Professional racing here in the USA is on the cusp of major transformation. With the advent of the World Supercross Series and the return of the AMA Arenacross series, there are finally some options for racers to consider. While the AMA Supercross series and MX Sports national motocross championship are the standard for what a full season of racing looks like, typically, that could be changing.

The effects of the added competition can already be seen. Feld and MX Sports, who have been amicable but never went out of their way to promote one another’s series, are suddenly business partners. Oh, and they found some loose change in their couch cushions and put together a $10,000,000 purse for what they are calling the Supermotocross World Championship. Rumor has it they flew in Mensa members and a brain trust of nerds to come up with the series name… nailed it. This world championship doesn’t leave US soil, and is essentially a three-round playoff series after adding points from supercross and the national motocross series. Where did they find the money? Well, their spokespeople say that this partnership makes the television package more appealing so they were able to get more money for it. So, up until this point we’ve literally had to buy the TV time and chase sponsors to cover the cost, but all of a sudden we raked in 10 million? Got it. I’m not complaining… the pay increase is long overdue and the riders certainly earn it. This is just capitalism at work and the competition will make everybody better.

The FIM World Supercross Championship has certainly ruffled some feathers. Feld and MX Sports are concerned, obviously, and their attempt to offer a World Championship title is a thinly-veiled attempt to keep riders here and competing in both series. Personally, I don’t think this will hurt the US supercross or motocross series, it will just create options for riders who don’t have a ride here. Outside of Feld and MX Sports, everyone should be excited about the two new racing series. Fans get to see more racing, and many of those fans can do so in-person at an international venue near them. Riders will finally have a good second or third option for making a living outside of the two US series. There are far more good riders than there are good rides, and that leads to way too many careers being cut short. This series is a viable route to extend careers of top stars like Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac, Dean Wilson, Chad Reed, Cole Seely, Malcolm Stewart or any other racer who is simply not interested in doing 31 rounds here at home. And taking supercross to different locations around the world will introduce fans to the sport who would otherwise never get to see it. That translates into more bikes sales, more gear sales, more hard parts sales, etc.

On top of that we dropped the announcement last week that the AMA Arenacross series is returning under new ownership. With a well-thought-out format and a vision to return Arenacross racing to its former glory, we could see a third avenue for fast, young riders to actually earn a living racing motorcycles.

Competition breeds better products and, for us, better racing. Instead of only one option, we now have several and that means riders will have those options as well. So, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to support one and hate the other… we’ve had quite enough of that the past few years. Instead, embrace the added racing and support all the different series. At Whiskey Throttle Media we will be covering every series and doing our best to support the athletes competing in each one.