| CLEVELAND (April 18, 2026) – For the first time in three decades the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship visited the shores of Lake Erie, where an enthusiastic crowd inside Huntington Bank Field braved rain showers, cold temperatures, and swirling winds for Round 14 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship. The conditions were certainly a factor as the 450SMX Class title fight took yet another dramatic turn in what has become a historic season for the sport’s premier crown. A wild afternoon of racing saw Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen prevail with his fourth win of the year following an unbeatable level of consistency across all three races that brought him within a single point of the championship lead after an adversity plagued effort for Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence. |
| The first of three 12 Minutes + 1 Lap premier class races told a very different story from the final outcome as Lawrence started out front with the holeshot and early lead over Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper and Roczen. The clear track paid big dividends for Lawrence as he established a multi-second advantage over the field that proved to be insurmountable. Behind him, Roczen made the pass on Cooper for second and after a brief push forward elected to settle into the position. Lawrence went unchallenged and began the afternoon with a wire-to-wire win by a margin of 5.4 seconds over Roczen, with Cooper in third. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Start followed in fourth, while Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb rounded out the top five. The field was forced to navigate a wet racetrack, a light drizzle, and increased wind for Race 2, which started with Cooper edging out Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton for the holeshot to grab the early lead. An intense early battle for third unfolded between Stewart, Roczen, and Webb, from which Webb got the upper hand. Lawrence, meanwhile, fought his way forward from a start deep in the top 10. The intensity picked up from Roczen, who made a move on Webb for third and then charged by Sexton for second. Sexton regrouped and fought back to reclaim the position, which helped Cooper open a lead of more than five seconds. Sexton, Roczen, and Webb continued their fight as Roczen once again got by Sexton with less than 30 seconds remaining. Out front, Cooper completed a wire-to-wire effort of his own by a margin of two seconds over Roczen, with Sexton third and Webb fourth. Lawrence fought his way forward to finish fifth, well back of the lead group. The third and deciding race began with Roczen out front for the holeshot and early lead over Webb, Sexton, and Cooper while Lawrence emerged in eighth. Roczen dropped the hammer in the opening laps and sprinted out to a five-second lead over Webb, while Sexton and Cooper settled into third and fourth, respectively. As he looked to move forward Lawrence crashed in the whoops and fell outside the top 10, reentering the race in 14th place. Back up front, Cooper crashed while running fourth and reentered in ninth, which moved Quad Lock Honda’s Shane McElrath into fourth. A couple laps later, Lawrence crashed again as he looked to move back into the top 10 and dropped to 14th once more. Out front, Roczen ran away from the field to put the finishing touch on his winning performance by a margin of 8.7 seconds over Webb, while Team Tedder Racing KTM’s Justin Hill passed Sexton on the final lap for third. Cooper recovered for seventh, while Lawrence soldiered home in 14th. An incredibly consistent effort for Roczen easily brought him the overall win with five points on 2-2-1 finishes, as his 27th career victory has moved him into a tie for 10th on the all-time wins list. Webb (5-4-2) and Cooper (3-1-7) finished in a tie for the runner-up spot, six points behind Roczen with 11 points apiece. Webb earned the edge over Cooper by virtue of the Race 3 tiebreaker. Lawrence’s misfortune in the final race relegated him to sixth overall with 20 points on 1-5-14 finishes. As a result, his points lead went from 10 points to just a single point over Roczen with three races remaining. The battle for the championship could be down to a two-rider affair after Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac was forced to miss the Triple Crown following a crash in qualifying that left him with a hip injury. Tomac’s absence allowed Webb to move into third, 22 points out of the lead, while Tomac is now fourth, 31 points back. |
| Ken Roczen – 1st Place – 450SMX Class “Wow. I had no idea I was one point back [in the championship]. I am so blown away with the gamble we took with the weather. It was supposed to be clear for the last two races, but it kept raining. That affected my decision with goggles, and I kept sticking with roll-offs just to be safe. After I got the holeshot in the last race I had a clear track and just felt really comfortable. Once I had a gap, I just made sure I didn’t do anything silly. I’m just so grateful I’m able to ride like this.” |
| Cooper Webb – 2nd Place – 450SMX Class “What a crazy day. Qualifying was great, then the rain came and we had the Triple Crown. I rode bad in the first race but got better for the last two. I didn’t think I had a chance for the podium after the first two [races], so I rode free in the last one. Kenny [Roczen] rode those first laps like it was dry and got away. I was a distant second. Overall, I’m happy with it. We had a good day.” |
| Justin Cooper – 3rd Place – 450SMX Class “This track was very tricky, and things could go wrong very quickly. I’m happy to get up from the crash unscathed, the concrete hurt. Just glad to be up on the podium still [despite the crash]. I spun off the gate but somehow came out top five and then had that crash. It was a bummer to go down and give away a spot [overall] but just thankful I’m okay. It was still a great night.” |
Cooper Webb, Ken Roczen, and Justin Cooper |
| Hunter Lawrence – 6th Place – 450SMX Class “I had a bad start and just made it tough on myself. Another rider checked up and I went down. It was a bit of a [expletive] night at the office. We’ll come back next weekend in Philly.” |
