Steve Cox | January 2, 2020

The 2020 series gets the series truck drivers right into the thick of the job right away, starting out at Anaheim this weekend before heading almost 2000 miles across the country to St. Louis, Missouri, then returning to Anaheim for round three. There will be 14 races in a row for the 450cc class before the single weekend off for Easter, April 12th.

2020 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Championship Preview — **The 2020 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series kicks off this Saturday night in Anaheim.** Photo: Steve Cox

After making its series debut in 2019, Nissan Stadium in Nashville is back off of the schedule for 2020, and for the first time since 1996, the series finale won’t be held at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. Instead, it will be held in the thin air of Salt Lake City, Utah’s, Rice-Eccles Stadium. Interestingly, in 1996, the finale was held in thin air as well, at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.

In the ’80s and into the ’90s, the finale was traditionally held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas hosted the finale for the first time in 1993, and the finale has been held there every year since (sans 1996). That’s 26 of the last 27 years, and 23 years in a row.

If you can’t make it to any of these rounds in person, all of the rounds will air live (while also being available to watch replays on-demand) on the NBC Sports Gold streaming channel online, while NBC and NBC Sports networks will be airing the events on television.

(Italics indicate a Monster Energy Triple Crown event.)

2020 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series, an FIM World Championship

Round 1	January 4	Angel Stadium	Anaheim, CA
Round 2	January 11	The Dome at America’s Center	St. Louis, MO
Round 3	January 18	Angel Stadium	Anaheim, CA
Round 4	January 25	State Farm Stadium	Glendale, AZ
Round 5	February 1	RingCentral Coliseum	Oakland, CA
Round 6	February 8	PETCO Park	San Diego, CA
Round 7	February 15	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, FL
Round 8	February 22	AT&T Stadium	Arlington, TX
Round 9	February 29	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, GA
Round 10	March 7	Daytona Int’l Speedway	Daytona Beach, FL
Round 11	March 14	Lucas Oil Stadium	Indianapolis, IN
Round 12	March 21	Ford Field	Detroit, MI
Round 13	March 28	CenturyLink Field	Seattle, WA
Round 14	April 4	Empower Field at Mile High	Denver, CO
Round 15	April 18	Gillette Stadium	Foxborough, MA
Round 16	April 25	Sam Boyd Stadium	Las Vegas, NV
Round 17	May 2	Rice-Eccles Stadium	Salt Lake City, UT

2020 250SX Western Regional Supercross Championship

Round 1	January 4	Angel Stadium	Anaheim, CA
Round 2	January 11	The Dome at America’s Center	St. Louis, MO
Round 3	January 18	Angel Stadium	Anaheim, CA
Round 4	January 25	State Farm Stadium	Glendale, AZ
Round 5	February 1	RingCentral Coliseum	Oakland, CA
Round 6	February 8	PETCO Park	San Diego, CA
Round 7	March 28	CenturyLink Field	Seattle, WA
Round 8	April 4	Empower Field at Mile High	Denver, CO (E/W Shootout)
Round 9	April 25	Sam Boyd Stadium	Las Vegas, NV
Round 10	May 2	Rice-Eccles Stadium	Salt Lake City, UT (E/W Shootout)

2020 250SX Eastern Regional Supercross Championship

Round 1	February 15	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, FL
Round 2	February 22	AT&T Stadium	Arlington, TX
Round 3	February 29	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, GA
Round 4	March 7	Daytona Int’l Speedway	Daytona Beach, FL
Round 5	March 14	Lucas Oil Stadium	Indianapolis, IN
Round 6	March 21	Ford Field	Detroit, MI
Round 7	April 4	Empower Field at Mile High	Denver, CO (E/W Shootout)
Round 8	April 18	Gillette Stadium	Foxborough, MA
Round 9	May 2	Rice-Eccles Stadium	Salt Lake City, UT (E/W Shootout)

2020 SX Futures Amateur Events

Round 1	January 12	The Dome at America’s Center	St. Louis, MO
Round 2	January 19	Angel Stadium	Anaheim, CA
Round 3	January 26	State Farm Stadium	Glendale, AZ
Round 4	February 2	RingCentral Coliseum	Oakland, CA
Round 5	February 16	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, FL
Round 6	February 23	AT&T Stadium	Arlington, TX
Round 7	April 5	Empower Field at Mile High	Denver, CO
Round 8	April 19	Gillette Stadium	Foxborough, MA
Round 9	April 26	Sam Boyd Stadium	Las Vegas, NV
Round 10	May 3	Rice-Eccles Stadium	Salt Lake City, UT

2019 Rider Numbers
* denotes permanent number

1	Cooper Webb
1W	Dylan Ferrandis
1E	Chase Sexton
2*	Cooper Webb (Outdoors)
3*	Eli Tomac
4*	Blake Baggett
6*	Jeremy Martin
7*	Aaron Plessinger
9*	Adam Cianciarulo
10*	Justin Brayton
11*	Kyle Chisholm
12*	Shane McElrath
13	Colt Nichols
14*	Dylan Ferrandis
15*	Dean Wilson
16*	Zach Osborne
17*	Joey Savatgy
18*	Weston Peick
19*	Justin Bogle
20*	Broc Tickle
21*	Jason Anderson
22*	Chad Reed
23*	Chase Sexton
24*	RJ Hampshire
25*	Marvin Musquin
26*	Alex Martin
27*	Malcolm Stewart
28	Michael Mosiman
29	Cameron McAdoo
30	Brandon Hartranft
31	Freddie Noren
32*	Justin Cooper
33*	Josh Grant
34	Tyler Bowers
35	Hunter Lawrence
36	Garrett Marchbanks
37	Martin Davalos
38	Kyle Peters
39	Jordan Bailey
40	Mitchell Oldenburg
41	Ty Masterpool
42	Ben Lamay
43	John Short
44	Kyle Cunningham
45	Jacob Hayes
46*	Justin Hill
47	Lorenzo Locurcio
48	Henry Miller
49	Chris Blose
50	Benny Bloss
51*	Justin Barcia
52	Austin Forkner
53	Jimmy Decotis
54	Jordon Smith
55	Martin Castelo
56	Lorenzo Locurcio
57	Derek Drake
58	Sean Cantrell
59	Josh Osby
60	Mitchell Falk
61	Alex Ray
62	Christian Craig
63	Jess Pettis
64	Vince Friese
65	James Weeks
66	Enzo Lopes
67	Jerry Robin
68	Nick Gaines
69	Carlen Gardner
70	Dylan Merriam
71	Ryan Breece
72	Robbie Wageman
73	Chase Marquier
74	Mitchell Harrison
75	Coty Schock
76	Mike Alessi
77	Kevin Moranz
78	Jake Masterpool
79	Isaac Teasdale
80	Thomas Covington
81	Anthony Rodriguez
82	Cade Autenrieth
83	Jett Lawrence
84	Jo Shimoda
85	Cole Martinez
86	Joshua Cartwright
87	Ramyller Alves
88	Logan Karnow
89	Marshal Weltin
90	Killian Auberson
91	Ryan Sipes
92	Austin Politelli
93	Blake Wharton
94*	Ken Roczen
95	Carson Brown
96	Justin Thompson
97	Chris Howell
98	Bradley Lionnet
99	Brandon Leith

2019 450cc Teams/Riders

Team Honda HRC

Ken Roczen returns for another season as Honda’s premier racer, but not without changes. The big change for Roczen is his longtime mechanic/friend Oscar Wirdeman has left for Monster Energy Kawasaki to become Adam Cianciarulo’s crew chief (more on the reasons for that below). With longtime friend and teammate Cole Seely retiring from racing in 2019, Honda tried to sign Cianciarulo, but AC went to Kawasaki. Then, Honda tried to sign Joey Savatgy to a one-year deal as Roczen’s teammate, but Savatgy wanted a multi-year deal (having just raced at Kawasaki for one year before exiting to make room for Cianciarulo). Honda wanted to save its money for a multi-year deal for GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton to move up to the 450cc class alongside Roczen in 2021, but they found a compromise: Justin Brayton (who is contracted to race Honda factory equipment, normally out of the Motoconcepts Honda rig) will come on-board for the 2020 Supercross Championship and then, since he no longer races outdoors, Sexton will move up to the 450cc class alongside Roczen outdoors. Roczen should contend for the championship, and Brayton is a threat to win races.
10 Justin Brayton
94 Ken Roczen

MotoConcepts/Smartop Racing Honda

With Brayton exiting the Motoconcepts team (at least for 2020), the team picked up former 250cc SX champ Justin Hill to compete alongside Malcolm Stewart and Vince Friese—both of whom competed for race wins at October’s Monster Energy Cup. The equipment seems to be plenty good enough to compete, so we’ll see how Hill adjusts come Anaheim 1 this weekend. Friese and Stewart should be in the mix.
27            Malcolm Stewart
46            Justin Hill
64            Vince Friese

Mountain Motorsports/TwoTwo Racing Honda

With only one more 450cc main-event start to get Chad Reed to 250 total in his career, some speculated that Reedy would return to race just the first few rounds to guarantee his total of 250 career mains, but the Aussie SX legend—who will turn 38 the day after the Indianapolis Supercross—is planning on racing 15 rounds of the 17-round 2020 series. He’ll miss two rounds to compete in some sports-car races, as he did in 2019 in a Lamborghini. Reed brought back team manager Dave Osterman for his final tour, backed by Mountain Motorsports on Hondas. He scored a podium in 2019, and in the right circumstances could certainly do at least that again, but his top-tier goal for a few years has been to become the oldest racer ever to win a 450cc main event. That record is currently held by Justin Brayton at the age of 34. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll have 15 chances to make this happen.
22 Chad Reed

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna

Former SX champ (2018) Jason Anderson is back after an off-season where he could rest and recuperate from a grueling 2019. He should be a race and title threat, and Zach Osborne is due to get a 450cc win as well. As for Dean Wilson, the likable Scotsman was going really fast at the Monster Energy Cup last October, but had a massive crash and ended up with a fractured/dislocated hip. Wilson finally had a factory ride at the start of this year, only for this injury to set him back. He’s back to riding, and last we heard he’s a game-time decision for Anaheim 1. He’s on the entry list, though. We will see if he’s able to get out on the track or not this Saturday.
15            Dean Wilson
16            Zach Osborne
21            Jason Anderson

Team 2020 Husqvarna

Broc Tickle was suspended due to a failed urinalysis following the 2018 San Diego Supercross, for a substance included in an over-the-counter supplement (on the label under a different name from how it’s referred to by WADA). After a few of these sorts of suspensions, the sport’s powers that be have begun to understand the danger the testing represents for the sport, but Tickle still can’t race until after February 10th, which is when his suspension ends. He’ll rejoin the series at the Tampa Supercross on February 15th on a Husqvarna out of his own truck (presumably until he can find a fill-in spot on a factory team).
20 Broc Tickle

Monster Energy Kawasaki

Most factory 450cc race teams have one racer who is predicted to be championship contender, and a second racer who is not. (On rare occasion, it doesn’t go as the team predicts, such as with Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin at KTM in 2019.) The 2020 Monster Energy Kawasaki team has two racers who are more than capable of winning the 2020 450cc SX title, and they know it. First, there’s Eli Tomac, the three-time 450cc National MX champ and current record holder for the most 450cc SX wins by a racer who hasn’t won that championship. Tomac is way past due to win this title, but it’s certainly not owed to him. And then there’s his new teammate and 2019 250cc National MX champ Adam Cianciarulo, who went toe-to-toe with Tomac at the Monster Energy Cup and won. Cianciarulo’s a 450cc rookie, so he’ll be asked to race 17 rounds for the first time in his career, and he’s got his friend Ken Roczen’s former mechanic Oscar Wirdeman in his corner as his personal crew chief, helping with bike setup. Wirdeman knows what it takes to go 17 rounds, and he knows how to set up a motorcycle. And why is Wirdeman the crew chief just for Cianciarulo? Because, since Eli Tomac showed up to race at Kawasaki and demanded KYB suspension on his motorcycles, the team has always contracted the other team racer to use Showa suspension. As we understand it, team management believes this creates competition between suspension manufacturers to come up with the “best stuff”, but most other teams in history have had more success by using the same suspension whenever possible so that the team can share settings between their racers. We’ll see how it works out between ET and AC in 2020.
3 Eli Tomac
9 Adam Cianciarulo

Red Bull KTM

Coming into 2019, Marvin Musquin was presumed to be Red Bull KTM’s championship contender and Cooper Webb was thought to be a team project of sorts. Just a few months later, Webb took down his first-ever 450cc title and became the team’s “top dog”. Just a few weeks ago, Musquin finished off his already-injured knee and it was announced that he would miss the entire 2019 Supercross Series. Unless something changes, Webb will carry the number 1 out from under the KTM awning all by himself through May. But with a full year of training under team trainer Aldon Baker, and a year of getting settings sorted out on his factory KTM, the pressure of his title defense might work out just fine for him. It’s just that this year Webb won’t be able to catch the rest of the field off-guard…
1 Cooper Webb
25 Marvin Musquin (out for 2019 supercross series)

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM

Still on factory equipment, 2019 fill-in racer Justin Bogle has officially joined team stalwart Blake Baggett on the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM team. Both of these racers have won 250cc championships and 450cc races, so don’t be surprised if either of them get up in the mix on Saturday night.
4 Blake Baggett
19 Justin Bogle

Team Tedder KTM

Martin Davalos said if he couldn’t get a factory 450cc machine under him for the 2020 season, he’d retire from racing. Well, he got his wish. After showing great speed at the Geneva Supercross (winning the opening night), he signed a deal with Team Tedder, which had just signed with KTM to get full factory support from the Austrian manufacturer. It’s even possible that Davalos might have gotten a call up to the factory Red Bull KTM team to fill in for the injured Marvin Musquin, if not for Team Tedder’s Monster Energy sponsorship. Davalos will likely be fast in his rookie 450cc season. Tedder has what it takes to put his motorcycle into the 450cc main events as well.
37 Martin Davalos
111 Dakota Tedder

JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing

The JGR Suzuki team’s 450cc effort is completely different from 2019. JGR used to be a 450cc squad, but as of 2020, their 250cc effort seems to be getting most of the attention. In 2019, JGR fielded 450s under Chad Reed and Justin Hill while their star racer, Weston Peick, recovered from an awful crash and injury suffered in the off-season at the Paris Supercross. Peick is still not ready to get back to racing (and may not ever be, as his vision seems to be the primary issue at this point), and the team jettisoned Hill and Reed. They signed 2019 Kawasaki factory racer Joey Savatgy to field the team’s RM-Z450 factory machines. Savatgy was looking for a multi-year deal for 2020 and 2021, but it’s unclear whether he got that from JGR, as JGR’s current Suzuki contract is up at the end of this year. Savatgy certainly has the skill to compete.
17 Joey Savatgy

H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki

The H.E.P. Suzuki squad will be fielding a surprising strong three-rider team in 2020, with veteran Kyle Cunningham coming on board to race 450s full-time with proven main-event talent, the Seven-Deuce-Deuce of Adam Enticknap. But perhaps the most interesting part of the 2020 squad is Brit Max Anstie. Anstie had a too-brief stint in the US that started in the pros about a decade ago. Anstie is a proven talent who has won Grand Prix races in Europe, and even went 1-1 in the MXGP class at the 2017 Motocross of Nations in his home country at Matterley Basin. He has always wanted to race full-time and build a life in the USA, and this might be his last shot to do just that. Unfortunately, he aggravated an ankle injury in the pre-season and will likely miss the first half or so of the 2020 championship. But when he returns, don’t be surprised if he turns some heads.
44            Kyle Cunningham
103            Max Anstie
722            Adam Enticknap

Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing

The Monster Energy Yamaha team returns to action unchanged from 2019, with Aaron Plessinger and Justin Barcia set to field YZ450F factory machines for the bLUcRU. Barcia won Anaheim 1 last year, but struggled much of the rest of the year with injuries. He came on near the end of the outdoor series after his team found some new chassis settings on his motorcycle. But he will contend for race wins at the least. As for Plessinger, he’s entering his second year of a two-year deal, and he spent a good chunk of 2019 on the sidelines with a broken heel he suffered at the Daytona Supercross. He has the talent to compete at the front of the field, but this is a contract year, so if he doesn’t manage to actually do that, he could find himself looking for a ride in 2021 while his former teammate Dylan Ferrandis takes his place.
7 Aaron Plessinger
51 Justin Barcia

CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha

Benny Bloss is a talented racer; all 6’5” of him. He lost his ride with the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM team in 2020 after spending much of the year recovering from a knee injury, but he’ll be at Anaheim 1 on a Yamaha.
50 Benny Bloss

2019 250cc Teams/Riders

GEICO Honda

The big news for GEICO Honda in 2020 is the return of their star racer Jeremy Martin. Martin missed all of 2019 after suffering a broken back during the 2018 AMA 250cc Nationals—a championship which he seemed likely to win at the time—but he’s back on a bike and ripping. He raced the Monster Energy Cup on a 450 this past October and looked just fine. Chase Sexton is the reigning 250cc Eastern Regional SX champ, but he won’t run the 1E back east. Instead, he’ll be running his permanent number, 23, on the west coast in his final 250cc year—at just 20 years old—before possibly racing a 450 during select east-coast rounds and moving up to 450s full-time during the 2020 AMA Nationals, at which time he’ll be joining Ken Roczen in the Honda factory rig. Aussie import Hunter Lawrence is set to make his supercross debut in Tampa at the start of the 250cc Eastern Regional Supercross Championship, although there are rumors of a shoulder injury and no real idea of how long it will put him out of action. His younger, brash brother, Jett, on the other hand, is set to make his supercross debut this weekend at Anaheim 1 after winning the 250cc Futures (formerly known as the Amateur All Stars) event with ease at the Monster Energy Cup. And the 2018 winner of the same event, Jo Shimoda, will be making his own SX debut at Tampa along with Hunter. And then there’s Christian Craig. Craig has everything it takes to win a 250cc title, but he’s been hampered by injuries the past few years. He’s on the entry list for Anaheim 1 as well, along with Sexton, Jett Lawrence and Martin.
6            Jeremy Martin
23            Chase Sexton (250W)
35            Hunter Lawrence (hurt shoulder)
62            Christian Craig
83            Jett Lawrence
84            Jo Shimoda

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna

You can’t talk about the Husqvarna 250cc factory effort without immediately bringing up Michael Mosiman. Mosiman had a breakout year in 2019 and threatened for wins both indoors and out. He’s signed up to come off the gate this weekend at Anaheim 1. If he builds on 2019, he could compete for titles. The Husky squad signed RJ Hampshire for 2020 as well. Hampshire has been at GEICO Honda his entire career, but a change of scenery can do a lot for a racer. He’s scheduled to race the East series along with rookie Jalek Swoll.
24            RJ Hampshire
28            Michael Mosiman
352            Jalek Swoll

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki

There have been some pretty big changes at the Pro Circuit team in 2020, but the team’s star is still Austin Forkner until otherwise proven. Forkner will get back to racing on the east coast along with his teammate Garrett Marchbanks. Out west will be two of PC’s new-hires, with former East championship contender Jordon Smith lining up this weekend along with teammate Cameron McAdoo. Smith raced at TLD/Red Bull KTM for the past few years, while McAdoo raced as a fill-in at GEICO Honda indoors last year, and then with Smith’s KTM team outdoors. McAdoo specifically has been on one heck of an upward trajectory over the past year, and now he’s racing for the most successful team in the history of the 250cc (125cc) class… Keep that in mind Saturday night.
29            Cameron McAdoo
36            Garrett Marchbanks
52            Austin Forkner
54            Jordon Smith

TLD/Red Bull KTM

The TLD/Red Bull KTM team is almost completely new in 2020. The only returning racer is Derek Drake, but even he only raced on a limited basis out of the amateur ranks in 2019. But Drake definitely has some speed. He’s joined on the West this weekend by Brandon Hartranft, who raced the last couple years for the CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha team, putting in solid results. Back east, the team will field two supercross rookies, with young Brian Moreau and Pierce Brown making their supercross debuts.
30            Brandon Hartranft
57            Derek Drake
104            Brian Moreau
163            Pierce Brown

JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing

The second year of the new RM-Z250 should bring improvements for everybody racing them. Alex Martin is taking on the west coast on his own out of the JGR rig, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t end the night on the box. Jimmy Decotis and Freddie Noren will be joining the series back east, where Decotis is expecting to win races at the very minimum. Noren should move back up to the 450cc class outdoors.
26            Alex Martin
31            Freddie Noren
53            Jimmy Decotis

Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha

The Star Racing team will sport the 1W out west, as 2019 standout Dylan Ferrandis attempts his first-ever title defense. When the series goes east, he’ll likely race a 450 at select events. He has three teammates signed up for Anaheim 1, but that’s likely just in case one or two of them hurt themselves before the gate drops. In his last year racing 250s, Shane McElrath made a bold move from the TLD KTM team to Star Racing, which surprised a lot of people. He was presumed to be a natural fit to move up to the Red Bull KTM squad after his 250cc career was over, but he wants a 250cc title before he moves up, and he apparently believes Star Racing is the most likely place for him to pull that off. Colt Nichols and Justin Cooper are both signed up for Anaheim 1 as well, but there’s no chance the team is going to run all four of them out west and forfeit a chance to win a title back east.
1W            Dylan Ferrandis
12            Shane McElrath
13            Colt Nichols
32            Justin Cooper

Miscellaneous

Formerly at JGR, Kyle Peters will be competing with Phoenix Racing Honda in 2020 along with AX champ Jace Owen. Gone from Husqvarna are young Jordan Bailey (who will be racing with TiLube Honda in 2020), and Thomas Covington. Covington had a two-year deal to race in the US for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, but his 2019 season was absolutely awful. He scored a total of 20 points in supercross (not Covington’s bread and butter, where the team just expected him to figure things out a bit), but he was signed by the team for his outdoor abilities, as a proven MX GP winner on multiple occasions. He scored 11 points all year outdoors. Rather than continue to try and come back for another year of potential abuse, where he obviously wasn’t happy, he signed with a Yamaha team to return to the GPs and race the MX GP class in 2020. Enzo Lopes struggled with the JGR team the last couple years and will race the 250cc East for ClubMX on a Yamaha. Sean Cantrell and Mitchell Falk both exited the TLD KTM team after 2019. Cantrell still has nothing going for 2020, and Falk will be racing on his own team sponsored by BWR Engines. And Mitchell Oldenburg, who put in some great rides over the past few years with TLD KTM and Star Racing Yamaha will be racing for Penrite Honda. Ty Masterpool wasn’t listed in the Star Racing official press release, but that’s because he’s making his supercross debut in 2021.

For more of the latest motocross and supercross news and information, click here.

2020 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Championship Preview

2019 450cc Teams/Riders

Team Honda HRC

MotoConcepts/Smartop Racing Honda

Mountain Motorsports/TwoTwo Racing Honda

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna

Team 2020 Husqvarna

Monster Energy Kawasaki

Red Bull KTM

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM

Team Tedder KTM

JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing

H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki

Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing

CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha

2019 250cc Teams/Riders

GEICO Honda

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki

TLD/Red Bull KTM

JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing

Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha

Miscellaneous