Ken Roczen has finally achieved one of the last major goals missing from his career résumé, clinching his first premier class AMA Supercross Championship in a dramatic winner-takes-all finale in Salt Lake City.
After 13 seasons at the sport’s highest level, the Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki rider became the oldest Supercross champion in history at 32 years of age, edging out Hunter Lawrence in one of the tightest title fights the sport has seen.
Just a single point separated Roczen and Lawrence entering the final 450SMX Main Event inside Rice-Eccles Stadium, with the championship effectively turning into a straight shootout between the Suzuki and Honda riders.
Lawrence grabbed the holeshot, but Roczen wasted no time attacking and moved into the lead early as Jorge Prado and Chase Sexton battled behind them.
The two title contenders settled into a tense rhythm at the front before Prado began closing rapidly on the pair. The pressure appeared to force Lawrence into pushing harder, with the Australian first running off-track before later crashing heavily and dropping back to seventh.
That mistake effectively handed the championship to Roczen.
While Roczen shifted into survival mode during the second half of the race, Sexton came charging through the field aboard his Monster Energy Kawasaki machine. The American first dispatched Prado before hunting down Roczen and taking over the lead in the closing laps.
Sexton went on to secure his second win of the season and his fourth straight Salt Lake City victory, while Justin Coopersnuck past Prado late in the race to steal second. Prado rounded out the podium in third.
Roczen faded to fifth by the flag but crucially finished two positions ahead of Lawrence, which was enough to secure the championship by just three points.
Both riders finished the season with five wins and 12 podiums apiece, underlining just how close the 2026 title fight became.
Roczen admitted after the race the pressure of the championship battle had taken a major mental and physical toll in recent weeks.
“I was an emotional wreck today,” Roczen said. “It was not an easy task by any means. I’ve been exhausted physically and mentally over these past few weeks, but I’ve dreamed of this since I was a little kid.
“This is just a testament that you never give up. Anybody, at any age, whenever you’re competing and you feel anxiety or strange emotions that rob your energy, you’re not alone. I feel those too, but I don’t give up.”
The result finally delivers Roczen the premier class Supercross title that has eluded him throughout a career filled with injuries, setbacks and near-misses, cementing the German as one of the sport’s most resilient riders of the modern era.
