Round 10 in Birmingham brought its share of drama in Monster Energy Supercross 2026 across 450SX and the 250SX East/West Showdown. Hear more from the leading riders of each category in this Reaction feature.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) – First:
The track layout was rather simple, but the conditions made it tricky, and we did a lot of laps. Kenny [Roczen] had a really good pace; when he got around Eli [Tomac], he put in some good laps, and I’mlike, ‘Alright, this is his really good sprint speed, so I need to kind of push at the beginning.’ I was trying to push as much as I could. That’s one of the things I find the coolest: a high-pressure moment or high-stakes scenario, and you’re able to deliver. You’ve got to be consistent, precise and just push the whole main. I don’t really want to think about the title, because it’s still seven races away and so much racing left to be had. I’m just trying not to be an idiot, and focusing on the week-in and week-out.

Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki) – Second:
Alright Birmingham is done and dusted. We had a really good day overall. In [qualifying] I was always up on the board in the top three or so. The track ended up being trickier than I originally thought; the rhythms were pretty basic, but we had a lot of different dirt. It was new dirt, it was pretty rocky – and not just little rocks, but big boulders. [Also], part of the track was really rutty and deep, and other parts were extremely dry and pebbly with no traction. So, it ended up making it quite difficult… My starts just weren’t there tonight, and it was a really big bummer starting at around 15th or so. It’s hard to win when you’re that far back. Luckily, I was really on one tonight… I was pretty fast all [through the] main event and was able to click guys off. I ended up coming in at second. I was catching [the rider ahead] quite good but the track, with how rocky it was; you didn’t even have to make a mistake, but it ended up being [similar to the result of a] mistake just by landing on a rock a little bit and shooting sideways. So, I missed a couple of rhythms a couple of times, and the gap went back out to 5 seconds or so. I was able to get a little closer towards the end. Ultimately, I was really happy with the second place after that start. We rode amazingly tonight, and my bike worked well, too, so we’re on a good path.

Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Third:
I just wasn’t as good tonight as the front two, so that’s about it. Of course, the LCQ was very stressful and a high-pressure moment, but I got myself out there to a good start from the inside gate, and I just got beat tonight. I was a little bit off and it was one of those nights that was tough, so we’ll try to regroup for next weekend and see if we can get back up front.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Fourth:
I didn’t like the track today. The dirt’s not very good, with a lot of rocks and all that, so yeah, I struggled a little bit with the bike all day. I obviously had that incident in the heat race and had a pretty sore leg for the main event, but I was able to get really good starts all day. That was the plus side. I got a good start in the main, top three, I think, and got shuffled around a bit and came home in fourth. I also got some major arm pump for the first time in a while. It was just a tough track all day, and I wasn’t really jelling, so fourth was good tonight.

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Fifth:
The crowd is always awesome in Birmingham. It was a big turnout, and last year here I finished second in the Triple Crown, so I always look forward to this race. Tonight, it was a pretty gnarly fifth place! I feel like the track broke down a lot with seven or eight minutes to go in the main event, but the heat race was really good – I’m just starting to get back into my flow and felt good all day. Setting the tone early is important, and I felt good from the beginning, which was nice, but with the whole team we are making some really good progress. A top-five result is awesome, so we’ll keep building momentum into Detroit.

Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Sixth:
Practice went well for me. Then I was able to win my heat race, which was really cool. In the main event, I didn’t get off to the best start, then had a tip-over, which was a bummer. It put me back a ways, and I just wasn’t able to move forward. I also got pretty bad arm pump, so it was just a tough night, but we’ll regroup and get better.

Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Seventh:
I wrapped up Birmingham with P7. The round started with a big crash in practice, which I think affected the rest of my day. Obviously, the confidence goes down, and you start thinking about things a little more. Luckily, I walked away from that in one piece – I did hit my stomach very bad – but not bad enough to not be racing. P2 in the heat race was solid, and then I holeshotted the main event and got passed in the second corner. I stayed in P2 for a couple laps, but was missing a bit of my flow tonight, so it was a bit of a struggle. We battled for P5 most of the race, but all-in-all, it was just an okay ride. Not terrible, just medium, and I’m happy to be healthy with another week of training ahead.

Colt Nichols (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – Eighth:
It was a much better night for me for sure. I actually got out of the gate decently and felt like I rode really well. I was pretty sick this week so I was struggling a little bit about halfway, but I dug in as hard as I could. I feel like I rode really well, and I ended up getting P8 tonight. I wanted to get into the single digits, so I’m pumped we were able to do that. The bike [set-up] is in a much better spot after the break – we made a bunch of changes, so shout out to Mark at REP Suspension and everyone on the team. It’s been kind of a struggle year, to be honest, so to get an eighth is awesome and something to build on.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Cole Davies (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – First:
It’s not the way I wanted to win the shootout, that’s for sure. I crossed the line in second, and Haiden [Deegan] got penalized for a track infringement. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing YZ250F was working really well all night, but unfortunately, I was overriding. I’m not entirely happy with my performance, but we banked maximum points and extended our championship lead after a wild night of racing. We’ll take the red plate to Detroit and keep pushing.

Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Second:
It was good. Qualifying was a little rough, but then we were able to bring it around for the heat race. I kind of got my aggression back in my system come race time, so that was good. I was able to get the win in the heat race, but then had an unfortunate start in the main event. It put me mid-pack around 10th, so I had to work my way through the pack and ended up getting to the lead. It was probably one of the best races in my career. I was able to work through the pack well.

Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Third:
The day was really solid. I started off qualifying really well with the fastest qualifier, and I felt pretty comfortable. The track was really challenging all day. There were some pretty big rocks out there that looked like boulders that were catching people off guard. Going into the night show, the heat race was good. I pulled the holeshot and was a little too aggressive on the first lap. I spun the rear around, and Cole [Davies] got around me, and the rest of the race I rode in second. In the main event, I executed a pretty good start. I was third off the line. I stayed there for a bit, and Jo [Shimoda] ended up getting around me and then at the end, I made a charge and was able to get back to a podium spot. I have a couple of things to work on and takeaways from the day, but overall I’m happy with the day.

Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC Progressive) – Fourth:
I almost had a good race, but the last-lap situation didn’t work out. I tried to make a pass, but I wasn’t close enough, and I also didn’t want to tangle with the lappers. After the whoops, I kind of wanted to go outside, get that speed, maybe have an opportunity to pass, but I knew Seth [Hammaker] was right behind me – if I went outside, maybe he could just come in pretty hard and take me out, which would be a lot worse. I think I didn’t race to be second tonight; I wanted to make a lot more attempts instead of just giving up on the last lap.

Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Fifth:
It felt good to be back racing. It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been out here with how long the break was. Qualifying went really well for me. The team and I had everything working well to get that fastest qualifying time, and getting the holeshot in the main was a step in the right direction. I put myself in a good position early, but I’m frustrated with how it ended. I’ve been dealing with a back injury for the last couple of weeks, so it was difficult to maintain that intensity throughout the whole main event. I plan on getting an MRI this week to get everything checked out. Overall, there are positives to take, but I know I need to be better.

Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Sixth:
Birmingham was good. We entered with a new shock that we tried last week and I was really happy with it – it made the whoops a lot better for me. I was stoked on that and then I kind of got rolling in that second qualifier before struggling a bit in the heat race. I then put my head down in the main event after getting chopped a bit at the start, but we put in a strong charge, and I’m happy with my riding and fitness. Now, we’ll go into next weekend and try to put it on the box.

Max Anstie (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – Seventh:
Well, we made it. I’m just glad to be here. It was definitely an eventful five-week break. I had my appendix taken out, so I literally sat on the couch for three weeks, not being able to do a lot. I came into today not really knowing how I was going to be. So honestly, I was really pleased with the seventh. The East-West shootout – it was gnarly. I honestly just felt pretty flat in the main event. I haven’t been able to push, so I lacked intensity, but that is to be expected with the lack of bike time and the lack of motos. All in all, I’m pleased to get out of here in one piece and move on to these couple of weeks when I can step it up again and be ready for St. Louis.

Max Vohland (ClubMX Yamaha) – Eighth:
P8. Not bad, but not great. The positives – my starts are really good, so putting myself in a good position early will pay off. I learned a lot riding up front and have a plan to be better. So, going to go back to the lab this week and we will see what we can do in St. Louis.