MX Sports Pro Racing will debut a scouting combine for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship this season in a continued effort to foster the development of up-and-coming Motocross racers. The goal is to identify, foster and showcase amateur racers as they transition to the professional ranks and create a more defined path to the big leagues.
The combine will be split into Eastern and Western regionals.
The East will participate alongside the Pro Motocross elite at the Ironman Nationals on Friday, August 27 in Crawfordsville, Ind. and the Western riders join the series at Fox Raceway on Friday, September 3, in Pala, Calif.
The combine has been developed in partnership with the sport’s competing manufacturers, who will have a significant role in identifying potential talent. The combine will feature a total of 50 riders, 25 in each region, who will be invited by a team manager for each manufacturer. At each venue, a daylong classroom-style program will help provide the framework for expectations and demands of the sport’s professional level.
Included in the instruction will be how to handle competition, media, fitness and nutrition with experts from each of those disciplines leading the sessions.
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“As the demands on our athletes continue to grow in concert with the ongoing expansion of the sport, it has become increasingly important to bridge the gap between the amateur and professional levels,” said Tim Cotter, MX Sports Pro Racing Event Director in a release. “The scouting combine is a proven concept in major team sports and given the level of investment each of our competing manufacturers have in amateur motocross, it is vitally important that we do our part as the competitive organizers to develop a structure that serves to benefit our sport and, more importantly, our athletes. This is arguably the most critical transition in the career of any competitor and we are committed to do our part to give them the support they need.”
Highlighting the combine will be a pair of 25-minute-plus-two-lap motos – similar to what they would experience in a professional event. The motos will be run on the same layout the pros will face later in those weekends, which will provide an opportunity to get a sense of how they compare to riders in the 450 and 250 classes.
The invited participants for the inaugural MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combine will be announced at a later date.
