Round 16 of the 2026 SuperMotocross World Championship gets underway this Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, as Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence contest one of the closest points' battles in Monster Energy Supercross history.
With his fifth win of the season last week in Philadelphia, Roczen secured the red plate and a four-point advantage over Lawrence, who kept the gap manageable by earning his 11th podium of 2026. Roczen has been nearly as consistent with 10 podiums, but he has surged in recent weeks and has momentum on his side.
Philadelphia created two milestones for Roczen. This is the latest in a season in which he has held the red plate, and his victory in the Keystone State marks the first time in his career that he has earned six consecutive podiums.
According to WeWentFast.com, Roczen is now tied with NBC analyst Ricky Carmichael (87) for fifth on that list.
This is the ninth season in which Roczen has had the points lead, which broke him out of a tie with Jeremy McGrath for the most. The first time Roczen affixed the red plate to his bike was in 2014.
Unless both Roczen and Lawrence experience trouble in the next two rounds, Supercross will have a foreign-born champion for the sixth time in its premier class history. Lawrence would join his brother, Jett Lawrence, and Chad Reed as Australian champions. Roczen would become the first German-born rider to win the title.
The Netherlands' Pierre Karsmakers (1974) and France's Jean Michel Bayle (1991) are the other two international riders with 450 SX championships.
Chase Sexton continues to look for speed, and if there is one spot he should be able to find it, Denver is the place. He is the only rider in the field with multiple Denver wins in 2023 and last year.
250 Notes
The clock is running out on Haiden Deegan's opportunity to add to his personal record book. He has two more rounds to secure sole possession of fourth on the 250 wins list if he takes the checkers home from either Denver or in the East/West Showdown in Salt Lake City.
Last week in Philadelphia, Daxton Bennick scored his second podium of the season, while Coty Schock got his second top-five.
Levi Kitchen was questionable for Denver after a hard crash in Birmingham, which injured his L3 through 5 vertebrae. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team announced he will mount up this week, along with returning rider Cameron McAdoo, who has been missing since a crash in Seattle.
2026 SuperMotocross Top-10 finishers
450s
Ken Roczen (5 wins, 10 podiums, 13 top-fives, 15 top-10s) [3 Moto wins] Hunter Lawrence (4 wins, 11 podiums, 13 top-fives, 14 top-10s) [3 Moto wins] Eli Tomac (4 wins, 8 podiums, 10 top-fives, 11 top-10s) [1 Moto win] Cooper Webb (1 win, 8 podiums, 11 top-fives, 14 top-10s) Chase Sexton (1 win, 2 podiums, 7 top-fives, 11 top-10s)
Justin Cooper (3 podiums, 8 top-fives, 13 top-10s) [2 Moto wins] Jorge Prado (1 podium, 3 top-fives, 7 top-10s) Malcolm Stewart (1 podium, 2 top-fives, 10 top-10s)
Joey Savatgy (4 top-fives, 11 top-10s) Justin Hill (2 top-fives, 6 top-10s) Jason Anderson (2 top-fives, 3 top-10s)
Dylan Ferrandis (10 top-10s) Aaron Plessinger (6 top-10s) Garrett Marchbanks (6 top-10s) Shane McElrath (5 top-10s) Christian Craig (2 top-10s) Colt Nichols (2 top-10s) RJ Hampshire (1 top-10) Jordon Smith (1 top-10) Dean Wilson (1 top-10)
250s
Haiden Deegan (6 wins, 7 podiums, 8 top-fives, 8 top-10s) [3 Moto wins] Cole Davies (5 wins, 8 podiums, 9 top-fives, 9 top-10s) [4 Moto wins] Seth Hammaker (1 win, 6 podiums, 9 top-fives, 9 top-10s) [1 Moto win] Nate Thrasher (1 win, 2 podiums, 4 top-fives, 7 top-10s) [1 Moto win] Max Anstie (1 win, 2 podiums, 3 top-fives, 7 top-10s) Pierce Brown (1 win, 2 podiums, 3 top-fives, 3 top-10s)
Levi Kitchen (3 podiums, 6 top-fives, 7 top-10s) Cameron McAdoo (3 podiums, 5 top-fives, 5 top-10s) Jo Shimoda (3 podiums, 5 top-fives, 5 top-10s) Daxton Bennick (2 podiums, 6 top-fives, 9 top-10s) Ryder DiFrancesco (2 podiums, 6 top-fives, 7 top-10s) Michael Mosiman (2 podiums, 4 top-fives, 6 top-10s) Devin Simonson (1 podium, 1 top-five, 7 top-10s) Chance Hymas (1 podium, 1 top-five, 2 top-10s) Landen Gordon (1 podium, 1 top-five, 1 top-10)
Coty Schock (2 top-fives, 8 top-10s) Maximus Vohland (2 top-fives, 6 top-10s) Henry Miller (1 top-five, 4 top-10s)
Hunter Yoder (5 top-10s) Parker Ross (4 top-10s) Carson Mumford (3 top-10s) Cullin Park (3 top-10s) Nick Romano (3 top-10s) Derek Kelley (3 top-10s) Dilan Schwartz (2 top-10s) Avery Long (2 top-10s) Jalek Swoll (2 top-10s) Maximus Vohland (2 top-10s) Kyle Peters (2 top-10s) Drew Adams (2 top-10s) Marshal Weltin (2 top-10s) Anthony Bourdon (1 top-10) Josh Varize (1 top-10) Luke Neese (1 top-10) Izaih Clark (1 top-10) Gavin Towers (1 top-10)
Recent Denver races
450s 2025: Chase Sexton (followed by Cooper Webb, Justin Cooper) 2024: Jett Lawrence (Hunter Lawrence, Jason Anderson) 2023: Chase Sexton (Ken Roczen, Adam Cianciarulo) 2022: Jason Anderson (Malcolm Stewart, Marvin Musquin)
250s 2025 (West): Haiden Deegan (Julien Beaumer, Garrett Marchbanks) 2024 (West): Jo Shimoda (Levi Kitchen, RJ Hampshire) 2023 (West): RJ Hampshire (Levi Kitchen, Jett Lawrence) 2022 (West): Hunter Lawrence (Michael Mosiman, Christian Craig)
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