The 2026 AMA Pro Motocross Championship opened Sunday at Fox Raceway at Pala, and Haiden Deegan arrived as one of the day’s biggest questions in his first 450 Pro Motocross race. He did not wait long to answer part of it, leading the first 450 session once bikes got on track.

That matters because the opener is the first stop in an 11-round summer championship, and Deegan’s move into the 450 class has been one of the main storylines all morning. Riders gathered at 7:15 a.m. for a meeting with Pastor Jake, bikes rolled out at 8 a.m., and the session sheet started to take shape fast, with Jace Allred quickest in the 250 B group and Lux Turner setting the early pace in 250 A with a 2:25.075.

By the time the 250 A class settled in, Levi Kitchen had put down the benchmark lap at 2:23.678 before improving again to 2:22.717 on his final tour. Chance Hymas finished fifth in the group at 2:26.430, while Jo Shimoda was 17th and Nate Thrasher 24th, a reminder that the first morning at Fox Raceway could be unforgiving even before the points motos begin.

The track had already been watered deeply enough to stay wet early, but the sun was expected to harden it a lot by the afternoon, when the motos that count would finally decide the opening-day shape of the championship. That swing from soft to slick is exactly the kind of change that can turn a clean practice run into a very different race.

This opener also marks the start of the great outdoors after the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, and the spotlight is spread wide across Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence, Eli Tomac, Jorge Prado, Chase Sexton and Deegan. The 250 Class brings its own uncertainty, with no clear favorite yet, which is why the first laps at Pala mattered before a single championship point had been awarded.

For Deegan, the bigger test is still ahead. The first 450 session told one part of the story, but the afternoon motos will show whether the jump to the premier class holds up when the track tightens, the pace rises and the opener stops being a feel-good headline and starts becoming a result.