Billy Bolt Extends SuperEnduro Lead with Belgrade Masterclass

Round five of the 2026 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, saw Billy Bolt continue his commanding performance this season to take the overall victory ahead of Mitch Brightmore and Eddie Karlsson, with the trio emerging as the top three in the Prestige classification after an intense night of racing.

Once again, Bolt was in a class of his own, claiming SuperPole and sweeping all three finals to secure a maximum 63 points. Brightmore’s consistency across the three races earned him second overall on 47 points, while Karlsson’s solid results throughout the night saw him complete the overall podium with 44 points.

The action began in SuperPole, where Bolt laid down a flawless lap to take the three bonus points on offer. Jonny Walker secured second in the session to bank two valuable points as the title contenders set the early benchmark.

Race 1 saw Bolt exit the opening corner in fifth, while Walker launched well and slotted into fourth. Bolt wasted little time moving forward, climbing to second within the opening lap before executing a decisive pass for the lead. From there, he edged clear to take the win in 7:02.681. Brightmore capitalised to finish second in 7:05.330, with Walker regrouping after minor mistakes to secure third.

The reverse-grid Race 2 intensified the battle. Both Bolt and Walker started from the second row and were forced to carve their way through traffic. Walker surged into the lead fight and briefly took control, while Brightmore and Karlsson kept themselves firmly in contention. Bolt methodically worked his way forward and, after seizing the lead at mid-race, managed a fierce multi-rider battle before stretching clear late to win. Karlsson’s consistent pace earned him second, with Toby Martyn third, while contact with another rider dropped Walker to fifth by the chequered flag.

Race 3 delivered early drama when a first-corner pile-up disrupted the field, catching Bolt in the chaos, while Walker avoided the incident and remained inside the top five. Bolt mounted another charge through the pack, rejoining the leaders within two laps before advancing to second with three minutes remaining. A decisive late move secured his third win of the night. Brightmore finished second, with Karlsson third, results that ultimately locked in second and third overall for the round.

“We’re finished here in Belgrade, and it’s been a perfect night with maximum points, so I can’t complain,” Bolt said. “The starts weren’t great, which definitely made things more interesting, but in a way I enjoyed the battles. It’s good to be racing closely with the other guys because you can always learn something and take positives from those situations. Even with the tougher starts, my overall speed felt strong and I was able to stay calm, make the right moves, and manage the races well. The team did a great job all night and the bike was working perfectly. To come away with 63 points and extend the championship lead is exactly what we wanted. Now I’m really looking forward to Newcastle and racing in front of the home crowd.”

Walker’s 3-5-5 results gave him fifth overall for the round with 39 points, keeping him second in the championship standings despite a challenging night that included late-race contact and a hand injury.

“Just finished up here in Serbia and overall, the speed was definitely there tonight,” Walker said. “I felt competitive and strong, especially in race two when I was right in the fight for the lead. Unfortunately, I went down with a lapper and hurt my hand, which made the final race a bit of a struggle. It’s frustrating because I felt like we had the pace to be right at the front, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ll get it checked with some x-rays tomorrow and focus on recovering properly, and hopefully I’ll be good to go for Newcastle.”

Overall in Belgrade, Bolt topped the standings with 63 points, followed by Brightmore on 47 and Karlsson on 44, with Martyn fourth on 41 and Walker fifth on 39.

After five of seven rounds, Bolt leads the championship on 312 points, with Walker second on 227 and Brightmore third on 216. Karlsson sits fourth on 197, Martyn is fifth on 138, while Josep Garcia holds 10th on 99 and Manuel Lettenbichler 11th on 89.

The championship now heads to Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, on February 28, where Bolt has the opportunity to clinch the title on home soil as the fight behind him for podium positions continues to intensify.

Webb... Does Hunter Lawrence Owe Me Rent?

Honda Not Happy With AMA Red Flag Decision

In response to the AMA's decision to not hand out penalties following red cross flag and red light incidents from the Arlington Supercross, the Honda HRC Progressive factory race team has issued a sternly-worded press release recapping the race weekend. In addition to the usual recap from riders Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda and Team Manager Lars Lindstrom, senior management has weighed in on the situation. Those quotes and the thoughts of Lindstrom are below.

Lars Lindstrom: Team Manager

“This was a huge morale boost for the team, but it was another bittersweet night even though the result was fantastic. The bittersweet part is being on the short end of the stick when it comes to other riders jumping on red flashing lights and red-cross flags. In the past, we’ve been penalized more than any other team for this—some deserved, some we didn’t agree with at all. In this case, it was clear to us that there were penalties necessary, which should have given us the win in 250s, and dramatically increased our 450 points lead. The team, Honda management, and I are absolutely infuriated that there wasn’t more done in this situation after what has happened to us in the past for the same things. I am very disappointed with this decision, and we will be fighting hard to have it overturned.”

Brandon Wilson: Manager, Racing & Experiential Marketing

“First of all, congratulations to Hunter and Jo. They both rode amazingly, and they made perfect, high-stakes, split-second decisions in the heat of battle. They should receive every benefit that they’re entitled to. Instead, their accomplishments are being partially diluted by mistakes or poor decisions outside their control. In the past, our team has been on the losing end of red-flag-related penalties more often than we would like. While that was frustrating, we could at least understand that the rules were being applied. Now, suddenly the rulebook is being ignored in favor of tortured explanations about nuanced situations. Moving forward, we must get to a place where the rules are being enforced consistently, regardless of the rider or team involved. For the safety of all riders, and to ensure that our sport is respected as a legitimate, professional operation, we are committed to being a part of the solution, and we will work with all relevant parties to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Jeremy McGuire: Senior Manager, Customer Engagement

“Over the course of the past few AMA seasons, I think it’s inarguable that Honda has been held to a different standard when it comes to application of the rules, and I’m honestly not sure why that is. Whatever the reason, this weekend was the icing on the cake, with the same on-track situation being interpreted in two totally opposite ways, with the only consistency being that our riders were the ones disadvantaged—despite the fact that they were the ones to correctly follow the letter and spirit of the rules! The situation is very confusing for us—let alone the riders on the track. I want to be clear that I stand by our team management and our riders 100% in their efforts to do the right thing according to the rulebook that is provided to us by the sport’s sanctioning body."

Hodaka History...The Little Engine That Could

Hodaka: How a Fertilizer Company Built America’s Trail Bike Craze? Hodaka shouldn’t have happened. A fertilizer company in Oregon, a busted import deal, and a tiny Japanese engine shop somehow built the Ace 90, the $379 trail bike that gave America more for the money than the Big Four ever dared. Then came the Ace 100, the Super Rat, the wild story-ads, and that Baja proof run… before Shell takeovers, recession, yen shock, and bad timing erased it all. This is the rise, the fall, and the question we still ask today: how in the hell did that happen?

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The Bullet talks

Tommy Searle got to catch up with former rival turned friend, Jeffrey Herlings, while both riders were out in Spain and as usual it was an entertaining chat! And Herlings explained why he still rides so much!

“We ride a lot of days, like five days a week. I know it’s a lot, but the only thing I can do is cycle besides that, go to the gym. Cause I freakin’ shattered both feet, did my knee, did my hip, did basically anything else. So like, I can’t run. So I basically can ride, I can cycle, I can go to the gym, I can do some rowing and stuff like that, but I can’t run.”

Jammin...As It Was

Still Jammin’

By Kent Taylor

In last week’s issue of Cycle News, Archives reflected on the famous Houston Astrodome hosting the AMA’s top dirt track racers in the 1972 TT and Short Track competition. The Astrodome welcomed all types of motorcycle racing, and for several years, the ’Dome was home to AMA Supercross, as well. In 1976, the newly named Supercross series (Cycle News called it “Astro-cross” in its 1974 coverage of the event) stopped by to race in the eighth wonder of the world.

Race-day formats for Supercross and motocross were as fluid as five-weight fork oil in the 1970s. Three motos? Two motos? What was the best format for determining who was the best rider on the track that day? Today’s Supercross stars battle their way through heats for a one-moto final, except for a few Triple Crown events to mix things up, but in 1976, the AMA experimented with an unusual four-moto program. Two motos on Friday, two more on Saturday, with all finishes counting toward overall positions.

Cycle News estimated the crowd at 80,000 for the two nights of racing, and those fans were treated to some knuckle-bustin’ Texas bar bangin’ on a track that CN called a “tight and twisty one-minute serpentine that offered few passing opportunities to the timid.”

Like dirt tracking in 1972, Pro Motocross racing was undergoing a metamorphosis of its own in 1976. Early ’70s stars like Mark Blackwell, Gary Jones, Mike Runyard and others had either disappeared or were fading fast from the scene. Youngsters like Marty Smith, Tony DiStefano and Bob Hannah were the new young cats on the prowl. There was still, however, one old lion in the jungle: Team Kawasaki rider Jim Weinert remained one of the sport’s fastest and most consistent riders, as well as one of the oldest racers on the track.

In 2026, AMA Supercross is being dominated by veterans. Youngsters born in this century are eating roost from seasoned pros who, while not quite eligible for the early bird special at Denny’s, are still all on the wiser side of 30. Thanks to 21st-century training techniques, healthy food choices or just good genes, some of the best riders in the sport are even old enough to remember two-strokes.

A half-century ago, however, motocross was a young buck’s game. Smith, DiStefano and Hannah had yet to reach their 20th birthdays at the time of the Houston race. At age 24, Jim Weinert was considered a graybeard in the dirt.

Weinert, considered the “old guy,” beat the rising stars in Houston and went on to win the Supercross Championship.

“The Jammer,” it seemed, had been around forever, but as Indiana Jones told Marion Ravenwood “It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.” By 1976, he had already won two AMA 500cc National Championships, a Trans-AMA victory, and had four factory rides—with two teams. Weinert went from Yamaha to Kawasaki, where he won his first title, then back to Yamaha, where he successfully defended it, only to lose his job through no fault of his own.

Many years after his career ended, Weinert was finally able to tell the story. “Bill Buchka, who was my mechanic at Yamaha, wanted to go to Europe in 1976. At the end of ’75, he told them that they were going to send us there or we weren’t re-signing.”

“I didn’t even want to go to Europe,” Weinert says, in a worked-up, New Yorker’s voice of defiance. “I didn’t even know about this. So, when I finally talked to Yamaha, they said they were moving on. They said, ‘Maybe we can give you a production bike for 1976.’”

Decades had passed since that encounter, but the animation in Weinert’s voice brings it back around, and the words still sting. His response to Yamaha’s somewhat disingenuous offer was “No thank you.” Or something like that.

Weinert had already gone from yellow to green once before, and he found the doors were open for him one more time at Kawasaki. Could the old man of motocross, switching rides for the third time in four years, fend off the pretenders to the throne at Houston?

The answer would come quickly: negative. Though he had briefly circulated in fourth place, Weinert and his Kawasaki had faded to seventh by the end of the first moto. Suzuki rider Tony DiStefano had taken the win, with Husky rider Kent Howerton in second, and it appeared as if one of these two would stand atop the victory podium, along with Can-Am rider Jimmy Ellis, who also showed winning speed. What do you get for seventh place? Maybe a Kewpie doll?

But when the gate fell for Friday night’s second moto, there was Weinert’s number-four Kawasaki battling for the lead. DiStefano, the 250cc champion and Smith, number one on the 125s, spent the next 20 minutes looking for a way around the 500cc king, to no avail, and Weinert took the win.

He would pick up where he left off when the racing returned on Saturday night, leading the first moto from start to finish for an easy victory over Ellis. The overall, however, was still Tony DiStefano’s to lose. Which is exactly what he did.

“Tony D thought he jumped the gate,” CN wrote, “[and] slowed for a restart.” But no restart was called, and the Suzuki rider would then proceed to crash three times during a frenzied ride to get back to the front, eventually finishing 14th. He would get it back together for a win in the final moto, with Weinert playing it safe for second. The Jammer’s 7-1-1-2 topped DiStefano’s 1-2-14-1.

Weinert would go on to capture the 1976 Supercross Championship and win many more races before calling it a career in 1980 at the wizened age of 28. Today, he operates the Jimmy Weinert Motocross Training Facility in Jones County, North Carolina. New riders are learning how to jam—from the original Jammer himself! CN

Tomac On Championship Fight: “We’re all really consistent”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac finished second in Arlington, scoring his fifth podium of the season. Charging from a ninth place start, Tomac spent most of the race in fourth before uncorking two passes within seconds of each other on Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb. In the post race media scrum, Tomac explained his main event and talked about the championship fight.

“There was some fortune in there for how bad the start was,” Tomac said. “This dirt is very hard to read. It looks awesome, but has a really slick base to it, so that was a challenge. It was kind of chaos, like there was so much going on with the crowd and I was sitting there watching. In my opinion, I kind of watched too much. I wish I would’ve got up a little bit quicker, but that’s how it goes.”

Hunter Lawrence On Lappers: "It's what we have to deal with as racers"Hunter Lawrence On Lappers: "It's what we have to deal with as racers"

Tomac lamented coming up short of a fourth win this season, frequently mentioning that he shouldn’t have waited to make a move. With Hunter Lawrence taking his first career 450SX main event win, Lawrence’s points lead grew to four. The seesaw battle for the 450 title has progressed throughout the first seven weeks of the season, flipping momentum each weekend.

“There’s so many of us now, you know, the four or five of us, that you can’t expect to have a huge points grab because we’re all really consistent. They say it’s the most packed year but at the same time, the same four or five of us are really showing ourselves. We’re making our way to the front so those big points grabs are getting harder and harder to happen.”

While Tomac’s night in Arlington didn’t end in a victory, Daytona sits on the calendar next weekend. With his previous domination at the track, Tomac could swing the points battle back in his favor at The World Center of Racing.

Seventh Heaven for Hunter Lawrence as SX hits Texas

Round Seven of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship brought the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship back to the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex for its annual Military Appreciation Night inside AT&T Stadium. The patriotic backdrop set the stage for one of the season’s most compelling showdowns and a long-awaited breakthrough in the 450SMX Class.

Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence delivered the performance of his premier class career, capturing his first 450SMX victory in his 26th start and strengthening his grip on the championship red plate. The Australian emerged from a four-rider battle featuring Cooper Webb, Ken Roczen, and Eli Tomac to become the fifth different winner in seven rounds.

The Main Event ignited immediately as Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb and Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen exited the first turn side-by-side. Webb initially secured the holeshot but relinquished the lead to Roczen during a spirited opening-lap exchange.

Lawrence positioned himself in third, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac faced early adversity from 11th on the opening lap.

Roczen established control at the front, fending off Webb as the leaders began to settle. Behind them, Tomac mounted a rapid charge, slicing through the field to fourth within the first few laps and transforming the race into a four-rider contest.

A small mistake from Webb opened the door for Lawrence to move into third. Soon after, Lawrence closed onto Roczen’s rear wheel and applied sustained pressure for the lead with roughly 13 minutes remaining. The intensity tightened the top four within two seconds of one another in the 20-Minute + 1 Lap Main Event.

Roczen initially withstood the challenge, but the battle reignited inside the final six minutes. Lawrence drew alongside in the whoops only to be momentarily delayed by a lapped rider. Undeterred, he regrouped and made the decisive pass shortly thereafter.

The chaos continued behind him. Webb moved past Roczen for second, but Tomac executed an aggressive surge that carried him from fourth to second in a single sequence, forcing Webb briefly off track and allowing Roczen back by. Webb countered once more to reclaim a podium position.

Out front, Lawrence capitalized on clean track and built separation. Tomac mounted a late charge inside the final two minutes, but Lawrence responded decisively and carried the momentum to a 2.8-second victory.

The win marks Lawrence’s first premier class triumph — notably at the same venue where he earned his first 250SMX victory during the 2021 season. With the victory, he extends his championship lead to four points over Tomac. Webb sits third, 16 points back, with Roczen 18 points off the lead.

Hunter Lawrence Opens Up on Battling Kenny and Coop

Finally, Hunter Lawrence is a winner in the 450SX class of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Prior to round 7 of the championship in Arlington, TX, on Saturday, Hunter had made 25 career 450SX starts. In those starts he had 0 wins, 6 podiums, and 13 top-5’s.

At every step of his career–MXGP, 250SX, 250 and 450 Pro Motocross and the Motocross of Nations–Hunter has won. A lot! This was the last thing to check off his list and he did it in electric fashion Saturday night, passing Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb and holding off a hard charging Eli Tomac.

While many said this would happen (including me, who kind of sort of predicted this exact round #mediamemberoftheyear) until it actually happens, you never know.

go to  www.vurbmoto.com/hunter for the rest of this good story