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.”