The 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship opens at Fox Raceway in Pala, California on Saturday, with all eyes on the two riders who define the modern era of American outdoor racing.
Jett Lawrence returns as the reigning 450 Motocross champion. The Honda HRC rider has never finished outside the overall win at Pala, owning eight consecutive victories at the venue across the 250 and 450 classes, including a perfect six-for-six in the premier division. He arrives at the opener still nursing the badly broken left ankle suffered in pre-season Supercross.
"It's been an interesting and very painful process missing having a fully healthy ankle and not waking up in the morning with a stiff ankle," Lawrence said. "Until I get my full range of motion back, I think it's going to be still a year or so. If I can just get it where it's no pain, I think I'll be okay."
The Australian dislocated the ankle and shattered the top of his talus in the off-season crash, requiring 11 screws and four pins, then a second operation to remove hardware that had migrated into his tibia.
"It's a scary moment for me, because I'm like, oh, we've improved and improved and improved and we hit like a wall," Lawrence said of the setback. "So you have those times where it's like, a little bit of doubt, but the biggest thing is the team around me that I have is so good. Let's put a plan in action and help me."
Lawrence admitted his left leg is still doing most of the work and that braking with his right foot remains difficult. He has reframed his goals for Pala accordingly.
"All my mind is going towards this is the championship," he said. "There's another side where I really badly want to win the first round because it's Pala. I haven't lost there yet overall-wise, so we want to win that, but my body and health is more important than winning at one race at the start of the season."
"I had a lot of focus on coming out to the Supercross championship and just like making a statement that nobody can beat me," Deegan said. "I feel like I've 100 per cent completed that this year."
The 20-year-old conceded the move forward is faster than he had imagined.
"I feel like I've always kind of thought 250 guys kind of race till they're mid 20s or whatever and that's just how it went," Deegan said. "But it's like, damn, I'm 20 and I'm going to the 450 class. It's kind of wild. So, it's going quick."
Deegan was careful to manage rookie expectations, but the underlying message was unmistakable.
"I don't want to be too cocky, but hey, I know how good these guys are in the 450 class," he said. "I know they've all won championships. It's going to be gnarly and I'm ready to fight. I'm ready to go to war."
Behind Lawrence and Deegan, the 450 field at Pala features Eli Tomac on his return from injury, Aaron Plessinger and Jorge Prado as a renewed factory KTM threat, and Justin Cooper carrying Star Yamaha colours on the bigger bike. Pala's hard-pack soil and elevation have historically rewarded riders who can hold consistent lines under high tyre wear, and the championship's traditional 30-minute-plus-two-lap motos start the eleven-round regular season grind.
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