Dylan Ferrandis and Zach Osborne combine for the oldest championship age in AMA Pro Motocross history. How did they, and the sport, get here? It was a long road, obviously

WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA

All this talk about factory teams signing amateur kids to pro deals, and yet the sport is aging rapidly. This year, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac became the oldest first-time premier-class AMA Supercross Champion in history, and also the first supercross champ with a child. That was just a warm-up. Zach Osborne, 31, father of two, became the oldest AMA National Champion ever when the Rockstar Husqvarna rider took the 450 Class National Motocross Championship. Dylan Ferrandis became the third-oldest 250 Class National Champion ever, at age 26. Jeremy Martin, 27, wasn’t far behind Ferrandis; Tomac and 30-year-old Marvin Musquin were in the fight with Osborne.

How did this happen?