It’s all to play for as the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship fires into action this weekend at Fox Raceway. Hear from several top contenders during today’s pre-season press conference as they share their outlook for the opening round and season ahead in this Input feature.

Image: Foremost Media.

Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive):
This [injury] took a lot longer [to recover from] – it was a pain in the arse because it was interfering with all my hobbies. I wasn’t too pumped, but yeah, similar thing as last year, coming back – obviously excited for the adrenaline rush again, and looking forward to being back. It’s been great watching great racing on TV, but you like to be a part of it as well, so I’m excited to be back and am waiting for that gate drop. It’s great to have a new rivalry like there was with James [Stewart] and Ricky [Carmichael], or James and Chad [Reed]. The sport loves a rivalry, and Haiden [Deegan] and I are pretty close in age, so it’s a perfect mix as we’ll be racing each other for a pretty long time.

Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive):
When the Supercross title doesn’t go your way, you’re like, ‘damn it, my whole outdoor preparation is screwed, and I didn’t get the title!’ So, it’s easy to feel down, but that’s racing – we’re here, we’ve got a good-looking bike to go race, and I think we’re in a good spot continuing where we were from last year. This is probably the shortest outdoor preparation I have had, but I feel the race pace and intensity from Supercross will carry through.

Chase Sexton (Monster Energy Kawasaki):
I think everyone saw that my Supercross season was pretty bad. To win the last race was nice – obviously, there was a bit going on with the championship, but it was nice to go out there and ride somewhat well – it also made the last couple of weeks easier. We made some good progress, and so far I feel pretty good, but everyone feels good until you go racing tomorrow. So far, so good, and I am definitely fired up for a good outdoor season. I feel more prepared than last year coming in – but my goal is to go out there, ignore all the noise, and go do my thing.

Image: Foremost Media.

Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
Every year, [the depth in competition] is outstanding. So, this is exceptional – and maybe that’s because everyone is racing a little bit longer, I think, there are a lot of riders who are well into their 30s now and still racing, whereas before the top, top guys would draw the line at 27 or 28. But yeah, here we are, it’s an excellent field, and everyone is pretty healthy right now, so it’s cool to see. My last win was at Pala, so overall, I like this place. It has been a while [since I have won], but if I look back at my preparation for other seasons, I was always coming back from some sort of injury.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing):
The Deegan versus Jett [rivalry] is obviously bringing a lot of views to the sport, which is huge – it’s massive, and it’s going to be a good battle. I’m mentally strong – I’m unbreakable, I have a hard head on me, and that’s kind of how I’ve always been. I’m up to the fight right now, I’ve never raced these guys, and I’m super excited. It’s the rookie versus the champion here. I feel like it’s been a while since that’s been a thing. I think that’s 100 percent growing the sport, and I also think I have to put some respect on myself, too, because now they’re comparing a rookie to the champ. That hypes me up, knowing that’s the expectation.

Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
At the moment, I feel really good with the bike. We had some base setups from my last year in MXGP that were working perfectly – we’ve tried to improve that here, and I think we did. So overall, I am feeling really good – I think this will be a good Pro Motocross Championship.

Image: Foremost Media.

Chance Hymas (Honda HRC Progressive):
I think it comes down to me relying on my circle around me – and really just having a good mental reset. I think everyone knows that when I am healthy, I’m definitely one of the guys to beat, and everyone knows what I am capable of when I am healthy. So, for me, it’s mainly that I have to be there every race, and the crew around me really believe in me – even on my darkest days, they treated me as though I was the Chance who was winning. So, for me, it’s showing up every race, being consistent, and just being there.

Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing):
My health is 100 percent. My back is good – I had surgery on April 2 to get everything removed, and I have been on the bike for around six weeks now. I had a really good preparation off the bike before that, and I think these last six weeks have gone really well. So, I’m in a really good spot – and then for expectations, there’s not much for tomorrow. We’ll go out, see where we are at, and improve every weekend. I’m just happy to be back at the races, and I’ll enjoy every bit of tomorrow.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki):
It’s super important [to start the season well] for sure. I think I am in a better spot now than I was last year entering the season – I think in ‘24, I had a good race here and started the season pretty well, so we’ll just try to get off the gate good, and then put all the work that I have done to good use and see where we stack up.

Cole Davies (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing):
Last year’s outdoors were terrible! So I’m looking to turn that around. I feel like I am in a good spot, and I know what I can do, so I’m excited for it.