Upcoming Race: RD2 SAN DIEGO
Saturday, January 17, 2026 6:00 PM CST
San Diego, CA
An A1 recap from RacerX. "The 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship got underway in front of a sold-out crowd inside Angel Stadium for the opening round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. It turned out to be a memorable night for the elder statesman of the sport as 33-year-old Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Eli Tomac captured the 54th win of his legendary career in his debut with the team following a dominant performance in which the Coloradoan led every lap."
"The 450SMX Class Main Event was forced to restart when a red flag brought the race to a halt on the opening lap after a multi-rider incident. When the gate dropped for the second time, Tomac positioned himself right behind his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jorge Prado and seized control of the lead on the opening lap. Once out front, Tomac easily gapped the field while Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen made an impressive charge into contention after rounding the first turn deep in the top 10."
"The German veteran made multiple passes to slot himself just outside the top three and eventually worked his way around Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence for third before making the pass on Prado for second. Roczen closed to within a couple seconds of Tomac and kept him honest throughout the 20 Minute + 1 Lap race but never got close enough to mount a challenge."
"Tomac took his second Anaheim 1 victory by a margin of 1.4 seconds over Roczen, while Prado leveraged the holeshot into the single-best-performance of the Spaniard’s U.S. racing career and his maiden Supercross podium in his seventh start. Following the race, Prado’s KTM failed the post-race sound inspection, which resulted in a penalty from the AMA of three championship points. Prado retained his third-place finish."
"The first race of the Western Divisional 250SMX Class was historic as England’s Max Anstie became the oldest winner in the history of the smaller displacement at 32 years, 8 months, and 16 days of age. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider brought confidence into the Main Event after winning his Heat Race and took advantage of a start inside the top five to quickly move into the top three."
"Anstie continued to move forward and took his time to take second place from Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas before tracking down Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder DiFrancesco for the race lead with a little more than seven minutes and one lap to go. Once out front, Anstie was able to sprint away from the field to capture his fourth career SMX victory by a margin of 7.5 seconds."
"Hymas was able to make a late pass on DiFrancesco to earn a runner-up finish in his first start since suffering a torn ACL last June, while DiFrancesco parlayed the Main Event holeshot into the first podium result of his career in his 13th Supercross start."
The series heads South to San Diego for round 2. Its time! Four 250 West riders. Four 450 riders. 3.5 million dollar budget. A chance to win a 2026 CRF110f from Storm Lake Honda. Drop the gate. Good luck.
Make sure to check out the Fasthouse Injury Report!