A
s we look forward to the
2023 American racing
season, the motorcycle-racing
events of this past year are still
fresh on our minds. The question
is: What of 2022 will stand the
test of time?
Which events that happened
over the last 12 months will we
look back on 20 years from now
and remember exactly when they
happened? Fortunately, 2022
gave us at least one story that will
certainly stand the test of time.
Beyond that one big story, will
there be anything else we'll point
to that will make 2022 a year we'll
long remember? Let's dig into it.
It took Eli Tomac seven years
to finally nail down his first AMA
Supercross Championship,
but he turned around and won
his second just two years later.
Tomac made things interesting by
switching from Kawasaki to Ya-
maha. What seemed at the time
like a major gamble for the vet-
eran rider turned into a positive.
The change of scenery seemed
to agree with the 29-year-old
Coloradan. He won a series-tying
best of seven Supercross races
en route to winning his second
title. Those seven victories also
moved Tomac up the
all-time Supercross wins
ladder. Tomac entered
2022 ranked sixth of
all-time and ended the
season tied for fourth
with Chad Reed with
44-career wins, pass-
ing Ryan Villopoto (with
41 wins) along the way.
The title was the first for Yamaha
in the series since 2009 with
James Stewart. Yamaha now
stands alone in second among
all-time SX Championships by
manufacturers with 12 titles, be-
hind only Honda with 15.
Tomac now looks to have a de-
cent chance in 2023 of catching
all-time third-ranked Ricky Carmi-
chael, who scored 48-career Su-
all-time Supercross wins
2022 ranked sixth of
all-time and ended the
season tied for fourth
with Chad Reed with
44-career wins, pass
41 wins) along the way.
CN
III ARCHIVES
P170
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
THE STORIES
OF 2022
WE'LL
REMEMBER
With his Moto2
victory in Portugal,
Joe Roberts
became the first
American to win
in the middle-GP
class in 32 years.
PHOTO: MOTOGP.COM
No one could stop Jared
Mees, not even the rules.
Mees won the 2022
American Flat Track
SuperTwins Championship
despite AFT choking the
Indian FTR750.
PHOTO: AFT
