Since let’s say 2004, the promoters of the World motocross championships has worked over-time to make our Grand Prix circuits more technical, more demanding and favourable for the GP riders to race as fast as anyone in the World and the same skills that those AMA supercross riders had.

In doing that, they have also allowed improved performances of the GP riders against the AMA riders and thus, giving names like Jorge Prado, Lucas Coenen, Kay De Wolf and many more, an easier access to racing in USA.

It was clear, less than a decade after that decision in 2004, that the changes worked, and a young Grand Prix rider now has very similar skills as the best AMA supercross riders in the World. It allowed the Europeans to stop the American domination of the Motocross of Nations in 2012, and it also allowed young Europeans like Prado, Tom Vialle, Coenen or De Wolf to have enough skills to make a decision about racing in America and not in Europe, a much easier one. It was like a two ended sword in fact, but clearly one that Infront are happy with, as the GP riders continue to be equal, or better than the AMA athletes and the racing in the World motocross championship is at a ridiculously high level.

When Jorge Prado arrived in America around 12 months ago, he travelled there to find out if the AMA supercross championship was something for him and it turned out, he was good enough, and now, in 2025, he will race the AMA Supercross championship and AMA Nationals. A World champion lost to Europe and gained by the American scene.

Now, as I write this, young Dutchman, Kay De Wolf has booked his flights to America and will also go and do his best to find out if racing in America is something for him. The Nestaan factory Husqvarna rider and 2024 World MX2 champion mentioned to Lewis Phillips from VitalMX a little over a week ago that he flies to USA in a week’s time and will try and enjoying himself in America, but also do some lap on the supercross track.

“I fly over on the 21st (of this month),” De Wolf said. “I am for sure going to have a go on the supercross track. For sure, I am not racing A1 at the moment, because then I would need to be a long time in the US. I am just going to try and have some fun and it would be cool to get some supercross experience, go see if I like it. If I can hit those whoops and do 20 solid laps in a row. I will just try and see what I can do.”

Davey Coombs, who has followed and reported on the sport nearly all his life and runs the AMA Nationals remembers well, when young European riders came to America and often struggled to come to terms with the indoor part of the journey.

“In 1992 there was this surge in interest by Europe-based riders in coming to America for the early SX rounds, in part because they had seen how Jean-Michel Bayle had risen to the top, and also in part because a lot of Americans were the GPs and it made sense to come home and do some winter work. Everts, who was always interested and respectful of supercross, but not necessarily interested in going all-in, decided to test the waters with them. As a result, at some early races, nearly one-quarter of the field in an AMA Supercross main event was GP riders: Everts, Trampas Parker and his Honda teammate Micky Dymond, Bader Manneh... Stefan did well, but like JMB in '89 and Albertyn in '95 and Tortelli in '98, there was a learning curve for sure. (Interestingly, the two world champs that year, Donny Schmit (250) and Greg Albertyn (125) did not come and race SX in the winter of '92.)”

Kurt Nicoll, who was one of the very good Grand Prix riders from the 1990s and now helps out in the World Supercross championship feels that the gap between MXGP and AMA indoors isn’t as wide as it once was. Nicoll was totally against a Grand Prix track changing enough to suit supercross skills, but now, some 30 years after his GP career ended, he can see the advantages that the MXGP circuits have brought to the GP riders.

“I think what we need to realize,” Nicoll told mxlarge. “Motocross and supercross has narrowed as a skill set. Back in my day, when I was racing Grand Prix, we were a million miles away from being able to do supercross. Nowadays, at a regular MXGP track, all those MXGP riders, the best ones in the World, every one of them, could race supercross. The skill levels are very, very close now. Up until maybe the early 2000s, that wasn’t the case. The talent in MXGP and MX2 is so high now and the technical aspects of the Grand Prix riders shows they are capable of racing supercross. There is a place for a supercross series, which allows MXGP riders to race supercross.”

So, while the Supercross World is gaining riders, both in AMA and FIM events around the World, MXGP continues to produce talents that have gained so much from their experiences. We might have lost names like Vialle and Prado for now, but the pack of young men coming through the MX2 class is a long one and I have no doubt, despite those heading to America to race, the depth in the Grand Prix series is deep enough to make sure, we don’t miss them at all and we just remain excited what is coming through the Infront pyramide of EMX, MX2 and of course, MXGP.

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