Will the Monster Energy Cup be race of the year?
On October 15, the MX/SX world will see an event never seen before. The Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas will then see the fight for a prize pool of more than 1 million (!) dollars, hence the name of this race “The Monster Million”. The rider who wins the three finals will take home $1 million. There is also a prize pool of 250.000 dollars for the final score over the three races. The winner of a final can credit 100.000 dollars to his bank account!
Because this is a completely new non-championship competition format, the rules are also slightly different than during an AMA Supercross. For starters, it is an open racing format, as long as the bike meets AMA rules for noise and fuel you can choose between 125cc, 250cc two-stroke, 250cc four-stroke, 350cc or 450cc. By constructing obstacles and curves, the intention is to give 250s and 450s equal opportunities. The starting order of the second final is based on the result of the first final and for the third final it is (of course) based on the second final. A final is held over 10 laps. Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath were called upon to design the circuit. Considering the different driving styles of these legends, you can expect an absolutely unique combination. Instead of a real SX track, it will also be a hybrid mix of motocross and supercross. One of the ideas is a heavy sand strip of more than 60 meters, an elevated BMX-like start, level differences in the circuit and so on are also being considered.
Riders who have already committed include James Stewart, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, Andrew Short, Nick Wey, Mike Alessi, Wil Hahn, Cole Seely. How nice it would be to see Cairoli, Roczen, Herlings or Desalle at work there!
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