At Angel Stadium in Anaheim this past weekend, Round 3 of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship delivered high drama and standout performances as tens of thousands of fans packed the iconic venue. In the 450SX class, Chase Sexton broke through for his first win of the season aboard his new Kawasaki, marking the manufacturer’s first victory since 2022 and shaking up the early title chase. Veteran Eli Tomac continued his consistency with a podium finish to maintain the championship lead, while Hunter Lawrence finished a strong second in another thrilling main event. In the 250SX Western Division, Haiden Deegan captured his second straight win, asserting early control of the title battle as the series now heads to Houston for Round 4.
450 SX Class
The battle for the 450SMX Class victory began with the Twisted Tea Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance of Jason Anderson leading the field for the holeshot, with Sexton alongside. Anderson soon asserted his hold of the lead as Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence, Sexton, and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac, the winner of the opening two races and championship points leader, settled in behind the Suzuki rider. Sexton then found a groove and reclaimed second from Lawrence before tracking down Anderson.
A brief battle for the lead saw Sexton and Anderson trade passes before the Kawasaki rider got the upper hand and opened a multi-second lead over the field a little before the halfway point of the race. Behind them, Tomac passed Lawrence for third and set his sights on Anderson. The Suzuki rider fended off Tomac, which allowed Lawrence to retake third. Not long after, both Lawrence and Tomac made their way around Anderson, as the latter pushed Anderson off track. The top three remained unchanged the rest of the way as Sexton took his 17th career victory and first podium of the season by a margin of 3.3 seconds. It was the first win for Kawasaki since the 2022 season.
Tomac is now the lone rider to finish on the podium in each race thus far, with two wins and a third. He has an eight-point lead over Lawrence in the 450SMX Class standings, as Lawrence moved up to second on the heels of back-to-back runner-up finishes. Sexton moved into third, 13 points behind Tomac, while Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen dropped to fourth (-14) after he missed the podium for the first time in a valiant eighth-place finish that saw him fight back from 21st on the opening lap.
250 SX Class
The Western Divisional 250SMX Class once again saw the battle for the win come down to a pair of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates in Michael Mosiman and Haiden Deegan. Mosiman led the field through the first turn for the holeshot, ahead of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo, ClubMX Yamaha’s Max Vohland, and Deegan. As Mosiman secured control of the race early on, Deegan charged up to second. From there, the duo pulled away from the field and paced one another for most of the 15 Minute + 1 Lap race. With three-and-a-half minutes to go Deegan closed in on Mosiman and made quick work of a pass for the lead. With the clear track, Deegan quickly moved more than five seconds clear of the field and easily claimed back-to-back wins to officially take hold of the early title fight.
Deegan took his ninth career win 8.5 seconds ahead of Mosiman, who now has third and second place finishes the past two races. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco came out on top of a tight battle with McAdoo for DiFrancesco’s second career podium result, his first coming at the Anaheim opener just two weeks ago.
Deegan has a nine-point lead over Mosiman in the Western Divisional standings. Their Star Yamaha teammate Max Anstie dropped from second to third, 10 points out of the lead, after his worst result of the season thus far in sixth.
