The 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship rolls in with more question marks than we’ve seen in years. Injuries, team changes, riders stepping up, and a genuine mix of experience and youth all colliding at once. And for once, it doesn’t feel like a foregone conclusion.

Yes, Jett Lawrence is still the benchmark. But this time, he’s not coming in untouchable. A serious foot injury has kept him off the bike, and while history says you never bet against him, there’s just enough uncertainty to crack the door open for the rest of the field.

And that field is stacked.

His brother Hunter Lawrence is in the form of his life. Haiden Deegan is stepping up with serious preparation behind him. Chase Sexton is looking to rebound from a messy Supercross season, while Eli Tomac remains the ever-present threat that refuses to fade away. Then you’ve got Jorge Prado trying to cement himself in the American system, and consistent performers like Justin Cooper and Aaron Plessinger ready to capitalise on any mistakes.

The schedule itself sticks to the proven formula. The championship opens at Fox Raceway before heading to the traditional stops of Hangtown Motocross Classic, Thunder Valley Motocross Park, High Point Raceway, RedBud MX and finishing up at Ironman Raceway. Eleven rounds, two motos a day.

The biggest storyline heading in is simple: can Jett come back and pick up where he left off? Because if he can, history says he wins. But if he’s even slightly underdone, then suddenly Hunter’s consistency becomes a serious weapon. Deegan’s raw speed becomes dangerous. Sexton’s redemption story becomes real. And Tomac… well, Tomac always finds a way to be there.

Their Take

We asked our inhouse team of dirtbike tragics Mitch Lees, Jeff Briggs, Geoff Braico and Mat Boyd who they think can take the title and who will feature int he top 5 at the end of the season. All these boys watch every minute of motocross and supercross in America, Europe and Australia. They know some of these riders personally and always mange to get the inside scoop when something doesn’t seem right. Here’s what they thought:

MITCH LEES

“My pick for the AMA motocross outdoor 2026 championship is Jett Lawrence. I know he’s coming off a serious foot injury and he’s only just recently been back riding. He’s been doing a lot of MMA training by the looks of things but he’s just such a freak that you just you can’t go past him look at what he did after coming back from knee surgery, he won an outdoor title, so I just can’t see anyone beating him despite having no time on the bike.

“The closest that anyone is going to get to him is going to be his brother Hunter Lawrence he’s shown how good he is at managing a race at Supercross this year and Supercross is not his strong point. Motocross is his strong point so I think Hunter will be even faster in motocross and if anyone is going to take races away from Jett, it’s going to be his brother Hunter. I can also see Hunter staying upright and solid all season which is exciting for us Aussies as I reckon they will go 1, 2 in the title and I think Jett will just beat him but it certainly won’t be a clean sweep like it was back in 2022.

“I think third place will be chase Sexton, he’ll finally work out the Kawasaki outdoors and I feel like he will come back stronger after a pretty disastrous supercross season. The other two positions are tricky and it all depends on who ends up lining up for the outdoors. It could be Eli Tomac but something’s now not gelling with KTM and him so I’m unsure as to how he will go outdoors. Jorge Prado is fast at motocross but he doesn’t look full comfortable on that “KTM. Haiden Deegan will have some good results but I’d be amazed if he can run Jett and Hunter’s speed all season in every moto. I think Justin Cooper will be fast and I’d probably say Cooper will come in just behind Chase and I wouldn’t count out either Aaron Plessinger or Eli Tomac to finish fifth in the championship”

JEFF BRIGGS

“The AMA outdoors is probably the series I’m looking forward to seeing start the most this year. With Jett coming back, Deegan jumping up, hunter in the best form of his career and Prado back on a familiar brand I can see the season being both drama filled and action packed.

“When it comes to picking the top 5 I feel it can go anyway but I’ll have a go. Hunter is my championship pick and for a few reasons. Jett is coming off a major injury and Deegan will be blinding fast with the odd mistake here and there. I can also see Jett and Deegan potentially coming together at some stage and Hunter being the beneficiary at some stage.

“Prado is still learning the American way of racing and intensity and I’ll have to have Justin Cooper as my last pick. I would normally have Eli and Chase in there but their recent form and struggles have me kind of lost on where they are at.

“So for me it’s Hunter 1, Jett 2, Deegan 3, Prado 4 and J-Coop rounding out the top 5!”

MAT BOYD

“I think Jett Lawrence will come out firing. He wouldn’t be getting back on the bike and racing if he wasn’t in a position to win. I also think Hunter Lawrence coming off Supercross and how well he’s been riding will be a tough one to beat. I wouldn’t even be shocked if Hunter and Jett go 1 and 2 all season long.

“I’m sure Eli Tomac will be up there as well and I strongly believe that KTM is a better outdoor bike than a Supercross bike so whatever is going on for him right now I expect to get better. fourth and fifth place is a bit of a tougher one for me. I think Aaren Plessinger will do really well and I wouldn’t even be shocked to see him on the podium at a few rounds. Justin Cooper keeps getting better on the 450 and I think he will be up there for a few podiums as well.

“The only one that I can’t really predict what will happen with is Chase Sexton. Chase has the potential to be incredible but whether it’s his head or the bike holding him back right now is a real mystery.”

GEOFF BRAICO

“Top 5. I think it’ll be hard pressed to bet against Jett Lawrence however his injury could throw a spanner in the works but his track record in motocross is just too hard to bet against. Hunter Lawrence obviously has a good chance as well however I’d be interested to see how he fares after the hard-fought Supercross season.

“Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac will be fast and competitive as well given the fact that they’ve had a bit of a rough season leading into the motocross so they will have something to prove. Obviously the dude with the most preparation is Deegan so I think he is also going to be a force to be reckoned with just purely because of the amount of time and effort that he has dedicated into motocross leading into this season.  Surely all the preparation that he has done is going to lead to good things and I’m pretty excited to see what he can do against the rest of the big boys. It will also be interesting to see what Jorge Prado does too given his team change to a more familiar brand outdoors.”

Time will tell

Strip it all back and the 2026 AMA Motocross Championship comes down to one simple question: does Jett come back at 100 percent?

If he does, history says he wins. If he doesn’t… this could be the closest, most unpredictable outdoor season we’ve seen in years.

2026 AMA Pro Motocross Schedule

  • Round 1 – Fox Raceway, Pala, CA – May 16
  • Round 2 – Hangtown Motocross Classic, Prairie City, CA – May 23
  • Round 3 – Thunder Valley Motocross Park, Lakewood, CO – May 30
  • Round 4 – High Point Raceway, Mount Morris, PA – June 13
  • Round 5 – Southwick National, Southwick, MA – June 20
  • Round 6 – RedBud MX, Buchanan, MI – July 4
  • Round 7 – Spring Creek MX Park, Millville, MN – July 11
  • Round 8 – Washougal MX Park, Washougal, WA – July 18
  • Round 9 – Unadilla MX, New Berlin, NY – August 8
  • Round 10 – Budds Creek Motocross Park, Mechanicsville, MD – August 15
  • Round 11 – Ironman Raceway, Crawfordsville, IN – August 22