Last weekend, under the lights of a muddy MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, Max Anstie took his first-ever win in the AMA Supercross Championship in what was the first 250SX Showdown East/West of the season. The Englishman has become the 18th non-American rider to get a win in the small bore class. Even special was the fact that Australians Jett and Hunter Lawrence were second and third, respectively, making a podium full of foreign riders for the first time in the history of both classes.
Nowadays it seems quite common to see foreign riders clinching podiums or wins in the AMA circuit. However, the list doesnt have many names as it looks. As I said, Anstie is the 18th foreign rider to earn a Main Event win in the 125/250 division. But lets start from the beginning…
The 125cc class (now known as 250) was first introduced in the year of 1985 in order to get young riders a chance to spotlight and gain more experience. Before that, the only path to being successful in supercross was going right to the deep 250 class (now 450) which was a tough transition. The promoters of that time also decided to split the division between East and West Coast, a concept that has been working well until today. Young riders could learn the ropes of supercross on small bikes against riders with the same experience among them. This worked well in the first years and was growing up each season from then, as factory teams starts to invest, expanding their slots with riders in both classes. At the same time, this allowed many young foreign riders to start the exodus to America.
Inspired by Jean-Michel Bayle, in 1993 Mickael Pichon decided to try some Supercross races while was in the first step of his World Championship career. At only 16 years old, riding for the team Elf/Pro Circuit/Honda, he immediately found success by winning in San Diego, his third race in the USA. That win marked the first in the 125cc class for a non-American rider. Then he returned to Europe for another World Championship season, but in 1995 he moved full-time to America thanks to Pro Circuit Kawasaki. That same year he ended up clinching the 125SX West Coast title, and then defending successfully the very next year, becoming the first title winner and the first back-to-back champion from Europe as well. He ended up with 10 Main Events under his belt.
After Pichon, a handful of French riders packed their bags to try their luck in Supercross. However, not everyone reached the same success. Through the years, France has sent a total of six riders to the top of the podium. David Vuillemin collected four wins between 1997 and 1998 but wasn´t able to win a championship. Meanwhile, Stephane Roncada was also part of the French odyssey during the nineties; he took his first-ever win in 1997, and three years later he was crowned on the East Coast.
Then in the four-stroke era, French imports continued making an impact. In 2007 Christophe Pourcel jumped aboard a Pro Circuit Kawasaki to take the victory in his second attempt, Phoenix. One week later Pourcel was flying home to continue his MX2 World Championship campaign that he clinched at the end of the season. He was planning to contest the full season the very next year, but a serious injury in the GP of Nothern Ireland in 2008 delayed those. Finally, in 2009, he come back to America, once again under the tent of Mitch Payon from Pro Circuit Kawasaki in order to continue what they started in 2007. Pourcel won back-to-back titles in 2009 -10 collecting eleven Main Events wins in the process.
During those years of Pourcel dominance, back in Europe fellow Marvin Musquin was already a two-time MX2 World Champion. He accepts the challenge to come to America in 2011 for KTM Red Bull -previously in 2007 he made three rounds with BUD Racing Kawasaki and only qualified for one Main Event-. Unlike their compatriots, Musquin took a while to learn the ropes of supercross, but in 2015 he ended up as a 250SX East Coast champion. In total, he earned 11 wins.
The last success from France in the 125/250 class is no other than Dylan Ferrandis, who collected back-to-back titles on the West Coast in 2019-20´. The Star Racing Yamaha rider also won 11 rounds like Porucel and Musquin. Nowadays, two-time MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle is into his first season in the AMA circuit and hopes to continue growing the legacy of his fellow heroes.
If Bayle inspired French riders to move to America, we can say the same about Chad Reed and his influence over the Lawrence brothers. Reed´s SX debut in the U.S came in 1999 as a privateer with Suzuki; he made the Main Event taking 17th. But in 2001 he moved full-time as a former GP winner, and shock the scene by winning the title at the first attempt after clinching six out of nine rounds of the East Coast for Yamaha of Troy team. The rest was history…
Another rider to follow the steps of fellow countrymen was South African Grant Langston. Just like Greg Albertyn did at the end of the nineties, Langston leave Europe after clinched the 125cc World Title in 2000. The transition to Supercross was far from tough for Langston, who quickly won a Main Event in his first season. Then he won the 2005 125SX East title, which was the first title for KTM in Supercross. The very next year Langston sign with Pro Circuit Kawasaki and ended up winning the West Coast title. However, despite two titles, Langston only won 6 rounds throughout his time in the small bore division.
Other former World Championship that also conquered the small bore class in supercross were German Ken Roczen, who won the 250SX West Coast in 2013, and New Zealand Ben Townley, who despite doing a few supercross races collected three wins for Pro Circuit Kawasaki.
On the other side, some riders put their country on the map on their own and still remains the only one from their countries to reach such success. For example, Mexican Pedro Gonzalez, winner of the San Jose round back in 1994, or Japanese Jo Shimoda who is still active in the class looking with one win so far.
Coming from Ecuador, Martin Davalos made all fans of South-American proud as he clinched five wins during his long career in the 250 class. He rode for factory teams like KTM, Yamaha, Husqvarna, and Kawasaki. Davalos was close to clinching the title a couple of times… Scotland Dean Wilson was one of the fasters dudes on his time in the 250 class. He collected 8 wins, but injuries kept him away from title hopes every time.
Perhaps the most successful non-American rider in the class so far was Costa Rician Ernesto Fonseca. “El Lobito” Fonseca was named the 1999 AMA Rookie of the Year award after he won the 125cc East division championship, which was the first championship for Yamaha of Troy as a Team. In his third season, he went on to win the west conference championship. He became the first rider to win both East and West division championships. In total, Fonseca won 12 Main Events out of the 26 he disputed.
Nowadays Australians Jett and Hunter Lawrence are destined to make history as the first set of foreigners to would be crowned in the same season. Jett has already a title under his belt, while Hunter is leading the East Coast with a considerable points leads margin over his rivals. Both had collected a total of 22 wins so far since their put a setp in the Estates. Jett have the advantage with 12 wins, that´s means that another win and he will become the winniengst foreign rider in the history of the lites division. However, Hunter plans to stay one more season in the 250 class would probably spoil that sooner o later…
And this is a fact: From all of the 18th winners, only Reed, Musquin, Roczen and Vuillemin have wins in the 250/450SX class. And Reed and Roczen are the only ones with titles.
LIST: Foreign supercross winners in the 125/250 class
*Riders in bolt are still active in the class
| Rider | Country | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernesto Fonseca | Costa Rica | 12 | East 99 & West 01 |
| Jett Lawrence | Australia | 12 | East 2022 |
| Hunter Lawrence | Australia | 11 | – |
| Marvin Musquin | France | 11 | East 2015 |
| Christophe Pourcel | France | 11 | East 2009-10 |
| Mickael Pichon | France | 10 | East 95-96 |
| Dean Wilson | UK | 8 | – |
| Stephane Roncada | France | 7 | East 2000 |
| Grant Langston | South-Africa | 6 | East 05-West 06 |
| Dylan Ferrandis | France | 6 | West 2019-20 |
| Chad Reed | Australia | 6 | West 2002 |
| Ken Roczen | Germany | 6 | West 2013 |
| Martin Davalos | Ecuador | 5 | – |
| David Vuillemin | France | 4 | – |
| Ben Townley | New Zealand | 3 | – |
| Jo Shimoda | Japan | 1 | – |
| Pedro González | Mexico | 1 | – |
| Max Anstie | England | 1 | – |
