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/1488031
Cameron Beaubier, Miguel Du- hamel and Toni Elias. In MotoAmerica support classes veteran campaigner Josh Herrin won the revamped Supersport class on a Ducati; Corey Alexander completed a storybook comeback by winning the Superstock class on a BMW; Blake Davis won SuperTwins on a Yamaha and Cody Wyman the Junior Cup on a Kawasaki. King of the Baggers continued to gain popularity (Tyler O'Hara won that title on an Indian) to the point that the series will expand again in 2023. The highlight of Americans on the world stage in road racing was the Moto2 victory by Joe Roberts in Portugal. It marked the first win by an American in the middle GP class since John Kocinski won in the old 250 Grand Prix class in 1990. One other note, in American road racing was a revitalization of the Daytona 200, this year ran under the MotoAmerica banner and attracting the strongest field in years, although the race was not part of any of MotoAmeri- ca's Championships. Brandon Paasch scored the Daytona 200 victory on a Triumph. This year will also be remem- bered for a quartet of legendary riders being inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. AMA and World Superbike Champion and MotoGP win- ner Ben Spies, multi-time AMA Grand National champ Kenny Coolbeth, Speedway World Champ Greg Hancock and MX and SX legend and multi-time champ James Stewart were all enshrined this year. On a sad note, we lost several racing notables this year, includ- ing motocross legends Jaroslav Falta and Andre Malherbe, and former road racing World Champ Phil Read. Daytona 200 win- ners David Sadowski and John Ashmead both passed away. On the track this year we lost rising flat track star Ryan Varnes and MotoAmerica competitor Scott Briody. A trio of elderly Motor- cycle Hall of Famers—Bobby Hill, Preston Petty and Eddie Fisher— also rode west this year. Finally, the last two big stories of 2022, one we will certainly remember for decades to come and the other which could have lasting implications on the Super- cross/Motocross landscape for the foreseeable future. Firstly, the formation, or more accurately the re-configuration of the Supercross World Champi- onship. We hadn't much noticed, but the AMA Supercross Series was the "World Championship" sanctioned and recognized as such by the FIM for two de- cades. But when the FIM inter- national sanctioning deal was not renewed for the 2022 season, the FIM responded with a new Supercross World Champion- ship of its own. Normally that would not warrant much notice from American fans, riders or teams, but this time the new Supercross World Champion- ship was backed by $50 million designated for team and rider support, the money coming from an Abu Dhabi-based wealth fund. Feld (Supercross) and MX Sports (Motocross) responded with the SuperMotocross World Champi- onship. The FIM promptly replied with a news release that stated: "No other sanctioned World Championship exists in the sport of Supercross." Incidentally, Ken Roczen won the abbreviate two-round, six-race Supercross World Championship in 2022. How this Supercross skirmish plays out remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, more rid- ers and teams than ever will be benefactors by way of lucrative payout opportunities. And finally, the one story we know will long be remembered and talked about was the victory in late September by Team USA at the 75th Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations that took place at the historic RedBud Motocross Track in Buchanan, Michigan. Team USA took the win in front of a massive and enthusiastic partisan crowd after an 11-year drought. Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper overcame muddy race conditions to finally hold up the prestigious Chamberlin Trophy after an excit- ing weekend of racing. So, we put the wraps on a memorable and historic Ameri- can racing season of 2022, while looking forward to fresh history being made in 2023. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives CN III ARCHIVES P174