Greetings! Welcome to the opening Monday Gate Drop Column of 2026. I hope the year ahead is a safe and successful one for everyone, both on the track, as well as off of the track. Also, I want to send a big thank you to the folks at Yamaha Motor Canada for once again supporting this column in 2026.
Well, the week that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived. In just five days time the gate will be dropping at the 2026 Monster Energy Supercross Series in Anaheim, California. As of today, the weather for this weekend in Anaheim looks perfect with sun and temperatures around 20c during the day. This is great news for everyone as Southern California has been getting a lot of rain in recent weeks. With the official press conference coming up on Friday, and then the racing on Saturday, the stage is now set for the biggest race of the year. We will also have a few Canadian riders to keep an eye on; Tyler Gibbs, Preston Masciangelo, and Blake Davies will all be lining up in the 250SX West class this weekend. I would think that all three riders will have a good shot at qualifying for the main event, but given the fact that it’s the opening round, and everyone will be excited, it won’t be easy for our trio of riders. Like we say all of the time, it all depends on what type of starts they can get when it matters the most. By the sounds of it, all three have been working hard, so if it doesn’t happen this weekend in Anaheim, I’m sure they will find success in the coming weeks.
The big excitement coming into Anaheim is of course the 450SX class, and which rider is going to draw first blood in the series. Obviously, with Jett Lawrence out until at least April, the door is wide open again for a rider to step up and dominate. In recent weeks, we’ve gotten a great look at the defending champion Cooper Webb’s final few weeks of preparation, as he has put out several Vlog’s. I must admit that although I’m not a huge Cooper Webb fan, I do think he looks better than ever, both on the bike, as well as off the bike. His speed through the whoops looks great, his corner speed is once again solid, and he looks fitter than he ever has at this time of the year. With Jett now out, Webb could be looking to get off to a fast start in the 450SX Series and put everyone into the rear view mirror early. Webb will no doubt face some tough resistance from Jett’s brother Hunter Lawrence, who should be really good early in the series, as he’s healthy, and racing the same bike as he did late last year in the SMX Playoffs. This is Hunter’s year to breakout, and be a consistent main event winner and championship contender. Two riders that also will be battling for this 2026 450SX Series Championship are Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac. However, with both switching brands during the off-season it will be interesting to see how comfortable they are early in the series. At least Tomac was able to race a couple of WSX events during the off-season, so you would assume that he will have everything sorted out. Also, in Jorge Prado’s latest Vlog from Baker’s Factory, you can see Tomac is also there riding with all of those guys. I think Tomac will be ready to go this weekend, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he took the opening round win. As for Sexton, he’s been staying out of the public eye for the past month as he put the finishing touches on his preparation for 2026. I think it could go either way for Chase in the opening West rounds of SX. He could be really good early in the 450SX Series, or he could struggle in the opening rounds as he adapts to racing his new KX450. I don’t think Chase needs to win right away, but I do think he needs to show good speed and signs that he’s capable of winning in the opening five rounds or so. This means showing good speed in qualifying and battling for podiums in the opening rounds. Finally, let’s not count out the German legend Ken Roczen, who in my opinion, will most likely take the win this weekend. Roczen has been quietly training hard with his new teammate Jason Anderson, and if history is any type of guide, Kenny has also been a very fast starter. As I said, it all gets underway this weekend at Angel Stadium in Anaheim!
Also taking place this weekend is the AMA Arenacross event at the International Centre, located a few minutes from Pearson International Airport in Toronto. After the drama this past weekend at Round 3 of the AMA AX Series in Colorado between our boy Cole Thompson and Ryan Breece, the racing this weekend in Toronto should be exciting. I’m not sure what Breece was thinking, or why he decided to be so aggressive, but his pass attempt on Cole was a tad over the top, even for AX racing. In the past, people have given Cole some grief for getting so fired up after a questionable move on the race track, but after this take-out move on Saturday, I can totally understand Cole’s anger and frustration. Breece’s move looked more like an attempt to injure rather than a pass attempt. As I said, I don’t know what prompted it, I’m sure Cole did something to get Breece fired up, but I don’t think anything warrants a move like that. However, it was entertaining, and it should make for great racing this weekend in Toronto. It all gets underway Friday afternoon with Pro Practice, and then racing kicks off Friday evening at 7:30pm. It’s going to be interesting to see how this event goes, as it’s the only round of the series that not only runs in conjunction with a large Motorcycle Show, but also won’t take place inside a traditional arena. The track and the seating area will be in Hall #5 of the International Centre, and with the Motorcycle Show taking place all around it, hopefully the seats will be full of spectators, and the track will be much better than the one we saw this past weekend in Colorado. As of right now, Quinn Amyotte and Julien Benek will be lining up this weekend, so we will have some fast Canadian riders to watch in the Pro Classes. Also, a few of the Amateur classes are full, so there will be a plethora of talented young Canadian riders to watch this weekend. So, come out and take in the Motorcycle Show during the day, and then stay for the racing in the evening. That sounds like a great time to me, and an awesome way to kick off 2026!
So as you see, this weekend is going to be an incredible weekend to be a SX/AX fan. Hopefully, Cole Thompson can pull off the win in Toronto in front of his hometown fans, and as for Anaheim 1, I’m going with Eli Tomac for the win in the 450SX class. Finally, for my Motovan Canada Rider of the Week, I’m picking my friend and fellow Ontario Vet Rider Brian Kelly. Brian and I have been good friends for a long time and back when I entered the Pro Class, Brian would sometimes take work off and travel to the races with me. He was part of my entourage so to speak, and I always cherished his presence with me at the track. He was even with me and my mechanic Rich in Quebec the day I won my first ever Pro National in 1995. I went 2-1 that day in the 125 class, and after nervously watching me win the second moto, Brian jokingly said to me that if I keep winning races then he would have to quit smoking. I guess he smoked half a pack of cigarettes while pacing around the sidelines during my second moto. Anyway, not only were Brian and I friends, but our families were also close, and I got to know his parents and two sisters very well. Unfortunately, Brian lost his oldest sister Barb to cancer years ago, and then this past weekend his sister Mandy also passed away from Cancer. I don’t know how Brian and his family are able to cope with yet another sad loss, but I’m dedicating this column this week to Brian and the entire Kelly Family. After taking years off of riding and racing, Brian is back at the track with his son racing almost every weekend. It’s been great to see him back racing, and hopefully he’ll be able to gather up some strength to deal with yet another loss of a cherished sister. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
