Drumroll, please… the last round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship has arrived! Salt Lake City has been the finale for this series for the better part of a decade now and feels like home at this point. While it’s true that I have raced this event while it was snowing, we have had remarkably good weather for this round overall. The state of Utah rolls out the red carpet for the sport and this weekend should be no different; a beautiful setting for the end of a fantastic season of supercross.
In many ways, the track in Salt Lake is not all that different from Denver. The elevation is within 20% of Denver’s 5,000 feet and the layout is similar as well. The dirt may have a touch more loose soil to it but all in all, what worked in Denver will likely work at the finale.
The start looks similar to last week, but the apex of the corner is a bit different when examining more closely. The inside gates must bend back right before going left, a marked difference from last week that also makes the inside gates less attractive. It could also create a higher likelihood of contact in the first corner as the inside guys will be moving to the middle, the middle gates will stay middle, and the outside gated guys will be trying to move left toward the middle. See the trend? Everyone is going to the middle, and with everyone trying to meet at the same spot but with different entry angles, you can see how contact might happen.
The first few jumps after the start will be a double-double on the first time through but on a normal lap, riders will go 3-1 here.
After a right-handed bowl berm, riders will fire through the only whoops section. These could be jumpers or blitzers, much of that depending on the build characteristic. I would expect blitzing through the heat races and then a possible jump combo to be possible in the second half of the main. The blitzers will blitz all night, though.
A long, sweeping 180 sand section is up next and will end with riders going down part of the start straight backwards and into a tight left hand 180. There’s a chance that both inside and outside could work in this right hander but the hard, slippery SLC dirt will make the inside tricky.
The finish line jump is next and leads to a netted right hand bowl berm. A stadium-long rhythm section is along the visiting team sideline and presents an opportunity to change it up.
The first question for riders: double or triple from the bowl berm? That will determine what happens the rest of the way. Tripling looks like the ideal entry but with the jump immediately on the exit of the berm and the elevation hampering torque, I could see a majority doubling out of this berm. The triplers will go 3-3-3-2 and the ideal way for the doublers is 2-3-3-3.
The next section resembles Denver in a big way with the back-and-forth sections across the start. We saw some action here (Cooper Webb and Jorge Prado) so keep an eye on contact opportunities.
The next rhythm section is somewhat similar to Houston and Glendale as riders can go 2-3 and then rip across the start and single into the corner or they can go 2-2 and make the big gap double over the first corner. Riders will try every combo, check the Dartfish video and then make their choice.
The next corner leads to a small double out of the corner and back into the first rhythm off the start.
Who’s Hot
Haiden Deegan has run away with the 250SX West Division and will look to win his third Showdown on 2026.
Levi Kitchen bounced back in a big way at Denver, keeping Deegs honest and quieting the back concerns for now.
Cole Davies gets one more shot at Deegs on the 250 before that ship sails. He has nothing to lose other than risk of injury so let’s see what he’s got without pressure.
Hunter Lawrence won convincingly last weekend and has created a winner-take-all scenario with KRoc.
While he didn’t win, Roczen rode well in Denver and takes the red plate to the finale for the first time ever.
Eli Tomac was iffy to even race Denver, but a podium had the home crowd cheering. He’s been very good at SLC in the past so look for more of him at the front.
Who’s Not
Joey Savatgy had a big crash in qualifying practice and will be out for a while with a wrist injury.
The battles for the top five left a lot of people on the ground and seething. Ferrandis, J-Coop, Webb, and Prado all had issues that hampered their success late in the main event. Choose your fighter on who was right or wrong in those individual scenarios, but they were a net negative for everyone.
Bold Predictions
Deegs takes the mic from me after the 250 main event and a la UFC antics, starts calling out his 450 competitors for Pala.
Suzuki hires several Japanese tourists to attend SLC and wear team shirts in a hope to project technological advances for the finale.
Kawasaki sets up a speed dating booth in the SLC pits as they consider riders for 2027.
My Picks
250
Haiden
Cole
Seth
450
Hunter
Kenny
Eli
