Tomac finishes third, one point separates Roczen and Lawrence as final nears

Eli Tomac placed third in the Round 16 Supercross 450SX race in Denver on Saturday. (Courtesy of Red Bull KTM)

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Eli Tomac placed third in the Round 16 Supercross 450SX race in Denver on Saturday. (Courtesy of Red Bull KTM)

Only one point separates Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence following Round 16 of the 2026 Supercross season. Now, the final round of racing looms. This year’s championship winner will be determined in Salt Lake City on Saturday, and neither Roczen or Lawrence has won a 450SX championship in their career.

Cortez’s Eli Tomac placed third after missing Round 15 in Philadelphia following a crash in Cleveland.

At the start of Saturday’s Main Event, Jorge Prado claimed the hole hot, with Lawrence right on his heels. Tomac raced in third and Roczen in fifth.

Lawrence attempted to pass Prado in the rhythm section, but was not quite able to make the pass. Not long later, however, he passed Prado around a corner to take first place position. He held onto the lead for the remainder of the race.

Cooper Webb slotted into third, while Tomac lost a few positions after his bike stalled in the sand. He fell to seventh as Roczen moved to fourth.

Roczen raced side-by-side with Webb briefly before passing in the sand section. The commentators noted that Roczen needed to finish at least second to maintain his lead over Lawrence.

Tomac quickly moved back through the pack, passing Webb for fourth and setting his sights on his teammate, Prado.

Tomac made a few attempts to pass and finally succeeded, moving to third. For the remainder of the race, the top three riders held onto their positions. Lawrence won, nearly 13 seconds ahead of second place Roczen. Tomac placed third.

“I’m glad to land on this podium for the Colorado fans,” Tomac told Team KTM following the race. “I was so bummed when I stalled it in the sand. I just happened to stomp on my rear brake there and then, honestly, like double-stalled. Anyway, I was able to claw back there, had some fun on this track, and that was just a good bounce back. I’m happy to get back for these last two rounds, and love being on the West Coast, too – of course, home state in Colorado – and we’ll try to get another podium next week.”

The championship winner will be decided in Salt Lake City, as Lawrence and Roczen will go head-to-head with only one point between them.

In Heat 1, prior to the Main Event, Lawrence placed first, Justin Barcia second and Justin Cooper third. Tomac placed fifth. The second heat saw a win from Prado, with Chase Sexton in second and Roczen in third.

The final round of the 2026 Supercross season will be held in Salt Lake City at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, May 9.