The THOR Mini O’s, first run in 1972, has grown into the single largest—and longest—motocross race in the world.

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: CODY DARR

The year 1972 was a big year in motocross. The movie On Any Sunday was in theaters, the first Super Bowl of Motocross was held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the AMA Pro Motocross Championship was founded, and the Japanese brands were all producing dedicated motocross models. It’s also the year that the Mini O’s, then called the Florida Winter Nationals, were first run. Fifty-three years later the THOR Mini O’s are still going strong, and somehow still growing too. Ten days long now, the event has outlasted the original World Mini GP, the NMA Grand Nationals at Ponca City, and the old Spring Nationals in Lake Whitney, Texas. Not even the COVID shutdown could stop the event from happening in 2020. And with more than 6,000 entries in 2024, the Mini O’s feel like they are never going to end.

Welcome to the longest week in motocross.