Jeremy McGrath, the greatest supercross rider of all time (with 74 main event wins in his career and 7 AMA 250cc Supercross championships) will return to action as the series begins again in Anaheim this January.
So far, McGrath says he will only contest selected rounds, including three Southern California events (two in Anaheim and one in San Diego). McGrath is only 33 years old, and in good physical condition. Could he be a factor in the series? Can he win races? Can he get on the podium?
A full-fledged Honda factory team rider in 2005, McGrath will be aboard a much improved CR250R. By announcing that he will not contest the entire series, McGrath may be hedging his bets. My guess is that his performance in the first few rounds will dictate whether he sticks to it full time. If he is running the pace of the leaders, and getting on the podium, McGrath will likely race the entire series. If not, he will be great PR for Team Honda.
With the stiffest competition expected to contest the 2005 series (with riders like Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed, James Stewart and Kevin Windham), it isn’t the best time for a past champion to make a come-back. Nevertheless, if McGrath really wanted to, I suspect he could be competitive at 33 years of age. If he really dedicated himself, he clearly has great natural speed, and more supercross experience than virtually any other rider on the track (except for Mike LaRocco). We shall see which Jeremy McGrath shows up in January.
