VOLUME 57 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2020 P161
I'm looking forward to. I don't
know if we'll see midweek races
again after the 2021 Supercross
season, but I'm certainly going to
enjoy them while they last.
Motocross, more specifically
MX Sports Pro Racing and the
Coombs family, had to be cre-
ative, too. Back-to-back Nationals
at an "amateur" track and even a
Monday race were just some of
the bizarre things that had to be
worked out to make it all come to-
gether. Thankfully it did because I
thought this was one of the most
exciting and intriguing outdoor
National MX Championships in a
long time. Every time the racers
lined up behind the gate, you
never knew who would see the
checkers first among a handful of
riders (not just one or two). Heck,
many times, you didn't know who
was going to win even with a lap
to go!
And then there was MotoGP.
What a year! Too bad, however,
that it came at the expense of
Marc Marquez, but racing is
racing, and racing must go on,
and it doesn't get much better
than this when you have nine
different winners, five of them
first-time winners, in one year at
the elite level. And, to top it off,
you end up with an "unlikely"
champion on a brand that hadn't
won a MotoGP title in 20 years!
Great stuff. (Sure hope F1 was
watching.)
And it was in MotoGP where
we saw what could've been one
of—if not the—darkest days in
motorcycle racing history when
we came within a millisecond
of losing Valentino Rossi and
another millisecond of losing
his teammate Maverick Vinales
in one horrible racing accident.
Could you imagine losing two of
the sport's superstars in one fell
sweep? I still get quivers think-
ing about it. So, in a weird kind
of way, I guess you have to look
at that as the bright spot of the
year.
And you can't forget about Mo-
toAmerica. They figured out how
to get things done, too. Here's
a tip of the hat to Wayne Rainey
and the MotoAmerica crew for
making it happen. Okay, so the
racing in the premier class might
not have been as epic as it was
in Supercross, Pro Motocross or
MotoGP, but it did produce our
Cycle News Rider of the Year for
2020 in Cameron Beaubier.
Race after race this year,
Beaubier crushed his rivals, who,
of course, aren't slouches by any
means. Beaubier was simply on
a different level than anyone else
on the track 99% of the time in
2020. And, thanks to the Mo-
toAmerica platform that allowed
Beaubier to shine, we will now
have another American to cheer
on in Grand Prix racing. Here's
another reason to look forward to
2021, as if we need more.
Beaubier, however, wasn't
a shoo-in when it came time
choosing our CN Rider of the
Year for 2020. Ricky Brabec, the
first American to win the Dakar
Rally, was undoubtedly consid-
ered, as were Zach Osborne, Eli
Tomac and Briar Bauman. There
are strong arguments for all of
them. But Cameron's our man for
2020, and perhaps he can make
it two CN ROYs in a row if he
wins a Moto2 World Champion-
ship in '21. That would be tough
to beat for our ROY honors.
We hope you enjoy our inter-
view with Beaubier in this, our
year-end issue, along with our
other interviews with MX Champ
Zach Osborne, GNCC Champ
Kailub Russell and Hare and
Hound Champ Dalton Shirey. If
you missed it, you can click on
the link here to read our interview
with Supercross Champion Eli
Tomac who we chatted with in an
earlier issue.
While 2020 was a year to for-
get, there were still many things
worth remembering, such as all
the excellent motorcycle racing
and, of course, all of life's chal-
lenges that were met and con-
quered along the way throughout
the year. For one, I will take a
lot less for granted for now on,
especially simple things like my
weekday early evening summer
trail rides that I started incorpo-
rating into my weekly schedule
to help me get through the year.
Talk about a stress reliever!
Yes, you have to love motor-
cycles more now than ever.
Here's to an awesome 2021! CN
