Image: Octopi Media.

New Monster Energy Kawasaki 450SX recruit Garrett Marchbanks has indicated that increased testing mileage leading into Glendale translated into an improved performance on race day, leading to a season-high 13th-place finish at State Farm Stadium.

After a difficult start to 2026 – underscored by missing Anaheim 1’s main event and San Diego altogether – the 24-year-old has made steady progress since, posting 14-15-13 results in rounds three through five.

Additional laps throughout the week aboard the factory team’s KX450SR led to further improvements in Arizona, with Marchbanks aiming to translate that mid-week feeling into Saturdays.

“We made really good progress during the week leading into Glendale,” said Marchbanks. “We put in a lot of time on Tuesday and Wednesday to get the bike dialed in – we did around 100 to 120 laps altogether in just those two days of riding.

“We made a lot of changes to the bike to help me feel more comfortable. I wanted to make adjustments that would make me feel more at home when we go racing, and I felt like we made the right decisions during this week to lead to that this weekend.”

Marchbanks qualified 12th on combined 450SX times, before directly transferring to the night’s main event with P6 in his heat race – both results representing a season-high in each respective session.

“In qualifying, I felt really good in both sessions and qualified my best in the second session,” he added. “In the main event, I didn’t get the best start and had some riders flinch on the gate near me [and] that didn’t help. There was a big first turn crash that I was able to avoid, and I made some good passes midway through the race.

“I got up to 11th and started to lose my flow in the last five minutes. I’m working on getting up to race pace shape with the longer format in the premier class, but I’m happy with 13th, my best result of the season so far. We’ll keep moving forward and look to next weekend.”

The 2026 Monster Energy Supercross season marks one of the more challenging years to step into the premier ranks, with 13 of the 22 riders in Saturday’s main event being a Supercross title-holder. Marchbanks currently sits 17th in the standings.