Word that the dirt bike and ATV crowds will be, for the first time ever, crowning the 2010 AMA Motocross Champions side by side is big news in the industry.
For years the dirt bike and ATV crowds have been separated by an unseen dividing line. Practice tracks often attach the dreaded "bikes only" phrase to their signs and websites. The lines each forms on a track are completely different and often unusable by one another. The separate national series only hit one or two of the same tracks. Dirt bike and quad riders used to rag on each other in the pits; now they do it more harshly in online forums behind the cloak of anonymity.
But combining the year-end award banquets for both the ATV and dirt bike champions is a symbolic gesture of community handed down by the AMA. As Harv Whipple said, America is home to the world's fastest motocross racers on two and four wheels, and we should celebrate them all together. Amen!
There is a lesson, or maybe just a reminder, both crowds can walk away with after the combined banquet. The dirt bike riders should recognize the ATV racers are just as fast as, if not faster, than their two-wheeled cousins, and as such the quad riders deserve recognition and equal rights. And ATV riders would do well to remember the dirt bike side is what started it all and raised the awareness level of our sport. They're also the reason motocross continues to receive so much outside-of-the-sport attention.
So here's to the joint celebration of America's fastest motocross racers, on two or four wheels!
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