Blow by blow recap from AMA SX Round Three – Anaheim II

2026 AMA Supercross Championship

Round Three – Anaheim

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450 Main

Eli Tomac and Hunter Lawrence both launched well off the gate and charged towards turn one, but it was Chase Sexton and Jason Anderson who held the sharper inside lines and emerged at the front. Jorge Prado and Ken Roczen were buried outside the top ten on the opening lap, with an early fall proving costly for the German.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2

Lawrence wasted little time asserting himself, edging past Sexton for second on lap two and setting off after Anderson, who held a 1.2-second advantage as lap three began.

Sexton responded a lap later, reclaiming second place and set about making it count. Tomac sat just over a second adrift in fourth, ahead of Aaron Plessinger and Cooper Webb.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton

Sexton soon dropped Lawrence and began to reel in Anderson. By the six-minute mark, Sexton was firmly on the Suzuki rider’s rear wheel, setting up a rare, of late, and entertaining yellow-on-green duel for the lead. The pair traded positions over several laps before Sexton finally asserted control, while Anderson fell back into a three-way scrap with Lawrence and Tomac. Webb also remained a factor looming large from behind as the leaders disrupted each other’s rhythm at the front.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Tomac and Lawrence

With 12 minutes remaining, Tomac displaced Lawrence for third and immediately applied pressure to Anderson for second. Meanwhile, Sexton was quietly opening up a buffer at the head of the field.

Anderson initially resisted Tomac’s advances, breaking the KTM rider’s momentum just enough to allow Lawrence to regroup and retake third. Only five seconds covered the top five with eight minutes still to run.

Lawrence then made his move on Anderson to claim second and used the clear track ahead to build a small margin. Moments later, Tomac forced Anderson wide over a berm, Cooper Webb capitalised on the Suzuki man’s misfortune, demoting Anderson back to fifth. Up front, Sexton remained three seconds clear as the chaos unfolded behind him.

Hunter Lawrence began chipping away at Sexton’s lead, trimming it to just over two seconds with three minutes left on the clock.  It was a similar margin back to third-placed Tomac, with Webb close enough in fourth to keep the pressure on. Anderson, however, had fallen out of podium contention. Webb then made a costly error and went down, surrendering what had looked like a solid fourth-place finish back to Anderson.

Sexton’s advantage dipped to just under two seconds when the white flag was shown, but he responded decisively, doubling that margin by the chequered flag as Hunter was baulked by lapped traffic.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Chase Sexton

After a difficult opening to the season, Sexton claimed his first victory for Kawasaki and was clearly buoyed by the result.

Tomac completed the podium in third, a further eight seconds adrift.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2

Webb mounted a late charge and nearly repassed Anderson on the run to the flag, but came up just short.

Joey Savatgy finished a further four seconds back in sixth, ahead of Prado.

Roczen salvaged valuable points after coming through the back from almost dead last, finishing eighth ahead of RJ Hampshire and Justin Cooper.

Tomac retains the championship lead on 70 points, with Lawrence moving up to second on 62. Sexton’s win vaulted him into third on 57 points, just one behind Roczen.

450 Main Results

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Quotes

Chase Sexton – P1

“It’s been a long few months, going back to the [crash at the] Vegas SMX finale. That was not good for me. It’s hard to get back here [atop the podium], honestly. It’s been a journey. Even after the Heat Race tonight, I was wondering what I was doing wrong and knew I needed to just go out there and do my laps. I strapped up for the Main Event and just rode solid and more within myself. I can’t say enough about the team and everything they’ve done to get us to this point. It’s good to put Kawi back on top.”

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Chase Sexton

Hunter Lawrence – P2

“I just need a little more consistency throughout the day. Every time I went on the track, I made a change to the bike, so every time I was learning the track again and trying to adapt to the bike. However, we are learning a lot, and hopefully we can carry that through the rest of the series. I need to be better from the start through the beginning of the race. You could see I was a bit slow to get going, but I picked it up towards the end.”

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Hunter Lawrence

Eli Tomac – P3

“I felt like I was in offence and defence mode the whole time during that Main Event – it was very busy! I was happy to claim a podium spot tonight, but also, there are a couple of things I think back to that maybe I could have done differently to try and stay in front of Hunter [Lawrence], but that’s all should have, would have, could have at this point. This race had a bit of everything, but everyone is hauling the mail, and the pace was super-fast. It’s good to finish with a podium here – if you had told me at the beginning of the series that I’d go 1-1-3, that’s an awesome start, so I’m proud of the team.”

Eli Tomac

Jorge Prado – P7

“Anaheim 2 was a positive night – I am very happy with my performance. Winning the Heat Race was good, and then I got cut off at the start of the Main Event, and I had to work through the pack from there. I came back to P7 and was very close to the top-five, so I like the rhythm I had, and the improvements that we made during the week, especially in my ability to come through the field. I’m also very happy with my bike, I think today was the best the bike has felt across the three rounds. There is still much to learn, although I think we are in a very good place right now, and I just can’t wait for the next rounds – the team is doing a great job!”

Jorge Prado

RJ Hampshire – P9

“A2 was a massive step forward. I had my best qualifying in P3. The team has been working really hard to get me comfortable, and I think we have found something now, which we just need to keep getting familiar with. My starts were great today – both of them – my Heat Race wasn’t an ideal finish after holeshotting, but I wasn’t too down about that, because running up front is a big learning curve for me right now. I know I can get there, it’s just about stacking these performances up, and a top-10 at Anaheim 2 is a good place to build from.”

RJ Hampshire

Malcolm Stewart – P12

“I was feeling so-so at A2. We finished just outside the top-10, but we were well in the fight during the race – that group I was in was battling hard! It’s a lot to ask for in the position that I am in, but all I can do is continue to keep building. I got off to a great start and put myself in the best position to hang in there, but the reality is that we’re dealing with an injury, and we hung in there as long as we could. Mentally, I’m walking away with my head high, because it was good to race those guys and we’ll continue to build from here.”

Malcolm Stewart

Aaron Plessinger – P22

“I actually felt pretty good today, coming off having the flu for a couple of weeks. I was feeling it in my Heat Race and was closing in on Jorge with a lap to go when I hit something and was sent flying off the face of the jump, so I hit the ground really hard. I banged myself up real good. I was able to get up and cross the line in eighth, so I qualified for the Main without having to race the LCQ, which was a positive. I did my best in the Main Event and was good on opening laps, but honestly, my body really started to feel it midway into the race, and I just had to salvage what spots I could. I will regroup this week, get a bunch of therapy on my body, and hopefully have a better race in Houston next weekend.”

Aaron Plessinger

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450 Championship Points

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250 Main

Michael Mosiman grabbed the holeshot ahead of Max Vohland, Cameron McAdoo and Haiden Deegan. Max Anstie slotted into the fringes of the top ten early on, while Chance Hymas’ night unravelled immediately, the Honda rider caught in a four-rider pile-up on the run to turn one. He later withdrew from the race, presumably due to damage sustained in the incident. Levi Kitchen also went down early in a separate crash.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2

Out front, Mosiman capitalised on the clear air as Deegan sliced past McAdoo and Vohland to settle into second. By lap three, Mosiman had opened a three-second lead. Further back, Anstie worked his way up to sixth before a mistake halted his progress and cost him several positions.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Michael Mosiman

At the halfway point, Deegan began to reduce the deficit, though not at a dramatic rate, with the gap hovering between 1.5 and 2 seconds. With five minutes remaining, that margin dipped to just over a second for the first time. One lap later, it was down to half a second, and Deegan was now applying sustained pressure, repeatedly showing Mosiman a wheel.

Just under three minutes from the end, Deegan committed to the pass, diving up the inside to seize the lead and immediately pulling clear. By the chequered flag, his advantage had stretched to a commanding 8.5 seconds. Although his fastest lap was only marginally quicker than Mosiman’s, Deegan’s late-race pace proved decisive.

Ten seconds further back, Cameron McAdoo and Ryder DiFrancesco went head-to-head over the final podium position, with the Husqvarna rider ultimately emerging on top.

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2

Anstie recovered to sixth place late in the race to salvage useful points, but overall, A2 proved a disappointing round for the Brit.

For Hymas and Kitchen, disappointment is not a strong enough noun, as DNFs dealt significant blows to their championship hopes.

Deegan leaves A2 with 68 points, while Mosiman moves up to second in the standings on 59, just one point ahead of Anstie.

250 Main Results

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Quotes

Haiden Deegan – P1

“That was amazing. Good ride. Solid ride. I need to give it up to [Mosiman], when people put in that extra work a lot of the time it goes unnoticed. He’s the only guy I see out there putting in the extra effort. I gotta give him credit and that’s what makes him such a tough competitor.”

2026 AMA SX – Round Three – A2 – Haiden Deegan

Michael Mosiman – P2

“It feels great [to be on the podium]. Every time I go to the gate I look up at the stands, see all the fans, and make sure I appreciate the moment. We put in so much work just to be able to perform and when that happens it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m stoked on the race and stoked on my start. Whenever you can get a holeshot that makes a world of difference.”

Ryder DiFrancesco – P3

“I’m really happy with my A2 result and how I charged through the Main Event. I started around eighth and worked my way up to third place, which is a confidence-booster in being able to climb from the mid-field. I found some good lines tonight while I was coming through the pack and I knew that if I could be there toward the end of the race – and nail the three, three, after the whoops – that I could get close and make a pass for the podium. I’m glad that I proved to myself that I can start mid-pack and still land on the box, and now I’m ready for the Triple Crown next weekend!”

Ryder DiFrancesco

Cameron McAdoo – P4

“Overall, it was a solid night. I felt good on the bike all day and put myself in a position to fight for the podium. The start was solid, and I was able to run up front and battle in the top three for most of the race. I made a small mistake late in the main that cost me that podium spot, but fourth is still something we can build on. The speed is there, the confidence is growing, and we’re heading in the right direction. I’m excited to keep this momentum rolling into Houston.”

Cameron McAdoo

Levi Kitchen – P21

“It was a little bit of a frustrating day. The speed is there, and I feel good on the bike, but a few small things kept setting me back. The crash in the heat race was unfortunate, and then in the main I slid out and my arm got hit in the mix. It didn’t feel great after that, so I pulled off, which was a bummer. The main thing is staying healthy so I can come back and fight in Houston.”

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250 West Championship Points

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AMA Supercross Results
2026 Round Four

250 Heat One Results

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250 Heat Two Results

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250 LCQ Results

250 Qualifying Results

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450 Heat One Results

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450 Heat Two Results

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450 LCQ Results

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450 Qualifying Results

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SMX Next

Also on the schedule for A2 was the first race of SMX Next – Supercross this year, featuring the most talented and high-profile A and B class prospects in amateur motocross. The race featured a hand-selected field of 22 racers.

18-year-old Kayden Minear got the holeshot in the SMX contest at Anaheim and was never headed thereafter.

SMX Next – Kayden Minear

16-year-olds Caden Dudney and Vincent Wey had a heady battle over second place during the early laps before Dudney managed to break away and then started to reel in Minear.

SMX Next – Kayden Minear

At times, it looked as though Dudney might have the speed to steal the victory from Minear, but the Western Australian responded to the challenge and went on to take the victory.

SMX Next – Kayden Minear

Further back, Wey and 18-year-old Landen Gordon tussled hard over the final laps for the remaining rostrum position. Gordon got the nod at the flag to make it a Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 1-2-3.

SMX Next – Kayden Minear on top

SMX Next Results