There might not be an event where history matters less than Red Bull Straight Rhythm. This event is designed for one weekend of fun and flash. It’s not the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, it doesn’t show in the AMA or FIM record book, and no rider is using a win here as leverage for a new factory deal. Straight Rhythm is just fun, period, end of story.
But there is some history here, and as far as we know no one has actually run through it. So let’s look back at the past RBSRs as we prep for this weekend’s return (which you can watch live on ESPN+ Saturday at 2:30 pacific or on ESPN television Sunday at 2:30 eastern).
2014: The inaugural event, like most inaugural events, raised a lot of eyebrows and also left a lot of big names at home, willing to watch and learn instead of jump in and race (literally). James Stewart was the headliner here, but as you will see, the field was much more star-studded for the next year.
The big fun in this one was James battling his brother Malcolm for a spot in the final. Malcolm almost had him, but big brother won out. Then James took down Justin Brayton in the final to score the first-ever Red Bull Straight Rhythm win.
In the Lites class, Marvin Musquin romped. He would win this race plenty over the next few years.
2015: The event ramped up by adding Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey to battle James Stewart. Also, this was James Stewart’s return to racing after spending the entire 2015 regular season serving an FIM suspension for failing a World Anti-Doping (WADA) test in 2014. James and Dungey had a big battle in the semi-final, and Dungey even beat JS7 in one run, which was impressive when you consider the strengths and weaknesses of these two riders. Stewart struck back to eliminate Dungey and get to the finals against Roczen. Stewart won one run and then Roczen crossed the center line in the next run, which is a DQ. James Stewart had won for the second year in a row.
Even better for the Stewart family, Malcolm won the 250 class. Stewart bros domination day!
2016: Musquin is now a 450 rider (and he missed the 250 event in ’15 as he recovered from a wrist injury). He showed serious goods on the big bike, beating Dungey, the defending Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion, in the final. James Stewart wasn’t there to defend, as his career had wrapped up at this point.
In the 250s, Shane McElrath edged out Mitchell Oldenburg for the win. One other crazy note: Josh Hill raced on an Alta electric bike and beat Kyle Cunningham in the first round! Seemed nuts to let an electric bike race against gas-powered machines, but Red Bull Straight Rhythm had found its footing by letting a different style of bike become a star.
2017: This is when Straight Rhythm stumbled into its best idea yet: two-strokes! Musquin continued to rule the Open Class, topping Josh Hansen in the final. McElrath beat Sean Cantrell in the 250s. Nobody cared. Straight Rhythm launched a two-stroke class for 2017 and it captured all the attention.
Ryan Villopoto, retired as a pro but still fast on a KX250, would appear to be the favorite, but two-stroke specialists where waiting in the wings. Gared “Stank Dog” Steinke, a two-stroke guy in supercross and motocross, eliminated Villopoto in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Ronnie Mac, yes, Ronnie Mac, was entered and hauling, and he beat Ryan Sipes to go to the finals. Stank and Uncle Ronnie in the finals? This was exactly what the two-stroke class was supposed to look like. Mac’s Screaming Eagle “NASA” 250 threw him off, and although he got back up for another round, Stank Dog had the edge and won the final. The two-stroke guy won the two-stroke class!
2018: Following the buzz of the two-stroke class in 2017 (literally and figuratively), the event went all two-stroke for 2018. In the 125s, Carson Brown, who is all-world on a 125, won over AJ Catanzaro. In the 250s, a lot of old rivalries stirred back up via retired riders coming out and racing. Villopoto narrowly edged his old adversary Josh Grant to make the semis against Dungey, who was also out of retirement. Dungey beat Villopoto in the semi (with some talk of KTM building 300cc rocket ships). On the other side of the bracket, McElrath just edged his Troy Lee Designs teammate Jordon Smith. McElrath then beat Dungey in the final.
2019: The last RBSR until now. Now the guys where not only on two-strokes, most of the bikes and gear where themed out to salute the 1990s. Joey Crown won the 125 class over Michael Leib, who was on an Ernesto Fonseca-looking Honda. Earlier, Catanzaro shot to the moon riding a Travis Pastrana #199 looking bike. “The Cat” then accidently jumped off of a wall instead of scrubbing it, going full tribute to TP199 in the process. The costume party was in full effect.
In the 250s, Honda pulled Jeremy McGrath’s 2006 CR250R supercross bike out of the closet and fixed it up for Ken Roczen. Kenny bested Brandon Hartranft in the final to score the win. Cooper Webb, the new champion of AMA Supercross, got eliminated by his buddy Pierce Brown in round two. You never know what’s going to happen on two-strokes!
Below: Check out this test run for Straight Rhythm before it even became a event for the public!
