Three days after Ken Roczen was crowned FIM World Supercross champion at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, WSX CEO Adam Bailey teased what the series is planning for next year during his Tuesday Race Industry Week appearance.
In a season full of challenges, WSX held three official rounds of competition — the British GP opener at Villa Park, the Abu Dhabi GP at Etihad Arena and the Australian GP finale.
Bailey noted the series will aim higher next year with the goal of hosting six events between October and November.
While this has been their proclaimed ambition since creating WSX and obtaining FIM sanctioning in 2022, the series has struggled to complete a full schedule in its infant years. Three of this season’s six scheduled events were canceled after an ownership change in September.
But Bailey is optimistic about the opportunities ahead for WSX, specifically when it comes to reaching new global markets with their Supercross product.
After holding a successful round in Abu Dhabi — which attracted more than 7,000 fans — Bailey said the WSX team has had several discussions about returning to the Middle East next year.
“As a motorsports championship, you can’t ignore that region,” Bailey said. “The Middle East kind of underpins Formula 1, Moto GP and international motorsport championships, so we’re definitely looking into that.”
In addition to returning to that region, Bailey is focused on several other potential audiences — with South America among them.
According to Bailey’s research, Brazil has the largest number of Supercross fans, globally-speaking. Considering the amount of motorcycle sales that occur in the area, the market is rife for dirt bike racing.
He also aims to have one to two events in Europe.
“We hope to have that (schedule) locked down in the next 30 days,” Bailey said. “Putting all six events within that two-to-three month period will help us get the visibility, because it’s offseason for racing in the U.S., so there’s no clashes with anything there. And, it’s a time of year where we feel like people are hungry for racing, so we’ll try to serve them during that window.”
As far as the series structure — 10 teams and 40 riders across the WSX and SX2 classes — Bailey doesn’t plan to make any changes. Rather than introduce new teams to the series, the WSX CEO is focused on servicing the 10 teams already committed to the worldwide tour.
“We want to build value in those teams. It’s designed to be a Formula 1-type model. Scarcity is the No. 1 way to do that,” Bailey explained. “The plan is to grow with those 10, or introduce new ones if any want to sell, and just trade in and out of those licenses.”
Bailey doesn’t deny that it’s been a significant challenge to bring Supercross to the world, but at the same time, he feels that WSX will be better prepared next year.
“We just want to build credibility and momentum for the series,” Bailey said. “We haven’t peaked yet.”
Bailey is among the many racing leaders appearing during Race Industry Week, which began on Monday and will run through Dec. 1. There is no charge to attend — click to register. Or, click here for the full schedule.