The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship hosted its third consecutive sold out crowd to open the 2026 campaign as the world’s best returned to the hallowed grounds of Angel Stadium for Round 3 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship. After a high-profile move to Monster Energy Kawasaki during the offseason, Chase Sexton captured his first win for the decorated manufacturer following another captivating Main Event.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.
Chase Sexton – 1st Place – 450SMX Class
“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.”
Hunter Lawrence – 2nd Place – 450SMX Class
“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.”
Eli Tomac – 3rd Place – 450SMX Class
“The big picture [championship] is great. That race was a whole lot of everything. A lot of offense, a lot of defense. I tried some moves and got passed, and vice versa. I’m happy to defend that podium spot, it was important for me, but that was a very intense race. Overall, I’m happy with the finish and looking forward to next weekend.”
The Monster Energy SMX World Championship and Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship will continue next Saturday with the fourth race of the season and the first outside the state of California as Houston’s NRG Stadium welcomes the world’s best on January 31.
Results
Words and Images courtesy of Feld Motorsports
