450 Storylines:

Eli Tomac

ELI TOMAC: Scored his 54th 450SX Class victory (2nd all-time) & 110th SMX League victory (3rd all-time). It was his 1st win in his 1st try on a KTM becoming the 8th athlete to win a 450SX Class round on orange. KTM now has 73 450SX Class wins & 192nd SMX League wins. Tomac becomes only the 2nd athlete to win a 450SX Class round on 4 different brands (Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, & KTM), matching Chad Reed (Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, & Suzuki). The 33-year old veteran was making his 185th 450SX Class start and 370th SMX League start and became the 2nd oldest 450SX Class winner in history, passing Mike LaRocco by 18 days. Justin Brayton holds the record at 33yrs & 11mos compared to Tomac at 33yrs & 1mos. Tomac moves into 10th all-time with 14 seasons with a 450SX Class start.

Ken Roczen

KEN ROCZEN: The 4-time Anaheim Opener winner scored his 8th podium & back-to-back runner-ups in the historic round. It was his 77th 450SX Class podium (7th all-time) & 164th SMX League podium (6th all-time). His 16th season with a 450SX Class start moves him into a tie for 5th all-time with Kyle Lewis & Nick Wey.

Jorge Prado

JORGE PRADO: Returning to the brand that he won multiple Championships on in MXGP action, Prado scored his best American finish and 1st podium with a third-place at the Anaheim Opener. He won his heat race before making his 7th 450SX Class start & 18th SMX League start. It was his 1st top-5 finish in 450SX Class action & 3rd in SMX League action, to go along with the two he scored in the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship.

Hunter Lawrence

NOTES: Hunter Lawrence (4th): After back-to-back troubling Anaheim Openers to start his 450SX Class career, including failing to qualify in ’24 and 11th last season, Lawrence captured a top-5 finish in this season’s edition. Jason Anderson (5th): Made his 12th straight Anaheim Opener start & earned his 8th top-5. He is 10th all-time with 96 450SX Class top-5 finishes. Cooper Webb (7th): Made his 140th 450SX Class start (17th all-time) but it was his worst Anaheim Opener finish since 2018. Austin Forkner (15th): 1st career 450SX Class start, 113th SMX League start. It was Triumph’s 1st ever 450SX Class start and 4th 450 SMX League start (Jackson Gray, 3 starts in 2025 Motocross Championship.

450 Venue Notes:

  • HISTORY LESSON: The first 450SX Class round held in San Diego was on October 25, 1980, in San Diego Stadium and was the season finale. It is one of just two October Supercross rounds in the history of the sport (1984, Oakland). Mike Bell (Yam) tacked on his 7th win of the season to punctuate his already clinched Championship. Chuck Sun (Hon) crashed with four laps remaining to give way to Bell. San Diego Stadium became Jack Murphy Stadium the next season and held the finale again, with Broc Glover (Yam) scoring the victory. In 1982 Jack Murphy Stadium held their third finale in a row and Glover cruised once again.
  • CHAMPIONSHIP %: The winner of San Diego has won the 450SX Class title in 17/42 (40%) rounds and none since Jason Anderson in 2018. The Murph was 14/31 (45%); PETCO Park was 3/8 (38%); and Snapdragon Stadium is now 0/3.
  • SUPERCROSS MAINSTAY: After a brief hiatus the series returned to San Diego as the Opener in 1985, won by Johnny O’Mara (Hon) with a 2-2 overall. Supercross returned to Jack Murphy every season through 2014, sans 1988 and 1997. The stadium has since been demolished and PETCO Park (MLB, SD Padres) hosted Supercross from 2015-2022, including twice in 2016. Jack Murphy Stadium hosted 31 rounds while PETCO Park hosted eight. When the series moved to the brand-new Snapdragon Stadium in 2023, it marked the 40th time Supercross visited San Diego. 2026 will mark #43.
  • SNAPDRAGON STADIUM: Brand new Snapdragon Stadium, home of the San Diego State Aztecs, was built near the site of The Murph and opened in 2022. It was the 63rd different venue to host a 450SX Class Supercross round and first new venue since Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2021. In 2023 Eli Tomac won the first Main Event in Snapdragon while Aaron Plessinger stole the show with his first 450SX Class victory in the 2024 edition. Tomac returned to the top-step in San Diego for his lone victory in the 2025 season.

250 Storylines:

Max Anstie

MAX ANSTIE: Earned his 4th career 250SX Class victory & back-to-back Divisional Opener wins. He also won the 2025 Eastern Divisional Opener in Tampa. He is the 15th 250SX Class Divisional athlete to win back-to-back openers, and just the 6th to do so on alternating coasts. He also becomes the oldest 250SX Class winner in class history, breaking John Dowd’s previous record by 1 day (Dowd- 32yr, 8mos, 15days; Anstie- 32yr, 8mos, 16days). It was Yamaha’s 141st 250SX Class victory & 606th SMX League victory. He was making his 40th 250SX Class start an 110th SMX League start.

Chance Hymas

CHANCE HYMAS: Nailed his2nd 250SX Class podium in 24th start. It was his 1st podium in dry conditions as he won the Foxborough mudder last season for his other podium. He nabbed his 7th SMX League podium making his 45th career SMX League start.

Ryder DiFrancesco

RYDER DIFRANCESCO: Career day in the office as Ryder grabbed his1st career 250SX Class podium in 13th start & 1st SMX League podium in 60th start. He had back-to-back top-5 finishes in the first two rounds last season but missed the rest of the season due to injury. DiFrancesco looks comfortable on the Husqvarna.

Haiden Deegan

NOTES: Haiden Deegan (4th): Even though he didn’t finish on the podium, it is a better start than both of his previous two Divisional Opener finishes. He was making his 30th 250SX Class start and made his 23rd top-5 finish. He seeks his 75th SMX League start & 50th SMX League podium in San Diego. Michael Mosiman (5th): Impressed with a 5th place finish after winning the LCQ. He seeks his 60th career 250SX Class start and 25th top-5 in San Diego. It was his 115th career SMX League start. Levi Kitchen (6th): Made his 25th career 250SX Class start & 80th career SMX League start. Avery Long (9th):1st career 250SX and SMX League top-10 finish.

250 Venue Notes:

  • HISTORY LESSON: Going into the 1985 Supercross season the AMA revamped the sport with the addition of 250SX Class racing (then 125cc). San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium would host the Opener and on January 26, 1985, the first 250SX Class round was held. Brian Manley (Hon) and Bobby Moore (Suz) won the first ever 250SX Class heat races, but it was the Kawasaki duo of Tyson Vohland and Todd Campbell battling it out in the Main Event. Vohland went down and settled for second, handing Campbell the first ever 250SX Class win.
  • 1986: The 1986 250SX Class round in San Diego proved just as exciting as the maiden round. The race came down to the final lap with Donny Schmit (Kaw) taking the victory over Willie Surratt (Hon) and Vohland (Kaw) by a thin margin. Schmit would eventually win the Western Divisional title over Surratt and Vohland after a tight title race.
  • THE MURPH/PETCO/SNAPDRAGON: 1987 San Diego featured Kyle Lewis (Hon) scoring his first of three victories that season while Surratt took the title without a single victory. The Murph hosted 28 250SX Class rounds and one in every 250SX Class season through 2014, sans 1988 and 1997. Just like the 450SX Class, the San Diego Supercross moved to PETCO Park from 2014-2022 for eight rounds and moved to Snapdragon Stadium for 2023. 2026 will be the 40th time the gate will drop for a 250SX Class round in San Diego and 4th in Snapdragon Stadium. Snapdragon Stadium was the 56th different venue to host a 250SX Class round when it debuted.
  • CHAMPIONSHIP %: The winner of San Diego has won the 250SX Class Western Divisional Championship in 17/39 (44%) rounds. The winner scored the title in 13/28 (46%) Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium rounds, 3/8 (38%) in PETCO Park, and are 1/3 in Snapdragon Stadium. Julien Beaumer broke out with his 1st career win last season to steal the red plate but failed to win the Championship.