Welcome to the 2026 season, the seventh year for Honda’s successful privateer program, competing across AMA Supercross, Motocross, Women’s Motocross, and World SuperMotocross. The Quad Lock Honda Team enters this season committed to telling its story round by round, chasing giants, and laying the foundations of a program built to win championships in the years ahead.
Anaheim 1 marked the opening round of the AMA Supercross Championship, delivered in front of a capacity crowd. With grandstands full, corporate hospitality at its limit, and an electric atmosphere inside Angel Stadium, the 2026 season began with the intensity and unpredictability Supercross is known for.
Lining up against nine factory teams and 19 factory-supported riders in the premier 450 class, Quad Lock Honda proved competitive, but remains far from content.
Heat Races: A Crucial First Step
With 44 riders split across two heats and only the top nine advancing directly to the Main Event, qualifying was no formality.
Joey Savatgy lined up in Heat 1, secured a solid start, and raced confidently among former champions to finish 5th, earning a direct transfer.
Christian Craig delivered a composed and calculated ride in Heat 2, finishing 4th.
Shane McElrath fought hard to claim the final transfer position in Heat 2, finishing 9th.
Team Principal Martin Davalos acknowledged the importance of getting all three riders safely into the Main Event.
“In 20 years of racing, I don’t think I’ve seen this many factory riders and teams in one field. Qualifying is the first battle, and I was relieved all three riders made it through. There were four factory riders the LCQ, I’m glad none of them were ours, said Davalos.
Main Event: Speed Shown, Work Remaining
The Main Event was red-flagged early following a frightening opening-lap collision between Malcolm Stewart and Justin Barcia. Both riders were conscious and attended to by medical staff before a full restart.
Christian Craig spent the first half of the race inside the top 10 and climbed as high as 6th before small mistakes cost valuable time and positions, eventually finishing 11th.
“We improved from first practice to the Main Event. It’s been close to a year since I lined up against this field, and I rode tight at times, but there are clear positives. This won’t be an overnight turnaround, we need to find a second to a second and a half to be racing inside the top five. The team is focused, we have a plan, and we’ll work hard to get there. Considering I missed the first nine rounds last year with injury, this is a positive start,” said Craig.
Joey Savatgy endured the most challenging race of the night. After an early off-track excursion and a heavy crash that sent him over the bars, Savatgy remounted from near last and charged back to 13th.
“That could have been much worse. I was pushing to make passes quickly and put myself in a bad position after a poor start. You can’t give away time in this field and expect to make it back without riding over your head. The positive is I’m really enjoying the bike, the team has done a great job. Thirteenth in points is better than last year’s opener, and now we focus on starts,” said Savatgy.
Shane McElrath finished 17th, a result that fell short of expectations.
“That was terrible. I can’t do that again. I know what needs to be done, and it’s on me to get to work,” said McElrath.
Competitive, Not Content
Despite demonstrating competitive speed, the team is clear-eyed about the work ahead.
“There’s no overnight fix in Supercross, we race 17 weekends in a row. We need to be strategic. Joey needs starts, he can race with the front runners if we fix that. Christian is impressive, but people forget the past two years of injuries; consistency takes time. Shane needs to lift because we expect more. The goal is simple: improve every week. There’s no tolerance for going backwards,” said Davalos.
Round 2 of the AMA Supercross Championship takes place this weekend in San Diego. The focus is clear, execute, improve, and continue closing the gap.
The Quad Lock Honda Team is competitive, but not content.
