One of the most anticipated seasons in the 5 ½-decade history of the U.S. Pro Motocross Series gets underway Saturday on the Fox Raceway on the Pala Reservation.
The championship is seen as a seven-way battle between some of the world’s top Motocross and Supercross riders.
Australian brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence, veteran champion Eli Tomac, 2024 U.S. Motocross champion Chase Sexton, multi-time European champion Jorge Prado and young Southern California phenom Haiden Deegan and 2021 champion Dylan Ferrandis are all seen as contenders for the 2026 title.
Two-time and defending series champ Jett Lawrence of Australia is seen as the favorite heading into the outdoor season. The 22-year-old Lawrence has been almost unbeatable the past three seasons when he hasn’t been hurt. His problem is that he’s been hurt a lot.
His brother Hunter, 26, has finished second and third in the final motocross standings over the past three seasons and finished just three points behind Ken Roczen in the recently-completed Supercross season. Roczen is not competing on the 2026 Motocross tour.
It’s Tomac who is considered the sentimental favorite. The four-time Motocross champion ranks second to Ricky Carmichael on the all-time list of combined Supercross/Motocross wins and is also second to Jeremy McGrath on the list of Supercross wins.
The 33-year-old Tomac got off to a fast start in Supercross this year after switching to KTM, although he slowed toward the end of the stadium campaign. Tomac has won both Supercross and Motocross season championships and most recently won the 2022 outdoor series after claiming three straight from 2017-19.
His teammate is Prada, a 25-year-old Spaniard who was the 2023 and 2024 European champion. But he struggled during his first season in the United State before returning to the KTM team that carried him to the European titles.
Ferrandis, 31 and from France, is considered the longshot of the seven contenders. But he is riding for Ducati, which is joining the Motocross series with a strong factory push. Riders from 12 different.
Sexton, 24, who won the Motocross title will also represent a different team (Kawasaki) in 2026.
But the rider everyone is watching is the 20-year-old Deegan, who is the son of freestyle motocross pioneer Brian Deegan. Haiden Deegan moves up to the featured 450cc class after dominating the 250cc support division.
The gates open at 7 a.m. Saturday. Practice and qualifying commences at 8 a.m. with the first of two motos starting at 1 p.m.