The Denver supercross is now in the rearview, and with just one race remaining in the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, we're still not any closer to having any idea who will win this thing. After winning four of the previous five races, Ken Roczen came into Denver with a four-point lead over Hunter Lawrence, which put Lawrence in tough spot. Giving up any more points to Roczen in Denver would make winning the title exponentially more difficult, and unlikely, in Salt Lake City. Lawrence, however, isn't the type who crumbles under pressure. If anything, quite the opposite. Even if he didn't have his best stuff earlier in the day, he pulled through in the main in a dominant ride.
“I honestly feel like those are my best days when I have to dig for it," Lawrence said in the postrace press conference. "The team, we work so well together, each session figuring out where we can be better. Every step of the way, working through it, and I really enjoy that kind of day."
The efforts of Hunter and Honda HRC Progressive paid off big time, with Lawrence taking a wire-to-wire win and closing to within a single point of Roczen. Had things gone the other way, Lawrence would have needed a lot of help at the finale. He enjoyed that pressure.
"Yeah I love it. I’d rather be in this position now than I would have been what, seven points down if Kenny had won it," Lawrence continued. "Yeah this is my title to lose I feel like and I feel like under pressure I’ve been the best guy this year. Clutch up and try to make something happen. Go into Salt Lake City and have some fun. This is my first full 450 season and I feel like we’ve been racing for six months already!”
And Roczen? He was fast, as usual, in Denver, but after a few spectacular opening laps in which he pulled out all the stops to get into second place, he settled in for second, realizing he didn't have the pace to safely go after another win.
“I ’m happy with it honestly," Roczen said afterward. "I wasn’t quite comfortable on the track all day. When the racing starts obviously you just go, and I made some passes and got into second. I didn’t have enough speed to have anything for Hunter so I just started settling in, just based on how I felt on the track. It was a tough main event anyway, the track was pretty beat for how hard it was. So now it all comes down to Salt Lake City, I have a one-point lead and it’s really fun for me, as well as fans of the sport. There’s really not much to say. It was what it was.”
With Lawrence's grit and determination propelling him to the win in Denver, we're set for a wild, winner-take-all scenario this coming weekend. How things will play out is anyone's guess, but one thing is certain, Lawrence is here for it.
“It’s good. When I see the thirty-second board go sideways I get so excited," Lawrence said. "Let’s go out, have fun, and do what I love to do. It couldn’t have been much better than that. I’m really happy. Let’s go to Salt Lake, baby.”
