Paris Supercross
Paris Supercross
RACE WATCH
THE GREATEST SHOW ON DIRT
DAVEY COOMBS
THE TRUE SUPER BOWL OF SUPERCROSS racing, ironically, does not take place in America, where the sport was born in the early ’70s. Yes, American riders still rule the world of indoor motocross, but the most prestigious event takes place at Bercy Stadium in Paris, France, of all places.
Featuring more pomp and circumstance than the NFL’s own Super Bowl, the Paris Supercross is the highlight of the FIM World Supercross Championship. And for French racing fans, it’s one of the toughest tickets in town. Some 30,000 Parisians pay as much as $250 per seat to see America’s hottest riders in the most radical show on dirt up-close and personal.
How do the Euros get our stars to pull on riding gear and cinch up helmets again after a grueling Januarythrough-September U.S. season? Simple: lots of cash. In years past, the organizers enticed riders by paying “start money,” then pampering them like royalty throughout their stay.
“Fans know that having the American riders almost certainly means that a Frenchman will not win, but that does not matter as much to them as knowing that they are seeing the best riders in the world,” says Eric Peronnard, who acts as a liaison for the American contingent. “The key is to make the riders as happy as we can, because the happier they are, the better show they put on. We know how difficult it is for them to come to Europe and race; we want them to enjoy their stay.”
Before race day, the Americans were escorted to such tourist hot spots as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe.
This year, the promoters decided not to pay riders just to show up, but rather made them work for their money by posting a huge cash purse in hopes of putting on more spectacular races. Of course, an exception was made for defending World Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath. After capturing two titles by winning 17 of the 26 major stateside races he entered in 1995, he still has the clout to demand a huge appearance fee, rumored to be close to $90,000 for three nights of racing. “Showtime” then delivered a pair of race wins and a thirdplace finish, earning an additional $35,000 in prize money. Not bad for a working vacation.
This change in compensation did not sit too well with at least one of McGrath’s rivals. “The way they’re doing the money this year is good for just one person-Jeremy-but it doesn’t upset me too much because he’s earned it,” said Ryan Hughes, runnerup in last year’s AMA Western Regional 125cc Supercross Series, before the race. “But the way the promoters are doing it now, he’s getting so much start money that the total money they’re paying out is actually less than it was last year.”
How does an event that attracts just over 30,000 spectators afford to pay almost $100,000 in appearance fees, more than $200,000 in purse money, and still treat riders like rock stars? The answer lies in the price of admission: about $75 per ticket before Parisian scalpers get ahold of them.
Purses are much smaller and start money is unheard of in U.S. supercross; in fact, riders have to pay entry fees to be in the program. “If we had a gate income of more than $2 million, we could have prize money like that, too,” argued Roy Janson, director of the US. Supercross Series. “In America, general admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids; and we still can’t sell our stadiums out.” But all is not so grim: Top U.S. riders are on salary and bonus programs, and promoters make big money by selling television rights.
European riders have a different view of the situation. “Over here, supercross is just something to do for money after the World Motocross Championships are over,” said Dutchman Pedro Tragter, the 1993 125cc world champion. It is very hard for us to ride at the level of McGrath and the other Americans.”
With start money no longer guaranteed, most top Europeans declined to be embarrassed by the Yanks this time around. Only newly crowned 250cc World Champion Stefan Everts, Tragter and a handful of Frenchmen entered. The rest of Europe’s best either watched from the stands, on live television, or went on vacation.
Ironically, Frenchman Jean-Michel Bayle, a world motocross champion who went on to capture three American titles before turning his attention to roadracing, won the final supercross of his career here in 1992. He holds the Bercy start-money record at $100,000. It was Bayle who helped close the considerable dollar and talent gap between American supercrossers and those from Europe, but an expected revolution of European racers never materialized. In fact, the talent gap opened wide as more and more of the continental stars kept their focus on traditional outdoor motocross.
There might be a Eurocrosser who can run with the Americans today, but he’s not competing at home anymore. After the 1994 season, rising French star Mickael Pichón moved to America to follow in Bayle’s footsteps, armed with the knowledge that the only way to beat the Americans was to join them. Pichón won the ’95 AMA Eastern Regional 125cc Supercross title and was expected by many to challenge the U.S. riders in Paris. Unfortunately for local fans, Pichón came down with the flu the week before the race and was but a shadow of his normal self. Without a top Frenchman to cheer for, fans had to settle for the tight racing and pageantry that is the Paris Supercross.
Besides huge prize money and international flare, Bercy is also renowned for its spectacular opening ceremonies. In years past, the riders have been introduced in a mock Space Shuttle, while riding Harley-Davidsons and, in one memorable entrance, from the palm of a giant mechanical hand. For this year’s primer, the promoters brought in the people from Euro Disney, located just outside of Paris, to put on an elaborate Wild West show. It was a truly surreal scene. After thousands of cowboy hats were passed around the stands, a score of cowboys and Indians entertained the crowd by trick-riding up and down the starting line on horses while Buffalo Bill belted out a song and Annie Oakley did rope tricks. Then they brought out the real stars one at a time, each wearing his own cowboy hat. The biggest star of all, McGrath was introduced from a cheerleaderfilled covered wagon.
The opening ceremonies were impressive, but McGrath was more so, taking this opportunity to further cement his reputation as the world’s foremost supercrosser. He easily won on Friday and then charged from last to third on Saturday after falling in the second corner. On Sunday, he needed to beat Larry Ward, Saturday’s winner, in order to be crowned King of Bercy. McGrath responded with an uneventful start-to-finish victory ahead of Hughes and Ward. As for the Europeans, Everts injured himself the first night and was home in Belgium before Sunday’s race started. The highest-placing European was Frenchman Thierry Bethys, who nailed down seventh on Saturday.
“It feels great to come over here and be treated so well by everyone and get a chance to put on a good show. I wish I could have won all three nights, but I made a mistake on the start Saturday and I couldn’t get a sweep,” said McGrath after being crowned overall winner.
Hughes didn’t win a race all weekend, but pocketed a fair amount of francs. “I guess the purse is actually better than start money. I made $26,000 this weekend, which is more than I would have made in start money alone,” admitted Hughes after finishing in the top five in all three races. “Everybody gets their money’s worth here-the fans, the riders and the mechanics.”
After the racing, Sunday’s radical jumping contest left fans on the edge of their seats. Five top Americans, including McGrath, and two young Europeans each made three passes over the steep finish-line jump. Based on audience applause, three riders advanced to a semi-final and then a two-man showdown. Effortlessly pulling off his signature “Nac-Nac” and “Superman Air” jumps, McGrath was a considerable favorite. But the spotlight was stolen by a charismatic French kid named Serge Guidetty, who brought the house down after debuting two new tricks. First, he somehow pulled his right leg up over the handlebar and tapped his foot on the tip of his fender. Then, on the next pass, he grabbed the front fender with both hands, pulled it to his chest, then pointed to the crowd with his left hand. This drove the locals nuts.
McGrath had the last laugh, though. After Paris, the World Supercross Series traveled to the other side of the planet for the Japanese round in Tokyo; then everyone flew back to Europe for the last race in Geneva, Switzerland. For the second year in a row, McGrath easily clinched the championship-the seventh supercross title of his meteoric career.
Davey Coombs, a long-time member of the motocross community, is the founder and editor of Racer Illustrated, a West Virginia-based racing/lifestyle newspaper that covers regional and national motocross and off-road events.
