The news this time of year comes from remote outposts. Instead of the backyard playgrounds around the Florida/Georgia line and the center of the MX universe in Southern California, we find ourselves snooping beyond borders and tracking professional riders trekking to international races. This is the traveling season.
Here’s what we’ve been talking about lately: Cooper Webb winning in Japan, Josh Hill winning in South Africa, the wrap of the Australian SX Championship, European SX and the ISDE in Argentina. The Paris Supercross comes this weekend, kicking off the regular string of big European SX events. We’ve spotted Ryan Villopoto over in Europe testing. Right now, it’s all about international travel.
This is a time-honored tradition for the sport, but it’s also one that sees trends come and go. Webb racing in Japan now feels like a unique opportunity, but back in the 1980s, the annual Osaka and Tokyo Supercrosses were a huge part of the racing calendar, with nearly all the top factory riders racing in front of their big bosses. These were legit events with supercross tracks built in baseball stadiums and star-studded lineups. Careers could be made there, such as Damon Bradshaw, just 16 years old and months removed from racing at Loretta Lynn’s, beating reigning AMA Supercross Champion Ricky Johnson in Japan in the winter of 1988. It stamped Bradshaw with off-the-chart level hype, which brought both confidence and pressure. Those elements would define Bradshaw’s career.
The European Supercross events had their time, too. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the Bercy starting gate could rival Anaheim, as did other neighboring events. There was even a World Supercross Championship that began to materialize, and for a few years these races paid points toward a unique FIM number-one plate. One year, they even held a U.S. round of this World Championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Teams and riders were really beginning to build their schedule around these races, until it toppled from the top down.
You can basically trace these international races by following the money. Rising salaries for the American riders began to marginalize the amount of start money they could command overseas. Some riders, content with the ever-increasing riches they were making back here, simply started skipping the international travel to put more focus into riding, testing, and training. Superstars like Jeremy McGrath started playing harder ball on negotiations, and the gates began to miss a few big names. Finally, Ricky Carmichael broke his collarbone at Bercy in 1999, which left him behind on training for the 2000 SX season. RC would skip the international scene from that point, and, as always, those trying to beat him had to follow his lead.
Salaries kept getting bigger and bigger. In the 90s, the top riders pulled in six-figure base hauls from their team. By the 2000s, they were into the millions. To get a millionaire like Carmichael, James Stewart, or Chad Reed to hop on a plane to race would take much more money than promoters could afford. Instead of hiring all the top riders, they could maybe hire one and some field fillers, or a group of secondary guys. For certain, no one race can afford to pack all of Anaheim’s biggest names anymore.
The money, to the good and the bad, has changed the international travel season, but there are still secondary reasons to race. For some Americans struggling to find work, the Australian series and the European races are a viable option. For the guys who raced in South Africa or Japan, it was a fun cultural experience. Then there are still races like the ISDE and the Motocross of Nations, which pay nothing (or even cost some) but will forever be a goal for pride’s sake.
Dirt bike racing is one of the most universally accepted sports amongst all cultures and countries. The difference between the riders, races, and rules are relatively small regardless of where the race takes place. There are few sports where an athlete or racer could hop on a plane and hop into competition with very little change. Because of that, the international scene will always draw talent, regardless of the trend of the day.
