2026 AMA Supercross Championship

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.

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.

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.

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, Roczen controlled the race.

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.

Justin Cooper’s ride to second place was the Yamaha man’s standout performance of the season thus far. His timing on the difficult track looked perfect, and if anyone might have been able to run with Roczen if the cards fell his way from the start, it was Cooper on Saturday night.

Hunter Lawrence rode a race of controlled aggression, pushing at times, then having a few small stumbles, which saw the Australian also ride with a healthy dose of caution on a night when it could have all gone badly quite easily. Third place was his pace on the night.

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. Tomac never looked comfortable on the track at any point and looked to be playing the survival game where he couldn’t be out of there soon enough.

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

Quotes

Ken Roczen – P1

“St. Louis, you were good to us,” said Roczen. “It was a brutal day. The track was unexpectedly soft compared to when we were here during [the] SMX [Playoff]. It made for some crazy racing because it was built really tall, we had some really tricky rhythm lanes, and I just knew that the track, in 20 minutes, was going to get really torn up. But man, we won qualifying, won our heat race, and then it was just such a dream ride in the main event to bring home first place again. [These are the first] back-to-back [Supercross wins] for me since 2021. I’m just really on a high right now with that. I’m really trying to take this in, enjoy this, because I haven’t been in this position, really ever, in Supercross. So, I’m enjoying every bit of it but at the same time I know I need to stay focused and that’s what we’re going to do.”

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

Garrett Marchbanks – P9

“The day was really solid. I would say this has been one of my best days yet in the 450 Class. I qualified eighth in the first session and eighth in the second session. The heat race was pretty hectic, but I was able to stay on two wheels through the first turn and came out in sixth place at the end of it. Going into the main event, I felt really good. I put in some good laps in the beginning and was running seventh for quite a while, when I hit around 15 minutes in, I kind of lost my flow, had some mistakes, and missed my rhythm through the rhythm section after the start turn quite a few times. That really hurt me with Joey [Savatgy] and Malcom [Stewart] catching me. Once they got around me, I kind of put my head down and just pushed through until the end. Once we were about two laps to go, I made a little push, but didn’t quite have it, and ended the night in ninth.

Chase Sexton – DNF

“I had a bit of an up and down day here in St. Louis. My speed was good in qualifying. I was pushing for fastest qualifier, but just wasn’t able to get there. In the heat race, I had some issues off the start. I got run in on by a few guys, which caused me to go down. I just pushed until the race was over to get up to third for a better gate pick in the main event. I still didn’t get the start I was looking for in the main event and had some mistakes that set me back. I ultimately had to pull off the track early because I was pretty banged up after my crash and was unable to finish the race.”

450 Championship Points

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jo Shimoda missed the Main after being landed on by another rider in his Heat race and suffering a hefty blow to his leg.

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

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.”

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].”

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.”

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.”

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.”

250 West Championship Points

250 East Championship Points

AMA Supercross Results
2026 Round 12

250 West Heat Results

250 East Heat Results

250 LCQ Results

250 Qualifying Results

450 Heat One Results

450 Heat Two Results

450 LCQ Results

450 Qualifying Results

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