PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
hen it comes to final seasons, it’s hard to top Stefan Everts’ run through the 2006 FIM Motocross World Championship. Europe’s all-time King of Motocross put a true beatdown on his counterparts, nearly securing the first perfect season in Grand Prix history by winning 14 of 15 rounds as well as his tenth world crown. But the Belgian hero saved the best for last, going to the 2006 Motocross of Nations in Great Britain and beating Team USA’s James Stewart—and everyone else—in stunning fashion. It was the ultimate mic drop; Everts never raced motocross again.
No one had a better-choreographed farewell than the GOAT. Midway through the 2006 season, in which Ricky Carmichael would win his fifth AMA Supercross title and tenth straight AMA Pro Motocross crown, he announced that 2007 would be his last as a professional racer. He would ride an abbreviated schedule: seven SX races and six outdoor nationals. Somehow, despite being part-time, Carmichael managed to win both the San Francisco and St. Louis SX races, and then very nearly won the Orlando SX in March—his last AMA Supercross—despite his twins, Kaden and Elise, being born the previous night.
Carmichael won all six Pro Motocross Nationals he entered that summer. He could easily have won an 11th MX title, but he pulled the plug, as planned, after winning the Spring Creek National in Minnesota.
Ricky did have one more race: he was chosen to ride for Team USA in the ’07 FIM Motocross of Nations at Budds Creek. To no one’s surprise, the Americans—Carmichael, Tim Ferry, and Ryan Villopoto—won easily, with the young Villopoto stealing the show aboard his 250F. Carmichael’s last bow came in the final MX1/Open moto, which he dominated.
“It was tough knowing this was my last race, and I got a little choked up, just because it was such a great win,” said Carmichael, who was sick in the weeks before the race. “This was just a great feeling. But I would have liked to have come into this event more prepared, but that’s my problem. I made it tough on myself.”
Ryan Dungey, Carmichael’s Suzuki understudy during that 2007 season, also became one of the all-time greats, winning most of his eight titles aboard Red Bull KTM motorcycles, where he had reunited with his Suzuki boss Roger De Coster. Unlike Ricky’s, Ryan’s retirement would be much more spontaneous. It began with a heavy crash at the 2016 Thunder Valley National in Colorado that left him with a broken neck (but fortunately no paralysis). While he didn’t let on at the time, the near-miss shook him and his family.
Fast-forward to the last laps of the frantic 2017 SX finale in Las Vegas. Dungey had catapulted to an unlikely points lead when Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac stumbled at the penultimate round in New Jersey. Despite some aggressive blocking by Tomac, Dungey held on to win a third straight AMA Supercross Championship. Just a few days later, as the sport was collectively preparing for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross opener, a midweek press conference was announced, to be held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Dungey, surrounded by friends, family and sponsors, announced that he was retiring from racing, effective immediately.
“However, this year I have struggled mentally,” he admitted. “I have always raced because I love it and want so badly to win, but this season was just different for me. I never thought I would get to a place where I had to talk myself into starting a race, but that’s how it was for me—and the truth is, that bothers me a lot. I could easily take the paycheck and just race to finish, but that’s not who I am and not how I want to race, nor be remembered.” He never raced again.
Dungey retired surrounded by KTMs, and to some degree, so did Jeremy McGrath—though the circumstances were much different for the King of Supercross. McGrath parted ways with Yamaha in the fall of 2002 after winning three titles for them from 1998 to 2000. Red Bull KTM made him an offer that basically allowed McGrath to keep his personal sponsorships while helping them develop their 250cc two-stroke for supercross. Unfortunately, the KTMs of that time were much further behind than the factory Yamahas and Hondas McGrath had won all of his titles on. That October, McGrath crashed at an off-season race in Italy and suffered a concussion. He was back for the two FIM World Supercross rounds in Europe that December, but soon realized he was too uncomfortable on the bike to continue racing.
“I’ve always told myself that when I have other things on my mind besides giving 100 percent and winning, that I would retire,” McGrath said just before the Anaheim ’03 opener. “Ever since I had that concussion, I have been tentative on the bike. I’m not going to go out and ride around mid-pack when all of these people and companies have hired me to be near the front of the pack and winning.”
On January 2, 2003, McGrath made it official, retiring at the pre-race Anaheim press conference, inside the “house that Jeremy built.” But neither the retirement nor the brief affiliation with KTM felt right for McGrath: he hadn’t really gone out on his own terms. His legion of fans were certainly hoping for more than just a farewell nac-nac during opening ceremonies.
Within a year, McGrath was helping Honda, with whom he’d won his first four AMA Supercross crowns, develop their bikes. He also signed up for the first seven rounds of the ’05 season, even landing a top-five finish at Anaheim.
Three weeks later in San Diego, McGrath lined up on a CRF450R four-stroke and finished fourth again, behind those same three full-time combatants. Then Jeremy left the building for good.
Ryan Villopoto might have had the ultimate ride-off in 2014 when he won his fourth straight Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, taking the last four wins and leading all 80 laps along the way. It was an open secret that he’d been contemplating retirement, and when he announced that a knee injury would keep him at home that summer, it seemed obvious that he was done. Besides, his Monster Energy Kawasaki contract was up for renewal.
Soon, a different, more curious rumor started popping up: Villopoto was going to abdicate his SX crown in America and move to Europe to race MXGP in the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship. Shockingly enough, the rumors were true. The whole deal was being underwritten by Monster Energy (also sponsors of the MXGP tour).
Three weeks later in San Diego, McGrath lined up on a CRF450R four-stroke and finished fourth again, behind those same three full-time combatants. Then Jeremy left the building for good.
Ryan Villopoto might have had the ultimate ride-off in 2014 when he won his fourth straight Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, taking the last four wins and leading all 80 laps along the way. It was an open secret that he’d been contemplating retirement, and when he announced that a knee injury would keep him at home that summer, it seemed obvious that he was done. Besides, his Monster Energy Kawasaki contract was up for renewal.
Soon, a different, more curious rumor started popping up: Villopoto was going to abdicate his SX crown in America and move to Europe to race MXGP in the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship. Shockingly enough, the rumors were true. The whole deal was being underwritten by Monster Energy (also sponsors of the MXGP tour).
Three weeks later, in Italy, Villopoto looped out his KX450F violently and came down hard on his tailbone. That was it. While it wasn’t official for several more weeks, Ryan Villopoto never raced again. Fortunately for his legacy, fans and the media have given him a pass for that European misadventure. He’s also become the self-proclaimed “world’s best retired guy,” working with Yamaha as a brand ambassador.
nfortunately, there are guys like David Bailey and Ernesto Fonseca who never got the chance to plan out their retirements, as sudden, life-changing injuries robbed them of that luxury. In the case of multi-time champion Grant Langston, it was cancer in his eye that hastened the end of his professional career in January of 2008. He tried to return in 2010, but he was no longer able to be competitive.
There are others who never really officially retired. Travis Pastrana, for instance, is arguably the most well-known motocrosser ever, though he rarely raced after 2002, when he was still just 18 years old. Pastrana’s litany of injuries from both racing and freestyle jumping wreaked havoc on his body, and while he tried to be out there for his fans, he only raced one full professional season—his first, in 2000. The last time we saw Pastrana in an actual motocross race was June ’06 at Southwick, when he was just a shadow of his younger self. He crashed his Suzuki RM-Z450 in a corner just as Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart—the two competitors we once envisioned him competing against—came around to lap him.
Speaking of Stewart, his retirement never really happened either. After a series of injuries and off-track issues derailed his career, he just kind of quit coming to the races. His last win was the ’14 High Point National, after which the FIM informed him that he’d violated their doping policy by not having permission to take a prescribed ADHD drug. Over the years, Stewart would hint at various comeback possibilities, but nothing ever really panned out. We last saw him on a racetrack at the ’16 Washougal National. For a racer who was without a doubt the “fastest man on the planet,” his exit from the public eye was slow and somewhat sad—though there are whispers that he may be contemplating some kind of return as a brand ambassador.
“Everyone knows my Achilles’ heel is overthinking things,” Windham said. “And that’s what I’ve been doing, overthinking things. I’ve been having thoughts about, ‘I need to make it to 2014, I need to stop crashing.’ And that’s all I was focused on tonight. And in a field like this, I don’t think you can do any better than a tenth riding like that.
“I was looking at a basic rhythm section where guys were jumping three, and I didn’t feel like doing it,” he added. “I came in from that practice, stripped my clothes off, and everyone came to me asking what was up, because I never usually change out of my gear in between practices. They wanted to know what was up and I just said, ‘That’s it, I’m done.’”
Now it’s Chad Reed’s turn. And while he’s taking a less abrupt route than Windham or many of the other riders mentioned here, he’s doing it on his own terms. Here’s hoping he enjoys his farewell tour and goes out safely, and with a big smile under his helmet. He’s certainly earned it. 