ASK THE MXPERTS: WHAT'S MORE PRESTIGIOUS? SUPERCROSS, MOTOCROSS OR SUPERMOTOCROSS?
Yesterday at 05:17 PM
Jett Lawrence with his Supercross hardware.
Dear MXperts,
Now that SuperMotocross is thrown into the fray, what is the most prestigious championship to win? AMA Supercross, AMA Outdoor Nationals, or SuperMotocross? I have my thoughts, but I just want MXA’s take.
Jett Lawrence with his SuperMotocross trophy.
The factory riders made it quite clear during the SuperMotocross (SMX) press conferences that they believed that the AMA Supercross Championship and AMA Outdoor National Championships are the series that they want to win. They said straight out that they are only racing the SuperMotocross Championship for the money.
2024 AMA 450 National Champion Chase Sexton.
For the sport itself, outdoor motocross is the most important race series because it is held on racetracks across the country where people who buy motorcycles can actually go ride their bikes. The Nationals pay the most pitiful purses of virtually any pro sport, but they hold sway because the motorcycle business needs places to ride in order to get people to buy dirt bikes. Plus, if you went back to Anaheim Stadium the week after the A1 Supercross, the track would be gone.
Haiden Deegan: 2024 AMA 250 National Champion.
The AMA Supercross series offers considerable prestige because it is kind of like the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus that comes to your town once a year. Supercross is a big deal in the 17 cities it goes to and doesn’t have the logistical or access issues of the AMA outdoor Nationals. What’s funny is that Supercross is owned by the same people who own the circus.
The least prestigious of the championships is the two-year-old SuperMotocross series. The factory racers don’t care anything about it, save for the money, because it does not have the 50-year history that the Nationals and AMA Supercross series bring to the table. Not to mention that the SMX races are held on automobile racetracks and drag strips, which is anathema to motocross purists and real Supercross fans. Plus, it is tainted by the fact that people think the motive for creating the SMX series was that the FIM started the World Supercross Championship (WSX), and Feld wanted to block their access to AMA Supercross riders.
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