Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
David Bailey
Jeff Ward
Broc Glover
Rick Johnson
Johnny Omara
Ron Lechien
There was a time when all of these guys were on the track at the same time.
It sucks for real fans. I hear people talk about how great things used to be. But it was boring as hell with MC and RC. I mean really boring.
All these legends were leading the race at one time:
O'Show
Damon Bradshaw
Guy Cooper
Keidrowski (for a second)
Rick Johnson
Jeff Ward
Mataisavech, Stanton were also near the front. I was in the stands that night freezing my ass off.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
So yea, the myth that parity means no star power has pretty much been busted.
If the 15th place guy doesn't know how to ride it properly, he'll be even further back in the pack.
The only difference is that he won't have to spend as much money on the bike to be competitive with the factory 4t.
I'm all for 250 4t vs 250 2t.
Now, when have you had that feeling since then? I’ll argue that Washougal 2018-2019 rides by Tomac we’re close.
Inspiration fuels us all. It’s what makes us push harder and be better. Someone standing out and achieving greatness that you don’t see every day.
Like it or not, racing wouldn’t be what it is today without the dominance of MC that fueled Carmichael and pushed Reed to become what they did. MC, RC and Reed changed racing. Then came JS-259 who then upped the game even more. All these guys were a cut above everyone else. We don’t have that right now and it’s boring. You have the same people doing the same thing every weekend. All 20 riders on the gate are all able to do the same obstacles. The only difference from the front runners is their cornering and whoop speed ability.
Bring back the tracks that separate awe inspiring from great. Our sport will not grow any more until they do.
If any rider can win.... BFD. Might as well flip a coin and pick the winner that way.
Dominance rules. There's NOTHING boring to me about DOMINANCE. Maybe because I'm a squid myself. History remembers the dominant.
As far as moto, I like it all. I loved watching MC win, because I loved to watch him ride. RC, I didn't like him, until I did. He wore me down and made me like him. Of course I loved watching JS7 push him and RC being able to respond. RedBud 2007 was an epic battle.
I like close racing but I also enjoy a runaway ride. Glen Coldenhoff at the MXDN at Redbud, historical ride. If you weren't there you missed a guy in the zone and on anther level IMO. Herlings at the Ironman is another ride. JMB had plenty of those rides back in the day. Wyndham, 2003 at Glen Helen, even thought he didn't win, no body had challenged RC in a while.
As a rider myself I can make a boring race fun by analyzing the riders, what they are doing.
Motocross is probably the Motorsport where the rider (or driver) makes up the biggest percentage difference compared to the machine.
I think Tomac/Roczen/Webb could probably get a top 10 on a bike like most club racers ride. (Re-valved suspension and remapped ECU).
JM/RC/JS domination was down to the rider. (Most had a team mate on an equal bike.)
Probably the biggest expense (and potentially the difference between teams) is the cost of test tracks and the time spent there.
In the 450 class especially, there seems to be no visible difference in power/speed.
In MotoGP it is not unusual for one works bike to pass another brands best effort on the straight every lap. (Assuming the slower bike/rider can pass somewhere else.)
Of course... I have to get on the podium first. And you need to still be there after I get my re-hydration IV.
THEN... you'll be in T-R-U-B-L-E.
Pit Row
Think about this for a second. This sport went from McGrath to Carmichael to Stewart to Villopoto to Dungey. All without having any gap years between them and with Reed sprinkled there as an elite rider from Carmichael to Villopoto. You can make an argument that McGrath, Carmichael, Stewart, Villopoto, and Dungey are the top 5 ever. Just so we are clear, I'd disagree, but they still have arguments nonetheless. Then Dungey retires. Who is up next that everyone turns to? Tomac obviously. He's unfairly expected to be that guy. And he's just not quite there. There is absolutely zero shame in that whatsoever, because, as I stated, those guys have arguments to be the top 5 ever (on the AMA side). But people expect him to be and that's where that unfair criticism comes from.
What we are seeing right now is what we'd have seen so many years in the 90s without McGrath. A super stacked field, tons of different guys that could win, and championships up for grabs. Same with Carmichael there in the early 00s. People often mistake a dominant rider with a weak field. Remove that dominant rider and we all talk about the parity and how many different contenders we have.
Post a reply to: Do we really want parity?