For the first time in over a decade and only the third time in AMA Supercross history, there was not a single American-born rider among the 250cc podium finishers at the East Rutherford East/West 250cc Supercross.
Words: Ben Rumbold | Images: Align media
Max Anstie was the first ever English rider to win any form of AMA Supercross – Dean Wilson hails from the UK but hails from the extremely patriotic northern part called Scotland, fact buffs – and was of course joined by the two Lawrence brothers, from Australia. Although they are all native English speakers, that doesn’t change the fact that the Stars n’ Bars wouldn’t have flown if there were flags hanging over the podium.
Amazingly, this feat has never happened in the premier class. Pierre Karsmakers of the Netherlands was the first Supercross champion, but he was not joined by other foreign imports in that short, three-race 1975 calendar. Jean-Michel Bayle from France made it to the Americans in the early 1990s, but was a real lone fighter. Despite many close encounters, particularly in the years when Chad Reed of Australia, Marvin Musquin, the French, and Ken Roczen, the “German chocolate”, were contested, there has never been a clean victory on the podium for non-American drivers. Even as Factory Yamaha teammates Chad Reed and Frenchman David Vuillemin posted a couple of 1-2 results, no other foreigner could join them. Here is a short list of the races where things got tight:
450s / 250cc two-stroke
2021 – May 1, Salt Lake City – Roczen 1st, Musquin 2nd in finals.
2019 – March 23, Seattle – Musquin 1st, Roczen 2nd, although Marv was penalized.
2018 – March 24, Indianapolis – Musquin 1st, Wilson 2nd – that’s as close as a Brit comes to a premier Supercross win!
2016 – March 13, Toronto – 1st Roczen, 2nd Musquin – almost all non-US at a non-US event!
2014 – February 1st, Anaheim 3 – 1st Reed, 2nd Roczen
2004 – February 8, San Francisco – 1st Reed, 2nd Vuillemin
2004 – January 4, Anaheim 1 – 1st Reed, 2nd Vuillemin
2003 – February 8, San Diego – 1st Reed, 2nd Vuillemin
250s / Lites
In the 250cc classes, where overseas riders have often come to cut their teeth before switching to the big bikes, the foreign-only podium has happened three times. Here’s your rundown of the near misses and when it actually happened.
2023 – March 4, Daytona (East) – 1st Hunter Lawrence, 2nd Max Anstie
2023 – February 4, Houston (East) – 1st Hunter Lawrence, 2nd Max Anstie
2021 – April 24, SLC 1 (East) – 1st Jo Shimoda (Japan), 2nd Jett Lawrence
2013 – February 2nd, San Francisco (W) – 1st Roczen, 2nd Martin Davalos (Ecuador)
2012 – January 14, Phoenix (West) – 1st Dean Wilson, 2nd Marvin Musquin, 3rd Tyla Rattray
2002 – February 7, Minnesota (East) – 1st Chad Reed, 2nd Grant Langston, 3rd Steve Boniface
2001 – April 21, Irving (West) – 1st Grant Langston, 2nd Rodrig Thain, 3rd Ernesto Fonseca
Here’s the last time a non-USA podium was held at Supercross – Phoenix 2012, with Dean Wilson being flamed by Marvin Musquin and Tyla Rattray.
Bizarrely, there has never been an all-European podium in AMA Supercross, with South Africans Tyla Rattray & Grant Langston and Australian Chad Reed and Costa Rican Ernesto Fonseca all contributing to those three previous non-USA sweeps. It’s amazing to think that those first two also feature three completely different continents, let alone countries. The previous three all have a Frenchman – Thain, Boniface and Musquin, so the East Rutherford Supercross has a truly unique historical feature – the first non-US Supercross podium without a Frenchman. Just the two Aussies and our struggling Brit!
More history will be made as it will most likely mark the first time in Supercross history that both 250cc regional championships (which also never happened in the 125cc era) have been won by non-Americans , not to mention two Australians and brothers at that…
