After a Supercross season defined by Roczen’s emotional breakthrough and Hunter Lawrence’s near miss, the outdoor championship begins with no shortage of tension. Jett Lawrence is back, but how ready? Hunter Lawrence is chasing redemption. Haiden Deegan is coming for the big boys. Cole Davies carries Kiwi momentum into the great outdoors. Max Anstie brings British experience to America’s most dominant 250 team.

Levi Kitchen brings proven 250 class speed and race-winning credentials into an outdoor championship that looks far less predictable without Deegan.

The stadium lights have gone out. Now the real heat begins.

2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship Calendar

• AMA Supercross
  • Rnd 1 – January 10 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
  • Rnd 2 – January 17 at Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA
  • Rnd 3 – January 24 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
  • Rnd 4 – January 31 at NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
  • Rnd 5 – February 7 at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
  • Rnd 6 – February 14 at Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
  • Rnd 7 – February 21 at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
  • Rnd 8 – February 28 at Daytona Int. Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
  • Rnd 9 – March 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
  • Rnd 10 – March 21 at Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL
  • Rnd 11 – March 28 at Ford Field, Detroit, MI
  • Rnd 12 – April 4 at The Dome, St Louis, MO
  • Rnd 13 – April 11 at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
  • Rnd 14 – April 18 at Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, OH
  • Rnd 15 – April 25 at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
  • Rnd 16 – May 2 at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
  • Rnd 17 – May 9 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
• Pro Motocross
  • Rnd 18 – May 30 at Fox Raceway National, Pala, CA
  • Rnd 19 – June 6 at Hangtown Classic, Sacramento, CA
  • Rnd 20 – June 13 at Thunder Valley National, Lakewood, CO
  • Rnd 21 – June 20 at High Point National, Mount Morris, PA
  • Rnd 22 – July 4 at Redbud National, Buchanan, MI
  • Rnd 23 – July 11 at Southwick National, Southwick, MA
  • Rnd 24 – July 18 at Spring Creek National, Millville, MN
  • Rnd 25 – July 25 at Washougal National, Washougal, WA
  • Rnd 26 – August 15 at Unadilla National, New Berlin, NY
  • Rnd 27 – August 22 at Budds Creek National, Mechanicsville, MD
  • Rnd 28 – August 29 at Ironman National, Crawfordsville, IN
• SMX Playoffs
  • Playoff 1 – September 12, Historic Crew Stadium, Columbus, OH
  • Playoff 2 – September 19, Dignity Health Sports Park, Los Angeles, CA
  • Final – September 26, Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, Ridgedale, MO