Author Archives: PressBox

February 19, 2026

Whitmore Hosts Arlington Preview; Thomas Details Track

Round 7 of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship — the 250SX East Division opener — will take place Saturday, Feb. 21 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Peacock will carry U.S. coverage: Race Day Live at 1:00 p.m. ET, a Pre‑Race Show at 6:30 p.m. ET and the Night Show at 7:00 p.m. ET. International streaming is available via the SuperMotocross Video Pass. Former Women’s National Champion Sarah Whitmore will host the weekend preview, which focuses on the 250SX East opener and includes a track report from Jason Thomas describing conditions and layout features.

The injury report and entry list reshaped the weekend outlook. Christian Craig is scheduled to race despite fractured ring and pinky fingers suffered in a first‑turn Seattle crash with Jason Anderson, and Jo Shimoda is expected to race following a neck injury. Several riders are ruled out: RJ Hampshire (foot) and Jorge Prado (shoulder) are out for Arlington, and Casey Cochran is out of 250SX East with a broken collarbone. Gage Linville has sustained severe torso injuries and is aiming to return before the season ends.

Jordon Smith will return to make his 2026 and 450SX debut at Arlington after missing the first six rounds with a prior shoulder injury. The Arlington entry list also omits Justin Barcia, Benny Bloss, Cade Clason, Austin Forkner, Logan Karnow, Jett Lawrence, Max Miller and Mitchell Oldenburg. A full text version of the injury report is available for readers.

The stop also carries 450SX championship implications: Hunter Lawrence holds a one‑point lead over Eli Tomac, while Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb are tied for third, 11 points behind the leader. With the 250SX East opener and these 450SX battles converging at AT&T Stadium, Round 7 shapes up as a consequential weekend for teams, riders and viewers alike.
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February 19, 2026

Tomac’s Arlington win cuts 450SX lead to one point

Eli Tomac’s victory in Round 7 at Arlington immediately reshaped the 450SX title fight, cutting the gap to red‑plate leader Hunter Lawrence to a single point and turning the championship into an even tighter duel.

Tomac’s Arlington win was his third of the season, his 112th SMX victory and his 56th 450SX win. The result also helped KTM reach its 75th 450SX‑class victory and its 194th total SMX win. The Arlington event marked Tomac’s 375th SMX start and his 190th 450SX start, a milestone that tied him with Larry Ward and Justin Brayton for fifth on the all‑time 450SX starts list.

Other outcomes at AT&T Stadium underscored the championship ripple effects and season storylines. Hunter Lawrence finished fourth and retained the red plate; Cooper Webb posted his third straight podium and sat 11 points off the lead following a 7‑8‑5 start to the season. Justin Cooper capitalized on a two‑rider collision to take his first podium of the year — his sixth 450SX podium and 66th SMX podium overall. Chase Sexton notched his 65th 450SX top‑5 and his 150th SMX top‑5, Malcolm Stewart moved into the top‑25 all‑time in 450SX starts with 127, and Aaron Plessinger reached his 100th 450SX start.

Preview coverage from SMX Insiders hosts Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas framed Round 7 as a pivotal moment for the 450 class, breaking down points scenarios, flagging key storylines and offering practical notes about the Arlington venue and event schedule. The Arlington round was the 48th DFW Metroplex Supercross and the 19th held at AT&T Stadium, which will not use a Triple‑Crown format this season — a scheduling detail that will shape how the remainder of the season’s narrative unfolds.
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February 19, 2026

Dirt Legal WMR KTM, MX6 Kawasaki reveal 250SX East galleries

Two teams in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Division released roster photo galleries as visual previews ahead of the season opener. The galleries emphasize team identity, equipment, riders, and new graphics packages rather than race results, serving as promotional previews for fans and media.

The Dirt Legal Dirt Bike Depot WMR KTM Racing Team released a dedicated photoshoot featuring high-resolution, clickable thumbnails that open full-screen; credited photographer Tyler Hughes (Instagram: @Handheldty) produced the images. The gallery highlights the team’s riders as well as their bikes, riding gear and custom graphics, underscoring team branding, sponsors and the manufacturer partnerships embedded in the full team name. Hereafter the outfit is referred to as Dirt Legal WMR KTM.

MX6 Racing Kawasaki unveiled its roster and team photos in an Align Media–produced gallery that showcases Kawasaki bikes, riders’ gear and new graphics packages. The gallery doubles as a roster reveal and a visual promotional preview; individual riders were not named. Align Media and MX6 presented the images to introduce fans and media and to build anticipation for the upcoming 250SX East races.
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February 19, 2026

Aston Martin reliability woes in Bahrain; Alonso 4s off

Aston Martin’s final preseason outing in Bahrain was repeatedly hamstrung by reliability problems that prompted on-track stoppages and cost the team valuable running. The week’s disruptions included Lance Stroll’s spin into the Turn 11 gravel — blamed on a loss of drive while downshifting — which brought the session’s first red flag and required a crane recovery that stopped running for about seven minutes.

Later in the test Fernando Alonso’s car suffered a power-unit/engine issue and stopped on track, reported at the exit of Turn 4 during a race simulation, forcing another red-flag interruption and leaving Alonso unable to rejoin that stint.

Those problems left Aston Martin with markedly reduced mileage and patchy programs. Alonso was limited to the stint that ended in the stoppage (most sources recording about 28 laps; one put his total at 34) and was down the order — recorded as 12th and roughly four seconds off the fastest test benchmark — while the team had already logged the fewest laps in the previous week’s Bahrain running. Team engineers attempted to recover running after the failures, but the interruptions, plus an earlier Stroll incident, underlined recurring pace shortfalls and reliability concerns for Aston Martin as teams wrapped up final preseason preparations.
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February 19, 2026

Ferrari probes SF-26 after active rear wing flipped

Ferrari’s novel active rear wing — a rotating flap on the SF-26 designed to cut drag — dominated the opening days of the Bahrain pre-season test. Team observers saw the flap rotate fully upside‑down in straight mode during Lewis Hamilton’s brief outing, prompting Ferrari to investigate and adopt a cautious program: one SF‑26 was reported confined to the garage and another was limited to just five laps in a session. Hamilton ran the SF‑26 only briefly, spent much of the morning in the garage, completed five laps in one outing and later returned for a standing‑start exercise.

On-track timings were tight. Lando Norris set the fastest lap of the test with a 1:33.453 on the C4 tire, edging George Russell’s 1:33.459 by 0.006s; Russell had earlier topped a session with the 1:33.459 on C3 rubber. Oscar Piastri was within 0.01s of Russell, Charles Leclerc posted a 1:33.739 on prototype Pirelli rubber, and Max Verstappen posted a 1:33.584 after more than 50 laps. Mileage leaders included Russell, who was reported to have completed roughly 76-77 laps, while several rookies and backmarkers logged more limited programs (for example, Isack Hadjar completed 66 laps overall).

Reliability and restricted mileage affected several teams. Aston Martin suffered a power-unit issue that limited Fernando Alonso to about 28 laps and left the team with one of the lower daily totals (around 54 laps reported), while Lance Stroll’s spin brought out a red flag. Cadillac-run entries struggled for consistent track time. Reports about individual drivers’ lap counts varied: some logs showed Sergio Pérez at about 24 laps on one day, while Valtteri Bottas was variously reported as having only two installation laps in one session and higher totals in others. Red Bull also detected a pressure problem at times that curtailed running. Programs were further constrained late in the day by FIA-mandated practice-start checks, leaving teams to balance useful mileage with ongoing technical investigations ahead of the season opener.
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February 19, 2026

F1 Commission sends refinements to WMSC; Bahrain checks

The F1 Commission agreed a set of targeted refinements to send to the World Motor Sport Council for approval, and the FIA said it will not make immediate, sweeping changes to the 2026 regulations. The FIA pledged further evaluation rather than wholesale revisions and will run additional energy-management checks across three days at the second pre-season test in Bahrain, examine proposals to reduce any extra risk at standing starts, and evaluate potential updates to race systems and on-car management there.

Drivers and teams warned the 2026 overhaul could worsen overtaking, drivability and energy management rather than improve racing. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto said following another car “doesn’t look great.” Haas’s Esteban Ocon warned the cars appear to lose front load and that, so far, it looks difficult to pass. Max Verstappen dismissed some concerns as “a lot of nothing.”

Lewis Hamilton amplified technical concerns about drivability and energy recovery, saying teams cannot recover sufficient battery power under the revised hybrid rules and that drivers are being forced to rev very high and drop into first and second gears to regenerate energy. He warned high revs and large gaps between gear ratios raise the risk of instability when a car is loaded mid-corner and can cause sudden snaps, and cited “about 600 meters of lift‑and‑coast at Barcelona” appearing in qualifying. Hamilton also argued the hybrid system now supplies nearly half of the car’s power, making energy deployment and management central to on-track performance.

Teams, power-unit manufacturers and FOM pledged to work through outstanding technical issues before the season opener in Melbourne. The FIA and many teams also highlighted positive elements of the 2026 cars — reduced weight, smaller dimensions, improved ride quality and stronger initial acceleration — while warning that premature or large-scale regulatory changes could increase instability and that any refinements remain subject to formal approval procedures.
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February 19, 2026

Ferrari unveils exhaust flap on SF-26 to boost downforce

Ferrari unveiled a novel exhaust-mounted flap on the SF-26 during final pre-season testing in Bahrain. The device, variously described in paddock reports as a full-width flap, a small “flick-up” wing or a miniature beam wing, sits directly behind the tailpipe and around the rear-wing pylons in an area of bodywork that is usually restricted. Ferrari said the flap redirects hot exhaust upward to boost rear-wing efficiency and acts as an extension of an enlarged diffuser to raise rear downforce; the team stressed it interacts with diffuser sub-structures and replaces earlier small winglets, stopping short of calling the solution a blown diffuser. The car also displayed a smaller-than-average exhaust tailpipe with a metal upper section and a visible temperature strip.

The flap required and received special FIA permission because of its proximity to the rear axle line and because it exploits allowable volumes in the 2026 regulations around the twin rear-wing pillar and tail-section box regions. Ferrari kept the development hidden until Charles Leclerc put the car on track, and Motorsport Italia called the solution “unprecedented.” Rivals immediately noted the concept would likely demand a complete rear-end redesign to replicate — McLaren’s Andrea Stella was reported to have inspected the component at length — and teams said the small performance edge it might provide could persist for months as others chase packaging changes. Several outlets said the late timing of Ferrari’s reveal and the diffuser-extension packaging would make rapid copying ahead of the Australian Grand Prix difficult, though teams with the necessary internal volume could eventually adopt a similar idea.

Ferrari linked the flap-and-diffuser package to its decision to run a smaller turbo this season to help race starts and continued work on engine and gearbox compatibility and hybrid recharge behavior in first gear during the Bahrain sessions. On-track times gave context but left questions: Charles Leclerc posted the third-quickest time in testing while both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton trailed Max Verstappen and Red Bull on energy-recovery metrics, underscoring lingering hybrid-performance differences. If the exhaust-mounted flap proves effective in races, Ferrari could gain an early aerodynamic advantage and influence the shape of the F1 2026 aerodynamic battleground before the season begins.
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February 18, 2026

Jorge Prado sidelined for Arlington after shoulder injury

Jorge Prado will sit out Round 7 of the AMA Supercross Championship in Arlington as he continues to recover from a right shoulder injury sustained in a heavy crash during final qualifying in Seattle. Prado had posted the fastest qualifying time in Seattle before the second qualifying-session crash; he withdrew from his heat with right-shoulder swelling and did not compete in the night show. Red Bull KTM described his absence as a short-term precaution to protect his recovery and longer-term competitiveness.

Team medical evaluations found no major structural damage but identified excessive swelling and joint irritation in a shoulder that had been previously injured and surgically repaired during the 2025 season. Rather than race in Arlington, Red Bull KTM said it will give Prado a week off the KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition for therapy and further assessment. Team manager Ian Harrison emphasized the priority on the rider’s long-term health and said Prado will only return when ready.

The team is targeting the Daytona Supercross on Feb. 28 for his comeback if he is medically cleared, with further evaluations planned over the coming days to determine his fitness to race. Prado already sat out Round 6 and has fallen to 10th in the 450SX standings, a development that affects both his title prospects and Red Bull KTM’s Arlington planning. Since rejoining the team this season he has recorded quickest qualifying runs (including Glendale and Seattle), three heat-race wins (Anaheim 1, Anaheim 2 and Glendale) and a third-place podium at Anaheim 1; the team cited those results while stressing that the decision is a cautious, medically driven measure rather than a career-threatening setback.
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February 18, 2026

Luke Clout Rejoins AMA Supercross with PRMX in 250SX East

Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX Racing announced it has signed Australian rider Luke Clout to its 250SX East Division roster ahead of the season opener in Arlington, Texas. The team said he will race in the 2026 SMX East Coast Supercross Championship. His team presented the move as a roster update designed to strengthen its competitiveness in the 250SX East campaign and framed the signing as part of a broader effort to reinforce its competitive structure entering 2026.

Clout, 31, is a multiple Supercross and Motocross champion and the 2021 Australian MX1 Motocross Champion. He last competed in a full Monster Energy AMA Supercross season in 2020, when he finished ninth overall in the 250SX West Division, and the signing marks his return to a full Supercross program after several years away from a complete AMA Supercross season.

PRMX said Clout brings championship experience, international race craft, and proven front-running speed. His team management even calls him “a proven champion with the mindset required to compete at the highest level.” Clout will join teammate Hamden Hudson on the 250SX East roster and will race with backing from partners ROKiT, Partzilla, and Blaster Power, who PRMX said will support on-track performance and provide brand visibility across stadium events, national broadcasts, and digital platforms. The team is in pursuit of consistent top finishes, podium contention, and progress toward SuperMotocross competition.
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