Supercross
Ken Roczen makes history as the 2026 AMA Supercross champion
The 32-year-old German crowned an extraordinary career with the biggest title of all following a thrilling finale in the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship.
In an incredible season finale in Salt Lake City, Germany's Ken Roczen was crowned the 2026 AMA Supercross Champion, becoming the oldest ever winner of the title. There was action, excitement, emotion and, in the end, a deserved winner at the top of the podium following years of injuries and setbacks.
01
The road to becoming AMA Supercross Champion 2026
Ken Roczen celebrates winning the title
© Garth Milan/ Red Bull Content Pool
In a dramatic conclusion at Salt Lake City, the Thuringian crowned an impressive season and is now at the top of the supercross sport's leaderboard after making history – he is the first European to win the title in 35 years and the oldest champion of all time.
17 races, 17 rounds of top-class supercross action across the USA and in the middle of it all, a 32-year-old German on a Suzuki who kept the entire field on their toes. The 2026 season began in Anaheim and quickly developed into a duel between Roczen and Australian Honda factory rider, Hunter Lawrence, as the two fought fierce duels week after week. Both won five races each and, in the end, they were separated by just three points – 349 to 346 – in the final standings.
Ken Roczen at the top of the AMA Supercross Championship
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
The road to the title was anything but straightforward, however. Over the course of the season, Roczen fell behind by over 30 points at times. Many had already written him off, but he kept believing and fought his way back, race after race, carrying his Suzuki RMZ450 to the front of the field with increasing consistency. On the big stadium surfaces, from Houston to Daytona to Indianapolis, he proved that he's more than on a par with the young factory riders of the KTM and Honda armada.
02
Salt Lake City: One point lead and a crash in the pre-run
The day of the final at the Rice Eccles Stadium got off to a difficult start. Roczen arrived as the championship leader with just a one-point lead over Lawrence. In qualifying, he only managed to park his bike in ninth place, before then crashing on a slippery surface in the pre-race and dropping back to fourth place. But he refused to give up on his dream of the title.
Ken Roczen laid the foundation for the title in Philadelphia in April
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
Time after time, Roczen has proved his powers of recovery from setbacks – including fighting back from two broken arms in 2017 – and it was the same again in Salt Lake City.
The German pulled off an overtaking manoeuvre that will go down in history. Lawrence had taken the holeshot, but Roczen left the throttle open longer than anyone else, broke later and squeezed through on the inside, passing the Australian in the second corner. It was the overtaking manoeuvre of his life and one that will never be forgotten.
03
A title for the ages
Lawrence clung to Roczen's rear wheel for ten laps, while the German struggled with side stitches towards the end of the race, but ultimately crashed and dropped back to seventh place. In the end, fifth place was enough for Roczen to win not the race, but the championship, and finally realise his dream.
Number 1 – Ken Roczen takes the title
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
History was made on various counts, as Roczen became the first German ever and only the third European to take home the title, after Pierre Karsmakers (1974) and Jean Michel Bayle (1991). At 32, he is also by far the oldest title holder in the history of the championship and the first Suzuki champion in 16 years.
Final standings 450cc AMA Supercross Championship
Position
Rider
Bike
Points
1
Suzuki
349
2
Hunter Lawrence
Honda
346
3
Cooper Webb
Yamaha
315
4
Eli Tomac
KTM
275
5
Justin Cooper
Yamaa
273
After a catastrophic broken arm in 2017 (or rather two), over a dozen operations and years between hope and setback, Ken Roczen is now on top. The physical and mental work of recent years has paid off.