Published On: January 18, 2026
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Veteran Tomac certainly hasn't missed his season start. The newly minted Red Bull KTM rider secured his second victory in as many weekends and is now the commanding leader of the AMA 450 SX championship.

 

 

Heats: Sexton and Roczen

Jorge Prado's well-being was evident in Snapdragon Stadium, where the Spaniard secured the holeshot in the first heat. However, another heat win wasn't in the cards for the former world champion, who succumbed to Chase Sexton. The latter also seems to have found his groove on the Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450SR. Jason "El Hombre" Anderson finished third, while Honda riders Joey Savatgy and Hunter Lawrence rounded out the top five.

In the second heat, Ken Roczen grabbed the holeshot. The Suzuki rider would lead Eli Tomac authoritatively for nine laps. Aaron Plessinger finished third. Dylan Ferrandis and Christian Craig rounded out the top five.

LCQ: Mitchell Harrison

No big names in the Last Chance Qualifier, except that Triumph factory rider Austin Forkner was in the repechage. However, Forkner crashed at the start and was forced to retire. Harlan grabbed the holeshot in the LCQ but then had to concede to Mitchell Harrison and Kevin Moranz. Max Miller was the last to advance to the final.

Finale: Eli Tomac

For the 2026 season, KTM USA put everything on the 450 class, and that strategy seems to be paying off. Eli Tomac took the win for the second consecutive week. Anyone expecting the Cortez, Colorado, native to slow down a bit with the Austrians will be disappointed. But it certainly wasn't easy there in Snapdragon Stadium.

Chase Sexton accelerated a bit too early, causing him to crash into the starting gate. Hunter Lawrence, however, performed well. The Australian HRC Honda star grabbed the holeshot ahead of Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac, and Jason Lawrence. Roczen briefly went off track in the whoops section, but continued to chase Hunter. The German veteran even passed the Australian. Tomac was hot on the trail just behind the struggling leading duo. The winner of 'A1' made short work of Lawrence and then went after Roczen. Tomac quickly closed the gap on the German and even passed him, but Roczen quickly retaliated. The ensuing duel between the two veterans was among the best in recent years. Ultimately, Roczen succumbed to Tomac, but also to Lawrence.

AMA 450 SX, San Diego – Results:

Finish: 1 Eli Tomac (KTM) 24 ronden, 2 Hunter Lawrence (HON) +1.307, 3 Ken Roczen (SUZ) +2.924, 4 Chase Sexton (KAW) +18.351, 5 Joey Savatgy (HON) +20.096, 6 Justin Cooper (YAM) +22.456, 7 Aaron Plessinger (KTM) +24.420, 8 Cooper Webb (YAM) +32.631, 9 Dylan Ferrandis (DUC) +41.640, 10 Malcolm Stewart (HUS) +43.403, 11 Jason Anderson (SUZ) +46.834, 12 RJ Hampshire (HUS) +48.330, 13 Jorge Prado (KTM) +49.534, 14 Justin Hill (KTM) +50.181, 15 Christian Craig (HON) +53.104, 16 Colt Nichols (SUZ) +54.707, 17 Vince Friese (KAW) +1 Rnd., 18 Shane McElrath (HON) +1 Rnd., 19 Kevin Moranz (KTM) +1 Rnd., 20 Mitchell Harrison (KAW) +1 Rnd., 21 Grant Harlan (KTM) +1 Rnd., 22 Max Miller (KAW) +2 Rnd.

AMA 450 SX standings (after 2 rounds): 1 Eli Tomac (KTM) 50, 2 Ken Roczen (SUZ) 42, 3 Hunter Lawrence (HON) 40, 4 Chase Sexton (KAW) 32, 5 Justin Cooper (YAM) 32, 6 Cooper Webb (YAM) 29, 7 Jason Anderson (SUZ) 28, 8 Aaron Plessinger (KTM) 27, 9 Jorge Prado (KTM) 26, 10 Joey Savatgy (HON) 26

 

Photos: KTM Media Library/Align Media

Video: YouTube.com/Monster Energy Supercross