What Really Happened in Anaheim 2, 2026?
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Three rounds in, and some of the biggest names in Supercross are already getting written off. That’s wild. There are still 14 races left and anything can happen. But if you look past the headlines and check the tape, it’s clear that some riders are executing flawlessly, while others are making this championship far harder than it needs to be.
Mistakes are a key metric in our Fast Power Index (FPI). Mistakes come in all form, but where we see it impact the most is finish position, those valuable championship points. But ignoring finish position for a moment, you might be surprised who is riding the cleanest laps through three rounds
450s: Mistake Counts for Riders Completing Every Lap Through Rd. 3
So, how do we count mistakes here? A “mistake” is any lap where a rider loses a position, and a “big mistake” is losing two or more positions on a lap. Even riders with net positive position gains aren’t immune, everyone has laps (or starts) they’d like back.
Justin Cooper
Justin Cooper is riding some of the cleanest, most efficient races in the 450 class… he just has terrible starts.
- Only 2 laps where he’s lost a single position. That’s 65 laps while only getting passed on 2!
- Zero big mistakes
- +20 net positions gained
Cooper Webb
Webb hasn’t been flawless or fast off the gate this season. He’s crashed in all three main events so far, but luckily, the champion isn’t bleeding points because of it. Even more important, his results are slowly trending in the right direction. Webb may be down 24 points, but the fight is far from over.
- All three of Webb’s mistake laps are from crashes.
- Outside of that he is marching forward in every race.
- Like J. Cooper, starts remain the Achilles heel.
Eli Tomac
Tomac is looking every bit the champion right now. He’s the only rider to finish on the podium in all three rounds, and even in an “off night” at A2, he still finished comfortably in 3rd.
- Second-best starting position to Hunter Lawrence
- Just like J. Cooper, Tomac has been passed on only two laps out of 65, which he promptly got back.
- Zero big mistakes.
- A2 was Tomac’s worst start of the season, 5th. He became the first 450 rider this season to start 5th or worse and still make the podium.
Average Start vs. Average Finish Position Through Rd. 3
Jason Anderson
Anderson is a dark horse this season. Difficult to pass, consistently strong off the start, and capable of shaking up any race.
- Third-best starting position this year.
- Still looking for the late-race endurance; most of his “mistakes” are a lack of late race pace where he gets passed.
Watch out for Anderson in Houston. It’s a triple crown, and while Anderson has won just one overall, he has 8 individual TC Race wins. He could throw a wrench into things.
Chase Sexton
Finally, we come to this week’s winner, Sexton. His first win on Kawasaki, and even though it has only been three rounds, it feels like it took forever to get it. Here’s what we’ve learned with Sexton: if he doesn’t make mistakes, he is always a serious threat to win.
- Despite going off track several times at A1, and hitting the gate in San Diego, Sexton has yet to finish worse than he’s started.
- 4 of Sexton’s 5 mistake laps came from his troubles in A1. He’s been nearly flawless since hitting the gate.