Freestyle Motocross Star Jeremy Lusk Dies, Is This a Sign That FMX Has Come Too Far?

February 24th, 2009 • Comments Motocross News, My Thoughts
Tags: Backflip, Caleb Wyatt, FMX, Freestyle Motocross, Jeremy Lusk, Metal Mulisha, Motocross News, My Thoughts, Scott Murray, Travis Pastrana

The Metal Mulisha Crew. Jeremy Lusk on right. Photo by Jeff Kargola.

Tragically, on February 10th, 2009, freestyle motocross star Jeremy Lusk passed away due to head injuries after a failed heart-attack backflip attempt. Lusk was a star in the FMX world and a member of the renowned Metal Mulisha team. The entire motocross industry was automatically sent into a sense of shock and mourning after hearing the news. As a community, we all pulled together to remember the great rider that was Jeremy Lusk.

Looking past his death, however, I believe that this incredibly tragic event is a sign to the entire freestyle motocross industry that perhaps the evolution of the stunts performed by FMX stars has gone too far. The FMX industry has been pushing the envelope for too long, and maybe it is time for something to change.

I don’t want to make the impression that the current crop of FMX tricks don’t require incredible skills, however, it has definitely gotten to the point that a rider with the guts to huck out the latest tricks will beat out a rider with serious motocross skills.

What Caused This Transition?

The backflip is responsible for the downfall of Freestyle Motocross. Photo by GuyB.

I believe that the backflip and subsequently the variations of the backflip are 100% responsible for the mutation of FMX from a display of skill to a display of guts. The backflip has become a necessary trick in any freestyle routine. Throwing multiple backflips and backflip variations is almost a guarantee for a good score, but if you don’t do one, despite how much skill you display in the rest of your run, your chances of a top 5 or even top 10 score are slim to none.

The backflip began as a demonstration of how skilled freestyle motocross riders have become, but it has readily transformed the sport. Now the backflip has turned into an avenue for aspiring FMX stars to be skyrocketed into fame without developing the necessary skills.

Why is This Bad for the Sport?

Scott Murray did not have the skills of the real freestyle motocross stars when he attempted the double backflip. Photo by GuyB.

Obviously, this transition has been horrible for the sport of Freestyle Motocross. As the number of riders who can do a backflip has increased, more and more of the top FMX riders have become riders who are not necessarily more skilled than their competitors, but simply have more guts to, quite literally, risk their lives.

Examples of this can be seen in a very real way in the evolution of both the backflip and double backflip in freestyle motocross competitions. Arguably, the first person to ride away from a backflip in competition was Caleb Wyatt. Even as a fan of motocross in general and of FMX, I had never heard of Caleb Wyatt until he landed the first backflip. He was an absolute no one. He had not honed his skills to the level of Travis Pastrana, Mike Metzger, Brian Deegan, or any of the other old guards of FMX. He just happened to have the guys to put his life in danger time and time again in order to land the backflip.

Almost exactly the same scenario occured with the Double Backflip. While Travis Pastrana is credited with landing the first backflip in competion, before him came “stunt man” (I do not believe he deserves the title of freestyle motocross ride) Scott Murray who attempted it multiple times, and in the process made himself and the sport of FMX look like a total joke. Skill wise he was clearly on a lower level than every other of the competitors he was riding with, yet he continuously threw himself into double backflips, constantly crashing and making FMX look more like an exhibition than a sport.

Almost all of the “old guards” of FMX will tell you that the backflip is not a necessarily hard trick. It just takes guts. As a result, many riders have begun to rise in the sport of FMX without having the right skills to put a flowing, consistent and stylish run together. This has ultimately dumbed down the sport and devalued the work all of the past stars did to make it a legitimate motocross sport.

It is a terrible tragedy, but I believe that it has taken the death of a comrade, Jeremy Lusk, into shocking the FMX world back into reality. This tragedy will, I hope, help bring FMX back to the grassroots and back to the times where skill, not bravery dominated.

What Can Bring the Sport Back?

Travis Pastrana is an example of a skilled FMX rider. Photo by GuyB.

While I do not believe that the Backflip should be banned from freestyle motocross motocross alltogether, I do believe that some serious changes must be made. While the backflip is an amazing trick and one that I believe will continue to influence the sport, I firmly believe that the influence of the backflip on the sport needs to be reduced. I am unsure of how exactly this can be accomplished, but there are a number of viable options.

Maybe the number of backflips allowed in one run should be reduced, or maybe their point value needs to be considerably reduced so that a winning run can be put together with the prescense of only one or two backflips. I believe that it needs to be possible for riders to win by displaying that they have extreme freestyle motocross skills without actually doing a backflip. Sure, it was a great way to bring the sport to the next level. But in my opinion, its value has been considerably reduced and now it much be treated like any other trick, and must not be the deciding factor in a riders run.

A more viable option, in my opinion, is to change to layout of the freestyle courses. Return the courses to primarily, or all natural terrain hits to promote the evolution of new tricks, and limit the use of the backflip. With natural hits, the riders skill becomes more important than the ability to throw useless tricks such as the backflip and the riders who truly are the best rise to the back through difficult maneuvers perfected through years of time perfecting their skills.

Various competitions have already been formed with this format, and the response has been incredible. They have allowed skilled riders to rise over lucky or brave ones and has promoted the reemergence of basic, yet skillfully complicated tricks which ruled the FMX world prior to the evolution of the backflip.

What Will I Do Until This Happens?

As a display of my disgust at the current state of the Freestyle Motocross World, I will refuse to follow the freestyle motocross community until something changes. I am sick of riders putting their lives in danger performing stunts which are not even good indicators of their skill. I want to see FMX return to the times when skill rules and talented riders rise to the top of the field.

What are your opinions regarding the current state of Freestyle Motocross? How has the death of FMX star Jeremy Lusk affected your view of the sport? Let me know in the comments!

My 2009 Anaheim 2 Experience

January 23rd, 2009 • Comments Motocross News, Personal
Tags: Anaheim, California, Dan Reardon, Grant Langston, Jason Lawrence, Jeremy McGrath, Miki Keller, Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Dungey, Ryan Morais, Ryan Sipes, Sarah Whitmore, Shasta Johnson, supercross

This past weekend, i was lucky enough to attend round 3 of the 2009 AMA Supercross Series, Anaheim 2. I had been to two Supercross events before, both in the Georgria Dome in Atlanta. While these events were a blast, and the racing was always great, I was really excited about Anaheim. Why? Because, well, its Anaheim! Something about the event captures the spirit of Supercross in ways no other race can. This year was no different. With upsets in both classes at Anaheim 1, the top riders in each class wanted to redeem themselves. Here is the story of my journey to the 2009 Anaheim 2 Supercross.

Background

As many of you know, I’m from New England. So why choose Anaheim? Well, my Dad is working out there for the winter, and we felt it would be good for me to visit him, go to the race, and check out some of the California culture. The plans were rushed, and I flew out early Satruday morning. After arriving at LAX, we drove straight to the stadium (thanks Garmin!), to check out the pit party.

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The Truth Behind the James Stewart / Fox Racing / Answer Racing Debacle

January 3rd, 2009 • Comments Motocross News, My Thoughts
Tags: Answer Racing, Canard, Dungey, Fox Racing, MXA, My Thoughts, Stewart, Villopoto

An iconic relationship in the motocross world ended recently. James Stewart is no longer a Fox Sponsored rider, and will be wearing Answer gear, Aplinestars Boots, and Bell Helmets for the near future.

The recent end to their relationship took the motocross industry by surprise, as they had been together since Stewart’s PW50 days. The break up is even more surpising considering the fact that the match was almost perfect. Both were fresh, edgy, hip and cool. Fox made flashy gear to match James’ flashy riding style. Fox had been a long-term sponsor of the previous king of motocross, Ricky Carmichael, so it was only logical for them to sponsor the next big thing.

Despite the perfectness in their prior relationship, it is over. Stewart has moved on from his Fox Racing days and is ready to approach the 2009 season in his new kit. But what is the true story behind the end to this classic pair?

Pete Fox Talks Out

-Photo by Paul Buckley.

President and CEO of Fox Racing, Pete Fox recently talked with MXA regarding Stewart, and revealed a number of interesting facts.

It turns out that the truth behind Stewart’s leaving was his desire for a Supercross only contract. Fox is dedicated to the sport as a whole, and clearly does not approve of the Supercross only craze. Stewart, along with his move to the San Manuel Yamaha team, decided to make a monumental decision in not riding the Motocross series. Whether this decision was fueled by laziness, money, or just personal desire, I believe that it is the wrong decision. Clearly, Fox Racing agrees with me on this issue, and feels strongly enough to let James Stewart and possible hundreds of thousands of dollars slip from their grasp.

Since our beginning, Fox has been totally committed to motocross and Supercross. We feel strongly that our sport and Industry need both series to be healthy, and Fox will always support both series. That is where Fox’s priorities and path recently separated from James. We wish James luck with his Supercross career. Fox remains committed to the entire sport of both Supercross and motocross.

-Pete Fox

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Suzuki to Cut Amateur Racing Support Team

December 6th, 2008 • Comments Motocross News, My Thoughts
Tags: amateur, Anderson, depression, Dungey, economy, Motocross News, My Thoughts, Suzuki

A few weeks ago, I posted about the current state of the motocross economy. In the post, I talked about how I felt the motocross economy would crumble from the bottom up. However, it appears as if I may have been incorrect in this thought.

Recently, Suzuki decided to cut their amateur racing support team. In other words, the factory Suzuki team ran by Cole Gress in years past is now debunk. According to AmateurMX on Vital Mx

…Suzuki has dropped their amateur program. In the current economic climate they just couldn’t justify the expense of continuing with their current business model. Basically, no more free or discounted bike deals and no more factory trackside support in the fashion they were providing it. And no more factory amateur team.

Suzuki is clearly being strongly affected by the current economy situation throughout the world, and is starting to cut expenses to survive, however, I believe that they are cutting the wrong expenses.

Amateur Riders are the Backbone of the Motocross Community

-Photo by Paul Buckley.

What Suzuki is failing to realize with this move is that the amateur riders are the backbone of the motocross community, and of their motocross business as a whole. Granted, the amateur racing team only supported a small number of elite amateur racers, the results of this decision will have a ripple effect throughout the industry. There is no denying that Ryan Villopoto has greatly affected Kawasaki’s popularity, even before he turned pro. Similarly, Suzuki’s upcoming amateur riders, such as Eli Tolmac, Nico Izzi, and the Trettle brothers could have potentially made Suzuki “cool” again. By completely cutting out their amateur team, these riders will almost certainly be forced to another amateur team (Kawasaki’s prospering Team Green program, for example), in order to continue racing at the elite level. This, in return, will bring their present and future publicity and fan base to another manufacturer.

The transition from amateur to pro is difficult for even the most talented 16 year old amateur stars. Kawasaki Team Green has managed to make this transition easier by supporting their riders throughout the transition, so they are free of worrying about what team they will ride for. This method has worked really well for Kawasaki as it provides them with a steady stream of talented incoming riders and it benefits their riders by providing them with a solid ride in one of the biggest transitions of their career. Because Suzuki has canceled their amateur racing team, they will be void of this luxury, and will have an extremely difficult time convincing amateur riders to switch from a bike they know and personnel they are friends with, to a new team with a new bike and a new group of people around them. This decision by Suzuki could potentially cost them thousands of dollars, and hundreds of wins by cutting off their steady supply of fresh pro riders.

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