After 112 long days of silence, the wait is finally over for dirt bike racing fans. On January 10, 2026, the SuperMotocross World Championship roars back to life as the Monster Energy Supercross season kicks off under the lights at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. When the gate drops for Anaheim 1, it will signal the end of a three-month, three-week offseason and the beginning of another unpredictable championship chase.

Angel Stadium is the perfect place to start. Anaheim has hosted more Supercross season openers than any other venue with 34 and holds the all-time record for most races overall at 85. History, pressure, and expectations all converge in Southern California, and 2026 will be no different.

The 450 Class: Familiar Names, New Twists

Defending champion Cooper Webb returns to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing with one clear objective: defend his crown. While Webb stays with the same team, his Yamaha is an all-new machine for 2026, adding another layer of intrigue. Anaheim has never been kind to Webb, as he has yet to score a win there, and after a slow start to his 2025 campaign, he enters the opener with something to prove.

Chase Sexton, the 2025 runner-up, begins a new chapter as well. Sexton moves teams once again, this time landing at Kawasaki, taking over the ride vacated by Jason Anderson. Sexton won last year’s season opener but struggled with consistency shortly after, missing the podium in three of the next four rounds. With championship expectations firmly on his shoulders, a strong Anaheim start feels mandatory.

Justin Cooper, third in the standings last year, enters his second full-time Supercross season looking to build on a solid but sometimes overlooked campaign. Consistency was his calling card in 2025, and another step forward could put him firmly in the title conversation.

One major storyline hangs over the entire field: Jett Lawrence will not be there. The 2025 champion suffered an ankle and foot injury in an offseason practice crash and underwent surgery. The typical recovery timeline puts him out for roughly three months, ruling him out of Anaheim and the early rounds. Lawrence has won every championship he has contested for a full season, but Supercross remains his least dominant discipline, with only one title in 2024. His absence immediately opens the door for the rest of the field.

Elsewhere in the 450 class, the offseason shuffle was significant. Eli Tomac moves to Red Bull KTM, replacing Sexton, and will be joined by Jorge Prado. Jason Anderson heads to Suzuki under Dustin Pipes’ operation, while Hunter Lawrence continues to lurk as a constant threat after another strong season. Notably, according to WeWentFast.com, Kawasaki has not won a 450 Supercross race since Anderson’s victory at Salt Lake City in 2022, adding even more pressure to Sexton’s new ride.

The 250 West: Deegan’s Division to Lose

While teams traditionally stay quiet about East and West Coast assignments, one thing is already certain. Haiden Deegan will return to the 250 West Region to defend his 2025 title before graduating to the 450 class for Pro Motocross. Deegan finished fifth overall last season but rapidly climbed the standings and once again enters the year as the clear favorite.

Deegan has won five of his last seven championship bids. Another title would place him alongside legends like Jett Lawrence, James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, and Ryan Villopoto. If he reaches six wins in 2026, he would move into a three-way tie for second on the all-time wins list. Those are not small expectations, but Deegan has rarely looked overwhelmed by pressure.

Teammates Max Anstie and Michael Mosiman are expected to join him in the West, while the competition will be deep. Levi Kitchen and Drew Adams line up for Pro Circuit, Max Vohland and Hunter Yoder for ClubMX, Ryder DiFrancesco on Husqvarna, and Chance Hymas for Honda all figure to be contenders.

Kitchen, in particular, remains one of the most dangerous riders without a West title. He owns seven wins in his last three Supercross 250 seasons and has come painfully close in recent years, finishing third in 2023 and second in 2024. Both near misses came in the Western division, making 2026 a potential redemption year.

A Season Full of Stakes

The 2026 NBC TV schedule will once again feature all 31 rounds of the SuperMotocross World Championship, with two daytime Supercross races mixed into the calendar. Anaheim 1 traditionally brings a stacked, healthy field with riders chasing three separate championships: Supercross, Pro Motocross, and the SuperMotocross Playoffs. Even with Lawrence sidelined, the depth across both classes ensures that nothing will come easy.

As the gate drops in Anaheim, questions will be answered immediately. Can Webb finally conquer his Anaheim demons? Will Sexton deliver Kawasaki its first Supercross win in years? Can Deegan continue his march toward all-time greatness? One thing is guaranteed: after 112 days without racing, Supercross is back, and the 2026 season is ready to make noise.