Jo Shimoda’s "I Heart USA" marking helped take the edge off of a butt-whipping by non-American riders in the 250 class at RedBud this year. Only a Jett Lawrence engine problem prevented the third podium this year (in just five races) starring the Lawrence brothers and their buddy Jo, who also sit top three in the 250F standings. Proclaimed third-place Stilez Robertson at RedBud: “I’m the only American person on the podium so that’s pretty awesome.”
There was a time when such performances would have been shocking or even jarring on America’s birthday weekend, but watching foreign riders live the American dream has become plenty common over the last 30 years. In fact, every time someone from Australia, Europe, Africa, or Japan heads to the podium, it’s a compliment to American racing. Hearing the cheers from those wild RedBud fans is a dream come true for riders making the long journey to the U.S. It’s not like Jo was getting booed!
When you look through the archives, such success is more common in the small-bore class (125s or 250Fs). An elite few like Jean-Michel Bayle, Chad Reed, Grant Langston, and Ken Roczen have turned their talents into premiere-class titles. But the ranks of foreigners making the grade on 125s or 250s the way Jett, Hunter and Jo have (so far) are thick. Let’s check out some good stuff. If we missed one, let us know in the comments.
Jean-Michel Bayle: The real breakthrough, as JMB did what absolutely no one was doing in the 1980s: moving from Europe to America and winning. This mountain was insurmountable at the time, but Bayle scaled it. No one even dared do it, no one could even get support to do it, there was absolutely no chance of this happening unless it was the all-time talented and intelligent JMB. By 1989, Team USA was so thoroughly dominating the Motocross des Nations that an American team would never, ever sign a rider from Europe.
Well, Bayle had help from Roger De Coster, who knew JMB was the most talented rider in the world at that time (maybe ever, seriously kids) and back doored as much Honda help as he could for 1989. Then all JMB did was win the first national he ever entered (250 class in 1989), go back home and win the 250cc World Championship, then come back to the U.S. at the end of the year to win the 500 National at Unadilla. Okay, fine, that was enough to earn a real front-door factory ride from Honda for ’90. Honda put him back into the 125 Nationals for that ’90 season. He had the points lead and looked set for the title until he broke his arm at Washougal.
The next year Bayle won the 250 Supercross, 250 Motocross and 500 Motocross Championships, the only rider to ever win all three in the same year. Then he lost interest and focused on road racing. Because he only raced in the U.S. for three full seasons, you won’t see him near the top of the record books, but his impact was larger than anyone: once JMB proved riders from outside America could win, it changed the game forever.
The French: Here’s something weird: the only American title JMB didn’t win was that 125 National Championship he crashed away at Washougal. Thus began a weird French Curse on that title. Frenchmen would get close, only for it to be ripped away.
In 2000, Stephane Roncada was on a huge mid-season win streak on his Yamaha of Troy YZ125, only to twist his knee at Millville. Then, a rookie named Travis Pastrana (heard of him?) caught fire and went on a huge win streak of his own. Pastrana got the points close enough to make the final race a winner-take-all affair, and he got the better of Ron-Ron that day to steal the title.
In 2009, Frenchman Christophe Pourcel was locked in a season-long duel with American Ryan Dungey for the 250 title. He started building a small points lead until the next-to-last race at Southwick, when his engine blew. This gave Dungey the points he needed to steal the title.
In 2010, Pourcel marched off to a huge early-season points lead. Then Trey Canard caught fire at mid-season. Pourcel crashed out of a moto at Unadilla to put Canard closer to the lead. Canard went 1-1 at Steel City to make a race of it, then crashed at the finale. Pourcel was set to cruise home with the championship until he crashed and broke his arm. Canard then had enough points to steal the title.
France would finally get its title, though, but 30 years after JMB’s attempt. More to come!
The South Africans: JMB’s World-title-to-AMA transition led to Greg Albertyn coming to the U.S. in 1995. Albee has scored three-straight titles in Europe, even slaying the mighty Stefan Everts. Albee was a South African and he was fast, so now the flood gates were opening, and he won the 1999 AMA 250 National Championship. To that end, young (and fast) South African Grant Langston was hot property for U.S. teams as he closed on the 2000 125 World Championship. The mighty Pro Circuit Kawasaki team wanted him, but Grant ended up sticking with KTM and nearly, almost, won the 2001 125 National Championship. A broken wheel in the last moto of the year gave Mike Brown the points he needed to steal the title.
Langston, unlike some others on this list, would have his revenge, winning the 2003 125 National Championship. This time his wheel couldn’t break in the final race, because the final race was cancelled due to flooding!
By the way, GL would eventually get that Pro Circuit ride and was as fast as anyone in 2005 and 2006 on a KX250F. He also got hurt too much to claim another title in this class.
SA Rattray: Another South African, Tyla Rattray, couldn’t quite get that 125/Lites/250F National Motocross Championship, but he was darned close. Rattray finished second in both the 2010 and 2011 250 National Championship chase.
The Hot Scot:Dean Wilson’s 2011 250 National Motocross Championship didn’t seem “foreign” because Dean has been around the U.S. amateur scene for a long time. Plus, and this is weird, he didn’t have a foreign accent back then!
Yeah, so Dean apparently “faked” sounding like an American. But having a Scottish accent is cool, so he started letting it fly, and by the end of ’11 his real accent was back!
By the way, Dean made it to the U.S. through Canada and even rode for the Canadian Motocross of Nations team once. More recently he’s been part of Team Great Britain. No matter how you slice it, his 250 National Championship stands up as a score for the Scotts!
German Man:Ken Roczen came to America already packing an MX2 (250F) World Championship, and he made a good run at the 2013 250 National Championship, leading the early stages. His rival Eli Tomac picked up the pace at mid-season, though, and then Roczen suffered a big crash that helped Tomac get an edge in points. Eli was able to get the crown, Roczen took second.
Peak Kiwi: It’s odd how countries often produce great riders in packs. Maybe those riders inspire and push each other. As it turns out, New Zealand had two superstars on the world stage at the same time, Josh Coppins and Ben Townley. Coppins was a runner-up to Everts in the 250 World Championship and had a coulda shoulda run at the title the next year until a crash. It’s an all-time bummer. His countryman Ben Townley won the 2004 125 World Championship, took third as an MXGP Rookie in 2005, then came to America with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. He missed most of ’06 with injury, but his 2007 season was amazing. Ben pulled off a come-from-behind run to the East Region Lites Supercross Championship, then battled toe-to-toe with Ryan Villopoto in one of the hardest-fought 250F National Motocross title bouts ever. Villopoto edged BT by 19 points. However, Townley holds one key record: his seven overall wins that season are the most ever by a foreign-born rider for one season in that class.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: Not as much long-term Australian success in the 125/250F class as you would think, mostly because Chad Reed only spent one year in the class here. He dominated 125 East Supercross in 2002, but James Stewart put it to him and everyone else outdoors that year. Reed did win a National, though, at High Point. More importantly, Reed's overall success, especially in supercross, opened the flood gates for tons of talented Australians to get rides in the U.S.
Aussie 2.0: We all know how recent history has turned out for Australia, as Jett Lawrence won last year’s 250 National Motocross Championship and was in control of this year’s series lead from Day 1. Until his bike broke at RedBud. No matter, fellow Australian (his brother) Hunter Lawrence now leads the points, anyway. No rules, just right!
French 2.0: France finally did get a title in this class courtesy of Dylan Ferrandis in 2020. Yes, Ferrandis was well aware of the “French curse” on this class and all those previous crowns that slipped away. That only made him more nervous down the stretch, and more emotional when he won it.
From Japan: Now we get to Shimoda making some history over the weekend as the first Japanese rider to win a moto and an overall in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. Go Jo! However, one rider did get close. On a muddy day at High Point in 2001, Akira Narita gave Travis Pastrana all he could handle in moto one. He ended up a close second, just missing that historic win. Narita was a heck of a mud rider, he actually took a 125 Supercross podium at Anaheim 1 during the legendary Perfect Storm mudder in 2005.
A Note on Southwick: This weekend the series heads to The Wick 338, which in recent times has been more favorable to foreigners than any other circuit. (Don't go crazy on us in the comments, we know Unadilla has more foreign history via USGPs, Trans-AMAs and a MXdN but in the nationals in recent times, Southwick has provided the best playing field for the international riders). Some examples include Australia’s Craig Anderson going 2-1 to win the Southwick 125 National overall in 2003, his only American win. Second that day was fellow Australian Michael Byrne, who came so close to winning Southwick on several occasions. Australia’s Brett Metcalfe took the only win of his U.S. career at Southwick, although that was in the 450 class.
Maybe the ultimate example of this came when foreign riders went 1-2-3 in the 250 class at Southwick in 2011: 1.) Tyla Rattray (2-1) South Africa; 2.) Dean Wilson (3-2) Scotland; 3.) Gareth Swanepoel (1-5) South Africa. Rattray always ripped at Southwick, but this race also hosted a notable first (and only) moto win for Gareth Swanepoel, who was riding for the Star Racing Yamaha team. These days, Swanny is the team trainer for that squad. No doubt he will have some tips for this weekend!
