The 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship got underway in front of a sold-out crowd inside Angel Stadium for the opening round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. It turned out to be a memorable night for Red Bull KTM´s Jorge Prado and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna´s Ryder DiFrancesco, as both earned their first-career podiums in supercross. on their respective class.
Jorge Prado | 450SX | 3rd
Making his first appearance with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in Supercross, multi-time MXGP World Champion Prado qualified an impressive sixth while acclimatizing to the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in race conditions, before he powered to the holeshot in the first 450SX Heat Race of the year to hold off a fast-finishing Tomac for P1.
Upon launching to another impressive holeshot in the Main Event, the Spaniard rode a calculated race to earn a first-career Supercross podium finish, making for a significant Red Bull KTM Factory Racing double podium result as Eli Tomac took the win.
«This is really ahead of my expectations – the goal for this weekend was to just get through each session and do the best that I can. I had a great preparation leading into this year, but I am still so new to Supercross. Getting the Heat Race win was awesome, but I am really happy with my Main Event and to be on the podium. I rode within my limits, and still don’t have a lot of words to describe my feelings right now, but all I can say is that hard work always pays off! It’s great to start the season this way, so now we’ll keep learning and look forward to a new opportunity next week.»
Ryder DiFrancesco | 250SX West Coast | 3rd
New Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing recruit Ryder DiFrancesco delivered an exceptional third-place finish at Anaheim’s 2026 AMA Supercross Championship opener on Saturday night, racing to a first-career 250SX podium result after leading his share of laps in the Main Event.
DiFrancesco was fast out of the gate in the Main Event, scoring an important holeshot and holding onto the lead through the opening stages of the race. In the end, the popular Californian would find himself on the 250SX podium for the first time in his young career with a well-earned third-place result.
“Today was good! All day, I just wanted to be on the board in each practice, then the Heat Race was just okay. In the Main Event, we got the holeshot, and then I just tried not to look back from there – I wanted to lead as many laps as I could, and tonight was a big learning step. We’d like to lead more laps next weekend, continue to build, and try to land on the podium like this each weekend to give us a good shot at the title. This cements the work we’ve done in the off-season – I’m ready for more, now.”
