Davey Coombs Interview: The 50 Most Powerful People in Motocross (No.2)

 

 

He runs the U.S. Nationals, the world’s biggest amateur races and the highest profile magazine. Davey Coombs is the American motocross royalty

TAKEN FROM ISSUE 80, JUNE 2012

BY ADAM DUCKWORTH

America is the most important motocross nation in world. It’s the biggest market for off-road bikes, is home to the Supercross series and has the toughest national motocross championship on the planet. The amateur racing is huge, the media exposure is wide and their motocross magazines are bigger.

Apart from mega-money circus that is Supercross, the man in charge of National motocross, the biggest amateur races and the most important magazine is none other than MOTO’s US correspondent, Davey Coombs.

He’s revolutionized the fortunes of the U.S. Nationals by moving them to Saturdays and using his media know-how to secure proper TV and internet coverage. If you’re a pro rider, big team or have any aspirations of a career in top-level US motocross, then Davey Coombs holds the keys to your future success.

If you’re an amateur rider who dreams of racing on the best tracks, with the biggest number of the fiercest competitors, then Davey’s your man, too.

And everyone from a spectator to industry insider to top pro knows the power and influence that Racer X magazine has globally. Plus, of course, it’s monstrous Twitter and Facebook followings. Coombs is the svengali of that too.

Where DC is different from certain other insular Americans is that he has respect ad knowledge of the world motocross scene, too.  He visits GPs and gives respect to the men who race world championships, as well as having a deep respect for the history and heritage of the sport in Europe.

We caught up with the true powerbroker of American motocross on the eve of the first U.S. National of 2012. The National where James Stewart made his comeback. These are Davey’s thoughts on his life, the future of motocross and more.

Davey Coombs: I really didn’t have a plan to get me here today

I was just lucky enough to grow up in a family where my parents loved motorcycling, so it’s in my blood. My dad discovered motocross too late to be a pro, but he was a hard worker who liked to think big, and he decided that organising dirt bike races was better than his previous jobs, which included coal-mining, musician, farming, selling vacuum cleaners, painting houses and teaching school.

His name was Dave Coombs and he and my mom Rita built a few big races from scratch, including Loretta Lynn’s, the Blackwater 100, the GNCC Off-Road Series, and outdoor nationals like High Point at Mt. Morris and Steel City, both in Pennsylvania.

Throughout my whole childhood, I worked alongside them, as well as my brother Tim and sister Carrie doing whatever it took: picking up, rocks, caution-flagging, cleaning up the garbage, pounding in stakes, selling programs, hanging banners…  That was the price to get to race as a kid in a family in West Virginia.

Davey Coombs: I wanted to be a racer

Like a lot of people I now work with in the motocross industry, I really just wanted to be a racer. I gave it hell, won some big minicycle and amateur races, but the writing was soon on the wall, and in real big letters. It said: “COLLEGE.” I really thought that since I wasn’t fast enough to make it as a pro, I would become a history teacher or maybe a lawyer.

I studied literature and history throughout school, but I paid my tuition by writing for magazines like Dirt Rider, Cycle News, Dirt Bike and even Dirt Bike Rider in England—the old “Radio America” columns were my first overseas work! By that point I was shooting photos too, having learned from the very best in the business back then, Fran Kuhn of Inside Motocross fame.

Davey Coombs: Racer X started as a little motorcycle newspaper

While in college I stared a newspaper called The Racing Paper. It was different from all of the big California magazines in that we tried to have a lot fun with it, writing about our road trips, parties, girls and other misadventures in motocross. People liked it, I guess, and pretty soon it was nationwide.

I changed the name to Racer X Illustrated and turned it into a magazine. I even got a gig being a commentator for Supercross and Motocross on ESPN, so I figured, Okay, this is what I will do with the rest of my life….

But then my dad died. It was August 3, 1998, and the magazine was exactly three issues old. I was at the Washougal National on the other side of the country when he lost his battle with leukemia. He had gotten the outdoor nationals turned around—they were in danger of being swallowed up by Supercross—and built Loretta Lynn’s into the biggest amateur motocross race in the world, and then he was gone, just like that.

My mom, who was his business partner throughout their entire lives—was devastated, and my brother and sister and I all had to pitch in and help out with the family promotions business.

Davey Coombs: The American motocross business changed a lot

There was extreme growth through the eighties and nineties, and then some real decline. Then the AMA decided to get out of the business of racing, putting the outdoor nationals out for bid. The series was in danger of falling apart in 2007. Riders like Jeremy McGrath, Mike LaRocco, Chad Reed and even Kevin Windham were going “supercross-only”, with James Stewart about to join them. So my sister and I came up with a plan to take over the commercial rights for the series that my parents and other promoters had been working on since 1972.

We had to put together a package and a program with our company MX Sports that would keep the series from being taken over by Youthstream or some other outside entity that might outbid us and then dissolve the series into something else. In the end Daytona Motorsports Group bought it, and then did the deal with us to take over motocross.

Davey Coombs: I had some pretty good ideas for moving motocross forward

Fortunately, we had been paying attention all our lives as we worked at the races. We figured out the secret to getting it on live TV, which was simple: move the races to Saturday, rather than the traditional “On Any Sunday,” because the American sports landscape is filled with big Sunday events like the NFL, NASCAR, golf, and baseball.

We also joined forces with an action sports company that specialised in sponsorship, marketing and television: Alli Sports, which is part of the NBC television network.

Davey Coombs: We made US Nationals exciting again

We started tweaking the schedule, improving the tracks, helping the athletes market themselves better. We got some very good people to work alongside of us, and they are still here. We worked to improve pretty much everything about the series—the TV package, the free online viewing, the facilities, the look and feel of the racetracks, everything. Pretty soon the top riders started coming back, beginning with Chad Reed. And the top riders from the rest of the world started to really become excited about racing in America again, and now even James Stewart is back.

The work is not even close to finished, but it’s been pretty damn cool to get to do not only what I wanted to do—publish a magazine—but also do what my dad did, which is to organize big motocross races.

Davey Coombs: The motocross industry is a tight-knit family

But you have to pull your own weight because there are too many people that would love to have your job. It doesn’t pay nearly as well as most real jobs, but it’s such a great group of people that it becomes the fabric of our lives. It’s good work if you can find it, but it’s hard work.

You shake the same hands going down that you shook on the way up, never forget that.

Davey Coombs: Supercross is the driving force in the U.S. market place

We will always do our best to follow in their wake, help keep the grassroots of the sport healthy through amateur racing, and work with the motorcycle industry and especially the factories to give them a proper place to show off their products.

Davey Coombs: Families that race motocross make great sacrifices

It’s not an inexpensive sport by any means—and we should never forget that. There are other members of those families who don’t race but come along anyway, and we should do our best to make them feel comfortable, feel important and know that we appreciate their presence as much as we can. That’s what helps make Loretta Lynn’s such a great motocross vacation, and we should think that way more about our professional races too.

Our sport’s dirty secret is the lack of education in many kids as they try to become a pro. Schooling is so much more important in the whole big scheme of things, and the fact that so many people forget the “school” part of the home-school equation is something we need to fix.

Davey Coombs: Motocross can still grow

Motocross will never be as big as some people want it to be, but it can also be much bigger than it is right now. We just need to make sure that we don’t sell our souls and lose our deep passion for the sport on the way to trying to expand these horizons.

Davey Coombs: My dad was the hero

I get way too much credit for the work of a lot of good people, whether it’s Racer X Illustrated, Racer X Online, MX Sports or all of the other stuff we do. Everyone at the company, plus my mom, my sister and my brother work just as hard, but for much less credit, maybe because I am lucky enough to be named after my dad, Dave Coombs. He did the real work; we’re just trying to keep it going.

Davey Coombs: RC made my life easy!

Being a race reporter was a hell of a lot easier when Ricky Carmichael was racing, because we pretty much knew exactly who was going to win, and we looked smarter for it! Now, it’s more interesting, and more puzzling.

I still like to write about motocross more than anything (except raising my own little family with my wife Shannon, and my kids Vance and Sloane). In fact, I am writing this on the eve of the Hangtown National, the series opener. I have a lot of other things to do right now but I learned early on that you never let your editor down—he can be a real bastard!

Read more at http://moto.mpora.com

Taichi Honda: The 50 Most Powerful People In Motocross (No. 4)

Taichi Honda

 

Honda’s motocross head for racing and production bikes

TAKEN FROM ISSUE 80, JUNE 2012

BY ADAM DUCKWORTH

Mister Honda really does live up to his name. As far as motocross goes at the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer, he is just about as important as it gets.

Taichi Honda is the man in charge of the world’s biggest-selling motocross bikes, Honda’s CRFs. And he’s head of Honda’s GP racing effort, AMA Supercross and motocross programmes and the Japanese test, development and racing programmes.

He’s a former Japanese motocross championship rider and has helped develop every Honda crosser from the first beam-framed CR two-stroke right through to the current CRF450 and 250s. And also the new factory bikes.

He was promoted from a test rider of both production and HRC factory motocross sbikes, then as a development engineer and is now is a director of the company. He has been the main driving force behind the new breed of fuel-injected CRFs. He also heads up Honda’s global factory racing division, HRC. All by age 36. And no, he isn’t related to the founder of the company. Honda is just a reasonably common surname in Japan.

“My job is to head up Honda’s research and development side for the CRF450 for both production bikes and factory race bikes. And I am project leader for both the 250 and 450 production bikes,” he says.

“I work for both HGA – which is Honda’s R&D department – and HRC which is just about racing and factory bikes.

“R&D make and create the production bike, HRC race it and develop it, then give feedback to HGA for future production bikes. I work across both.”

Taichi Honda, who still owns an old CR250 two-stroke, is a regular at GPs and AMA races and is the man who has revitalised Honda’s involvement at a high level. He’s put increased importance on GPs as the place where one-off factory bikes can be raced and develop, as opposed to AMA racing where all bikes must be production based. It’s a real shot in the arm for the world championship.

But crucially, where Taichi Honda leads, many other manufacturers follow. So Taichi’s views on the future of motocross bikes will directly influence every manufacturer.

“Mass centralisation, weight, power and handling is our target. I think customers want lower weight and especially the placement of weight, towards the centre of the bike,” he says.

“And then it’s power. Not the amount of power as we have lots of that. But controlling the power. I think electronic control systems will be important.

It’s important we make it easier for customers to tune their bike’s power. Now they have to use a laptop, which is OK for some people. But we have to make it easier for everyone.

“I know there is no future for two-strokes at Honda. Our policy is 100% four-stroke. It’s a green issue, for emissions. Honda strongly believe this in everything it makes, from motorcycles to garden strimmers.

“I know there is a two-stroke resurgence and they have many good points. In fact, I own a 2005 and 2007 CR250 two-strokes and ride them a lot. They’re completely stock with no HRC parts on them. I don’t race any more, just ride for fun with my son. But overall, 450 four-strokes are far better than two-strokes now.”

Reprint from www.moto.mpora.com

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Southwick Motocross track receives permits

SOUTHWICK, Mass. (WWLP) - Motocross will be returning to Southwick.  Selectman Joe Deedy told 22News the town has issued American Legion Post 338 permits to run up to 20 motorized events in the next year.  As well as four other events like the Rugged Maniac.

The Legion owns the track, Mike Grondhal, founder of Planet Fitness is the new promoter.  They won’t be holding their annual national event this year, but hope to bring one back in the future.

The track owners will have to go in front of the Board of Selectman again in February to be issued permits for 2015 and 2016.

By Ryan Walsh, Investigative Reporter

Roger De Coster: The 50 Most Powerful People in Motocross (No. 5)

World champ, motocross exporter, American Mx evangelist and KTM pioneer, Roger De Coster...

  

   

Roger De Coster may be Belgian, but he’s probably the greatest man in American motocross! He was one of a group of riders that exported modern motocross to the USA, exposing the Yanks to the sport.

To some, he remains the greatest motocross rider that ever lived, winning five world 500 championships and leading the Belgian team to six Motocross des nations wins. He pioneered riding techniques and dedication to physical fitness that changed the face of motocross. He defined what it meant to be a professional rider.

When he stopped racing, he joined Honda and helped turn its production bikes from archaic twin-shock, air-cooled dinosaur Elsinores to single-shock, watercooled CRs that would go on to dominate.

With Roger De Coster being a Nations fan, he was shocked to find that his adopted homeland of the USA didn’t take the event seriously. So as boss of the U.S. Honda team, he took his whole squad of Donnie Hansen, Chuck Sun, Johnny O’Mara and Danny La Porte to represent the USA in 1981. And they won, as the team did for 13 straight years afterwards under his guidance. He’s still boss of the team, which has won a record 22 times since 1981, including every year since 2005.

He built and managed the U.S. Honda powerhouse team of riders like Ricky Johnson, David Bailey, Chuck Sun, Johnny O’Mara and Danny “Magoo” Chandler, Jeremy McGrath. Jeff Stanton and Ricky Carmichael.

He helped turn a deserted bit of Californian desert called Glen Helen into a world-class facility, personally promoting the first ever major event there – the 1990 American 500 GP.

At Suzuki, he helped riders like Ryan Dungey reach their potential and win the U.S. Supercross and national championship.

So when KTM decided it was time to really get serious about winning in the USA, they hired the 67-year-old to run the revamped KTM team of Dungey, Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin. And in his first season, De Coster guided Dungey to not only KTM’s first ever Supercross win but then to go on to take a hat-trick.

Roger De Coster knows how to win at the very highest level. He’s turned many riders and teams from being almost-there to being winners, and he continues to do so.

“I’m proud of what I did. Along with Torsten Hallman, Joel Robert, Dave Bickers and myself, we really got things going in America. It’s something I’m very proud of. But I don’t live in that time any more,” he says. “I live for today and tomorrow and next year.”

Reprinted from moto.mpora.com

WA Track Under Attack Before It Even Gets Started!

Hearing reopened on Granite Falls motocross track

Herald staff

GRANITE FALLS — Snohomish County plans to reopen a public hearing on a proposed new motocross track near the Mountain Loop Highway in Granite Falls.

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A county hearing examiner ruled May 13 that the track could be built if it complies with a list of conditions, such as managing water runoff, studying sloped terrain and reducing noise levels. The hearing is being reopened to review some stipulations, specifically those regarding slope and sound analysis, according to a June 25 order.

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The hearing is not meant to challenge the May decision allowing the project to move forward, according to the order. The county wants MXGP of Kirkland to submit new information by July 31, after which a date and time limit will be set for reopening the hearing.

Exotic Bikes in Motocross History

Trampas Parker's 1991 CR250

Feast your eyes on the first ever Factory Honda 1991 CR250 run by the Martin team. Words by Doc Wobs, photos by Adam Duckworth.

Taken from Moto issue 78, April 2012.

When the softly-spoken American Trampas Parker won the 1989 world 125 championships in Europe, it was an eye-opener for many. Americans, and indeed a lot of European GP fans, who never really expected the little-known Parker to really make his mark. But he got his name in the history books in fine style.

A lot of the Americans didn’t realise who he was as he decided he liked his middle name better. He’d raced in the USA as Chad Parker but changed to Trampas. Two years after he took the 125 KTM to the world crown, he made history as the first American to win two world championships.

This time it was with Honda and a fledgling, first-year team known as Martin Honda. The Martin brothers Paulo and Maurizio formed a team in the late 80s, but in 1991 they got excellent backing from Honda Europe and took a chance on Trampas Parker.

He hadn’t had a good year in 1990. In his first year full time on a 250, he was injured in a freak accident where he hit a rider travelling the wrong way on the track, wrecking his foot.

With team owner/manager and now mechanic Paulo spinning the wrenches, the team was Parker and Michele Fanton – an Italian legend in his own right. They made an impressive attack on the world and Italian championships, winning the FIM world title and incredibly the 125, 250 and 500 Italian national championships with Trampas Parker all in the same year, a feat which has never been repeated.

The team, now known as “Honda World Motocross” is still managed by Paulo at their impressive workshops near Venice. They are well known as one of the premier set-ups in the world championship paddock, running Evgeny Bobryshev and Rui Goncalves this year on the all-new factory Honda CRF450s. But they still state 1991 as their finest hour.

Trampas Parker’s bike has pride of place at the team’s headquarters. As you can see it is in immaculate shape and is mostly a full HRC bike. The motor is full HRC. The crank, which is a work of art, is a machined billet part with titanium weights to allow the crank to be perfectly balanced. The gearbox is factory Honda and it’s a slightly different ratio to stock as well as a stronger material and better shifting.

The clutch is factory and HRC provided the magnesium clutch cover. There are adjustable powervalve springs and the waterpump is bigger to keep everything cooler. The cylinder and head is factory Honda, as is the single-ring piston. The pipe is pure factory Honda and doesn’t look like anything else on the market and the silencer is an aluminium HRC part. The suspension is where it gets really special, and very spendy!

This bike has the full factory Showa forks and shock, this isn’t kit stuff but the very top shelf £50,000 forks which is a stag-gering amount of money. But if the rider is quick enough, and more importantly able to set these up, they are simply the best and are only offered to the very few.

The shock is factory Showa bolted to a HRC linkage and HRC swingarm, which not only have different ratios from stock but also offer less flex and are a lot stronger. The triple clamps have adjustable bar mount positions and Trampas used Italian-made Arrow bars.

The wheels used were pure factory HRC items with DID rims and Dunlop tyres. AFAM sprockets were used with Regina chains. The brakes are the straight shot factory Nissin part and have incredible performance.

The tank was an Italian made VRP component to get enough fuel on board to do the gruelling 40 mins plus two laps. The plastics are all stock apart from the crazy expensive £180 front number plate from factory Honda.

Industry leaders Technosel made the graphics in Italy and their grippy seatcover is fitted. The whole package was very trick and brutally effective in the hands of Trampas Parker and is a milestone in the history of Honda’s racing in Europe.

Tom White - Hall of Fame!!

AMA: Industry Icon Tom White Elected to Motorcycle Hall of Fame

June 24, 2014 By Cycle News

 

American Motorcycle Association Press Release:

Tom White, acclaimed racer, White Brothers Cycle Specialties founder and a lifetime advocate of motorcycling and the sport of motocross, has been elected to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2014.

White, who was elected to the Ambassador/Industry category, will be inducted at the 2014 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday, Oct. 17, in Orlando, Fla. The induction ceremony is part of the AMA National Convention being held in conjunction with the American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) Oct. 16-19.

“Few have done more to advance the sport of motocross racing, and the history of motocross racing, than Tom White,” said Ken Ford, a member of the Hall of Fame executive committee and treasurer of the AMA board of directors. “By virtue of his early racing success, his long and successful career in motorcycling, his personal dedication to promoting both the past and present of this great sport and his selfless dedication to the Hall of Fame on the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation board, Tom White is personally responsible for improving the experience and opportunity for motocross racers and motorcyclists of all ages.”

White first tasted motorcycling at the age of 15. By the time he was in his early 20s, White was ranked among the top 100 motorcycle racers in America, earning AMA National No. 80. Soon after, he founded White Brothers Cycle Specialties in 1975, which became one of the top off-road motorcycle accessory companies in America. When White sold the company in 2000, the firm listed more than 30,000 items.

Today, White feeds his passion by racing motocross, as a race announcer, and as owner and curator of the Early Years of Motocross Museum in in Villa Park, Calif., which features 160 motorcycles and related displays.

“There is no higher honor in motorcycling than being inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame,” White said. “This is special because it comes from your peers in the industry and existing Hall of Famers. I am humbled to think that my heroes, these great people of the sport, believe that I’m worthy of this acknowledgement of my life and career. It’s a real testimony that if you love motorcycling enough, sooner or later people will notice.”

White’s lasting contributions also include the Edison Dye Motocross Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes the person or persons who have made the largest impact on the growth of motocross in America, and creating the World Veteran MX Championship and the World Four-Stroke Championship, which has become the World Two-Stroke Championship.

“I’ve always had the attitude that we as an industry need to work together for a common goal, and that’s to make this activity of motorcycling so cool that everyone wants to do it,” White said. “I’m probably most proud for carrying on after the sale of my company. I’ve been able to spend a lot of positive energy to promote the sport. One of my goals has been to make more of today’s motorcyclists more appreciative and aware of the pioneers and trailblazers of the past, and I’m blessed that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been able to do that.”

White expressed his appreciation to those who nominated and elected him to the Hall of Fame.

“I’m just very thankful to everyone who played a part in this recognition,” White said. “You look at the Hall of Fame, and you look at the people who are in the Hall of Fame, and you realize the significance of it. You come to realize that when your name gets added to that wall, it will go on for generations. It’s just such a huge tribute, and I really don’t know what it’s going to feel like when that happens. Besides being married to the love of my life and the birth of my children, this is one of the most wonderful things that has happened to me.”

White is the second member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame class of 2014 to be announced. He joins previously announced inductee motocross pioneer Pierre Karsmakers. The remaining 2014 inductees will be announced in random order in the coming weeks.

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers are selected through a nomination and voting procedure that includes ballots cast by living Hall of Fame members, members of the American Motorcyclist Association and AMHF boards of directors, and members of, and advisers to, the Hall of Fame category committees.

YZ 295 Project

8 REASONS WHY U.S. MOTOCROSS THRIVES

This is a little dated but everything seems to be the same today.

Published in 2010 in MOTO

1.

Supercross. Say no more

It’s the world’s biggest dirt bike sport with thousands of fans crammed into stadiums the length and breadth of the country to see their heroes in action. Big money salaries, big money sponsors, big money TV deals. Replica rider action figures in every toy shop across the land. It’s big time. And is there any correlation between America becoming a powerhouse in motocross from the start of the 1980s, precisely when supercross was taking off? Well, it’s hardly a coincidence.

2.

The top riders are not all automatons

OK, we admit plenty of riders are. Especially when podium speeches turn into a list of sponsors and deities they seem contractually obliged to pay homage to.

Some of the most confident riders are still capable of being cocky, controversial and funny. Like Chad Reed, responding to Mike Alessi who said at the Hangtown national: “In the second moto I looked back and there was nobody even close.”

Winner Reed countered: “I won, right? I was almost as confused by that as Mike is…

“I almost didn’t break a sweat in the first moto. I have spent just one day on a motorcycle in the past two weeks. I came under the weather and won so easily. I absolutely expected to win.”

3.

The amateur classes produce winners

Unlike in the UK or Europe where you don’t see any AMCA-bred GP winners, the massively professional “amateur” scene has fully backed riders being put through their paces before they turn pro. Famous amateurs of the past include Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana, James Stewart, Mike Alessi, Ryan Villopoto and Justin Barcia.

And this year they’ve been joined by Eli Tomac, the first rookie to win his pro debut in 38 years. “It definitely helped that I went testing with

Barcia and Trey Canard before the Nationals and I knew I was close to them. I had a top five goal in my mind and didn’t expect to win,” he said.

“As an amateur, I worked hard but not too much to get burned out as a pro. I have tried to keep it fun all through my career. But I still make rookie mistakes!”

4.

There’s lots and lots of room

Which means there are lots of tracks, especially
in the hotbed of motocross which is Southern California. There are 31 tracks in SoCal alone – Perris, Pala, Glen Helen, Competitive Edge, Gorman, Lake Elsinore, Piru, Starwest, Barona Oaks, Adelanto and more.

In a bid to get you to ride there, most are well groomed and watered, and several have supercross tracks, too. And many run night sessions under floodlights so you can ride after work. More people ride, so there are more tracks.

And more people own more land, which always seem to have room for a track. Or two.

5.

Ex-pats are welcomed

From Roger DeCoster to Jean-Michel Bayle to Seb Tortelli and loads in between, America has always been a welcome home for international riders looking to make a name and perhaps a new life and home for themselves.

And the current crop included Christophe Pourcel, Dean Wilson, Tommy Searle and MOTO cover star Max Anstie.

Brit Anstie loves his new home in the SoCal desert, including life with his Dad, ex-GP start Mervyn Anstie – and Merv’s new other half, American Devin.

Max, who challenged for supercross wins in his first season this year until he got injured, says: “It’s every young racer’s dream to come and race in the USA and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

“Every time I race in America, it’s great and I’m enjoying it more and more. The tracks are cool and the riders take different lines to European riders. The sun’s always shining, the bikes are fast and I’ve been made very welcome here.

“I’ve even got my Green Card to work here now, so I’m practically American!”

Soon he’ll be joined by Marvin Musquin, and eventually by Ken Roczen and Jeffrey Herlings.

6.

The No.1 domestic series

American Nationals are often mentioned as a great rival to GPs. But face it, the U.S. series is a domestic championship and the GPs are a world championship. They shouldn’t be on the same playing field, but they are. With the vast majority of American riders earning more and often being more revered than their GP counterparts. The Nationals pay great prize money but are one-day events organised by local organisers and aren’t a patch on the infrastructure of GPs. National tracks are often better than GP tracks, and the kudos is still greater.

7.

Heroes are honoured

From the soldiers who fight for them in wars around the globe to the riders who have given all for American glory, the USA way is to still show support and respect for the greats of yesteryear. Former champs are revered and never forgotten.

They are inducted into the AMA’s “Hall of Fame” and still get regular coverage in magazines and draw crowds at events, years after they retire. Take the curious case of people called Smith. Americans Malcolm Smith and Marty Smith get far more respect than our early heroes like Jeff Smith.

8.

It’s the centre of world motocross

From motocross riding holidays to the world’s biggest MX shop at Chapparal to the tuning houses and aftermarket suppliers like Pro Circuit and Troy Lee, California has it all. Plus the five major manufacturers not only have bases there, but supercross and motocross test tracks. But it’s not just about the West Coast, as motocross is big in the Mid West and Florida, with facilities like the Millsaps Training Facility in Georgia producing a crop of talent annually. America buys more motocross bikes than the rest of the world combined. Sell big in America, and you’ll sell big! That’s why KTMs now have a linkage – to crack the fickle U.S. market.

TAKEN FROM ISSUE 80, JULY 2010

WORDS BY ADAM DUCKWORTH