Eli Tomac and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing earned a commanding victory in Round 8 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship at Daytona International Speedway tonight, as Tomac claimed a record eighth-career Daytona Supercross win in the premier class and his fourth of the SMX World Championship season. Entering Daytona already as the winningest rider in the event's history, Tomac carried confidence into Round 8, powering his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to the second-fastest qualifying time with a 1:15.020s lap on the technical, high-speed layout. A holeshot in 450SX Heat 1 saw the 33-year-old charge to a wire-to-wire victory, remaining unchallenged at the front of the field and crossing the line with a 5.092s winning margin. Making a top-five start in the Main Event, Tomac was immediately on the charge, surging to the front by Lap 6 with a series of decisive passes before holding strong at the head of the pack to deliver his fourth victory of the year and the 57th of his premier class career. With his Daytona Supercross success, the two-time Supercross title-winner now sits just one point outside of the 450SX points lead with nine rounds remaining. Eli Tomac: “Somehow I have won eight Daytona Supercrosses! I just go out there and roost the berms like I’m at my home track – I love this dirt and the way it develops. Of course, I had to work for it there tonight, I went through all my main competition and just had a great time on my motorcycle. I love spraying these sand turns, I’m so thankful to get it done with Red Bull KTM, and to make up some championship points this weekend.” Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450SX teammate Aaron Plessinger made an encouraging start to the round onboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, posting the eighth-fastest qualifying time before racing to a P4 finish in his Heat Race despite a fall in the early stages. Plessinger completed the opening lap of the Main Event in position 10, before ‘The Cowboy’ delivered a determined ride, steadily working his way forward to record a season-best sixth-place result by race’s end, building upon his form as the season progresses. He is now eighth in the 450SX standings as the series approaches halfway. Aaron Plessinger: "Daytona was okay, I just need to focus on myself and continue to improve. Sixth place is not bad, but I expect more out of myself – I know the team expects more out of me and I would like to do better. So I need to go back to work this week and also work at putting myself in better positions. I chose the wrong gate tonight and I got the best jump that I could, although with the gate that I chose, it didn't do me any favors. I was in the top 10 after the first corner, and then just pushed and made a few passes, but I think if I were in a better position, I would have been fighting for either a podium or a smooth P5. The team is working hard for me – we'll look at bringing some momentum into Indy next weekend." Four-time world champion Jorge Prado remained sidelined for Round 8, with the 25-year-old continuing rehabilitation and recovery from a right shoulder injury sustained in Seattle. Next Race: March 7 – Indianapolis, Indiana Results 450SX Class – Daytona 1. Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 2. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 3. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) 6. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 9. Justin Hill (KTM) 10. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) 15. Grant Harlan (KTM) Standings 450SX Class 2026 after 8 of 17 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 171 points 2. Eli Tomac, 170 3. Ken Roczen, 151 8. Aaron Plessinger, 95 11. Malcolm Stewart, 75 12. Justin Hill, 74 13. Jorge Prado, 73 18. RJ Hampshire, 38
Red Bull KTM kicked off their tenth season of MotoGP Grand Prix racing through the demanding Thai heat with Pedro Acosta earning a brilliant runner-up result. 91,455 spectators on-site watched the opening chapter of the 22-round series where the team and brand walked away as world championship leaders for the first time.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler delivered another consistent performance at round six of the 2026 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Newcastle, United Kingdom, claiming sixth overall in the Prestige class. Racing his KTM 300 EXC, the German secured three sixth-place finishes across the evening’s races to add further valuable points to his championship tally.
Pedro Acosta and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing won the first Sprint of the 2026 MotoGP season after an enthralling 13-lap race in Thailand. Two KTM RC16s finished in the points with Brad Binder fighting to P6.
Eli Tomac and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team claimed a well-earned second-place finish at Arlington’s seventh round of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship, recording his fifth podium of the season tonight in Texas. Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION – complete with a special livery for Military Appreciation Round – Tomac topped the premier class qualifying for the third time in 2026, posting a benchmark 47.688s lap during the second afternoon session at AT&T Stadium. Momentum continued for the 33-year-old with third-place in the opening 450SX Heat Race, as he showed consistent pace and gained a solid gate selection for the upcoming Main Event. Despite a difficult initial launch out of the gate, Tomac quickly recovered on the opening laps with a series of decisive passes, as the two-time 450SX Champion charged into fourth position during the race's early stages. From there, an intense, race-long battle unfolded, with Tomac advancing into second during the closing laps of the Main Event. Mounting a late charge, he continued to apply pressure at the front, ultimately finishing in P2 at Round 7. As the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship approaches its halfway point, Tomac sits just four points from the 450SX series lead, with the SMX World Championship season continuing at the annual Daytona Supercross next weekend. Eli Tomac: “Those first laps absolutely saved my race. I had to make some quick moves there and was able to find those openings to pass two-to-three riders at a time. By lap two or three, I could see the front of the race and thought, ‘I’m okay, I can work with this.’ What a difficult track [it was] tonight. Of course, I fought to the end as much as I could and second is what we had. Thank you to Red Bull KTM – we’ll come back swinging in Daytona.” Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450SX teammate Aaron Plessinger made a positive start to the night aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, claiming fifth place in his Heat Race to comfortably earn a direct transfer into the Main Event. Plessinger faced an intense opening few laps in fighting for early track position, as the 30-year-old battled inside the top-10 throughout Arlington’s entire Main Event. 'The Cowboy' eventually scored an eighth-place finish for the weekend. With the series moving to Daytona next weekend, ‘The Cowboy’ will turn his attention to the historic Florida speedway, where he landed on the podium – his first of the 2025 season – one year ago. Aaron Plessinger: "Dallas was better. I think we made some pretty good progress with the bike, but ultimately, I just need to be better. I need to put myself in better positions, and just overall, be better myself. The Heat Race, I got an average start and rode my way to fifth, and then for the Main, I went all the way inside gate, so got a better start. I was running good and then [Jason] Anderson ended up going down in front of me, so that put me back a little bit. And then I had a decent flow going there, but I ended up casing a jump pretty good and kind of ruined my momentum that I had going. I ended up eighth, but overall, it just needed to be better. We go to Daytona next week, so I am looking forward to that and, yeah, I've just got to focus on being better on race day." Four-time world champion Jorge Prado was sidelined for Round 7 after his incident during Seattle’s second qualifying session, with the 25-year-old prioritizing recovery on his right shoulder by taking a week off the bike at this time. Next Race: February 28 – Daytona, Florida Results 450SX Class – Arlington 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Eli Tomac (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 3. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 8. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 11. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) 12. Justin Hill (KTM) 17. Kevin Moranz (KTM) Standings 450SX Class 2026 after 7 of 17 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 149 points 2. Eli Tomac, 145 3. Cooper Webb, 133 10. Aaron Plessinger, 79 11. Jorge Prado, 73 12. Malcolm Stewart, 63 13. Justin Hill, 61 17. RJ Hampshire, 38
Pedro Acosta was the fastest KTM RC16 rider on the time sheets after the second and final pre-season MotoGP test today. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing representative was 6th and just 0.3 from the quickest effort logged on the second of two hot and busy days at the Buriram International Circuit. The entire 2026 grid will now narrow their focus to the first of 22 Grands Prix this season, beginning at the same venue next weekend.
