Rick Ware Racing expands a portfolio that includes NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA teams as one of 10 owners that will compete in the inaugural season of the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).
Ware, along with Australian-based Craig Dack Racing, were announced as the fifth and sixth teams that have been granted licenses to compete in the international supercross series and will debut later this year.
In the combined four-wheel series, Ware has fielded cars in more than 1,000 races. He is not a stranger to two-wheel racing, having owned and managed a supercross team in the late 2000s.
Dack has fielded one of the most successful Australian teams and was manager of the Troy team of Yamahas, where Chad Reed won seven of eight races in his first season of the East Coast Championship. Dack Racing will bring sponsorship from Monster Energy.
With their Australian roots, Dack Racing adds to the international flare as they compete against two French teams announced earlier.
“Aside from operating and competing at the highest levels of the sport, the addition of Dack’s Monster Energy Yamaha team expands the international relevance to our backyard where we have a storied history of popular supercross events in Australia, while also bridging across the broader realm of prominent American auto racing through Rick Ware’s history in NASCAR and IndyCar racing,” said Adam Bailey, managing director of SX Global Motorsports in a release. “It’s incredible to see the intensive demand for these exclusive licenses with teams at the highest levels of competition, and with the sophistication and commitment to support and sustain a truly global Championship.”
The WSX model includes exclusive team ownerships for teams that will field motorcycles in both the 250 and 450 classes. With a purse of $250,000 per race, appearance fees as well as financial and logistical support to travel to each venue, the series is investing heavily in the success of their early seasons.
“Our ambitions and plans have faced incredible skepticism, but for those that have doubted us, or continue to do so, we hope this lineup of credible, powerful teams and owners speaks volumes to our ability to bring this Championship to fruition at the level necessary to give fans across the world a truly top-tier global supercross offering,” said Tony Cochrane, president of SX Global. “What may be most valuable to us is the strength that each of these teams brings our series through their spirit of partnership – that shared vision and commitment to global success is extremely powerful and will drive us forward in the years to come.”
The World Supercross Championship will take place in the second half of the year and is scheduled to host four races at the end of 2022 in what they describe as a ‘pilot season’. The 2023 season aims to have up to 12 events held between June and November.
The additional four teams will be announced later in the year.