With the beginning of the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season quickly approaching, we compiled a list of 13 riders who will race for the big six manufacturers’ official factory efforts in the 2020 race season. The teams are Monster Energy Kawasaki, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Team Honda HRC, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing, and JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing.
Related: 450 Motocross Bike Comparison
Eli Tomac captured six main event wins in the 2019 AMA Supercross season, but a couple of uncharacteristic results—namely a 12th place finish at round 7 in Arlington, Texas—where he finished outside the top five negatively impacted his title chances. The Colorado native has arguably been the fastest rider for the past couple of years, but injuries and inconsistency have prevented him from clinching the title.
As a longtime Kawasaki Team Green rider during his amateur years and racing for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team in the 250SX class from 2014 to 2019, Adam Cianciarulo is making the move to the 450SX class in 2020 on a brand he is very familiar with. In his debut ride with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team, the 23-year-old took home the overall win at the Monster Energy Cup with 2-2-1 main event finishes.
To say that Cooper Webb exceeded his and everyone else’s expectation in 2019 might be an understatement. After two dismal years in the 450SX class in 2017 and 2018, Webb rebounded in a big way in 2019 with his new bike, team, and training program to clinch his first 450SX class title. With familiar surroundings in 2020, Webb will look to repeat his championship-winning performance in the 17-round series.
Just less than a month prior to the beginning of the season, KTM announced that Marvin Musquin will miss the entire 2020 AMA Supercross Championship after sustaining a knee injury when he cased a jump at KTM’s test track facility in Corona, California. He returned to France shortly after and successfully underwent surgery to repair his left knee and is now concentrating on intense therapy to properly heal over the upcoming months.
2019 was a successful year for Ken Roczen. Coming off two seasons of injuries, the German rider displayed incredible speed and landed on the podium six times in the 2019 AMA Supercross series. Although he wasn’t able to clinch the elusive victory he was looking for, he came close several times. With a full season under his belt in 2019, Roczen will look to capture his first main event win since the 2017 San Diego Supercross.
With Cole Seely retiring from professional racing in early August 2019, that left a spot open at Team Honda HRC. Justin Brayton will fill the second spot, which marks a return to the team he last rode for in 2012. Brayton will continue to focus only on the AMA Supercross series in 2020, and his spot for the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will be filled by 450 class rookie Chase Sexton.
Jason Anderson won the 2018 450SX class title, but his defense of the number 1 plate was derailed when he suffered a practice crash at the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing test track in Murrieta, California, effectively ending his 2019 Supercross season. Anaheim 1 on January 4, 2020, will be the New Mexico native’s first AMA Supercross race in nearly a year.
After missing the first six rounds of the 2019 AMA Supercross season due to a collarbone injury, Zach Osborne looks to be healthy and ready heading into 2020. His best result in 2019 came at the penultimate round of the series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where he achieved a second place finish in the main event.
Shortly after signing a one-year contract extension with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team, Dean Wilson suffered a vicious crash during practice at the 2019 Monster Energy Cup, resulting in what was reported by the team to be a dislocated hip. A timetable for Wilson’s return has not been specified as of this writing.
2019 marked Justin Barcia’s first full season with the Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing team. The Florida rider won the opening round at Anaheim 1, but achieved no other podium finishes during the rest of the season, and missed five rounds due to injury. He finished 13th overall in the 2019 450SX class point standings.
After winning both the 250 Western Regional Supercross Championship and the 250 Pro Motocross Championship in 2018, Aaron Plessinger moved up to the 450 class in 2019 with the Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing team. Before the halfway point of the season, Plessinger had achieved two sixth place finishes, and just one week after capturing a season-best fifth place result at round 9 in Atlanta, he crashed at the Daytona Supercross and broke his heel, effectively ending his rookie season in the 450SX class.
After completing his rookie season in the 450SX class with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team in 2019, Joey Savatgy has moved over to the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing effort for 2020. The beginning of Savatgy’s 2020 racing campaign will be delayed due to a preseason crash at the AUS-X Open in Docklands, Australia, that resulted in a foot injury. According to the team, Savatgy is planning to be back on the track during the 2020 AMA Supercross season, but a specific return date has not been specified as of this writing.
Freddie Norén made his debut with the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team as a fill-in rider in the 450 class at the Southwick National for round 6 of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The Swedish native has joined the factory Suzuki organization full-time in 2020 and will continue piloting an RM-Z450 in the premier class.
