We’re entering crunch time in the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, with the 12th round at St. Louis adding a fresh chapter to the 2026 title narratives. From added contenders to a 250SX East/West Showdown, learn more about the weekend that was through illustration form in Captured.

The calm before the storm. It’s at this point in the night that you have no idea what’s to unfold, with anticipation and tension at its peak before the gates drop.

Round 12 marked the St. Jude Love Moto Stop Cancer race, where a collection of one-off graphics across both bikes and gear raised awareness for the initiative. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton had a custom colourway across his Alpinestars helmet, which was a nice touch from the former 450SX champion.

The same could be said for Triumph Factory Racing and Jordon Smith, who fully embraced the round with a pink kit on the TF 450-X.

All in all, St.Louis was a solid night for Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence. He admitted post-race that his wrist was indeed sore from his high-speed crash in Detroit, with a P3 result seeing him tie things up atop the 450SX standings with Eli Tomac on 245 points.

A rider with no dramas at St. Louis – and really this season period – was Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan, who wrapped up his second 250SX West championship after winning the East/West Showdown. He’s now on 13 250SX victories, tying Jeremy McGrath, Jett Lawrence, and Austin Forkner, and seemingly has two more opportunities to add to that number. Nate Ramsey is next in line on 15, while James Stewart tops the list on 18.

And of course, the Deegans, as well as Fox Racing, made sure to reference the Birmingham 250SX East/West Showdown controversy, which saw Haiden relegated to P2 after crossing the line first.

Talk about a championship revival! There aren’t many words that can adequately describe Ken Roczen during the latter stages of this season – but know this – he’s firmly in the 450SX title picture after back-to-back victories, and is only five points out of the series lead.

Add Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper to that list of improving riders, with the 28-year-old claiming a heat race win before charging to second in the main event. St. Louis was a solid round for JCoop.

We’re missing the early-season form of Red Bull KTM’s Eli Tomac, who was a podium regular and challenging for race wins. The double 450SX champion is claiming that, physically, he is fine, not letting on much more as he struggles during the middle stages. Despite a P6 at St. Louis, Tomac still has the red plate alongside Lawrence, although the Colorado-native is likely going to need to figure things out here quickly if he is to walk away with the number one plate.

Round 12 was not a good night for Chase Sexton. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider cased a rhythm section in a big way during the main, ultimately ending in a non-finish for the number four. He won seven main events last year and took the title fight all the way to Salt Lake City – a far cry from how 2026 has unfolded.

More St. Jude epicness – this time courtesy of the Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX Racing Team.

Saturday night ended really before it began for Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda, who collided with another rider in the 250SX East heat race, which spelled a tough ending to his night. Further scans will tell us more this week.

Cole Davies extended his 250SX East points lead after finishing P2 in the Showdown, but you know that deep down – as a competitor – we wanted to beat Deegan. That wasn’t to be, with the 1W hunting Davies down, before breezing to a 15.654s victory.