With the news that the 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is set to return on January 8 at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, we got to thinking who should be considered the very best the sport has ever seen.
There have been so many excellent riders since the Supercross Championship was launched in 1974 but we think we have broken it down to a very impressive top five. These riders would definitely have been favorites with the online motorsports betting sites if they were still racing today. So, read on to discover our picks for the biggest Supercross legends of all time.
#5 – Bob Hannah
Bob ‘Hurricane’ Hannah was one of the early stars of AMA Supercross, winning three championships in a row from 1977. His seemingly reckless riding style not only earned him his nickname, but also pushed the sport forwards – especially in the US. It was his dominance in the late 1970s that saw American riders take over from the Europeans who had been more successful up until that point.
Hannah’s 27 wins in AMA Supercross puts him ninth on the list of all-time victories, but it was the way he went about his riding that forced us to place him higher in our list of legends. Hannah’s battles with fellow Yamaha rider Broc Glover are legendary in their own right and he was justly inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
#4 – Ryan Dungey
The Minnesotan native only retired in 2017 but is considered by many to be one of the best ever. He bowed out at the very top after winning his third consecutive AMA Championship – and his fourth overall. He also managed to win four national motocross championships during his career as well.
His 34 all-time Supercross race wins put him seventh on the leaderboard but Dungey was an all-round rider, able to win at any level and on any bike. He was also to win the largest international motocross race, the Motocross des Nations, three times and his performances guaranteed a place in the history books.
#3 – Ryan Villopoto
The second Ryan on our list of legends, Villopoto won four AMA Supercross championships before Dungey took over – and retired prematurely in 2015. Showing the spirit of a true motorsports legend he returned two years later to take part in the Stadium Super Trucks World Championship. It just goes to show he could lend a hand to any motor vehicle.
In AMA Supercross he was able to win 41 races and was a four-time supercross and three-time motocross tournament champion. It is incredible that Villopoto managed to fit so much into only nine years of racing. But his exploits definitely warranted a position on our list of AMA Supercross legends.
#2 – Ricky Carmichael
Nicknamed the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Carmichael only manages to make number two on our list of legends. But his record speaks for itself. Forty-eight all-time AMS Supercross race wins and five championships were recorded in just ten years of racing.
A dominant force in the early 2000s, Carmichael then turned his attentions to NASCAR – but it is on two wheels where he is most fondly remembered. He also won seven motocross championships and is still considered one of the best riders of all time.
#1 – Jeremy McGrath
But for our champions of champions, the AMA Supercross legend of all time has to be Jeremy McGrath. ‘The King’ completely dominated the sport in the 1990s, winning seven championships in just eight years and ultimately went on to win 72 races – by far the most by a single rider.
McGrath won an incredible 89 titles in an AMA career that spanned 17 years. He raced for Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha in that time but was forced to retire in 2003 after suffering a pre-season injury. Showing true legendary status he returned to the track in 2005 at the age of 34 to show the youngsters how Supercross is done.