JEREMY MCGRATH AND THE SUPERCROSS-ONLY CONTRACT–CLASSIC DECOSTER
In 1999, Jeremy McGrath already had more Supercross wins than anyone else, and he wasn’t even close to being done–in Supercross. His outdoor career was drawing to a close. This prompted Roger DeCoster to speculate on the ramifications of the Supercross specialists of the future. Here’s what he said in the August, 1999 issue of Dirt Bike.
Jeremy McGrath just isn’t normal. If he keeps going at this rate, he will have more career supercross wins than the next ten guys put together. It’s impossible to come up with a record he hasn’t broken in the world of Supercross. Having a recognizable superstar in our sport is good. But this is a little ridiculous. Riders are negotiating their contracts based on how close behind McGrath they stay. And if he’s getting any slower with age, frankly, I can’t tell. Of course, if someone has to be this dominant, I’m glad it’s Jeremy. He has a good work ethic, he’s good with fans, he has some level of personal integrity. On top of that, Jeremy might be one of the reasons that we are doing so well. There are more spectators watching MX than ever before, and bike sales are up at every level. Face it, there are a lot of kids out there who want to be just like Jeremy.
Having said all that, I need to point out that he has put our sport on a very dangerous course. I’m referring to his supercross-only contract. He rode the first outdoor national at Glen Helen simply because it’s close to home. After that, his season is officially over. In order to earn his pay, he doesn’t have to swing a leg over a motorcycle until the year 2000. Sure, McGrath is in a unique bargaining position. He’s the top guy, so his backers have to go along with anything he says. But use your imagination for a moment and think about the precedent he has set.
In the short run, promoters will want to have more Supercrosses. If you want to have the top rider, you can’t do it by holding a National.
Fans who want to see the top rider in the country can’t do it by buying a ticket for a national. They have to wait for next year’s Supercross.
Even the other riders will suffer from not having McGrath around. They can learn a lot from watching him on the track and in the pits. Remember; he still has to be considered the best American outdoor rider as well.
In the long run, it starts a ball rolling that might continue long after Jeremy is gone.
If more riders are successful in this kind of specialization, then eventually there could be two completely different: sets of riders, almost like road racers and motocrossers.
Factory teams will then have to divide their resources between a Supercross team and a national team.
Eventually, there would be date conflicts between Supercrosses and nationals. If they use two different sets of riders, then why not?
Nationals will inevitably lose prestige. They already have, to some extent. Outdoor racing may eventually hold the position that four-stroke racing or Arenacross currently holds. That will mean fewer MX tracks for all of us to ride, year round.
The level of riding ability will probably drop, even in supercross. Without the outdoor races to keep them in shape, riders will become less fit. We probably won’t notice it until European riders start beating us more and more often. Supercross is more of a mental exercise, requiring keen balance, timing and nerve. Fitness is a key ingredient, but not nearly to the level of outdoor racing.
A Supercross-only career certainly sounds appealing. You don’t have to work all year long. You don’t have to train as hard. You don’t have to stay in crummy motels in the middle of nowhere. You don’t have to get up early and stand in some dusty, hot field from 7:00 a.m. until dark. You get to stay near the stadium in a nice hotel. Right now, the Supercross-only rider could be done with his season in four months, then play for half a year. He can probably get serious about training in the last two months before the season picks up again. And consider this: Right now everyone is watching us. There are some very important people in the field of car racing who are impressed with our sport. I recently had a chance to meet with some of them, and I was surprised at the respect they had for us. They see us as tough guys in a tough sport where the fastest guy usually wins. Motocross and even Supercross aren’t just “shows” where the results are dictated by politics and money. That alone should be enough reason to make sure we don’t lose our best assets.
I’m not saying that Jeremy McGrath doesn’t deserve special treatment. He does. How can we disregard the wishes of someone who has won more races than anyone else and been so good with the fans and to our sport? I would have no problem if the AMA made a rule that in order to have the same choice, a rider needs to score at least 60 or 70 wins. That should narrow the field of would-be supercross-only riders!
Frankly, right now we can’t afford to treat anyone else this way. Even though the sport of Supercross is raking in more money than ever before, 90 percent of the cost of racing is being fronted by the four Japanese manufacturers. They can’t afford to double their team size. Yes, the riders and the teams do need more time off (one week between the end of the supercross series and the start of the outdoors isn’t quite enough). But taking half the year off and neglecting the nationals isn’t the answer.
If there are going to be changes, I’d like to see a return of the Grand National Number One. Remember that? It combined supercross and outdoor points, and David Bailey carried the plate the last time it was used (1983). Riders might not be so eager to ride Supercross only if it meant letting someone else carry a number-one plate, one that would be even more prestigious than the Supercross one. So how worried am I? After saying all this, how likely do I think it is that the Supercross-only contract will be the wave of the future? Do I think that we are heading inevitably toward all the bad things I’ve listed above?
No. I don’t see anything like this coming for a long time. In all honesty, I won’t start worrying until there’s another McGrath. And that might be a while.
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