For years the argument over which is better, Supercross or Motocross, has gone on. SuperMotocross is going to end that. I recently spoke with Dave Prater, Vice President of Supercross about the ambitious crossover sports championship coming this year.
Outdoor versus indoor. “Cross country” versus stadium racing… That’s all coming together with the SuperMotocross Playoff and Championship. For decades, the two have acted somewhat as friendly rivals. Now, it is time to come together.
Ultimately, the goal is to find out who is the best on a bike and to give fans a must-watch event that promotes both brands.
“For 50 years now we’ve run two championships. Supercross championship which begins in the beginning of January through the middle of May. Then those same teams and athletes start a new championship, the pro-Motocross championship, which is mid-May to the end of August. And there’s always been this debate, who’s the best? Is it the Supercross champion or is it the Motocross champion? It is not very often that that person is the same.
“So I think that’s number one, is trying to figure out who really is the best on two wheels and the dirt, you’re right, that’s the goal. By coming together we feel like we’re exponentially stronger. We’ve seen that from jump street. Is that just… we were always in a silo, it was the Supercross silo and the Motocross silo. We really didn’t communicate or strategize together and with this alliance that we’ve formed I think we’ve already seen just the visibility of the brand take great steps forward.”
After 50 years of competition between the two brands, it took a major change to bring them together. Of course, it was the COVID-19 pandemic.
SuperMotocross Was Born Out of the Pandemic
Prior to 2020, an event like SuperMotocross was the dream of fans hoping to see who really was the best on a dirtbike. However, as we all learned during the pandemic, things can change overnight.
Dave Prater noted the impact COVID had and credited this time for bringing the two brands together.
“If there was one positive that came out of COVID, it was it gave us all a second to pause and get together and share ideas.”
There was no bad blood between brands or executives. It was just a different world prior to 2020. Once they were able to get into a room together, the ideas started to roll.
“So, we really, it gave us an opportunity to really get outside of ourselves and sit down and start communicating. As we did that we realized, look we’ve all been going 100 miles an hour, in our own lane with blinders on. Good reason we’re all working on our property. However, it gave us a chance to really start sharing ideas and brainstorming on how we can grow the overall sport together. That was the beauty of it and I think that’s what you’re seeing, like I said across sports in general, but especially it seems like motorsports was the first to adopt it.”
Once the Motocross championship concludes, the SuperMotocross schedule is coming. Three races, one at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway on September 9. Then the week after, SuperMotocross heads to Chicagoland Speedway. Finally, a champion will be crowned on September 23 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
