World Supercross is slowly navigating a credible niche in the dirt bike calendar and with Cooper Webb and Monster Energy stepping in for 2026, it lends even more credibility to the still emerging series.
Round one in Calgary, Canada, was ultimately a good start for the series with some surprises and some good racing and a little splash of controversy.
Justin Hill showed he is a player for the championship with seering speed as Jason Anderson struggled in his first race in a few months but Cooper Webb did what he usually does and emerged as the man to beat heading into round two.
The ruling for the cancellation of the final 450 moto due to the storm was technically correct, the FIM rulebook states the race needed to have 75% completed which was nine laps, that meant for the race to count there needed to be restart but with the weather that was impossible so controversially, despite seven laps completed, the race was declared null and void – maybe that rule should be 50% in this scenario to reward the riders for their success on track?
The Stark Varg and the altitude was a match made in heaven with Michael Hicks taking a podium in SX2 and and Brian Hsu showing his skills are still there, leading every moto. Zaragoza got a second in the 450 motos and Vince Friese found himself right in the mix as well – just ask Mitchell Harrison. The power of the Stark in the elevation was another bit of controversy with the other riders suffering with lower powered machines with their petrol powered machines.
Max Anstie dominated SX2 which he will be hoping to do again in the UK at his home round but an area the series could do with improving is the depth of quality in the classes especially at the top. SX1 isn’t bad but SX2 is reliant on McAdoo getting the starts and Simonson not landing on tuff blocks to give Anstie some competition because he is without doubt an elite rider in supercross on a 250.
Director of Racing, ex GP racer, Tom Covington, told us at a media event that there will be less reliant on wild cards this year but there will still be some and those wild cards certainly induce an extra level of excitement for that night of racing with Deegan and Tomac adding a lot to the racing when they competed last year. We already know Tom Vialle will be in the UK as a wild card and maybe we can see the like of Tomac and Deegan showing up again in the later rounds as they get some prep for the AMA series.
The best part of the World Supercross series is the format. The three short motos, two sprints of eight laps and a longer 12 lap main event plus Superpole gives it a unique flavour and it allows riders maybe not quite on the level of the top guys to get in the mix and challenge for the top spots, the racing is always good and the racing once again in Canada kept your attention with the short sharp nature of the event. The riders being able to pick a different gate each moto, unlike last year, is also a welcome improvement.
Overall, it was a good start to the series, the storm was an unfortunate negative with the cancellation of the 450 main event but the riders still produced good racing, Webb, Hill, Anderson and Craig look like the main contenders for the championship and that is still with wildcards to be added into the mix but now Webb is rumoured to be on Hill’s Tedder team for round two, so will that change the momentum?
In SX2 it is still who can beat Max Anstie with McAdoo expected to be on Quadlock Honda for round two, will that help him get on terms with the champ? Answers will start to unfold in England but for now the series should be satisfied with an effective opening round.
World Supercross is starting the claim the autumn as their own window to showcase their unique series, whether it is feasible to have many rounds in the summer when MXGP and AMA Motocross is still on is another question.
But the series gives riders another option to generate more income and it is a global advert for AMA Supercross with other riders from different countries and fans getting to experience high level Supercross racing and maybe putting themselves in the shop window Stateside, or letting a GP rider experience Supercross while remaining in MXGP.
The series should be supported, probably more than it already is but it still needs more star quality, and with Covington explaining how the relationship with the US teams is thawing it could become the perfect conduit for fans to get a glimpse of high level racing in a time when usually there is none – at least not at this level.
