Eyes on 2025 SuperMotocross

Malcolm Stewart and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing achieved a season-high fifth-place finish at Round 10 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship in Birmingham on Saturday night, as 250SX East contender Daxton Bennick claimed P6 in the ultra-competitive East/West Showdown. Stewart charged to sixth on the 450SX combined qualifying timesheets on the hard-packed Protective Stadium circuit, finding comfort early aboard his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition at Round 10. The 33-year-old carried that momentum into his Heat Race, stalking the leaders throughout to secure a well-earned P3 result and a strong gate selection for the Main Event. Stewart went on to deliver a standout ride, quickly moving into the top-five before claiming a season-best P5 result. He now climbs to eighth in the 450SX championship standings. “The crowd is always awesome in Birmingham,” commented Stewart. “It was a big turnout, and last year here I finished second in the Triple Crown, so I always look forward to this race. Tonight, it was a pretty gnarly fifth place! I feel like the track broke down a lot with seven or eight minutes to go in the Main Event, but the Heat Race was really good – I’m just starting to get back into my flow and felt good all day. Setting the tone early is important, and I felt good from the beginning, which was nice, but with the whole team we are making some really good progress. A top-five result is awesome, so we’ll keep building momentum into Detroit.” Both Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 250SX riders Bennick and Ryder DiFrancesco were in action in Birmingham for the first East/West Showdown of the season, with DiFrancesco qualifying fourth overall on combined times, while Bennick posted the seventh-fastest time. Equipped with the Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition, Bennick secured P5 in his 250SX East Heat Race before converting a mid-pack start into a measured P6 finish in the Showdown, collecting valuable championship points. He currently sits fourth in the Eastern Divisional standings entering next weekend’s Detroit Supercross. “Birmingham was good,” said Bennick. “We entered with a new shock that we tried last week and I was really happy with it – it made the whoops a lot better for me. I was stoked on that and then I kind of got rolling in that second qualifier before struggling a bit in the Heat Race. I then put my head down in the Main Event after getting chopped a bit at the start, but we put in a strong charge, and I’m happy with my riding and fitness. Now, we’ll go into next weekend and try to put it on the box.” For DiFrancesco and his Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition, a P4 result in the 250SX West Heat Race set up his night well, before an issue in the Main Event required a visit to the mechanic's area, ultimately credited with a P19 finish. With three rounds remaining in the Western Division, Ryder D currently sits fourth in the championship standings and will return to action at the second East/West Showdown in St. Louis on April 4. “The day started well,” recalled DiFrancesco. “I qualified P2 in our class and felt really good all day. The Heat Race was so-so, we charged to fourth and then in the Main Event, I was making some good passes in the beginning, and then around lap two or three we ran into a rear brake problem. I ended up pulling into the pits and the team fixed it, before I went back out and salvaged what I could. You never give up with these Showdowns and we tried to get as many points as we could.” Rockstar Energy Husqvarna amateur prospect Landon Gibson was also on the line in Birmingham, claiming sixth position in the SMX Next Main Event. Next Race: March 28 – Detroit, Michigan Results 450SX Class – Birmingham 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) 3. Eli Tomac (KTM) 5. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 7. Jorge Prado (KTM) 21. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) Standings 450SX Class 2026 after 10 of 17 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 221 points 2. Eli Tomac, 212 3. Ken Roczen, 190 8. Malcolm Stewart, 107 9. Jorge Prado, 104 10. Aaron Plessinger, 99 19. RJ Hampshire, 38 Results 250SX East/West Showdown – Birmingham 1. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 2. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 3. Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki) 6. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 19. Ryder DiFrancesco (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 250SX East Class 2026 after 4 of 10 rounds 1. Cole Davies, 89 2. Seth Hammaker, 83 3. Jo Shimoda, 78 4. Daxton Bennick, 70 Standings 250SX West Class 2026 after 7 of 10 rounds 1. Haiden Deegan, 165 2. Max Anstie, 121 3. Levi Kitchen, 116 4. Ryder DiFrancesco, 108

Kay de Wolf made a gritty return from injury to claim seventh overall in MXGP on his full-time debut in the premier class, while Liam Everts battled through brutal conditions to secure a hard-fought 6-7 scorecard for seventh overall in MX2.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Daxton Bennick claimed a convincing fourth-place finish at the Indianapolis Triple Crown on Saturday night, as 450SX teammate Malcolm Stewart powered to seventh overall in Round 9 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship. Bennick began the day in positive fashion at the second Triple Crown event of the year – which was also the third round of the 250SX East division – qualifying fourth on the combined timesheets while displaying strong pace onboard the Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition. Race 1 saw the 20-year-old launch the holeshot and run at the front of the field as he battled among the leading contenders, ultimately claiming fourth position to open the high-intensity three-race format. After replicating that result with another P4 finish in Race 2, Bennick started the third and final outing toward the rear of the field, before putting forward a spirited ride to deliver a P7 result. In the end, his combined scores earned him fourth overall for the weekend. Bennick is now ranked fifth in the 250SX East standings three rounds into the new season, with teams having a one-week break before the first 250SX East/West Showdown of 2026 takes place at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium on March 21. “This round was pretty good, looking back at it,” commented Bennick. “I was better in the first qualifying and good in the second one too, with fourth overall. We did the best we could each time on track and came away with a fourth place overall, which is not too bad. One weekend off now and then we’ll get back to it in Birmingham!” Faced with a technical, rutted layout in Indianapolis, Stewart rode his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition to the 10th-fastest qualifying time and would carry confidence into the night program. The 33-year-old continued with a consistent ninth-place finish in the opening race of the evening, before improving to seventh in Races 2 and 3 to post seventh overall at Round 9 of the 2026 SMX World Championship season. Entering the mid-season break, Stewart is currently ranked P9 in the 450SX Class point-standings with eight rounds remaining in this year’s AMA Supercross Championship. “Indy as a Triple Crown is always going to make for an interesting night!” Stewart recalled. “The track breaks down quite a bit, but we did the best we could with a seventh-place result tonight. My starts were good in Races 2 and 3, and overall I didn’t feel bad, but it was one of those tracks where mistakes were easily made. If you got out of the rhythm, you could lose a lot of time, which happened to me a couple of times. It wasn’t a bad race though, we made a lot of progress throughout this week and with one weekend off, we’ll enjoy the break and then get back to work!” Next Race: March 21 – Birmingham, Alabama Results 450SX Class – Indianapolis 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Eli Tomac (KTM) 3. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 6. Jorge Prado (KTM) 7. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 19. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) Standings 450SX Class 2026 after 9 of 17 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 196 points 2. Eli Tomac, 192 3. Cooper Webb, 171 8. Aaron Plessinger, 98 9. Malcolm Stewart, 90 10. Jorge Prado, 89 19. RJ Hampshire, 38 Results 250SX East Class – Indianapolis 1. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 2. Jo Shimoda (Honda) 3. Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki) 4. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 250SX East Class 2026 after 3 of 10 rounds 1. Cole Davies, 64 2. Seth Hammaker, 63 3. Pierce Brown, 62 5. Daxton Bennick, 55