World Supercross superstars are all set for the British GP, with the championship kicking off this weekend at Villa Park — the home of Aston Villa Football Club.
After a successful pilot season last year, the British GP is the first entry on a six-round calendar that takes the series from Europe to North America, Asia and finally Australia.
Reigning world champions Ken Roczen and Shane McElrath return — heading a star-studded lineup that includes Vince Friese, Justin Brayton, and series newcomer Colt Nichols, while flying the flag for the home crowd will be Max Anstie and Dean Wilson — to compete for the biggest prize purse in the sport’s history.
At every round $250,000 is up for grabs, split across the WSX (450) and SX2 (250) classes. There will be $40,000, $30,000, and $20,000 handed out to the podium finishers in the WSX category, while the SX2 winner nets $16,000.
WSX further elevates the level of the sport with unprecedented support for the teams, too, with all freight costs for the season covered, while a $650,000 signing fee was awarded to each team, covering the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. There’s also an additional $50,000 appearance fee for each outfit.
Raising the stakes further is an innovative race format, characterized by three, back-to-back main events deciding the overall podium. With just a five minute break between races, the action is fast and frenetic. There are heat races to decide gate pics, while a superpole session for the WSX class makes further points available for the top-three qualifiers.
In each main event, points are awarded down to 20th, with the rider with the highest combined points total declared the GP winner.
On Saturday night, Villa Park will be unrecognizable, when the famous venue is transformed into a dirt bike battleground. Thanks to the work of Dream Traxx, 7,000 tons of dirt turns the pitch into a world class Supercross track.
While local fans are ready to pack into the famous football ground, global audiences can watch the British GP thanks to extensive broadcast coverage aired to more than 180 countries and 500 million households worldwide.
For those viewers, that broadcast team sees long-time Supercross broadcaster Ralph Sheheen return, along with former AMA Supercross champion Jeff Emig and trackside reporter Kristen Beat. They’ll be joined by former champion and Supercross legend Chad Reed.