The Best 3 Motocross Riders Ever
Roger DeCoster's name was synonymous with Motocross in the early years
of the sport. Born in Belgium, he was responsible for popularizing
Motocross on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s. Often he is
simply known as 'The Man'. He began his career riding for the
Czechoslovakian manufacturer CZ in 1964 in the 50cc class, before
moving to the 500cc class and winning his first Belgian National title
in 1966. In 1968, he helped the Belgian team win the international
Motocross des Nations championship for the first time in eighteen
years, a feat he would repeat four more times. In 1971, DeCoster
switched to the Suzuki team and won his first 500cc Motocross World
Championship. In 1974, he competed in the Trans-AMA Championship and
won that four years running. He continued to race up through 1980, when
he won his final world championship, the Motocross Grand Prix of
Luxembourg before retiring on top of his game that same year. After his
retirement, he moved to America and guided the US to victory in the
Trophy and Motocross des Nations while working in partnership with
Honda. Roger DeCoster was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
in 1999.
Jeremy McGrath began his riding career not on motorcycles, but on the
Southern BMX racing circuit. After he grew bored with racing bicycles,
he looked for new challenges and settled on Supercross racing, bringing
many of the skills and the showmanship that he had learned on the BMX
circuit. Known for his flamboyant jumps as much as his victories,
McGrath dominated Supercross like no other racer before him, pushing
the popularity of the sport of motorcycle racing to new heights. The
crowd appeal of his stunts helped spawn the sport of Freestyle
Motocross. He began his Supercross winning career in the 250-cc
division with his first full season in 1993, going on to win the
championship for the next three consecutive years. While his tricks
were audience pleasers, they also cost him the win in 1997, when
attempting a stunt caused him to crash and lose the championship race.
He went on to win again from 1998 to 2000. He also led the US team to
victory in the Motocross des Nations championships in 1993 and 1996,
when he was also named AMA Pro Athlete of the Year. Popular both on and
off the track, he had many media appearances, and the mid 90s became
known as the 'McGrath' era of the sport. Many of the later Motocross
and Supercross racers who came into the sport in the mid 90s to early
2000s cited him as their racing inspiration. Between his rise to fame
and when he finally retired and was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle
Hall of Fame in 2003, McGrath had decimated every 250-cc Supercross
record.
Ricky Carmichael has won more amateur and professional Motocross and
Supercross titles than any other rider. He is so highly regarded in the
sport that his nickname was the G.O.A.T, or Greatest Of All Time. After
receiving his first bike at the age of five, he competed in his first
race that same year. Eventually he would go on to win 67 amateur titles
before moving onto the pros in 1996 at the age of seventeen. He began
his championship winning streak a year later in the 125-cc class,
winning the AMA Outdoor National Motocross Championship for four years
running. Before moving on to the 250-cc division in 2000, he had broken
every record in the 125-cc class. After a disappointing first year, he
hired a personal trainer to get himself in shape and never looked back.
In 2001 he finished ranked first place in both 250-cc Motocross and
Supercross and was awarded AMA Pro Racing Athlete of the Year. In 2002,
he made AMA history with the first perfect season, winning not only all
12 250-cc races in the season, but also every qualifying heat. This
accomplishment may be equaled in the future, but it can never be
beaten. For this he was again named AMA Pro Racing Athlete of the Year.
By the time he retired from the pro circuit in 2006, he had a
staggering 12 AMA championships and over 150 wins, the highest number
in AMA history.