WSX is looking for an investor: Will the plan fail this time?
The World Supercross Championship (WSX) is once again fighting for its future. Birmingham has been cancelled, SX Global is seeking fresh capital, and according to Steve Matthes, the teams are waiting for money they had long expected. This means it's no longer just about a Grand Prix disappearing from the calendar. It's about whether the business model behind the WSX can finally work after four years.
The idea of a true Supercross World Championship had its appeal from the very beginning. Top American riders would compete outside the USA, international fans would get to see the stars on their doorstep, and there was good money to be made for teams and riders.
That's precisely where the problem has been from the start. Sending Supercross around the world costs a hell of a lot of money. And now there are some indications that this calculation won't add up again.
Teams are expected to wait for their money
SX Global confirmed on September 22nd the cancellation of the British GP scheduled for October 10th in Birmingham. At the same time, the company announced that it was in talks regarding a "significant new investment." This capital is intended to put the World Supercross Championship on a more stable footing in the long term.
SX Global does not specify who should invest, the amount of money involved, or when an agreement can be expected.
Steve Matthes goes much further regarding PulpMX. According to his information, the registered teams have not yet received the payments they were expecting. Furthermore, a potential deal with a buyer or investor has reportedly already fallen through. Matthes also reported, even before the official announcement, that the next British race would likely be cancelled.
This part of his information has since been confirmed.
The situation is different regarding the payments and the allegedly failed deal. There has been no public confirmation from SX Global about these matters. Therefore, both must be treated exactly as what they currently are: information from Steve Matthes.
However, they shouldn't be completely dismissed.
Financial support for the teams isn't just a side note to the WSX model; it's been an integral part of it from the very beginning. SX Global attracted teams with financial backing, appearance fees, and assistance with the enormous travel costs of a World Championship.
It is precisely this structure that makes the current situation so interesting.
The calculation has always been difficult.
Matthes' fundamental criticism of the WSX is not new. After the 2026 season opener in Calgary, he reiterated that he fundamentally approves of the series' concept. Riders can earn additional income, teams gain another source of revenue, and fans outside the US are offered high-level Supercross.
His problem lies in the underlying logic. And that's actually not difficult to understand.
For an international series, motorcycles, spare parts, and materials have to be transported around the world. This also includes flights, hotels, and meals for riders, mechanics, and other personnel.
At the same time, the WSX needs well-known names. Without them, it will be more difficult to sell tickets, attract sponsors, and convince organizers to invest the necessary money in a race.
Conversely, the drivers have little reason to fly halfway around the world again after a long American season if it is not financially worthwhile.
Craig Dack had already addressed this problem quite openly in 2023. Support from the WSX alone was not enough to cover all of a team's costs. Additional sponsors were necessary.
Three years later, we are basically still discussing the same issue.
Full stands alone are not enough
The fundamental problem is unlikely to be a lack of interest in international Supercross.
Paris has shown for years that Supercross works outside the USA. Australia has a strong scene of its own. The WSX has also proven that fans want to see well-known riders.
However, a full stadium does not automatically mean that a World Cup is economically viable.
The WSX needs multiple revenue streams simultaneously: tickets, sponsors, media and streaming rights, local promoters, and some public funding. On the other hand, there are significant costs for events, teams, and riders.
If one of these pillars fails, it quickly becomes expensive.
That's precisely why the current search for investors is more important than the usual phrase about the "next growth phase" suggests. SX Global itself says that short-term operational measures are necessary due to the timeline of the investment process. One of these is the cancellation of the Birmingham bid.
Behind SX Global's cautious wording lies a rather simple message: the financing must be secured before things can proceed as planned.
Birmingham is not the first warning sign
If Birmingham were the first setback in WSX history, the matter could probably be dismissed relatively quickly. But it isn't.
Since its launch in 2022, the project has undergone several changes. Calendars have been adjusted, races have disappeared, and ownership has changed hands. In 2023, the French Grand Prix was initially postponed, followed by the removal of other events from the calendar. London 2025 also did not take place. The reasons for each change were different and should not be lumped together.
For teams, drivers and fans, one pattern remains: Between the announced international ambition and the actual calendar driven, there was always a gap in the WSX.
Now, for the first time, the search for investors is being addressed quite openly. And, according to Matthes, there may be outstanding payments owed to the teams.
What happens without an investor?
That is currently the most important unanswered question. SX Global states that the talks are progressing positively and that they are looking for the right long-term investor.
The statement doesn't address what will happen if this investor doesn't come through. Can SX Global then finance the championship on its own? Will more races be canceled? Will the team support model change? Or will the WSX come to a complete standstill?
There is no reliable information on this. The joint statement from the WSX teams is therefore particularly noteworthy. They stand behind the championship, emphasize their belief in international Supercross, and conclude: "The teams remain committed and will be ready to race when the championship returns."
When the championship returns. One shouldn't conclude from this that the end is already decided. That would be too much interpretation. But it doesn't sound particularly reassuring either.
And what will happen to the SMX then?
Should the WSX actually disappear, the story takes on another interesting dimension. Because then the question will eventually arise as to what role the SuperMotocross World Championship, in its current form, will still play.
From our point of view, its origin can hardly be completely separated from the emergence of the WSX.
SX Global entered the market in 2022 with a rather aggressive concept. Teams and riders were to be financially supported, and suddenly an alternative existed outside the established American championships where decent money could be made.
Ken Roczen, one of the biggest names in the American paddock, committed early to the new series.
On August 2, 2022, Feld Motor Sports and MX Sports Pro Racing announced that from 2023 onwards, Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross would be combined via a joint ranking and then decided in the new SMX playoffs.
In addition, there was a prize pool of ten million dollars.
Officially, the SMX was of course not presented as a defensive measure against the new FIM World Championship. Feld and MX Sports instead stated their intention to jointly develop Supercross and Motocross and strengthen the American product. Furthermore, there were already reports at the time that the collaboration had been prepared before the WSX even emerged.
Nevertheless, the temporal development is striking.
The WSX created a financially attractive opportunity for US riders to compete in another championship after their domestic season. Shortly thereafter, these same riders were given three additional races, another title, and an exceptionally large prize pool in the USA.
From the very beginning, we saw the SMX as the American answer to the WSX. Not necessarily as a championship created solely for that purpose, but certainly as a way to keep our own stars within our own system and to offer a counter to a new competitor.
Is a counter-proposal still necessary without a counterpart?
The situation has since changed. SMX has existed for several years and is now a fixture on the American calendar. Monster Energy has committed to a long-term title sponsorship. Supercross, Pro Motocross, and the playoffs are now marketed as a single package.
The SMX is therefore likely to be significantly less dependent on the existence of the WSX today than it was at its inception.
Nevertheless, the demise of the WSX would eliminate a significant competitive factor.
No international promoter would try to lure top American riders with high salaries to a competing championship anymore. Teams would no longer have to consider whether to continue racing in the WSX after the American season. And Feld and MX Sports wouldn't have to position their own product against a second series that also bears the title "World Championship."
Then one might well ask whether the SMX would still look the same in five years as it does today.
Is it still necessary to have three additional playoff races with their own title and substantial prize money if one of the factors against which this package was at least partially positioned, in our view, no longer exists?
Or is SMX now strong enough to continue completely independently? There's no answer to that at the moment. But precisely for that reason, a potential WSX demise wouldn't just be a story about SX Global.
Competition has helped the drivers
Steve Matthes raised another interesting point earlier. In his view, the high sums that WSX demanded for drivers and teams also meant that more money was circulating within the American system. The new competition couldn't simply be ignored.
For drivers, this is initially a good thing.
When two series compete for the same names, their market value increases. Teams gain additional opportunities, and promoters also have to consider how attractive their own product actually is to the stakeholders.
If one of these competitors disappears, this pressure also vanishes. Therefore, the end of WSX wouldn't automatically be good news for SMX, just because there would be one less competitor on the market.
Perhaps the exact opposite is true. A functioning WSX could, in the long run, force the American side to do more to retain riders and teams.
The idea is probably not the problem.
This makes the current situation at SX Global almost bitter. The fundamental idea isn't lacking. There's a worldwide audience for Supercross. There are riders who want to compete outside the US if the conditions are right. And there are markets where Supercross can work.
The only question is whether this model How does a world championship work economically? Four years after the first race, no convincing answer has yet been found.
Time is running out.
Birmingham is cancelled. SX Global is looking for a new investor. According to Steve Matthes, teams are waiting for expected payments, and a potential deal with a buyer or investor has already fallen through. While the last two points are not officially confirmed, his information about the impending UK cancellation has since proven accurate.
Perhaps SX Global will find a new partner in the coming weeks, and the WSX will finally get the long-term funding it has been seeking for years. If not, this time it could be about more than just another shortened calendar. And then, at some point, SMX would also have to answer a question that hardly anyone asked when it was launched:
What role does a counter-proposal still play when the opposing one no longer exists?
;)
Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 10:34AM 
