Justin Brayton and Vince Friese will race in the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) for MotoConcepts Racing Honda in the SX1 Division with Mitchell Oldenburg and Cole Seely racing in the SX2 Division. SX1 is the name for this series’ 450 class and 250s will be designated as SX1.
In May, MotoConcepts was among the first four organizations announced as securing licenses from SX Global as one of 10 owners with franchises for the inaugural season.
“I’m excited for the new opportunity the World Supercross series provides,” said Mike Genova, owner of MotoConcepts in a press release. “We’re going in strong with our rider lineup and know that each one of them is a title contender in their class.”
After 14 seasons racing in the Monster Energy Supercross Series, Brayton announced his retirement earlier this year while relishing his role as a senior statesman in that series. But the opportunity to contend for an international championship was enough to encourage him to push off that retirement and join his MotoConcepts team as they vie for the inaugural WSX SX1 championship.
Brayton became the oldest rider to win a Supercross race in March, 2018 at the age of 34.
He finished ninth in the Monster Energy 450 points’ standings in 2022.
“I’m very excited to be joining MCR for WSX. I think this is a great opportunity for teams and riders to race Supercross around the world at a high level,” said Brayton. “I’ve been traveling the globe in the fall months racing SX-only for years now, so it’s something I’m familiar with and am looking forward to.”
Friese, a veteran of nine 450 SX seasons, will also follow MotoConcepts onto the international stage.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to compete in this new series,” Friese said. “Everything about the WSX seems to point toward it being the future of racing at the highest level, and to be there for the first season on what I believe is the best team in the series is a dream come true.
“I plan to take full advantage of this opportunity to show that I can compete with the best on the world stage.”
In 2022, Friese split his time between the 250 West series where he finished sixth in the points, and the larger class. On weekends when 250 West did not run, Friese competed in the 450 division and finished 20th in those standings.
Oldenburg also split his time between the two series in 2022, finishing fourth in 250 East and 22nd in 450s. He scored one podium finish in the 250 East division at St. Louis in a Triple Crown format race.
Seely returns from retirement to join the team. His last Supercross race came in the 450 class with a sixth at Las Vegas in 2019.
“I’m stoked to come back to racing with a switch-up in the normal routine and travel the world,” Seely said. “I never lost my competitive side, and it was good to get back to the basics the last few years and find the fun in riding again. I still love to go fast on my dirt bike.”