Not only has Chase Sexton returned to 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, but he has returned to the 450SX podium for the first time since his Anaheim 2 triumph. Sexton, the second-place finisher at the eleventh stop in Detroit, sat with Vital MX's Lewis Phillips after the race and unpacked his path to this point, bike set-up, mental shifts and MXGP. The FIM Motocross World Championship occupies the final ten minutes of this interview (or should that be podcast). This discussion is, as always, lighthearted and informal. Different from any other interviews in the paddock, this offers an unprecedented look into bike changes and the life of a racer. Rather than criticize, I ask that you enjoy the rare insight. Sexton details the path back to a more stock platform in a fashion that should be enjoyable for all of the technical fans in the world, for instance.
Hunter Lawrence is remaining positive after his huge crash in the whoops left him with an 18th place but, luckily, he walked away uninjured and just four points behind Eli Tomac in the championship.
Hunter said: “My day was a bit of a bittersweet one. The qualifying race went really well, and I was happy with everything—the bike, the team, myself, everything felt great. I was feeling really good in the main event and was honestly feeling so comfortable. I was really happy with where I was, and I made a push to the front and was catching Kenny and Chase. I just got caught by surprise with the crash at the end of the whoops. I was okay, but the bike took some unfortunate damage. It’s just racing, sometimes that happens, and I had to pull into the mechanics’ area. I crashed two more times just due to the front brake locking on, so that was difficult to bring home but I think we managed two points. It was a difficult situation, but we’re still in it and can’t wait to bounce back next weekend.”
While Lars Lindstrom opined: “We’ve had a great 450 season so far, with not a lot of difficulties, which is represented by our run of finishes inside the top four at every event so far this year up until now. It wouldn’t be very normal to have a season without some adversity, so although we gave up a lot of points tonight, we’re still in a great position for the championship. The way that Hunter has been riding gives me a lot of confidence that we’re still in the driver’s seat. Most important, he wasn’t injured and is more motivated than ever to win more races. Jo wasn’t himself tonight, which I think was a combination of the track, and him not feeling 100% physically. Hopefully he can get a good week of training in and come out swinging in St. Louis. Both Hunter and Jo won there in September for the SMX race, so we have good vibes going into this coming weekend.”
American superstar racer and YouTube sensation Carson Brown is set to make a welcome return to the UK this summer, lining up at VMXdN Hawkstone over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The Red Bull-backed ace was one of the standout performers at last year’s Foxhill event and is already fired up to tackle the iconic Hawkstone Park circuit in 2026. Known for its deep, naturally sandy terrain, the Shropshire venue is a proper rider’s track - and one that is sure to appeal to the popular American.
Brown will again be mounted on a Stolen Yamaha and is set for a busy weekend, contesting both the Wright Engineering Team Race and the 125 Over-25 class. On the smaller-capacity machine in particular, he’s guaranteed to be box office—expect plenty of revs, commitment and no shortage of style.
Behind the scenes, team owner Anthony Revell is putting together something special for Brown’s Team Race effort, with further details expected in the build-up to the event.
While Brown will be in the UK for a week filming content for his hugely popular YouTube channel—sampling everything from the weird to the wonderful—once the gate drops, it’s all business. On track he’s all intensity, but off it his relaxed, approachable nature has made him a firm fan favourite with the Hawkstone crowd.
VMXdN Hawkstone 2026 marks the event’s long-awaited debut at the legendary Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit, running from August 27-30. The four-day festival celebrates the golden era of two-stroke motocross, bringing together international legends and top modern talent racing genuine 90s and 00s machinery.
With open paddocks, a packed trade village, the ever-popular Show’N’Shine and the headline-grabbing International Team Race, the event continues to cement its status as one of the most unique fixtures on the UK motocross calendar.
Camping is limited and expected to sell out, so fans are urged to secure tickets early. For more information and bookings, head to the official VMXdN Hawkstone website.
The world of Motocross and off-road Motorcycling lost one of its biggest early stars this week, as British legend Jeffrey Vincent Smith MBE passed away at his home in Wisconsin, USA, at the age of 91.
Jeff Smith was one of the best all-round off-road riders of his generation, accomplished in Trials and Scrambles from an early age, and won two Motocross World Championships for British manufacturer BSA in the mid-1960s. Nearly 60 years after his last victory, he still has more Grand Prix wins to his name than any other British rider. He was the last racer to win a Motocross World Championship on a British machine, and the last four-stroke rider to achieve the feat until Jacky Martens in 1993. He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1970 for services to off-road motorcycle sport, and inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in the year 2000 for his contribution to the sport in the USA. The man from Lancashire in the north of England left a permanent mark on our sport, which is all the better for his presence in its history.
Born in 1934 in the town of Colne, just north of the city of Manchester, he took to playing on two wheels from the age of nine, learning his craft by riding around the field behind his boyhood home until it was dark outside. He became a noted rider at the age of 16, earning a Gold medal in the 1950 ISDT, the forerunner to the modern International Six Days Enduro, at the age of just 16. At the time, the BSA factory was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, and he was hired as an apprentice engineer as well as a rider.
This mechanical acumen served him well throughout his life, but his skills with the handlebars made him a household name on the nationally televised and hugely popular Trials and Motocross scene. Twice a British Trials Champion, as well as a winner of the prestigious Scottish Six Days Trial that still runs to this day, he won his first ever Grand Prix on debut as a 20-year-old through the deep sand of the Dutch Markelo circuit in 1954, part of what was still called the European Motocross Championship.
A BSA rider throughout his career, despite the rise of the two-stroke machine making it tough to compete, his meticulous preparation helped his cause, rarely suffering breakdowns and being consistent as well as fast. He won six GPs in pre-World Championship competition, including four in the 250cc class, and 24 further events with World Championship status. He was a member of seven winning Motocross des Nations teams and two Trophée des Nations squads, when the two events were held solely for 500cc and 250cc machines respectively. He was also a British Motocross champion a total of nine times.
He went on to earn eight ISDT Gold Medals in total, and recognised the potential of the sport in North America, regularly competing in early events and winning a round of the Trans-AMA series at the age of 36 in 1970. He eventually found his home there, initially hired by Can-Am at their headquarters in Quebec, Canada, and his guidance took them to a sweep of the Championship podium in the AMA 250cc National Championship in 1974. He still competed in the occasional Enduro event well into his forties!
Heavily involved in the management of vintage racing until he reached retirement age, he will always be remembered as one of the father figures of British and World Motocross, and the sport will globally mourn his passing. RIP, good sir.
Unfortunate news for the Triumph Factory Racing Team as they put out an update on both Jalek Swoll and Austin Forkner. Swoll pulled off during qualifying in Birmingham for what was first reported as an ankle injury. Unfortunately, it turned out to be another Achilles injury for Jalek, that will require surgery. This is after missing all of Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the start of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in 2025 due to an Achilles injury, and then hurting it again just a few races into his comeback. Swoll has said this injury is to his other Achilles.
As for Austin Forkner who broke his hand on press day before Houston, the team said he will also be having surgery on his hand. This leaves Jordon Smith, who got ninth in Birmingham in 450SX, as the sole rider under the Triumph tent.
HRC factory rider, Tom Vialle won his first MXGP overall in just his third attempt, after storming through the field in the second moto to back-up his victory in the first moto. Starting from 18th gate-pick, the Honda HRC PETRONAS rider powered away to lead the whole of race one, showing his speed on a tricky Frauenfeld track.
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“I actually had a really bad Saturday," Vialle would say. "Not many people know, but my foot got stuck between the sprocket and the chain, so I had to stop and get it out. Today was completely different. The conditions helped with the start, and in the first race I led from the first lap to the end and felt great. The track was really tricky, but when you’re in front you can ride your own race. The second race was tougher, I had a bad start, a crash, and had to come back to sixth. I didn’t even realise I was winning overall, but it feels amazing. It was a tough weekend, so it’s good to bounce back like this.”
He wasn’t able to repeat that in race two though and instead had to come from outside the top 20 to power his way to sixth place. It was a remarkable comeback that surprised even the Frenchman as he didn’t know he’d won the Swiss GP until he got behind the podium.
It was a crazy turn of events, which showed that the rookie MXGP rider is already a force to be reckoned with, especially as he can make the necessary passes on what is traditionally a difficult track to move through the field. This victory now sees him to within seven points of the title-lead and after three completely different terrains, he is proving he will be a threat at every round.
"I really didn’t know that I had won when I crossed the line. I thought I’d be on the podium because other riders didn’t have two good scores, but I just wanted to try and pass as many guys as possible in that second moto. Still, it is a very cool to have won the GP, my first in the MXGP class and my first with this new team and hopefully the first of many. It was a very tricky circuit and not something I’m used to, but I kept fighting until the end and while I did make a couple of mistakes, it is good to know that I have been at the front in three different types of track."
On the Saturday Vialle finished outside of the points in 18th place after looking poised to finish inside the top five. In wet conditions, the Frenchman’s foot slipped and got caught in his tyre, causing him to lose a number of positions as he untangled himself.
After another incident, he eventually crossed the line in 18th, which isn’t what he was hoping for at the beginning of a weekend where he was hopeful of challenging near the front of the field. Still, his starting prowess always gives him a chance, and all four riders will be motivated to score good points in tomorrow’s two motos when conditions could be similarly grim for this third MXGP of the season.
"Not really very happy at all with how the day ended. Never nice to be involved those sort of incidents, and now I’ll really have to get some good starts to stand a chance. It isn’t an easy track to ride, and with the rain, it made it really slippery and even trickier. I just need to focus on myself and making it happen because I really don’t think I was too far off the pace of the leaders."
Now onto Sardinia in two weeks time, for round four of the title chase and you just know that Vialle, in his rookie season in MXGP will want to continue what has been a sensational start to his 450 career.
With two rounds of the 2026 MXGP World Championship completed, the factory Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team has made a strong and consistent start to the season. Team manager Joel Smets, a five-time world champion himself, is overseeing a line-up that combines the reigning MX2 world champion Simon Längenfelder with the exciting step up of Andrea Adamo into the premier MXGP class.
After unfamiliar and technical tracks at the opening rounds in Argentina and Andalusia, both riders have delivered solid results as they build momentum early in the championship. Smets reflects on Längenfelder’s consistent start, Adamo’s impressive adaptation to the 450, and the dynamic of working with a reigning world champion for the first time.
The Belgian also shares insight into the challenge of defending a title, drawing from his own experience as a multiple world champion, and offers his thoughts on the sensational form of fellow countryman Lucas Coenen after a dominant performance in Spain.
We caught up with Smets as he discusses his riders’ early-season form, the process of learning how to win championships, and the evolving landscape of the MXGP paddock.
GateDrop: Joel, we are two rounds into the championship – steady and consistent, are you happy with both your riders so far this season?
Smets: Yes, absolutely happy how the season has been going for us so far. I just said to the riders also in our debriefing, two tracks we didn’t know, two tracks quite sketchy I would say, but our riders handled it very well. At these tracks, if you don’t have the feeling with it, you better be careful. In Argentina Simon had the feeling, he nailed it, he won it. This weekend he didn’t have that perfect feeling, he enjoyed himself going 3-3. I call it the Ryan Dungey result, that’s how you win championships, so really happy with that.
For Andrea coming into the season, it is his maiden season in the 450 class, we knew it was going to be… not everyone is like Lucas Coenen let’s say. You need to learn a little bit, but the way he’s coping with it, again on those two difficult tracks, even more on the 450, I think than on the 250, he did very well. I am really pleased with how the team has been going so far.
GateDrop: Obviously you’ve worked with Andrea for many years now, Simon, it’s the first time he’s been on your team, obviously he’s a world champion so you don’t need to teach him how to ride a bike, but what’s he been like to work with?
Smets: Every rider has his own character, so you need to get to know each other a little bit. Back in the days when Simon was with the German Diga Procross Gas Gas team, he was already kind of part of our training group, so he was not completely new to me. I knew him a little bit, but so far that’s going good. I really like to, let’s say, analyse characters and find out where I can bring something extra, how I can make them stronger and stuff like that. It’s clear that I’m still in that discovering phase, in the exploring phase. The results have shown that it’s working pretty good so far.
GateDrop: You know how to win world titles, you won five yourself, Simon’s only won one, but the second one would you say is harder to win than the first one? The last person to defend the title is Jorge Prado…
Smets: I think it’s a bit of common knowledge that winning a championship is not easy, but defending it and making it up is more difficult. I’m lucky enough to have experience with that, so I’ll definitely give him the right tips at the right moments.
GateDrop: With Andrea, how have you found him on the 450? I mean, sometimes I feel like Andrea maybe needs a year in a class before you see the best of him, but he’s really took to this 450cc well and he’s pretty much got the speed already…
Smets: We’re really pleased with how Andrea has adapted to the 450cc. To be honest, we were kind of worried, let’s say, because of his riding style on the 450cc, he was more the attacking guy, more the aggressive guy, more the guy that was revving the bike hard and stuff like that. I was kind of concerned like how that was going work, but of course over the winter, my first goal with him was to get him a bit lower with the RPM’s and to make him understand how a 450 is ridden. He’s a quick learner, he really listens very well, he analyses well, and I think the first races have shown that. I think we can even say that he rides the 450cc better than he did the 250cc.
GateDrop: And Lucas Coenen, a quick word on him, I mean he was on a different postcode today, unbelievable…
Smets: He’s shown that already last year at several locations, when I was talking earlier about feeling it and feeling it with the bike and the track, he felt it today and when he feels it, wow, he’s on another level. He’s Belgian so it makes me proud also.
Ferry Takes Out Brown: Penalized Five Championship Points, Goes into Negatives
Evan Ferry might have made history at the Birmingham Supercross, in a not-so-good way. The second-generation rider took out Pierce Brown in the 250SX East Division heat race in the turn after the finish line jump, sending both riders to the ground in the move. Neither rider would transfer directly to the 250SX East/West Showdown main event, both going to the last chance qualifier (LCQ) race.
In the LCQ, Brown finished second behind his rookie teammate Caden Dudney, qualifying into the main event. Unfortunately, Ferry finished 16th in the LCQ and did not qualify for the main event.
After the race, Ferry was given an aggressive riding penalty. He was fined and penalized two license points (again, those are new this year), as well as being penalized five championship points.
The only problem is, in his two main events so far this season (21st in Daytona and 20th in Indianapolis), Ferry only has three total points. So, this five-point penalty points him at negative two championship points on the season. This has to be the first time in history for this to happen, right?
Haiden Deegan Penalized One Position for Cutting Through Split Lane Section, Birmingham Showdown Win Credited to Cole Davies
We have a post-race shakeup from the first 250SX East/West Showdown race of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. In arguably his best 250cc race to date, Haiden Deegan charged from outside the top ten off the start to take the race win in our first showing of both 250SX divisions together. It was Deegan’s sixth straight win of the season and his second career 250SX East/West Showdown.
However, Deegan was caught on camera splitting and cutting through the track markers on the split lane section, which has been noted as not a legal move. Deegan was seen on the Peacock broadcast running over the white track markers moving from the left (outside) section into the right (inside) section, which was reviewed by the race direction crew of AMA officials. The results now show a one-position penalty for Deegan.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammates Deegan and Cole Davies finished 1-2, with Deegan besting Davies, but the penalty to Deegan now credits Davies with the race win on the results page. This mean Davies is now on a two-race win streak in 250SX East.
Monday, March 30, 2026 at 3:26PM 
