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What if the top three championship riders in MXGP and MX2 got automatic bids for the SMX rounds?
It sure would make it more interesting and maybe help solidify the World Title moniker of SMX.
There's no whoops, it's mostly MX with some rhythm sections. A lot of money at stake. Maybe they'd come.
For $1mil prize money, Prado would race for sure. But why hand them an entry if everybody else has to earn points to qualify?
My thoughts exactly.
I love this idea. Work out some details of how the MXGP guys “earn” a spot in it just like the AMA guys have to.
Put them in the LCQ and start with 0 points or whatever (I'm still not exactly sure how the points thing works for SMX as far as the three race playoff goes)
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Why call it a World Championship if it's really just a Grand National Championship?
Getting Luongo involved in our series in any way is the worst idea I've ever heard.
They'd never let him own it or run it,. It's just an idea to get all of the top guys on the track competing. I'm tired of most of the top US riders skipping the MXdN.
Besides points issues GP bike rules are very different than Feld/MXSports bike rules so do you really think they would build completely different bikes and travel arrangements for the entire team to do 3 races?
Why would USA teams want to bring in Apples to possibly upset the cart?
Same as we do every year at MXdN, I guess.
Ok fair enough, only the 2 Champions get a spot (based on their championships) and the other 4 have to qualify through the LCQ's.
That sounds fair...
No, no and no.
If you want to race the SMX rounds, you have to qualify the same way everyone else does, whether your name is Jorge Prado, Jeffrey Herlings, or Jesus Christ. Win a SX or National event, or earn a place in the top spots via points. Period.
I think that giving the guy who wins the MXGP or MX 2 titles a spot is fair. Winning a MXGP title is not going to be easier than winning a single SX. And giving the 2nd and 3rd place guys a spot in the LCQ sounds fair. And is not taking away a lot of spots from US racers.
It would make it more of a world title. Its not like it will go against decades of history of how things were done. Its just a small change in the rules that would make another way to qualify . I think it is worth a shot. Who knows if the winner would even want to come and race the SMX rounds anyway. It would give us a chance to see races that may never happen otherwise.
That is categorical for something that exists since less than a year
I would not mind a trans ama revival, where the top 10 from each world can compete. Maybe that is even something that can be done after the smx. Make sure the public is there, red bud, ernée or saint jean d'angely, glen helen or the LA coliseum. If there is another mill the grid will be full. OEMs/partners must be involved at the earliest stage and the budgets are not unlimited too.
I would not mind seeing more races per year (not per rider where we could put a cap at 33-35). Let me explain, east/west shoot outs, or triple crowns, helped by the futures, are quite dense and could even be events on their own ; sometimes without the 250s, and more importantly sometimes without the 450s that are the ones who need some rest. Maybe pay double points the triple crowns as they do twice more laps. In term of safety/track break down, splitting occasionally is not bad too. 25 dates, 17 with the 450. Then 11 outdoors, 3 smx, and why not 3 trans ama. Plus the mxdn, paris, wsx and australian sx, that could be close to 50 week ends.
Well you could call finishing top 3 in MXGP or MX2 to be the equivalent of earning points to qualify.
This will never happen. Too many issues with bike differences in MXGP vs AMA.
It works at MXdN.
I hear what you're saying and I understand where you're coming from, but SMX is a brand new invention and we're not married to the qualification system just yet. Why not make one of the qualifying criteria an MXGP achievement?
I just want to see Lawrence, Gajser, Sexton, Prado, Webb, Herlings, Roczen, Fevbre, Tomac, etc. On the same track a few times per year.
As I said earlier, as it stands right now, SMX is just a Grand National Championship, not a true World Championship.
SMX can remain a grand national championship, as far as I'm concerned. If the MXGP guys want to come race it, let them qualify. We have the MXdN for the "us vs. them" race.
Pit Row
I get that, Falcon, but everybody tends to skip the MXdN these days if it dosn't fit their agenda. MXdN is my favorite race of the year, but I'm often disappointed because many of the top guys aren't there.
I think SMX could solve that problem by making it a must-attend race for all the top riders.
But as it stands right now, I think even the top AMA racers put more emphasis on the SX and MX titles. The money for SMX is nice, but it doesn't have the prestige yet.
Luongo’s visit proved to me that Steve Matthes at Pulp has officially completely sold out.
Matthes has been able to float around this sport by running his mouth for a long time, but after his negative comments about american pride last summer, I'm genuinely surprised he has any followers or platform here.
And i'm not a cancel culture person, but why give clicks and views to a guy who hates you and views you as redneck/beneath him.
sell-out is an oxymoron for what matthes is. He's essentially a legal alien here riding on other peoples coattails while (probably) enforcing some left wing censorship / agenda throughout the industry
They should just do one of these again
https://www.mxgp.com/news/where-motocross-meets-stadium
I like it. We all know the three SMX rounds are not a true word championship. It’s a gimmick, embrace that and allow anyone that wins a GP or finishes top 3 in the championship to qualify, just like winning a SX or Outdoors round does.. Add the Aussie and Canadian title winners to that list while you’re at it. Imagine the amount of interest that would add!
The AMA SX racers will still hold the advantage with being at home, bike setup and schedule familiarity. SMX in a speedway is not an outdoor motocross track, so there should be nothing to be scared of…..or is there?
I'll say this again - a title doesn't make a series.
Does anyone think the WSX "World" champions were superior to the "National" SX champs?
If so, the AMA should just rename it something along the lines of "Champions of the Universe (and multi-verse and all other realms)" just so they can claim to have the "premier" series.
In the end it's all entertainment to the spectators, so they can do what they want and call it what they want and none of us will wake up any healthier, wealthier or wiser the next morning. But if it makes for some good spectating, I'll watch.
Luongo visited? Count your fingers.
I don't disagree with you on that, but Feld is a shrewd, savy company and DC bleeds moto like we do. They're not going to let him pick their pockets.
I think all three realize that working together is the best way to stave off an outside threats like WSX.
Side note, but what's the deal with him being French? I always thought being Giuseppe's son, he was Italian also
Thank to steve you have a plethora of moto podcasts to choose from now. Since you’re a real patriot are you a main event moto fan?
I don't really listen to moto podcasts. The vital forum is more suitable for my tastes. I can choose what subject I'm interested in and even participate in the discussion.
I'm not sure who has the free time during the week to watch 3-4 hours of a rambling podcast about a 15 minute race and the associated gossip and drama. Then again i understand that people need a break from news/politics and the entertainment coming out of hollywood/tv is not what it used to be
I think of the SMX series as simply a better way to unify both of our own domestic series. Any reference to "world" should be dropped. Who cares about prestige? At the end of the day, we have better racing over here. Better for the racers, better for the fans.
Post a reply to: Luongo's visit got me thinking