Ken Roczen crowns himself champion after nerve-wracking finale in Salt Lake City

Published On: 10 mei 2026

DThe grand finale of the Supercross season in Salt Lake City delivered spectacle, suspense, and a championship showdown where points were played with. Ken Roczen quickly took the lead, faced heavy pressure from Hunter Lawrence, and even had to let Chase Sexton pass in the closing stages. Yet, the German held his ground where it really mattered: in the battle for the title. Thanks to a strong opening phase and Lawrence's crash, Roczen secured the championship in a sold-out Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Everything the fans hoped for happened right after the start. Hunter Lawrence took the holeshot, but Ken Roczen quickly took the lead after an aggressive pass in the second corner. The two title rivals immediately opened up a small gap on the rest of the field, while Jorge Prado, Chase Sexton, and Justin Hill completed the top five.

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After a difficult day during qualifying and a crash in the heat race, Roczen seemed to have saved his best form perfectly for the final. The Suzuki rider rode tightly and controlled, building a lead of about one second over Lawrence after three laps. Nevertheless, the Australian continued to put constant pressure on the German without taking unnecessary risks himself.

The pace of both title contenders dropped slightly. Was it a tactical choice by Ken Roczen to slow down and let things converge, so that Hunter Lawrence wouldn't have to deal with him alone? The result was that halfway through the race, Jorge Prado caught up with the leading duo. The Spaniard increased the pace and forced Lawrence out of his comfortable rhythm. That extra pressure ultimately proved decisive.

In a crucial phase of the race, Roczen nearly went off track at a jump combination. Lawrence followed him in the same line and effectively went off track. Shortly afterwards, the Australian crumbled further under the pressure and crashed hard. The Honda rider dropped back to seventh place, seeing his title dreams go up in smoke.

With Lawrence out of the race, Roczen gained some breathing room again. Behind him, Prado moved up to second place, but not much later Chase Sexton came on strong. With five minutes left on the clock, Sexton took over second place and began chasing Roczen. In the closing stages, Roczen eventually had to relinquish the lead to Sexton. The German lost his flow, played it safe, and dropped back to fifth place, but because Lawrence finished no higher than seventh, Roczen remained at the top of the championship.

Justin Cooper took full advantage of Roczen's late drop and moved up to second place, while Jorge Prado completed the podium. Cooper Webb finished fourth. For Roczen, ultimately only one thing mattered: the title. And he claimed it after an intense and nerve-wracking finale! The first Supercross 450 title on his resume, a record already well-filled with, among others, an MX2 world title, a 250 West Coast Supercross title, a two-time 450 AMA Outdoor Motocross champion, and the Motocross of Nations title both individually and with Team Germany…

Photo: Chase Lennemann – pipesmotorsportsgroup.com