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Nah, the GP guys get stuff we can't.
I can only speak for myself, as an American fan, but I know others I talk to that feel the same. I'm over the FIM and their BS nonsense. It's total exploitation what they're doing with the MXON. And it truly is a shame. I realize the AMA isn't much better. But it's as simple as that for me and many others I talk with. So I don't blame riders or teams one bit for not attending. We need change on both sides of the pond.
The funding the Belgian team got from the federation was close to one. Just enough to get the trucks full of gas to get all the equipment to France, but not enough to get them back home so to speak. And that's just to France, a neighboring country.
All the funding came from private sponsors. Some of them have been for years, others were new, which had to be found by the people working for the Belgian team. They were able to set a new standard this year. With a complete hospitality setup, a sponsor dinner on Saturday, hundreds of fans in team colors who could sign up for one of the 500 free T-shirts to create a bigger sense of coherence and a completely free afterparty for the fans. Every member working for the Belgian team is a volunteer - including teammanager Joël Roelants. A couple - Robert and Magda - have been doing this for 35 consecutive years, out of love for the sport and the team.
Now that's patriottism.
And imagine the French funding triples the Belgian one.
I get it.
But, I’m between agreement and disagreement.
To be fair, we pushed our bikes to the end of the block and went riding. For a lot of us, it was a “neighborhood kids” thing. Hell, I didn’t have my own bike until my teens (15) and I sure as hell felt the need to make up for lost time compared to my friends that had been on XR75s and some even scored MR50s! Those bastards! 🤣
In comparison to The New Kids…we had if different. VERY “different”.
Also, many of us did the Moto thing on our own or were the 1st Gen to do it in our families. Again, that’s different.
The entire adventure aspect of riding seems different to us, too, from where I’m standing. Many of us grew up during the American Moto Pioneering Days or we’re its initial product…that’s me:
The Hodakas
Marty Smith, Danny LaPorte, Bob Hannah, Brad Lackey, Jim Pomeroy, Gary Bailey and the crew taking it to the Euros that owned the sport and had been constantly kicking our asses.
Honda Elsinores & Bob Hannah Yamaha Bicycles
Brad and Danny winning world championships and let’s not forget that 1st MXdN win
It was, it is, it will always be…
Different for us.
And I’m not gonna expect the younger dudes to see things the way I do.
In other words…
The Kids Are Alright
It’ll come back around & in the mean-time, I’m stoked for Latvia…and The Return of Belgian Greatness…Herlings CRUSHING IT on a Honda…The Spanish letting the world know that they know how to Moto…and our boys still puttin’ in the work with Webb saying,”Adios!” to The Outdoors like a Bad Ass.
Note: The French had a rough day…but…damn…they’re FAST.
MXON is still…just…
Awesome.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
No kidding? Upstate NY?
That’s great news.
I have nothing against Latvia. It's just that a country with 350 million people and the best racers in the world should probably be able to easily beat a country with 2 million people and a motocross community that is a tiny fraction of what is in the U.S. Have there been any prominent moto riders from Latvia? I haven't heard of any.
USA struggle at MXON because they are national riders. Not international.
Supercross lures them in with the big bucks, but Herlings seems to have do ok financially without it, so maybe there is other ways to get by.
Maybe USA needs to pick a team a bit earlier, go across the pond & line up at few euro GP’s, get some experience before the big day.
You should consider that the 350 million Americans are largely anti-motorcycle and most are definitely not interested in dirt biking. Belgium only has about 12 million people… we have cities bigger than that… but they have been a dominant force in MX for decades. It has nothing to do with a country’s size or borders and everything to do with the culture.
Apparently GB has not had that fight in their dogs since 1994.
This thread is just another example of why I couldn't care less if we go to nations or not. Just a ton of bickering and shit talking.
FIM does fuck all for US moto. Let them come to the US in 2028 and then don't even show up and let them have a GP. That's all it is anyhow. A GP.
“…so this race is basically another GP with 3 Americans jumping in…”
Mitch said this as well; unfortunately this displays a very American centric perspective and does a great disservice to Australia, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand.
As for the SX disadvantage; hasn’t seemed to be a problem for Jett, Hunter, Roczen and others in previous years, or Vialle and Prado for that matter, in recent years.
Funny how Belgium , who won in Ernee have lost virtually all their Motocross tracks in recent years due to political pressure from Green party policy.
To be fair, losing most of the tracks inside the country isn’t as dramatic as it could be. A Belgian could still be closer to a viable MX track than many Americans are. Belgium is less than 5% the size of Texas. Ernée is a LOT closer to Brussels than Houston TX is to Lubbock TX.
Not saying that the tracks closing are completely irrelevant, but it’s not like there are zero options available either.
The MXdN is somewhat of a crapshoot. A country’s population doesn’t matter as much the smaller the team is. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a larger pool of participants, but if you only need 3 to make a team, it mitigates it quite a bit.
Well, our best current 450 rider didn't want to come out to play either, so we have that in common.
My point isn't actually about the performance of the riders individually on the day - rather the culture that has seemingly developed in the US, among some fans at least, of making excuses. "Wrong fuel/ not enough time on the bikes/never rode a 250 before/Forato knocked me off/we don't ride tracks like this/we never get good gate picks/ this race is irrelevant and we shouldn't go" etc etc etc It's totally the wrong mindset. Seewer rode a 250 for the first time in years, ditto Coldenhoff. Everts rode a 450 that was initially unmanageable and had to detune it every ride. None of them had much testing. They relished, and positively attacked, the challenge - and their fans recognise that.
Webb was class and showed great leadership, he did pretty much as well as could be expected. You need more Webbs, more Tomacs, who dig deep and never, ever give up even in the last seconds. Check out Herlings or Febvre. Absolute pride and self belief - WANTING it. Thats how you win. (And yeah, you need luck too, most years).
So does RV have any success on a 250 starting against 450s? Ever? 😏
In 1986 Johnny O'Mara rode a production based CR125 and beat all the GP guys, including all the works 500s, the "stuff" GP guys get doesn't matter, the rider makes the difference.
This is something the industry does not want to publicize, it would harm new bike and aftermarket part sales.
If "stuff" mattered, how could Ken Roczen win the 2026 Supercross Championship on a Suzuki?
Have you told Jorge Prado about your theory?
You know the best way to develop a good racer? Have them race often, against people that are close to their same pace. They will all get faster from trying to beat one another.
Now take a look at the US system. There's no transition between an anemic amateur scene and the highest level in the world nationals.
Pit Row
Was it the bike or was it the people at Kawasaki he didn't gel with?
Wasn’t the biggest claim that he couldn’t win, or even be safe, on the bike? If it was simply the people, that makes intentionally trying to not qualify quite a bit worse, doesn’t it?
O’mara didn’t win because ‘stuff’ doesn’t matter. He won in spite of the ‘stuff’ he had. If he’d have had a 250 he probably would have passed into second much quicker!
He did say he never felt comfortable on the bike...
Kawasaki has a reputation for not being unwilling to set the bike up to their riders liking, that's a people issue, not a bike issue.
Division = Control. If we were genuinely united, the money men behind the curtains would have their hands tied.
America doesn't have the riders anymore to win, and the top guys that are left don't want to invest the time and money to go race in Europe and lose. This isn't just riders spending more time on Supercross, foreign riders are dominating there too. Give it a generation and some American kids can come up and you will probably be on top again.
Jorge’s a cat.
Wait, why would being ‘comfortable’ on the bike even be an issue? I thought that the ‘stuff’ didn’t matter?
😎
Hannah raced an RM125 in 1987 MXdN, five years since he last raced one in a series. He didn't complain or make excuses.
I hear so much whining and gnashing of teeth over on this side of the pond, and I don't think that culture is changing anytime soon. We've a lot of work to do and as long as we have private tracks and the cult of personality at the helm, nothing will change anytime soon.
Setup matters, exotic factory equipment (stuff) doesn't make the difference, the rider does.
that bike he rode was extremely trick.....it wasn't a stocker by any means....
Odds are a country of 350 million can have 3 people better at anything chosen than a country of 12 million does. It just makes mathematical sense, even take out total population, how many mx bikes are in Latvia vs. USA, how many mx bike dealers, how many tracks, the odds are stacked against any European country competing against the USA. Herlings even stated USA riders are paid more.
I disagree. Those odds only work if all else is equal, and it clearly isn’t. You can’t just gloss over advantages and disadvantages because numbers.
Post a reply to: Where is the American Spirit?