The Vital MX Mailbox | Week #08 3

In a new bi-weekly addition to Vital MX, questions and queries will be grabbed from race fans on different platforms and answered in a rather informal format. Consider this a relaxed start to the race weekend! A smorgasbord of topics is tackled in this feature from the future of the FIM World Supercross Championship to the reason why Tim Gajser never jumped over to the United States. If there is something to pique your interest then this feature will be filed as a success.

Questions will be gathered from the Vital MX forum, as well as social media, before each feature, so keep an eye out for those posts in order to be featured. Do not be disenchanted if your question does not get used, however, because some will be kept back for the following week. There were more than one hundred questions in the days prior to this and so the 'bank' is filling up nicely for future features. Anyway, without further ado, on with the questions…

"What is the latest and greatest with the FIM World Supercross Championship?" asked @Toe.Knee.Dee on Instagram.

There is nothing official about the 2024 FIM World Supercross Championship, first and foremost, so this is conjecture. The SX2 class will be abolished and focus will be placed on the 450F athletes – the rumored concept has come under some fire on social media. I believe that this is for the best of all involved though. This could anger some, but SX Global will be most attractive to 450F stars at the end of their career who are content with what has been achieved in either the United States or Europe. Glance at the recent results and that is so obvious.

For the most part, teams have scrambled to find SX2 stars and had to scrape the bottom of the barrel in some instances. No one is at fault there. It would be impossible to pull Levi Kitchen or RJ Hampshire into the series, for obvious reasons, so what is the point in continuing to run the class? It almost feels like the SX2 class is there to tick a box and adhere to tradition, so I'll applaud the promoters for challenging that if this concept comes to fruition. There is a selfish reason for them to action this, admittedly, and that is the motivation behind this.

Cut half the riders and the amount of money saved on prize money would be astronomical. Not only that, but the promoters could also renegotiate the stipend that is handed to each team. It is an acceptable way to minimize costs in a business that is, to be frank, in a poor state. What is there for SX Global to lose by moving away from the SX2 division? The downside is that the program would be less busy, but that could be helpful in those new markets where confusion could be rife. It's rumored that South America, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia will fill a five-round calendar that runs in the winter. – @_LewisPhillips

"When will there be Triumph and Beta reviews?" asked @XRYGX on Instagram.

This question has been timed to perfection because Triumph's production models will be tested by media on Monday. Triumph's test will be run in Florida and reviews will flood the internet, including this website, in the days that follow, so there is not too long to wait. It remains to be seen when Beta will run a similar event – there is no confirmation on that yet. It cannot be too far in the distance though, right? One would presume that they want the world to know just how well their 450 RX handles. That has been pointed to as the bike's best attribute since day dot. – @_LewisPhillips

"Seeing how well Jorge Prado stacked up, how do you think that Tim Gajser would do if he came over?" asked @Kyl3Moulton on Instagram.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like Prado's style is so much better suited to Monster Energy Supercross. Prado is more precise and just tidier – two attributes that are vital for success in stadiums. It is obvious that Gajser is capable though, as proven by his performances at the Monster Energy Cup. I just feel like his performances would have been more erratic than Prado. Yeah, that's a better way to word it. Gajser shared the following on social media this week, by the way. What could have been? This will always be brilliant bench-racing fodder. – @_LewisPhillips

"In 2016 I was 99% sure that I would go, but my father wouldn't let me. I had no choice at the time. Was it the right decision? Maybe yes, maybe no."

"Do Jett Lawrence's nearest rivals benefit from racing him in a heat or waiting until the main event?" asked @UpshiftTraining on Instagram.

It depends on the rider in question. There are some who would salivate at the chance to have a shot with Lawrence, no matter the outcome. Cooper Webb would, for example, not be fazed by what happens in a heat race and come back for another shot in the main event. There are others who would be downtrodden about being beaten in a heat race, so those would rather avoid him until the main event to maintain some sort of optimism. Being able to beat '18' in a heat race would be fantastic leverage heading into the main. There is no doubt that situation is positive. – @_LewisPhillips

"What is the latest on Adam Cianciarulo's return?" asked @Tommomt on Instagram.

Arlington was the earliest that Adam Cianciarulo could return, but that has been deemed impossible now. Cianciarulo took to Twitter earlier this week to confirm that he has returned to a supercross track – he is set to return at Daytona if all goes according to plan. It will be superb to have '9' back on track: he is the only factory rider missing with an injury at the time of writing. That in itself is an incredible statistic after six rounds of intense Monster Energy Supercross competition! I am certain that I speak for fans worldwide when I say that I hope to see him on the podium before the season concludes. – @_LewisPhillips