Monster Energy® Kawasaki kicked off their 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship efforts at the iconic Anaheim season opener this weekend. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton lined up behind the gate for his much-anticipated racing debut with the team. The No. 4 Kawasaki set the pace early in qualifying with the fastest time. After battling through adversity during the night show, he would come out of the night with a Top 10 finish in seventh place. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders Levi Kitchen and Cameron McAdoo showed a strong pace early through qualifying and the heat races. Kitchen would go on to add a Top 10 finish with a sixth-place result in the 250SX Main Event, and McAdoo salvaged 22nd place after an incident with another rider.
In 450SX Qualifying, Sexton commanded the track aboard his KX™450SR, earning fastest qualifier by over half a second over the competition. Garrett Marchbanks showed flashes of speed while he adjusted to the new track and the 450 Class, qualifying 17th heading into the night show.
Both Monster Energy Kawasaki riders lined up behind the gate for 450 Heat 2. Sexton rocketed off the start to grab the holeshot and quickly led the field around the track. On Lap 2, Sexton suffered a setback as he went down on the face of the over-under tunnel. He rebounded just outside the Top 10 and put his head down to finish the race in fifth place. Marchbanks had a less-than-ideal start and got shuffled back near mid-pack. After experiencing some challenges throughout the race, the No. 36 finished just outside of a qualifying spot in 10th place, sending him to the Last Chance Qualifier.
In the 450SX LCQ, Marchbanks pulled a much stronger start, placing himself inside the Top 3. An incident in the whoops dropped him back to 15th. He remounted and fought through the field to finish 10th, ending his chances of lining up for the main event.
In the 450SX Main Event, Sexton would be squeezed out on the start with his far inside gate pick. While moving through the field, a multi-rider incident caused a red flag that stopped the race on the opening lap. Sexton would go back to the gate, focused and prepared for a full restart. As the gate dropped, the No. 4 pulled a stronger start inside the Top 10. Sexton battled the tricky, deteriorating track to pass his competitors, only for mistakes to set him back again. Although he was the fastest rider in two sectors of the track, he was forced to settle for eighth place. Sexton leaves Round 1 with a strong foundation and valuable data to learn from as the season goes into Round 2 at San Diego.
In 250SX qualifying, Kitchen topped both sessions to take fastest qualifier, while his teammate McAdoo qualified just inside the Top 10 in 10th place.
In 250 Heat 1, McAdoo got a strong jump off the gate and placed himself inside the Top 3. He battled the field and moved into second place to finish the race. In Heat 2, Kitchen rode a similar race, with a Top 3 start and second-place finish. The teammates’ strong heat race results set them up with ideal gate picks for the main event.
In the 250 Main Event, Kitchen and McAdoo pulled strong starts, running side by side into the first turn. Kitchen would get caught up in the chaos of the first turn and drop back to 22nd, while McAdoo shined at the front of the field in second place. Kitchen put on an impressive come-from-behind run, working his way up through the field, finishing just outside the Top 5 in sixth place. McAdoo flowed through the race up front until midway through, when another rider cross-jumped, causing him to go down. The No.142 pulled into the mechanics area for a brief moment before heading back out on the track. Unable to make up positions due to his time off the track, McAdoo would take 22nd on the night.
– Chase Sexton
“The day started off well with earning fastest qualifier. I felt really comfortable on the track and felt like I had the speed to contend up front. Unfortunately, I had a couple of mistakes during the heat race and main event that forced me to work my way through the field. It’s only the first round, and we have a good base to build off. We’ve got some work to do, but I know we’re capable of improving and putting up better results next week.”
– Garrett Marchbanks
“Today was a tough one for me and not how I expected or would have liked for it to go. I felt good during qualifying, and I had good speed throughout sections of the track. Poor starts and mistakes on my part led to me being out of the mix. I know what the team and I are capable of and we will show it next weekend. This will be a learning experience for me and we’ll move forward.”
– Levi Kitchen
“It felt good to start the season with the fastest qualifying time. The speed is there, and the bike felt great all day. The main event didn’t go how we wanted off the gate, but salvaging a sixth after being that far back is something to build on. It’s a long season, and this is just the beginning.”
– Cameron McAdoo
“It felt great to be back behind the gate and racing again. The heat race and the start of the main showed what we’re capable of, and I felt comfortable up front. I had another rider cross jump me, which led me to crash, and I had to go into the mechanics area for a while. I went back out and salvaged as much of the race as I could, but tonight wasn’t our night. We’ll come back next week prepared and ready to fight.”
