Interesting that both men chasing the 2026 AMA 450 supercross championship this weekend were brought up through the EMX championships in Europe. A German and an Australian fighting for the biggest prize in supercross and in a country that very few non-Americans have been able to capture.

While Ken Roczen obviously spent more time in that system, due to being born in Germany and having legendary battles with Jeffrey Herlings and Max Anstie in the EMX championship, Hunter Lawrence arrived on the scene a decade ago, and in that 2016 season, won an EMX round in Germany.

Roczen competed in the European Motocross Championships (EMX) early in his career before rising to the top of the World Championship scene. Roczen was a standout in European youth racing, becoming the FIM 85cc Junior World Champion in 2007 at age 13.

After his junior success, he spent just one season on a 250 machine before moving directly into the FIM MX2 World Championship. Due to age rules (minimum 15 years old), he missed the first few rounds of 2009 MX2 championship, making his MX2 debut in Portugal at 14 and winning his first Grand Prix on home soil in Germany shortly after turning 15.

Roczen of course, went on to win the 2011 MX2 World Championship before moving to the United States to race full-time in 2012. While he made his mark in the MX2 World Championship, his junior years included participation in the European championship scene.

Lawrence also competed in the European Motocross Championship (EMX) before moving to the U.S. racing scene. He famously raced the EMX250 class in 2016 for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team.

Hunter moved to the Netherlands from Australia to pursue his career, becoming a standout rookie in the 2016 EMX250 championship. Hunter Lawrence was known for his speed, often setting fastest laps in the EMX250 class. He earned a dominant victory in the EMX250 class at Teutschenthal, Germany, in May 2016, winning both motos.

"The European experience had been awesome," Lawrence said at the time. "We have learnt so much on the bike and off the bike about the business side of things and just to do with the sport. Also I have really enjoyed the European experience we have had already. I cant wait to see what else the future holds and what else we can learn. Winning Germany was awesome. It was the coolest thing to see the Aussie flag up on the middle flagpole, up the top! Definitely haven’t seen it there in a long time so was pretty cool and just a good reward for me and my crew."

This success in the European championship, along with his performance in the FIM MX2 World Championship in 2017–2018, served as the stepping stone to his career in the United States.