Webb and Anstie win weather-hit 2026 WSX opener in Calgary

FIM WSX Round One

The 2026 FIM World Supercross Championship fired into life at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, with Cooper Webb and Max Anstie giving Rick Ware Racing a double victory in a season opener that was ultimately cut short by a violent storm.

There remains an obvious elephant in the room for a series carrying FIM World Championship status. Arguably the three biggest current stars in Supercross – Australia’s Jett and Hunter Lawrence and American Haiden Deegan – are not on the 2026 WSX roster as it stands. Deegan made two high-profile wildcard appearances in WSX last year, but none of that trio is currently confirmed for this campaign.

That does not leave WSX short of pedigree. Three-time AMA 450SX Champion Cooper Webb has committed to the full season, 2018 AMA 450SX Champion Jason Anderson arrived as the defending SX1 World Champion, while Max Anstie returned to defend his SX2 crown. Christian Craig, Justin Hill, Dean Wilson and Cameron McAdoo added further depth at the Canadian opener.

Calgary also gave the electric Stark squad an interesting point of difference. McMahon Stadium sits around 1045 metres above sea level, where reduced air density costs naturally aspirated combustion engines some performance while an electric motor is not dependent on atmospheric oxygen. Stark riders duly launched to five of the six holeshots across the night, although the race wins still went to Webb, Hill and Anstie.

The final SX1 Main Event never reached the chequered flag after fierce winds began blowing tuff blocks and debris across the circuit before a flash storm and heavy rain hit the stadium. The abandoned Main Event was not scored, so the two completed SX1 Sprint races determined the Canadian GP overall. The SX2 programme had already been completed in full.

SX1

Justin Hill had set the benchmark in qualifying with a 50.874, but Dean Wilson delivered when the top four were sent out one at a time for SuperPole. The Scottish-born rider, who grew up in Calgary after moving to Canada as a child, stopped the clock at 51.617 to edge Cooper Webb by just 0.110 seconds. Christian Craig was third and Hill fourth.

Wilson was a late addition to the Quad Lock Honda line-up for Calgary, filling in for the injured Joey Savatgy, and made the most of what was scheduled to be a one-round appearance. Defending SX1 World Champion Jason Anderson had qualified sixth and missed the four-rider SuperPole.

SX1 Superpole Results

SX1 Sprint Race One

Stark’s Vince Friese fired to the front at the start of Sprint Race One, with Mitchell Harrison immediately applying pressure while Anderson’s title defence got off to a rough start when he went down exiting the whoops on the opening lap.

Hill was the rider on the move. He worked past Webb on lap three, then cleared Jorge Zaragoza and Friese before reeling in Harrison and taking the lead. Webb also picked his way forward and grabbed second late in the race, while Wilson completed the top three ahead of Harrison and Craig. Anderson eventually salvaged 13th, while Australia’s Luke Clout opened his campaign with 15th on the Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki.

SX1 Sprint Race One Results

SX1 Sprint Race Two

Jorge Zaragoza then demonstrated the Stark’s starting punch by taking the Sprint Race Two holeshot as Hill went down in the first turn and collected Maxime Desprey. Webb was only sixth in the early running, while Wilson moved into second and Craig suffered a heavy crash in a rhythm lane before remounting.

Webb methodically worked forward, taking second from Harrison through the whoops on lap four before going by Zaragoza for the lead on the following lap. Hill charged back into the fight after his first-turn fall, but another incident in the battle for the podium dropped him back to fifth. Webb took a convincing win from Zaragoza and Wilson, with Friese fourth and Hill fifth. Clout improved to 13th.

SX1 Sprint Race Two Results

SX1 Main Event abandoned – no points awarded

Webb finally beat the Starks away from the gate in the 12-lap SX1 Main Event and quickly established himself at the front, with Wilson second and Craig third. Anderson and Hill were recovering from more modest starts and both moved forward as the race developed, Hill getting ahead of the defending champion on lap five.

The weather then became the decisive factor. Strong gusts began blowing tuff blocks and other trackside material onto the racing surface, prompting yellow flags before conditions deteriorated further and the FIM stopped the race. A torrential downpour followed and there was no restart.

Although a running order was recorded when the race was stopped, the Main Event was subsequently not counted toward the championship. For that reason we have left the provisional red-flagged Main Event classification out of the results below rather than present it as a points-paying race result.

Webb therefore won the Canadian GP on the strength of his 2-1 Sprint results and 19 points. Wilson and Hill were tied on 16, with Wilson taking second overall on the tiebreak after finishing ahead of Hill in Sprint Race Two. Friese and Harrison were next on 12 points apiece. Anderson left Calgary only 12th overall on two points, while Clout was classified 15th without a point.

SX1 Round Points/Standings

SX2

Max Anstie began his SX2 title defence with authority, but the electric Starks of Brian Hsu and Michael Hicks made him work much harder than the final 45-point clean sweep might suggest.

Hsu had surprised the field by topping qualifying at 52.594, but Anstie responded in SuperPole with a 53.416 to beat Rick Ware Racing team-mate Devin Simonson by 0.744 seconds. Canadian Cole Thompson was third and Hsu fourth.

The defining feature of the SX2 racing was the Stark launch performance. Hsu took the holeshot in all three races, often with Hicks alongside him, before Anstie used his speed through the whoops and superior race pace to hunt them down.

SX2 Superpole Results

SX2 Sprint Race One

Hsu and Hicks went 1-2 off the start in Sprint Race One, with Anstie quickly moving past Hicks into second. Hsu led the opening two laps and initially looked capable of breaking clear, but Anstie began to reel him in and produced the fastest lap of the race on lap four before making the decisive pass after the whoops when Hsu bobbled.

Simonson also found a way past Hsu on the following lap to make it a Rick Ware Racing 1-2. Anstie won by 7.017 seconds from Simonson, Hicks held third, McAdoo took fourth and Hsu slipped to fifth. New Zealand’s Brodie Connolly was seventh on the Quad Lock Honda.

SX2 Sprint Race One Results

SX2 Sprint Race Two

The second Sprint began in almost identical fashion as Hsu and Hicks again launched the Starks into first and second. Anstie was only seventh initially but tore through the field, reaching the lead battle almost immediately and passing Hicks at the end of lap four.

Hsu resisted until the closing stages and led the first six laps, but Anstie eventually powered past through the whoops. Hicks then relegated Hsu to third on the final lap. Anstie’s winning margin was 1.837 seconds over Hicks, with Hsu another 1.283 seconds back. McAdoo was fourth and Connolly sixth.

SX2 Sprint Race Two Results

SX2 Main Event

Hsu completed a hat-trick of holeshots in the 12-lap SX2 Main Event, but this time Anstie wasted no time at all. He was into second before the end of the opening lap and blasted by Hsu through the whoops on lap two to take control.

McAdoo steadily advanced into the runner-up position while Hicks remained in the podium fight. Hsu’s promising night then unravelled with a mechanical problem, while Simonson also lost ground after a tip-over left a tuff block tangled in the rear of his Yamaha.

Out front Anstie was untroubled once clear, taking the chequered flag 10.291 seconds ahead of McAdoo, with Hicks third. That completed a perfect 10-10-25 points haul for Anstie. Hicks’ 37 points delivered Stark its first World Supercross overall podium in second, one point ahead of McAdoo. Connolly finished sixth overall on 21 points, tied with Cole Thompson and Simonson.

SX2 Main Race Results

SX2 Round Points/Standings

World Supercross heads to Birmingham

World Supercross now has a sizeable break before Round Two, the British GP at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on October 10. Webb heads there with a three-point SX1 lead, while Anstie already has an eight-point advantage over Hicks in SX2.

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