2024 Preview: WSX arrives in Canada for season opener

The WSX Canadian GP – the first round of the 2024 FIM World Supercross (WSX) Championship season – is one of the most highly anticipated events in WSX history as seven teams and a total of 32 riders, split across two classes and four Wildcards, race into the night.

There’ll be thrills, spills, and action aplenty when top-flight Supercross racing returns to Vancouver for the first time in almost 20 years. But before the action gets underway, there are a handful of questions on everyone’s mind.

We’ve picked out some of the biggest below…

Can Ken Roczen do the triple?

Over the past two seasons, Ken Roczen has forged his own reputation as the top rider in the WSX 450cc class. After claiming his second World Championship in as many seasons last year, the German will chase his third this year, and he’s in the perfect position to start his title defence in Canada.

But coming into a new season as a series’ defending champion brings weight, expectation, and pressure. It can be tough at the top, and after going two for two, Roczen has painted a target on his back. He’s the rider to beat, but how will he cope?

He’ll do just fine.

A championship can’t be won in a single race, and Roczen knows that all too well. Finishing at the top requires constant effort, and time and time again, the German has proven that he’s one of the most consistently quick riders in Supercross. But that doesn’t mean he’ll sweep the stage.

In 2024, the competition Roczen will face is tough. Joey Savatgy, who has been Roczen’s closest title rival over the past two years, is back for more. Dean Wilson, who finished third in 2023, will also return while Vince Friese – who showed everyone that he can race against the best last year – is also back.

And then there’s Eli Tomac, who, after dominating WSX’s inaugural GP in Cardiff, Wales, in 2022, will race in the series on a full-time basis in 2024.

TICKETS: Grab your spot at BC Place for the WSX Canadian GP

Where does Eli Tomac fit in?

Calling a legend like Eli Tomac a ‘rookie’ is an insult, but in the sense of the word, and given that 2024 will be his first full-time season in WSX, the eight-time AMA Motocross and Supercross champion technically is one.

But in the grand scheme of things, Tomac being an alleged ‘rookie’ won’t make a difference.

In Cardiff, he showed that he can be quick from the off and even when he came back from a hand injury earlier this year, he was up to speed almost immediately and finished on the AMA Motocross podium in the 2024 finale at Ironman.

Tomac will undoubtedly be a front-running rider in WSX this season. He’ll take the fight to Roczen and seeing two legends of the sport face off on the world stage will be quite the spectacle to behold.

New season, new bike, same Savatgy?

At times, it’s hard not to feel sorry for Joey Savatgy. After winning more GP Races than Roczen in 2022, he lost the WSX title by only four points, and despite holding a five-point advantage heading into last season’s finale, he lost the championship yet again.

As a two-time runner-up, Savatgy is considered WSX’s almost man, but in 2024, things can change as he joins Fire Power Honda after previously representing Rick Ware Racing over the past two seasons.

Fire Power Honda emerged as a dominant force in WSX last year and delivered Max Anstie the SX2 250cc class title while also clinching the Teams’ Championship. And with 10 GP Race wins and 21 GP Race podiums, the pure numbers that Yarrive Konsky’s squad has racked up are impressive.

But after racing 250cc machinery with Triumph in the AMA Motocross Championship for most of 2024, Savatgy has had limited time racing 450s this year, but this is something that the native of Thomasville, Georgia, is mindful of.

Savatgy not only wants to race against the best, he wants to beat the best, but he knows it’ll take time. Expect the 30-year-old to be a threat in Canada, but given the gap between Vancouver and Perth, expect him to be at his best from Australia onwards.

Clash of the Titans: Dean Wilson vs Vince Friese

Ask either Dean Wilson or Vince Friese about their relationship, and they’ll tell you that it’s complicated. But calling it ‘complicated’ is obvious, and it’s also a colossal understatement.

Wilson and Friese have coming to blows for years, and a collision in the 2018 AMA Supercross Championship in qualifying at San Diego was one of the first instances where the two riders came together on the track.

Since then, their relationship has blossomed into an intense and bitter rivalry that spilled into WSX last season when the pair were magnetic in Abu Dhabi, dealing blows left and right when racing for the lead in GP Races 1 and 2.

Post-event, the reality of the situation was plain to see: “When Vince gets behind you, you know he’s going to clean you out,” said a frustrated, and fired-up Wilson. “He’s a dirty rider.”

But Friese quickly returned Wilson’s serve, proclaiming that “Dean whines a little bit. He’s a pretty big whiner, but we’re going to make him tough and we’re going to race him again in a few weeks.”

Wilson and Friese didn’t come across one another on track in the 2023 finale, but soon into 2024, they were back at it, this time colliding in the AMA Supercross Championship season-opener at Anaheim.

Clearly, no love has been lost between the two but with Wilson and Friese back in WSX for the coming campaign, the rivalry is set to continue with unwavering ferocity as they bang bars once again in the WSX 450cc class.

READ MORE: How to watch WSX in 2024

Can Shane McElrath return to winning ways?

After dominating the SX2 250cc class in 2022 to claim the title, Shane McElrath started his championship defence perfectly by winning the opening event of 2023, but with a difficult run in Abu Dhabi and Melbourne, a second crown ultimately fell out of his reach last season.

McElrath is back on the grid this year and is determined to rediscover his form, and as part of Fire Power Honda – the team which beat him to the title last season – he’ll be in the perfect position and in the right place to hunt down that elusive second championship.

But SX2 is a vastly different landscape to what it was 12 months ago, and with a mixture of experienced riders and some of the hottest young talents in Supercross, the class’s pecking order is arguably the biggest question mark of the season.

While 2023 champion, Max Anstie, will undoubtedly be a thorn in McElrath’s side, he’ll only be on the grid in Vancouver, but there are other riders hoping for championship glory and unfortunately for McElrath, they can’t be removed from the equation.

Maxime Desprey, who returns to Team GSM for 2024, is one such rider, and after doing the Motocross MX1 and Supercross SX2 double in France, the 31-year-old is in the form of his life. And then there’s Cole Thompson, McElrath’s Fire Power Honda team-mate, who charged to an impressive sixth in points in 2023 despite only running part-time.

And that’s failing to mention the return of Enzo Lopes, who will be back in WSX after sitting on the sidelines for most of 2024 due to injury. And then there’s Coty Schock, and Derek Kelley, and Kyle Chisholm too… We really could keep going.

All new at Rick Ware Racing

With programs in NASCAR and IndyCar, Rick Ware Racing is a proven organisation and has been a dominant force over the past two WSX seasons, first delivering McElrath with his SX2 title in 2022 while also powering Savatgy to his two vice championships.

But Rick Ware Racing is in a very different position to where it was this time last year and will enter 2024 with a brand-new rider lineup across both the WSX and SX2 classes.

While the team has sacrificed the real-world benefits of continuity and consistency, it has gained outright speed and arguably has one of the strongest rider lineups across the entire WSX grid.

In the WSX class, Rick Ware Racing will field Mitch Oldenburg – who finished an impressive ninth in points last year after missing the 450cc opener in Birmingham – and Luke Clout, who finished third in the SX2 standings behind Anstie and McElrath.

In the 250cc class, meanwhile, the team boasts one of the most exciting rosters in the category, firstly with comeback king Enzo Lopes, and secondly with series rookie Coty Schock who finished third in AMA Supercross 250SX East earlier in 2024.

With four immensely talented riders, Rick Ware Racing undoubtedly has the potential to fight at the front once again this year but to taste the ultimate prize, it will be critical to hit the ground running in Canada.

Battle of the Heroes: Canadian talent on show

In motorsport, there’s nothing as special as a home race, and for two of our 2024 riders, the inaugural WSX Canadian GP at BC Place in Vancouver will mark an unforgettable experience.

Fire Power Honda’s Cole Thompson and MotoConcepts Racing rider, Noah Viney, are both poised to set the SX2 class alight, and when the gates drop in Canada, will carry the pride of their nation.

For Thompson, the 2024 season is a relishing prospect after the native of Brigden, Ontario, impressed the world last year after being drafted in by ClubMX mid-campaign to replace Enzo Lopes.

Despite only completing two thirds of the season, Thompson finished sixth in points after claiming a staggering second overall in the Melbourne finale, and as a full-time rider in 2024, could be on the verge of a breakthrough season.

Viney, meanwhile, will make his WSX debut in Canada and has high expectations for his rookie season in the series’ SX2 class.

A Canadian living in California, Viney cuts a cool, calm and polite figure in the paddock but becomes a hard racer when his helmet goes on. The 19-year-old is more than determined, and 2024 will undoubtedly be a pivotal season for the prodigy.

To stay up with the latest FIM World Supercross Championship news for the WSX Canadian GP, follow us on Instagram!