Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/130090
VOL. 50 ISSUE 19 MAY 14, 2013 Nature offered a somber reminder of who is really in charge. It might have been a blow to the sport more than anything else. Even Red Bull is sure to have their backside covered by an insurance policy with a handy "Act of God" clause that they will be calling on to help them recover the seven-figure cost of putting on the event. Fans will receive their refunds, and riders will go on to compete another day. But it was a particularly unfortunate turn of events for freestyle motocross, a sport that has been trying desperately to crawl back into the hearts of "core fans." A sizeable sample of these core fans left Glen Helen with a sour taste in their mouths, and even with their money refunded, aren't likely to rush to any more freestyle events in the area. It doesn't matter how organized the traffic control was, how ample the parking was, how great the seats were, how big the course was, or how impressive the infrastructure was. You can bet the cancellation sealed the venue's fate, even if Red Bull does decide to bring it back to Southern California. However, the silver lining here, if you choose to see it, is that a giant corporation like Red Bull accepted a sizeable monetary loss rather than endanger its athletes, and I, for one, applaud them for that. Even without knowing what sort of irreparable damage may have been done to the valuable Southern California market, I was glad to see Red Bull promoters base their decision on the well being of their riders as opposed to the corporate revenue stream. Could riders have braved the gusty winds and still put on a competition? Some say, 'yes,' but we'll never know for sure. One thing for sure is that no one – not the riders, not the fans, not the promoters, nor the freelance media there to cover the competition – wanted the event to be cancelled. But what you can choose to take away from the weekend is that Red Bull placed a higher value on the safety of its athletes than on the almighty dollar, and that's not such a bad thing at all. CN P111 LOOKING BACK 40 Years Ago May 22, 1973 Desert racing was featured in all its glory on the cover 40 years ago... No one was faster than Jim Rice at the Tulare Half Mile… Yamaha-mounted Pierre Karsmakers won the Hialeah National MX in Florida… Michigan's Dr. John Clark won the Burro Oak National Enduro… We tested the hot-new Suzuki TM125 motocrosser. 30 Years Ago May 25, 1983 A wheelie-cool photo of the Honda V45 Interceptor was featured on the cover 30 years ago to accompany our test of the all-new machine... Ricky Graham won the Springfield Mile. The Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington D.C. hosted its first AMA Supercross round that was held in the afternoon. David Bailey won what was a thrilling race. 20 Years Ago May 19, 1993 Our Shootout of the '93 125cc Japanese motocrosser was featured on the cover… Chris Carr won the Pomona Half Mile… Kevin Schwantz chalked up his 21st career GP win at Jerez… Scott Plessinger won the Boyers GNCC in Pennsylvania. 10 Years Ago May 14, 2003 Ricky Carmichael wrapped up his third straight Supercross title at Las Vegas and set a record for having the most SX/MX titles in AMA history with nine… Motoworld.com/Suzuki's Andrew Short won the East/West Shoot. SX 125 champ James Stewart crashed out.