FIM World Supercross Championship secures $50 million in funding

More information on the FIM World Supercross Championship has been revealed, with the new Australian-run global series looking to change the face of the sport.

The Australian promoter, SX Global, has announced that sovereign investor Mubadala Capital has committed $50 million to the series over five years.

Based in Abu Dhabi, Mubadala has plenty of experience in funding and developing global business and sports ventures, and boasts $243 billion in assets under management.

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The series will begin in September 2022, with a five-round “pilot” season giving sponsors, investors, riders, teams and fans the chance to adjust to the new championship. Plans are already in place to expand to 10-plus rounds from 2023 onwards.

A guaranteed $250,000 prize pool will be awarded at each event, with the series also planning to deliver fan experiences, unique race formats, broadcast innovations and in-stadium attractions.

Uniquely, the championship will feature a team licence structure. Only 10 exclusive team licences will be available to independent owners, giving each team more financial flexibility to grow, market and develop their organisations.

Each team will be allowed to enter four riders into the championship – two in the WSX (450cc) class and two in the SX2 (250cc) class. Each event will also allow for two wildcard entries in each class, giving local riders and sponsor-driven riders the chance to participate.

SX Global Managing Director Adam Bailey told bikesales that the team licence structure “opens the door for privately-owned teams to join in as opposed to just factory teams.”

According to Bailey, the current structure in the USA prevents team profitability, with most teams essentially existing as marketing exercises for manufacturers or independent brands. “This model that we’re creating, with licensed team owners and quite a lot of funding support, should create value for those team owners and lighten the load for the manufacturers,” he said.

The structure can be compared somewhat to Formula 1, where most teams are supported by manufacturers, but are privately owned and operate as standalone businesses.

For the FIM World Supercross Championships, having only ten licences will help create exclusivity and contribute to the series’ position as the absolute pinnacle of the sport. “If the series grows, which we expect it too, the value of these team licenses will grow,” said Bailey. “The only way for someone to be a part of it, will be to buy out one of the original investors.”

Bailey believes the new model has been proven in other sports and that supercross and motocross are the only sports which do not use a similar concept at the top level. “As a very recent example, in NASCAR, Michael Jordan just purchased one of the teams for $13 million dollars, and three years ago it was $2-3 million.”

While the World Supercross Championship has taken up the FIM rights let go by AMA Supercross, Bailey confirmed that the new series will not clash with the US-based championship. “We believe that many riders will race in domestic competitions, such as AMA or the Australian Supercross Championship, and then come into our series from June-onwards.”

However, Bailey did agree that riders may have to choose between supercross and motocross, with the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and the MXGP World Championship clashing with the new supercross series. But he sees it as a chance to create further specialisation in either indoor or outdoor racing. “We feel like our series could be an enjoyable and lucrative option for those that want to specialise in supercross.”

Bailey also revealed that AME Management – the company that spawned SX Global – will continue to operate and promote the Australian Supercross Championship. However, the popular AUS-X Open event, last held at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, will cease to exist. In its place will be a dedicated Australian round of the FIM World Supercross Championship.

“The AUS-X Open will not exist anymore, because we’ll have a world championship round instead,” said Bailey. “But the Australian Supercross Championship certainly will, and we hope to integrate that into the world championship. And we want to do that with all regions.”

While Bailey all but confirmed Australia as one of the five locations in 2022, he said discussions are ongoing with regard to the other stops. “There are lots of discussions happening at the moment, which is why we haven’t announced it,” he said. “Because we can only do five rounds this year, we are deciding which opportunities will be the best for the sport.”

According to Bailey, locations in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia will all be on the table going forward.