Roczen wins again as Deegan seals West title in St. Louis

Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri

Round 12 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship at St. Louis delivered a pivotal night in both classes, with Ken Roczen going back-to-back in the 450SX class while Haiden Deegan sealed a second straight Western Divisional 250 crown in the East/West Showdown.

Run under the St. Jude Love Moto Stop Cancer banner at The Dome at America’s Centre, the Missouri stop combined a meaningful cause with one of the roughest and most technical race surfaces riders have faced this season.

The special liveries and fundraising focus gave the event extra weight, but once the gate dropped, the racing quickly became about survival, rhythm and late-race composure. Across both classes, riders repeatedly described the track as brutal, gnarly and constantly changing, with lines deteriorating sharply as the night wore on.

The 250 class now has one title settled and one still building toward a tense finish. Deegan has locked down the West, Davies strengthened his hand in the East, and Hammaker’s consistency means he is still well and truly in the fight. Bennick remains close enough to matter, while Kitchen, Romano and DiFrancesco each showed flashes of speed that could influence the remaining rounds.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri – Haiden Deegan 250 West Champion

In 450SX, however, St. Louis may yet be remembered as the round where the title fight truly became a three-rider contest. Lawrence and Tomac are now tied, Roczen is just five points back, and Prado’s continued improvement adds another rider capable of disrupting podium and points outcomes over the final five races.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri – Haiden Deegan 250 West Champion

Next stop is Nashville on April 11, where the 250SX East championship resumes and the 450SX title fight rolls on with almost no margin left for error.

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450

Hunter Lawrence launched to the holeshot and initially controlled the front of the race with Jorge Prado and Roczen right behind him. Prado briefly took a turn at the front, Lawrence responded, and the early laps unfolded as a tight three-rider fight. Roczen then inserted himself decisively into the battle, first moving past Prado and then forcing his way into the lead ahead of Lawrence. Once he was clear, he controlled the race.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri

Behind him, the podium battle remained active. Prado looked increasingly comfortable near the front again and at one point appeared capable of fighting for a first 450SX podium, but as the circuit broke down, Justin Cooper and Lawrence both worked their way by. Roczen, however, was gone. The German won by 13.2 seconds over Cooper, with Lawrence rebounding from a difficult previous round to finish third to leave Missouri tied on top of the points table with Tomac.

Roczen’s second straight victory pulled him to within five points of the championship lead with five rounds remaining.

For Roczen and Suzuki, it was the sort of ride that changes the complexion of a championship. Back-to-back wins are one thing; doing it at this stage of the year, while both Lawrence and Tomac are trying to manage pressure and points, is something else again.

Prado’s fourth-place finish was also one of the more significant rides of the night. The Spaniard qualified strongly, ran near the front from the outset and even briefly led. In the end, he missed the podium, but a fourth-place finish marked another step forward in adapting to full-time AMA Supercross and was arguably his most convincing 450SX ride in terms of front-running presence on a deteriorating indoor track.

Tomac’s night, by contrast, was about damage limitation. Carrying the red plate into the round, he qualified seventh, finished fifth in his heat and then never truly featured in the main after starting outside the leading battle. Sixth place kept him level at the top of the standings, but it was Lawrence and Roczen who left St. Louis with the stronger momentum.

Malcolm Stewart rounded out a solid evening for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. After qualifying third and finishing third in his heat, he carried top-10 pace through a very demanding main event to finish eighth, another steady result as he continues to piece together a stronger second half of the season.

450 Main Results

 

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Quotes

Ken Roczen – P1

“I honestly still can’t believe it. That track was absolutely brutal and on top of that, it was just extremely busy. It was a brutal Main Event. Even when I had that gap, you just don’t want to make any silly mistakes that allow them to get closer and make it tight at the end. I just can’t believe I pulled off this back-to-back win. I just never stop believing. We’ve got the ball rolling. We’re going to hunker down and keep hammering.”

Ken Roczen

Justin Cooper – P2

“Three fourth places in-a-row has been a little bit frustrating, so it’s nice to get back on the box here. I think it was the toughest [race] of the year. It was challenging all day, but our setup worked. There was a little bit of cat and mouse in the beginning with Hunter [Lawrence] and Jorge [Prado], and I didn’t do myself any favors there. I couldn’t see Kenny [once into second] but I feel like my pace was really good and we brought it home.”

Justin Cooper

Hunter Lawrence – P3

“I’m pretty happy. My wrist is still really sore from the crash last weekend so I’m happy to still be in the fight. This track was so freaking gnarly and probably the worst conditions for having a sore wrist. We got in and out in one piece and got the red plate back; or sharing it. How good is this title fight narrowing down to the end? I’m looking forward to this.

Hunter Lawrence

Jorge Prado – P4

“St. Louis was a very good day for me and I saw a lot of improvements. Qualifying was really good to be P5 overall entering the night show, and then I had a solid Heat Race, also. We didn’t have the best start, but my flow was good, and I felt fast at the end. I was able to brake late off the start in the Main Event as I lined up a little more outside, which helped me a lot, and we were P2 out of the first corner. It was a hectic couple of laps from there with a lot of passes – I even got in the lead at one stage – and it was nice to be up there and showing my wheel. I lost some rhythm when we hit lapped riders and the track went away a lot – the sections I was doing in the first 10 minutes were completely different from what I was doing in the last 10 minutes, which was gnarly. We finished P4 and I think we can be very happy with that as a team.”

Jorge Prado

Eli Tomac – P6

“It was a tougher day for us at St. Louis, but the good thing is that we didn’t lose too many points and we are still tied for the lead. I’m looking forward to the last five races, and doing what we can to get back up on top.”

Eli Tomac

Malcolm Stewart – P8

“Normally, St. Louis dirt is really good, but it felt like this year was one of the hardest visits here that I have had in my whole career,” said Stewart. “This was super-tough, so overall I’m happy to make it out safe, and now we can look forward to next weekend. I felt great here all day, but the track broke down a lot after the Heat Race, which made for a long night – I’m pumped to take this thing on to Nashville.”

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450 Championship Points

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250 East West Showdown

The second East/West Showdown of the season had genuine championship implications before it even began. Deegan arrived in St. Louis with the chance to wrap up the Western Divisional title, and he did it in commanding fashion.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri

Cole Davies grabbed the holeshot and controlled the early laps for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, with Seth Hammaker and Nick Romano prominent near the front and Deegan initially a little further back. That did not last long. Deegan moved quickly into second, reeled Davies in, then took over at the front with a decisive pass a little past mid-race. Once clear, he simply rode away, eventually winning by 15.6 seconds in what the official race recap described as his most dominant victory of the season. The result, combined with Max Anstie finishing 15th, was enough to clinch Deegan’s second successive Western Divisional championship.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri

Davies’ second place was still highly valuable. While he could not stay with Deegan once the Western points leader came through, the runner-up finish strengthened his hold on the Eastern Divisional standings, extending his margin over Hammaker to 11 points with four races remaining. Hammaker, meanwhile, limited the damage with another measured ride to third, stretching his podium streak to five rounds and keeping himself firmly in the title conversation.

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri

From the Pro Circuit Kawasaki side, Hammaker was once again the team spearhead. He had shown his pace early, topped the East qualifying charts and ran strongly all night before banking the final podium spot in the Showdown. Levi Kitchen, returning to race action, qualified well and showed enough pace to move toward podium contention in the main before a late mistake left him seventh. Nick Romano also produced one of his better rides of recent weeks. After a difficult qualifying session, he recovered well in the heat, started the main strongly and even ran second in the opening stages before fading to ninth late in the race.

Cole Davies and Haiden Deegan

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna also emerged with encouraging results in the 250 ranks. Ryder DiFrancesco put together a strong charge from 10th on the opening lap to fifth at the flag, a ride that keeps him firmly in the battle for a top-three finish in the West. Daxton Bennick’s night was more complicated. An incident in his heat race forced him through the LCQ, which he won, before he fought forward to sixth in the main. Given the circumstances, it was a valuable salvage job that moved him to third in the East standings heading to Nashville.

In broader terms, the St. Louis Showdown told two stories at once. The first was Deegan’s authority over the Western field, now converted into another title. The second was that the Eastern championship remains very much alive, with Davies holding the advantage but Hammaker and Bennick still in range as the series enters its closing run.

250 East West Showdown Results

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Quotes

Haiden Deegan – P1

“I’m so grateful. This 250 career has been insane. As a kid, I wanted to win one championship, that’s every kid’s dream. This is number six. We’re going to keep digging. I ain’t done yet. I’m not done ticking [championships] off, and we’re coming to the 450 Class swinging.”

2026 AMA Supercross Championship
Round 12 – St. Louis, Missouri – Haiden Deegan 250 West Champion

Cole Davies – P2

“I’m happy with tonight. That track was gnarly. I just rode it home. I’m happy I gained points [in the Eastern Divisional Championship], because there was no need to push it in those conditions. Congrats to Haiden [Deegan].”

Cole Davies

Seth Hammaker – P3

“We’re getting into the final stretch here, so it’s time to take a few more risks and really go after it. I try to be smart and consistent, but I know I’ve got the speed to run up front. Tonight was a tough, demanding track, probably one of the gnarliest we’ve had, so I’m glad to come away with another podium. We’ve got a few races left, and I’m ready to keep pushing. Big thanks to my whole team, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, my family, and everyone behind me. We’ll keep building.”

Seth Hammaker

Ryder DiFrancesco – P5

“I didn’t actually feel super-comfortable starting the day in St. Louis. ”Then, I got better throughout the day – my second qualifying session was improved, and the Heat Race progressed better as it went on. In the Main Event, I didn’t get the best start in 10th, but fought my way to fifth while feeling pretty good out there in the challenging conditions. If we start up front and have some clean air, I think we’ll do well, so I’m looking forward to both Denver and Salt Lake.”

Levi Kitchen – P7

“It wasn’t a bad night, but it’s not where I want to be. I didn’t get the starts I needed, which made it tough right away, and my back was still bothering me, so it was hard to really push the way I wanted to as the race went on. I felt like the speed was there in spots, but I just didn’t put myself in a good position early enough. There are some positives to take, but I know I’ve got to be better. We’ll use this time to get my body feeling right, keep working with the team, and come back ready for next round.”

Levi Kitchen

Nicholas Romano – P9

“It wasn’t the best start to the day in qualifying, but I felt like I made good progress as the night went on,” said Romano. “The heat race was solid, and in the main, I was able to get up front early and run with those guys. I just need a little more at the end of the race, but from where we were a few weeks ago, it’s a big step forward. I know the speed is there, so we’ll keep working and building with the team.”

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250 West Championship Points

250 East Championship Points

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AMA Supercross Results
2026 Round 12

250 West Heat Results

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250 East Heat 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