Saturday will mark open practice, followed by the three qualifying races. The number you get in the ball drop, be it one or 38, is the pick on the starting gate you receive for all three qualifying races, regardless of the results. Fortunately, the start stretch here at Ironman is long and wide, so we've seen riders get good starts from all over the grid. However, it's still a lot of work when you have the 37th gate pick for all three qualifiers. The top 18 teams will qualify directly for Sunday's MXoN. There will also be three BluCru races for 125cc, 85cc, and 65cc riders from all over the world, invited by Yamaha to come and race on identical motorcycles that they provide. They will compete both on Saturday morning and Sunday morning.

Sunday will start with practice and warm-ups, followed by the B final, where the top two finishers will advance to the MXoN, while racing ends for everyone else. Opening ceremonies begin at 12:30 in the afternoon, with the first gate drop at 1:10 p.m. (Eastern) for MXGP and MX2 riders, the second moto (MX2 and Open) at 2:40, and finally, MXGP and Open will close out the racing. The top five moto scores from each team count for the final result.

The moto gods have decided to bless the event with great weather—something lacking in the stretch runs of both the SuperMotocross World Championship and the FIM Motocross World Championship. The race is happening amid what has been an incredibly turbulent past few weeks for the sport. There were the SMX Finals in Vegas and the drama that ensued over Haiden Deegan's aggressive moves on eventual champion Jo Shimoda, followed by the well-documented drama of who would actually be on Team USA for this race. At first, it was Deegan, the two-time 250 Class AMA Pro Motocross Champion, despite having the collarbone he fractured in Vegas surgically plated. Then there was the withdrawal of Chase Sexton from the team after his big crash in Vegas, marking the end of his time with Red Bull KTM. He's now set for a Monster Energy Kawasaki team that just suffered through a season in hell, with both of their 450 factory riders—Jason Anderson and Jorge Prado—sidelined before we ever got to the SMX Playoffs. Both will be on different color bikes the next time they race, though for Prado that may be problematic as Monster Energy may hold him to his contract, even if Kawasaki does not.

Prado is one of three multi-time FIM Motocross World Champions missing from the event this weekend. He would have been riding for Spain, while Tom Vialle would have been riding for France. But Vialle is parting ways with KTM and headed back to Europe to race for HRC Honda in MXGP. His time with KTM had a rocky ending as he did not start the final Pro Motocross moto due to a bike mechanical issue, but then he won the second moto in St. Louis after finishing tenth in moto one. With Aaron Plessinger missing all of the second half of Pro Motocross and the SMX Playoffs, Julien Beaumer crashing out a few times in Pro Motocross before an injury at the first SMX Playoffs ended his year early, and Sexton crashing out of the final moto of the SMX finale, 2025 has been something of a season in hell for KTM too.

And then there's Jeffrey Herlings, the all-time leader in Grand Prix wins with 112 now. He was left off the Dutch team when it was announced in early August at the Arnhem GP, having been hurt twice. But then Herlings found his old speed and ticked off several MXGP wins, proving that he may still have a claim for Fastest Man on the Planet. However, the federation in the Netherlands did not think it was enough to change the lineup of their team for this race, despite the fact that Herlings won the Ironman National here in 2017 in his one and only visit to the AMA circuit. Coincidentally, Herlings is also on the move—he's headed to Honda HRC for 2026 and beyond. He's effectively taking the place of Tim Gajser, who has been on red for a decade now but will be on blue in 2026 and beyond.

This brings us back to Eli Tomac. He's here competing in what will be his last race for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. The team thought that he would be done at the end of this season, but Tomac has had a change of heart and will continue racing in 2026. However, Star Racing has already signed three-time 450SX Champion Cooper Webb, as well as up-and-coming 450cc steady contender Justin Cooper, and will move Haiden Deegan up to be their third 450 rider in May '26. With no room left at the inn for Eli, he's signed with—you guessed it—Red Bull KTM. Eli would like nothing more than to leave the bLU cRU as a winner, and Team USA needs him now more than ever.

Speaking of Tomac and a Team USA win, relive the ’22 MXoN Team USA victory via this raw footage video by Tom Journet.

And that closes this big, crazy, confusing circle with Haiden Deegan. Hovering over this race before it even starts is the fact that Deegan is not here after all. Despite the best efforts to somehow heal quickly and be ready, Deegan's broken collarbone was just too painful for him to risk Team USA's chances. He passed, and just like that, Justin Cooper stepped up and is now our MX2 rider. Some would even argue he should have been it all along, given all that went down in Vegas and the aftermath. We should all appreciate Deegan even trying, and we should definitely appreciate Justin Cooper staying in peak shape and also putting in some hours on the 250. Just as Cooper Webb did last year when Team USA needed a 250 rider and the veteran Webb went to Great Britain to report for duty in last year's MXoN.

We should also be grateful that RJ Hampshire likewise stayed ready and focused, and when Sexton dropped out, he jumped in as well. And Eli Tomac? He just continues to remind us that he's one of the all-time greats in this sport, and he deserves to end his time with Yamaha with a W here at the MXoN.

And finally, there's The Man. Roger De Coster has been Team USA's manager every year since 1981, with the exceptions of 1992–1994, when he was back in Europe helping run a GP team. De Coster retired from his role as Team USA manager earlier this summer, citing ongoing back problems from spinal stenosis. De Coster is the embodiment of this event, a global motocross ambassador who has won the Nations more times than anyone as a rider for Team Belgium in the 1960s and 1970s, and more times as a team manager with Team USA. In his honor, we've named the paddock after him, and we also created a massive 175-foot banner documenting his career—because that's how much space we needed to even get a partial picture of all The Man has done and accomplished in the sport. Roger is not here this weekend, but I hope that where he is watching, he sees that every single one of these riders and teams—USA, Belgium, Japan, Australia, all of them—owe him a debt of gratitude for what he did to pave the way for motocross nations all over the world.

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

This. Is. It. There is no event on the planet like the Motocross of Nations. The pageantry, the camaraderie, and the pride felt at this event are unrivaled. The pressure on the riders is right up there with Anaheim 1, too. It’s the only race they’ll ever participate in where they aren’t merely representing their team and sponsors; they are carrying the weight of a nation. Fans of each country are willing, manifesting success each year. Each rider is one of three representatives of their flag against the world. Overstating the importance? Only if you haven’t been there to feel the energy of this event. Like Apollo Creed said to Rocky Balboa in the early frames of Rocky IV, “You may not understand it now, but you will when it’s over.” This race simply means more. Always has and always will.

For Team USA, they have been in flux, to say the least. The final roster is hard to wrap one’s head around if you have been asleep since Saturday morning’s final in Las Vegas. This is the team that will take on the world, though, and I think they’re capable.

Eli Tomac is the anchor and will need to perform up to that billing. He has the unenviable task of taking on Jett Lawrence and the other countries’ best (Gajser, Febvre, Coenen, Coldenhoff, Roczen, etc.). But, in reality, that’s the ask of Tomac every Saturday with Jett, so this should feel no different as far as performance expectations go. He’s been on the team since the jump and should be ready both mentally and physically. For Team USA to win, he will need to be top 3 all day Sunday.

RJ Hampshire is the fill-in for Chase Sexton, and his 450 summer earned this nod. He was a revelation after making the move to the bigger bike. The chaos that followed him on the 250 seemed to wash away. The power-on-tap of the 450 removed the need to override the bike and track. As he said himself, he wasn’t the first choice, but he’s ready to answer the call. Is his ceiling as high as a healthy Sexton? No. But we don’t have a healthy Sexton, and RJ is going to give his all at this event. As far as fill-ins go, this is as solid as a team could ask for. RJ will be up against the MX Open field, headlined by Hunter Lawrence. If he could steal back a few points here with good starts and resilience, it could loom large late.

The MX2 team was the most chaotic of the three leaving Vegas. Haiden Deegan’s injury threw a tractor-sized wrench into the team plan. Haiden tried to tough it out but, in the end, turned the reins over to his teammate Justin Cooper, as Davey mentioned. In terms of downgrade, I don’t see it as that. Haiden isn’t healthy, so that isn’t even an option. The question then becomes: is an injured Haiden better than a healthy J-Coop? I think that answer is no. Also, Haiden could easily reinjure that area, aggravating the soft tissue at best or rebreaking the collarbone at worst. In both cases, Team USA would be cooked. Haiden’s willingness to race injured is admirable, but I do think this is the correct path for what the situation had become. J-Coop is a proven quantity at this event, battling through injury in 2019 and taking the triumphant win in 2022. He will slide onto the 250 like putting on an old pair of shoes. Going down to a 250 feels like a plaything after the brutality that is a 450. He is a great starter, too, a huge coup at this event on a 250 against 450s. With Tomac preferring more outside gate choices anyway, this provides an easy choice to give J-Coop the inside gate Sunday, with the starting prowess to capitalize. All in all, this is chicken soup out of chicken… well, you get the idea. I truly believe J-Coop can match anyone in the MX2 field and will likely need to if Team USA is to win.

To win this event, many boxes need to be checked. Excellence must be matched by consistency. One without the other spells mediocrity. The big variable this year is track familiarity. The Aussies and Americans know this track well and will lean on that. They might have the two strongest lineups anyway, giving both a significant edge. Still, this event breeds chaos. Always has. To think it won’t in 2025 would be foolish at best.

Justin Cooper (Keefer)

I am sure most already know, but can we just give a huge shout-out and nod to Justin Cooper? The dude races the full calendar year, takes one for Team America, and jumps in when Deegan couldn't. He finished third in the 2025 450SX supercross championship with consistent top-five results. For outdoors, his average finish was a 4.7 in the 2025 Pro Motocross standings, and now he is headed back to Ironman to represent Team USA. I think we get so wrapped up in Jett and Hunter Lawrence (and rightfully so), but Justin Cooper is, in my opinion, the most underrated 450 rider of 2025. Justin is a mellow dude on the outside but has shown so much heart and grit throughout 2025. Now, with him foregoing some of his well-deserved off time, this just adds to my respect for the New York native. Win or lose, let's not forget Justin Cooper and what he is doing for our country. I am not discounting RJ Hampshire's service to our country, but a full 450 calendar year is a little different than a 250/450 calendar year.

OH CANADA (Matthes)

It’s here, time for the MXdN, and it’s back in the USA at that! We’ve done preview podcasts, columns, and everything else about what we think is going to happen. Aussies are the favorites with the changes to the Team USA roster, but the battle should be great between the USA, Belgium, and the Dutch for the runner-up spot. Ironman is a great track and facility; it should be an awesome weekend of motocross.

As for myself, although I got my USA citizenship about a month ago, I’m still Canadian, and I’m here to break that down. We have great riders up north, but for whatever reason, we can’t get the results we need at this race. Save for a ride here or there by a couple of heroes, things haven’t broken Canada’s way at this race for a long time. Our own Phil Nicoletti, a Canadian champion now (!!), has a theory that’s not that bad, actually. He says that the bike setup the top Canadians run isn’t ideal for the rough tracks of the world’s best racers. The Canadian pro tracks don’t get that rough for the most part; they don’t have that many riders on them over the course of a weekend, and that theory lines up with comments from the riders after MXDNs, where they tell me they can’t get comfortable out there, no matter what the track.

This year, we’re sending our 2024 MX1 champ Jess Pettis on his Yamaha, a real surprise breakout rider in Tanner Ward, and then a French kid in MX2 named Sebastian Racine. I’d like to see Dylan Wright on the team, but there were politics involved in that decision (we have a lot of political reasons over the years for Team Canada), and then Wright went and got hurt at Budds Creek and couldn’t have raced anyway. Wright was the reason Canada made the A main last year; Pettis has been fast at this race before but has crashed more than he’s shown his true potential. So, they’re going into this MXdN with two rookies and a rider with something to prove at this race.

I think they should be in the A main, but to be honest, over the years, I’m used to my home country underperforming at this race. The USA track will be helpful for them, I think, with travel and being more “at home.” Low end, B main; high end, I think they could surprise and get a 12th.

2026 Calendars (DC)

Hey, Watch It!

Red Bull reposted this cool video about what the Motocross of Nations mean to the sport:

The Lawrence brothers were featured this week on ESPN Australia's SportsCenter

Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week 

“A Run on Canned Mackerel and Emergency Radios. The Reason? Drones.”—NY Times

Random Notes

Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races!