Round two is either a let’s-run-it-back moment or a let’s-start-over scenario for pretty much every rider in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. For guys like Max Anstie, Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, Chance Hymas, Ryder D, and Jorge Prado, they just want to continue down the road that got them on the box at A1. They likely didn’t make big changes this week and just followed a routine they feel good about after confirmation at the opener. They slept well, had a pep in their step at the test track, and were all smiles to friends and loved ones. In other words, life is good this week.
The other side of this coin is Haiden Deegan, Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen, Aaron Plessinger, and—maybe most of all—Garrett Marchbanks. This is a tougher week for those guys (except for maybe AP; he’s always happy). They didn’t get the result they wanted and are likely seeking answers. That means rethinking the bike, their program, their life, the moon, the stars, their favorite color, etc. They likely stared at the ceiling for far too long before sleeping. They likely felt a burning, relentless desire to get back to a racetrack and undo the wrong that befell their opening round. There is nothing that will remove the ick other than a good result at the next race. Saturday simply can’t get here soon enough. Yes, they all know that it’s racing and one race is nothing in the grand scheme of the series. Still, it’s very tough to sit with the feeling of disappointment after so much anticipation. They have all worked far too hard to let themselves down with a subpar result.
Round two is no different than round one and no different than round nine. The same points are handed out at all of them, and they all carry the same amount of importance as far as dictating the success of a season. It doesn’t feel that way, though, and that’s the trick. If riders can remove the emotion and realize it’s just one race, good or bad, it will ease the pain of a bad day and allow for steady focus through a good day. The best quarterbacks in the NFL keep an even keel through a touchdown or an interception. Their approach remains the same regardless of the result. For those that did well or those that suffered, there’s a lesson there. Saturday is another chance, and just because January 10 went a certain way, that has no bearing on how January 17 will go.
For as much hype as Eli is getting for the win—and it is well deserved—a lot of others are talking about Chase Sexton‘s night. Yes, Sexton had some mistakes (not out of the norm) on Saturday night, but what a lot of fans are “thinking” is that it is the Kawasaki that is causing those mistakes because Prado podiums on a KTM the same night, and Sexton does not. That isn’t accurate. What is accurate is that every rider needs a feeling, and if that motorcycle doesn’t give him that feeling, then he’s going to struggle on the bike (and quite possibly mentally). Prado wanted to be on the KTM so badly he took a pay cut to be on that team—the Kawasaki didn’t gel with his style of riding. For his part, Sexton set the fastest qualifying time (also not shocking) and had the fastest segment one and segment five times in the main event. He was third fastest in the main, but mistakes (jumping off the track, etc.) cost him a P8. This isn’t shocking either. We have seen mistakes from Chase on Honda as well as KTM, so now if Chase makes a mistake on the Kawasaki, it’s on the bike? Nah, man, that’s not it.
Now, I am not here to wave the Sexton flag—that is our esteemed colleague Lewis Phillips’ job (just kidding)—but I do know that Chase can be the fastest rider out there, but sometimes he gets in his own way. Will he figure it out? I think he will. Could it be a little bike setup? Sure, it could. Maybe Chase and the team worked on the bike setup this week from early morning to sundown, and we see a P1 on Saturday night? I wouldn’t be shocked at that either.
The moral of the story here is that all of us fans need to calm down on so many “it’s-the-bike” themes for 2026. All of these bikes are great and are meant to be set up for each individual rider, not us. My KX450 in the garage is not #4’s bike. Sure, it’s the same color, but it’s about as different as my speed from Sexton’s. We both are human, but on the inside, we are built differently. Look for a HUGE rebound this weekend from Chase, just as we saw last year when Jett Lawrence went from 12th at A1 to second at San Diego to first at A2. Now, I am either going to look great next week after typing this or my DMs are going to be blown up with “you’re an idiot” or “I told you it was the bike!” Either way, I am happy supercross is back and we have some real race talk going on!