MOTOCROSS MYTH BUSTING

Press Reader - Scott Bishop

THERE IS NO MONEY TO BE MADE RACING IN AUSTRALIA!

False. I hear this one a lot lately, and I can tell you the money is as good, if not better than, it’s ever been. I think we need to define what no money means. If you are comparing the income of a top-flight US rider or anyone with the surname Lawrence, then yes, there is no money in Australia.

And while money does come and go a little bit depending on market forces — bike sales, rider market, external sponsorship — money in Australian racing has increased in recent years. Especially motocross. Why motocross? It has the most manufacturer involvement, and bike sales in that segment are consistently strong.

A top-line, potential race or round winner in the premier MX1 class now gets a base salary of over $100,000 a season. Additionally, regular podium finishes can be anywhere from $5000 to $15,000 per round, championships are over $50,000, and a rider in a successful year can earn over $300,000 per season.

An MX2 rider can earn around $200,000 a season, and now MX3 riders who have a big year can earn over $100,000 a year. So does making $100,000 as a 16-yearold kid sound like no money in racing? Comparing it to the US is pointless, but racing in Australia and consistently finishing on the podium can provide a good income for riders.

Spare a thought for a rider who fell this year and missed out on the final rounds of a championship and the bonuses coming to him if successful. That crash not only cost him time off the bike, but also about $100,000 in missed bonuses. But the reality is, more riders are currently making a living racing than ever before, and hopefully that continues to grow.

False. Of course you can. The beauty of a team bike isn’t the performance, as the availability of aftermarket parts combined with the quality of the standard bike means any well-maintained, current-model bike is good enough to be at the front of racing in motocross and supercross.

The main benefit of a team bike is that its quality remains the same all year. The bike is as fresh in round eight as it was in round one. But in terms of outright performance, a privateer with some switched-on people around them can often build a bike that is just as fast and effective as a team bike.

This also dispels the myth that your bike must arrive by truck to win. There have been several examples in recent years of production-based bikes achieving strong on-track results, including the 2025 Supercross Championship, where Hayden Mellross finished third in the SX1 class on a bike anyone could build.

True. There are times when this just has to happen. Like when you need that last-minute pre-race nervous pee and it’s either whip it out on the start line or head into the start-line thunder box.

But this needs to be avoided at all costs. If you don’t have the flexibility of an Indian rubber man and you can’t pull more facial contortions than Jim Carrey, taking a dump in a trackside long-drop should never be tackled.

The first issue is, if you are over 175cm and still in your gear, taking a seat is next to impossible — and if you can manage to get your cheeks to the toilet seat, meaning you can bend your knees at 90 degrees with braces on, you are then stuck in the sweat box because your knees are jammed against the door and you are wedged in like a human door chock, rendered helpless and with no way of escaping.

It’s then you realise that the tin box with a big hole at the bottom that smells like hell is also the hottest place on earth when the sun is beating down on it. If you could, in fact, move in that stinky sardine box, it would be like doing Bikram Yoga in full gear just metres away from the sun.

Now, I was silly enough to attempt this once and I have learned my lesson. Not only did I nearly miss my race as a I tried to fight my way out, but the energy needed meant I had become dehydrated, was simply exhausted and submerged in a wave of stench. My riding in the moto was the only thing that reeked more than I did.

Kids, be warned: no porta-loos while wearing race gear under any circumstances.

False. That dude simply doesn’t want to jump the big double. It’s easier to have a justified excuse that has no evidence to call on than to huck two piles of dirt and launch the damn thing like a rental moped at the BMX track.

If it was faster to roll doubles, triples or even tabletops, the sport of supercross wouldn’t exist. Well, it does — it’s called dirt track. So next time you think of rolling out “it’s faster to roll” to your riding buddies, take a good hard look at yourself. Stop before you say anything and just be honest with the world. Come up with a proper excuse that has some credibility.

“The bike has an intermittent bog.”“I thought the front tyre was flat.” “I left my nuts in the toolbox.” Anything is better than saying it’s faster to roll.

— Scott Bishop

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Cooper Webb...Home Body

Eli Tomac revisits the Lapper debate

The discussion about Lapped riders in Supercross It receives new nourishment – ​​and once again it comes from So TomacAfter the KTM rider already at the press conference after this Indianapolis Supercross Having previously criticized the way slower drivers were treated on the track, he has now also spoken out on social media.

On the platform X Tomac took up the topic again, contradicting a widespread opinion within the scene: that the problem of being lapped was primarily related to the technical development of motorcycles.

"It wouldn't be any better with production bikes."

In his statement, Tomac made it clear that he considers this argument to be flawed. Some observers believe that the large performance gaps between top teams and smaller programs arise from increasingly sophisticated motorcycles – and that the problem of being lapped would be alleviated if all riders were using near-production machines.

Tomac sees things differently.

In his estimation, the opposite would be true. Especially in the 250 class He believes it is extremely difficult for smaller teams to remain competitive throughout an entire season. In his view, the reason lies in the enormous development work of the factory teams, who try to extract maximum performance from their small engines.

Significant differences in development

It is precisely in this class that the differences between factory teams and private programs become particularly apparent. Teams with extensive resources invest a lot of time and money in research and development to extract every possible performance advantage from the engines.

For private teams, this means an enormous amount of work. Besides pure performance, durability also plays a major role, as engines and complete racing machines must be used regularly in a rotation system to control the stress throughout the season.

Without sufficiently large financial resources, it is therefore difficult to compete on a level playing field with the big teams in the long term.

Tomac's proposal: More freedom in the 450 class

Tomac's view of the 450 classHe sees the situation quite differently there. In his opinion, it is currently even easier to be competitive in this category than in the 250cc class.

The KTM rider goes a step further and introduces a fundamental idea: In his opinion, the 450 class could move further away from production-based motorcycles and give manufacturers more freedom for real development. Factory bikes “If we already have performance differences, then let’s just build real factory bikes,” said the 33-year-old.

The idea behind it: machines without the strict production requirements of series models – with maximum technical development and performance.

Ultimately, the driver still decides.

Despite these considerations, Tomac remains committed to one fundamental idea: In the end, one thing still decides most in motocross and supercross – the rider.

Even with more advanced factory machines, talent, training, and hard work would still make the difference. It is precisely this combination that ultimately makes the sport so appealing. And perhaps, as Tomac himself suggested, the system works quite well as it currently is.

“Perhaps we should just leave everything as it is,” he wrote, in essence, “because our sport is pretty great.”

Ken Roczen: "Suddenly you see everything going downhill"

The evening at Indianapolis Supercross started for Ken Roczen Almost perfect – and yet it ended with a bitter aftertaste. Suzuki rider He won the first final of the Triple Crown race convincingly and felt comfortable on his motorcycle all day. However, a mistake in the second race led to a spectacular crash with Aaron Plessinger and destroyed his chances of overall victory.

“The first race was almost like a dream race,” Roczen explained later. “I felt really good on the bike all day. I was able to make some good overtaking maneuvers and win the race – sometimes you just need races like that.”

A mistake at the wrong time

However, the picture changed dramatically in the second final. Shortly after the start, Roczen lost control in a rut in the rhythm section just before the finish line.

“Right after the start, I got stuck in a rut and had a highside over the tabletop,” Roczen described the situation. “I couldn’t ride the next jump cleanly and practically had to abort two and a half jumps.”

While he was trying to regain control of the motorcycle, Aaron Plessinger was already directly behind him – with dramatic consequences. "Just as I was getting back up, Aaron was right behind me and practically drove under my motorcycle. That caused me to flip over completely."

Heavy impact – both drivers on the ground

The collision between Roczen and Plessinger resulted in a spectacular crash, with both riders going down hard. For a moment, the crowd paused. Lucas Oil Stadium He caught his breath. "We both hit pretty hard," Roczen said. "It was definitely not an ideal situation."

While Plessinger subsequently had to end his race prematurely, Roczen was at least able to finish the second final. Rank ten break up.

Damage limitation in the third race

Despite the crash, Roczen started again in the third final. There, the German once again demonstrated his strong pace and drove on Third place"In the last race I didn't have a particularly good start, but I was still able to work my way up to third place."

In the end, Roczen was left with nothing. fifth place in the overall standings – a result that, after the strong start to the evening, still seems disappointing.

"A missed opportunity"

Roczen himself knows that much more would have been possible that evening. "After the crash, you suddenly see everything going downhill," he explained. "But after I checked that everything was okay, I just tried to make the best of it."

Despite missing out on the opportunity, the German rider also took some positives from the weekend. "My speed was really good and I felt strong on the bike. We can build on that."

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Roczen welcomes the short break in the calendar. After the intense race night in Indianapolis, the AMA Supercross Championship now into a Off-weekend, before the series enters its next round.

American Flat Track Season Opener

Turn Left and hammer the throttle!

Masterpool Out

Ty Masterpool Undergoes Surgery on Both Ankles, Set to Get Shoulder Surgery in "Next Few Weeks"

Ty Masterpool has posted an update on his personal Instagram page. 

The Texas native posted a three-and-a-half-minute video providing an update on his shoulder injury, which will keep him out for the remainder of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, and more injuries he is working through.

In short, Masterpool said in the video that he dislocated his shoulder ahead of the Arlington 250SX East Division opener. He got it put back in (via Gizmo Yamaha team manager Bobby Fisher's help) quickly, but they decided to have him sit out the opener. Then, while on a turn track before the Daytona SX his shoulder was not feeling good still and was tight. Masterpool said an MRI revealed a "pretty big tear" in his labrum, which will require surgery.

While sidelined for the immediate future with this shoulder injury, Masterpool said he wanted to have surgery to fix "bad ankles" he has had his whole life. He got both ankles fixed in one surgery and is hoping to get his shoulder surgery in the next few weeks. 

It sounds like the shoulder surgery could likely keep Masterpool out of the first half of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship as well, as he said the recovery process from the surgery is three to six months. Pro Motocross starts May 30 in California. Three months from now is two weeks into June: six months from now is two weeks into September. Is this going to end Masterpool's year completely?

Here is Masterpool's full explanation, which you can read and/or watch below in his post.

"What up, guys? As you can tell, we're in a wheelchair and have to get three pretty big surgeries, and didn't even have a crash, [Laughs] So, I guess I'll start from the beginning. But, yeah, I was here at the facility testing with the team, testing a 250 and shoulder just got yanked forward and it popped out the first time I ever popped my shoulder out, so kind of weird for it to come out like that. But yeah, shout out to Bobby [Fisher], the team manager, he popped it back in pretty quick. So, I was good that [it] wasn't out for too long. And then, yeah, later that week we were just doing PT, and I tried to ride and shoulder was just pretty...it was just too unstable. So, team and I thought it was best to miss the home race [Arlington] and get ready for Daytona, which was the weekend after. And meanwhile, MRI report came back and doc said, I have a pretty big tear in my labrum as well as some other damage. And they said if I don't get surgery, it'll just keep on popping out and create more damage. And obviously that could lead to a bigger crash and etc. So, yeah, they're saying three to six months for that.

And then to address the ankles, pretty much just had bad ankles my whole life. I was just born with them. Like, for example, whenever I would go to a trampoline park whenever I was a kid, like I couldn't even walk the next day, I'd be in so much pain. So, yeah, like pretty much every day I ride supercross, I'm in quite a bit of pain, but I mean, I've just managed to be able to block that out and push through it and not let it hinder me at all, so. To me, I was like, no point of getting surgery and being out for that long with that. So, but to me, since I have to be out for a while [after shoulder surgery], I thought I would just fix the ankles, and I feel like I'll be able to be a better athlete with them fixed as well. But that's a whole nother long story [Laughs] to go over all that." "Yeah, sorry for the late post...just news kept on getting worse and worse by day. So, yeah, it's been a pretty hard pill to swallow to get three pretty big surgeries without even having a crash. And obviously I was a privateer this year, especially after spending all my own money. I spent a lot of money and a lot of good sponsors helping me out and didn't even get to show myself. So, yeah, pretty, pretty bummed on that. I was just having so much fun riding and I was feeling good.

And, yeah, I didn't even get to show myself. So, yeah, I've kind of been a rough couple of weeks. But I mean, I truly believe God works all things for good, even though, like, it's hard for me to see what that good is right now. But I'm sure eventually I'll be able to see it. But I mean, all I can do right now is make every day the most of it. So, yeah, that's why we're in the gym right now, getting a little upper body workout. I mean, I guess the better I go under surgery, the better I'll come out. So, yeah, just doing everything I can to keep the fitness and keep the ball rolling. And, yeah, obviously I tried to get all three surgeries at once [Laughs], but they wouldn't let that happen. I can only convince them to do the both ankles. Normally, though, you don't even do both ankles at the same time but convince them to do that. And, yeah, I couldn't get the shoulder done. So, we'll get the shoulder done here in the next few weeks and, yeah, I'll keep you guys in the loop, keep you guys posted when I'll be back. But, yeah, I guess that's kind of it for now. Yeah. Just appreciate you guys for all the love and support and all that. So, yeah. See you guys."

Super Cross Lappers

Eli Tomac tweets about lappers and wanting works bikes!

After his comments in lappers in the press following nearly having his night ended by Vince Friese, Tomac has added more with a rare tweet!

In the press conference, Tomac argued that there should only be 15 riders in the main event on short lap time main events and 30 on the gate outdoors, saying: “I was able to get to second at one point and then got balled up by lappers and paid the price for it. It was frustrating that way and then I almost got taken out in the in the second moto by lappers. It’s bad I think if the track sub 50 seconds, make it a 15 man gate. I mean, there, they’re just riders that are way off the pace of the top lead group and if the promoter wants to potentially lose championship contenders, I mean, let’s keep it the way it is, but yeah, frustrating but got out of here healthy and clean and second is what we had.”

“Like what Hunter said it’s repeat offenders It’s the same people doing the same thing over and over again. They don’t get a big enough penalty for it. It’s just it’s kind of outrageous. It’s frustrating for us. Yeah, I mean these guys are six/seven seconds a lap slower  – maybe even more and they’re out there with this. So really they’re just a hazard, I don’t know for the exact penalty. I think it’s just less riders on the gate and I actually think motocross should be 30 guys on the gate. I think both series has an issue with with too many bikes on the track and then especially once it gets to a short lap time.”

See the incident with Friese here:

This article continues below

Tomac then responded to some of the chatter he has been reading with a long tweet saying he would love works bikes back!

Tomac tweeted: “People saying we wouldn’t deal with lappers with if we were all on stock bikes. It’s quite the opposite of the truth. The 450 class is actually easier to be competitive in its current state compared to the 250 class. Want to be competitive throughout a whole season with a do it your self effort on a 250, going against teams with endless R&D squeezing maximum power out of the small displacement. Good luck.

“On top of keeping engines and race bikes in safe hourly rotation. There’s not a whole lot of light at the end of that tunnel without a blank check. IMO 450 class needs to be non production based, with the baddest works bikes on planet earth.

“The beautiful thing about Supercross and Motocross is that skill and hard work will always prevail. And yes that would still shine with works bikes.

“Or maybe we just keep everything the way it is, because our sport is pretty sweet.”

HRC stars dominate MXGP of Argentina

The 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship roared into life in spectacular fashion at the season-opening MXGP of Argentina, where Jeffrey Herlings delivered a flawless debut for Honda HRC Petronas with a dominant 1-1 performance at the spectacular Bariloche MX Race Track.

After a difficult qualifying race on Saturday, the Dutchman bounced back in emphatic style to claim his 113th career Grand Prix victory, taking control of the championship lead thanks to two race wins.

Reigning champion Romain Febvre began his title defence solidly with second overall for Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP, while former MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle impressed on his full-time MXGP debut with third overall, completing a strong opening weekend for Honda.

Packed hillsides of fans were treated to intense racing around the fast, wide Argentine circuit, which had been lightly reworked overnight to make conditions more technical under the blazing Patagonian sunshine.

Herlings made a perfect start in race one, grabbing the holeshot ahead of teammate Vialle and Andrea Adamo.

The early laps saw a thrilling battle develop at the front, with Vialle launching a bold move around the outside to take the lead on lap four. Behind them, Febvre and rising star Lucas Coenen worked their way into contention.

Herlings bided his time before striking late in the race, sweeping past Vialle in the closing stages to secure the win. Febvre held off Coenen for third, while Pauls Jonass completed the top five.

Further back, Tim Gajser battled through injuries from a Saturday crash to finish sixth ahead of Maxime Renaux.

The second moto began chaotically after an aborted start forced a red flag and restart.

Renaux grabbed the holeshot when racing resumed, but Vialle quickly moved into the lead while Febvre slotted into second.

Herlings initially found himself outside the top ten and faced a serious charge through the field. Using a fast line along the start straight, the Dutchman picked off rivals one by one, first passing Gajser and then Vialle.

When Renaux crashed while battling stomach cramps, the focus shifted to a tense fight between Herlings and Febvre. With only a handful of laps remaining, Herlings launched a decisive cutback pass that sent the Argentine crowd into a frenzy and secured both the race and the Grand Prix victory.

Gajser finished third in the race, with Vialle fourth and Ruben Fernandez rounding out the top five.

Herlings’ perfect 50-point score means he and teammate Vialle leave Argentina tied at the top of the championship, although the Dutchman carries the red plate thanks to his superior race wins tally.

Febvre sits just two points behind after a consistent weekend, while Coenen and Gajser complete the early top five.

With the opening round delivering drama, speed and packed crowds, the 2026 MXGP season has already laid down a serious marker ahead of round two in Europe.