Yesterday, October 4 2022, was a big day in our sport. A special press conference was held to announce the dates of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross schedules, as well as to discuss the all new “playoffs” of the two series, the SuperMotocross World Championship. The three-race series will debut fall of 2023 after both the supercross, and motocross champions are crowned in their regularly ran series. Then, riders will compete for the SuperMotocross World Championship, where one rider win claim that #1 plate as well. After the press conference we caught up with CEO of MX Sports, Carrie Coombs-Russell, to get more information and learn how this partnership with Feld Motorsports came about.
Racer X: SuperMotocross World Championship. Finally, we’re here. We’re finally announced. We’re finally through the finish line, to a degree, but I want to go back to the beginning of the story a little bit. I believe it was early March, right before the Daytona Supercross in 2020, when you guys actually met and discussed some of the things about trying to work together a little bit. So, how has the relationship from there been built and gradually gotten better over the years?
Carrie Coombs-Russell: Up until that point, there was, I call it, a real or mostly perceived tension between motocross and supercross. There was a friendly competition. We share the same riders, share the same teams, a lot of the same sponsors. So, we’re always trying to out-do one another. But they came to that RCSX and said, “Hey, listen, if there’s an opportunity to work together, let’s just let bygones be bygones.” We were like, “Of course.” Then bam. They got shut down [due to COVID-19]. Both of us thought we were out of business, or at least out of the motorsports business. So, the first thing we did was we created that Safe-to-Race task force. We got like 42 people on the board, experts from all different aspects of the industry, and created a toolkit that advised promoters, organizers, on how to go to their health department and get the appropriate certifications to open up safely and best practices. We designed posters and just helped them get back on the racetrack.
The Feld representatives were part of that, so we were dealing with them on that, and it worked. But they were the first series that we needed to get back to racing. So, that required us moving our schedule to accommodate them. I think we bumped it back at least twice to get them completed. Then once they were good, we did our schedule and some of the events had fans and some of them we couldn’t. We adjusted. We adapted. They helped us promote our events and we were very appreciative. The summer ended and we were like, you know what? That wasn’t so painful working with those guys. That was actually fun because we were able to keep the industry going.
So, the next year, kind of took them up on their offer to work together. Our television package was getting ready to expire, and theirs expired after ours. So, we thought, maybe if we could go to the market on one TV package, that would be better for everybody. So ultimately, we were able to make that happen. But in the meantime, once Kenneth [Feld] was involved in the whole project, he said, “You know what? You guys are really excited about this. I get it, but we’ve got to make sure this is a good idea.” He brought in some people that he ran up the flagpole to them, some media experts. They were like, “Well, it’s a good idea, but there’s a better idea, and that is this playoff concept that your sport is missing.” We could never have it because we were two different series. So, we thought, “Okay, that makes sense.” So, what does a playoff in motorcycle racing look like? So, we just got creative and started talking about points and venues and a hybrid track. one thing that the OEM’s said is no whoops. The hybrid, no. But that’s okay.
Then it came up like the points system, and that’s where I said, “Dave [Prater], this is all you, because I’m not a numbers person.” So, he got with the OEM’s and they worked on that. It was actually fun. It was fun to create something from scratch. That’s where the 31 events came up, and we each maintained our own, individual unique series and our history. So, there will be a supercross champion. There will be a motocross champion, but there will be a third champion and the really great thing about this champion is you won’t know who it is until the last lap, the checkered flag. There is no such thing as wrapping this up three events before. No. It comes down to the last lap. There’s a lot of money at stake. They added $50,000 to each event purse. We went to our promoters, our partners, and said, “$30,000. Make this happen.” They were like, “Okay.” They were all-in.
Then it’s only because we went to market together with the TV package that we were able to come up with the rest of the money to make this ten-million-dollar purse happen. Had we done it individually, it never would have happened. When you look at it, supercross was a four-and-a-half-month season. Just when you’re getting started and things are ramping up and you're getting to know the riders, boom, it’s over. Then they went dormant, because their content was over. Then we started up, and we’re all excited and our series ended in three and a half months and then we went dormant. Now, it’s ten months where the real content, you can develop these personalities for these riders, the fans can really get to know them. I told my guys and Dave told his, motocross season starts when supercross season starts, and supercross ends when motocross ends. We are now pushing each other, and it all comes down to this world championship. That’s how it started and evolved over a two-and-a-half-year period, and it was fun. We involved the OEM’s all along. They knew what was going on, we just couldn’t tell anybody.
There’s obviously some give and take with this. The motocross series loses a round and then they lose the Monster Cup. How was navigating that and negotiating what works and what fits into a schedule for the whole year for you guys?
We knew that the total number of events was very important to the OEM’s. Adding more events was just… They know what the tolerance level is for their athletes, and we’re very respectful of that. Where we were was 30, so this is just one more. For us, it was worth it to go down to 11 if we could get the playoffs. And for them it was worth it to not have the Monster Cup if we can get these three playoffs and come up with the money through our TV deal to make this happen. So, in the end, we didn’t give up anything. We all gained by this.
It’s one thing, you guys are trying to gain new fans and get a new audience to reach in this, but obviously there’s an industry and a core established here. So, how has it been to see the reaction so far to this from the industry, the OEM’s, and everybody involved in the series already to what you guys are trying to accomplish with this?
I think the fact that all of the OEM’s were part of our initial announcement, and they’re all here today. They were supportive. Like I said, we involved them throughout the whole process. They knew what was going on. We respect their opinions. So, I’m glad that they were part of it. But the big winners are the fans. It’s one-stop shopping now. Everything is on one platform. Everything is on Peacock. They have 31 weeks of content, and it's going to be exciting. I’ll tell you, it’s all in the timing. This probably wouldn’t have worked three years ago or two years ago. Timing was right. It’s just been fun to develop something totally new, but yet maintain our history. There’s still a Pro Motocross champion that we can’t wait to crown, and a supercross champion that we’re going to celebrate, but there’s that third one that everybody is going to be involved with.
You guys talked on the stage too about developing riders, and we’ve seen with the Moto Combines and now with Supercross Futures, that’s something I assume that you guys are working a little bit closer together with too, while trying to get these riders to be more comfortable with that transition to the professional ranks.
Yeah. We started several years ago at Loretta Lynn’s with the pro orientation. Basically, brought in the top officials for Pro Motocross for that one day and go over the rulebook and how to get a license. But that’s not enough. Yes, Loretta Lynn’s, that is the best amateur competition in the world is there, but that’s not enough to get these guys ready for the next level. Supercross Futures, that is their version, but again, none of it was really getting them through it, making them prepared for this level, for the supercross whoops. You can’t go through the whoops. So, we came up with the Moto Combine and bringing in those coaches, like Chad [Reed]. He is like a rock star. Michael Byrne and Broc [Glover] and those guys. I think they’ve made a real difference.
So, we had been talking with Dave Prater about we need a supercross combine, or at least some type of… Get coaches involved. It’s just that whole, prepare these guys for the experience. And we give them media training. We practice with them on their interviews. After the race, they’re behind the stage and we’re like, “Okay, where’s your goggles? Where’s your water bottle? Let’s pretend it’s a Monster Energy can.” And get them ready. I can tell you; I feel like a proud parent seeing these kids. All you have to do is look up Pala, the lineup, and there’s that picture of Ryder D. [DiFrancesco] and [Haiden] Deegan lined up beside each other, making the final 40. So, we are going to be working with them on their version of the Moto Combine and making sure that when we have our pro orientation it will be motocross and supercross orientation, and just moving forward so that these young riders know that we are working together for them. We care about their amateur careers just as much as we care about their pro career. We want them to be ready, and that’s what this is all about. We’re both going to be working towards making sure that these riders, that we share, are ready for everything.
Working together, maybe being able to peek behind the curtain at what they do at Feld a little bit, has it maybe helped you think about some things differently or maybe try to improve some things within the motocross series where you’re going to take it back and work on the series itself individually as well? Absolutely. You’re never too old to learn. Combining our leadership skills and our ideas and their staff… This is a fabulous presentation today, and that’s all on them. We have a lot to learn, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves too. So, we’re going to share ideas. The rising tide raises all ships, and this is a really big tide. So, we’re all going to benefit.
Watch the entire interview with Carrie Coombs-Russell here:
