2022 Supercross | 450 Championship Points & Brand Breakdown

May 17, 2022

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Motorcycle manufacturers, apparel companies, and hard part producers all spend considerable portions of their budgets on sponsorships for the top riders, so this breakdown of the 450 Class in the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Champion gives an idea of how important brand recognition is at the highest level of our sport. The first recap under each rider’s name goes over the motorcycle manufacturer, suspension, handlebars, exhaust, and tires; the second covers gear, helmets, goggles, and boots.

Inspired by the Manufacturers Championship that was awarded to Team Honda HRC this year, we decided to take another look at the categories, add up the numbers, and detail it at the bottom of the page.

HANDLEBARS
Renthal | 2029 Points – 9 Riders
ProTaper | 1069 Points – 5 Riders
Mika Metals | 398 Points – 3 Riders
ODI | 313 Points – 3 Riders

SUSPENSION
WP | 1652 Points – 8 Riders
Showa | 1339 Points – 7 Riders
KYB | 818 Points – 5 Riders

TIRES
Dunlop | 3703 Points – 19 Riders
Pirelli | 106 Points – 1 Rider

– The YZ450F was the bike of choice in the 450 Class, both in terms of success and participation. The BluCru got plenty of points from the championship won by Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Eli Tomac (the first SX title for Yamaha since 2009), the Rookie of the Year honors earned by CLUBMX’s Alex Martin, and a near-constant presence from privateers Kyle Chisholm and Ryan Breece. Although injuries sent Dylan Ferrandis to the sidelines in the middle of the season, the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s riders early results were enough to keep him in the top-20.

– Although Renthal didn’t add another championship to the record, their handlebars were on nine of the twenty bikes we listed. Only one other company has a presence in the pit area like this…

– Of course, that’s Dunlop. Geomax rubber was on all but one bike in the top-twenty, a sign of the tire brand’s commitment to SX.

– Few aftermarket categories are as competitive as the exhaust market, and that battle is clear to see in the 450 Class. FMF Racing came out ahead in this one, thanks to ET’s title, sponsorship of Star Racing Yamaha/Rockstar Energy Husqvarna/CLUBMX/BBMX, and privateer presence with Chisholm and Starling. Akrapovic was second on the list, thanks to their history with the factory KTM-GASGAS teams and MCR, while Yoshimura’s ties to Honda and Suzuki put them. All of Pro Circuit’s points were scored by Jason Anderson, all of HGS’ by Ryan Breece.

– WP’s ties to KTM-Husqvarna-GASGAS made it the most used suspension brand in the 450 Class. The European connection was challenged by Showa and its alliances with fellow Japanese brands Kawasaki-Honda-Suzuki, while KYB’s presence came entirely from Yamaha.

– What do THOR and 100% have in common? The two Parts Unlimited-distributed brands were worn by six riders in the 450 Class (Musquin-Webb-Hartranft-Ferrandis-Bogle-Plessinger), scored the same number of points (1113), and topped their respective categories.

– The gear category is cutthroat. Some go all-in on one rider, like Fox Racing for Roczen’s head-to-toe setup, Troy Lee Designs and its tie to team rider Barcia, O’Neal’s dedication to Wilson, and Seven’s partial owner-family man Stewart. Others want as many marquee names as they can get, which we see in Thor’s six-rider roster of Musquin-Webb-Hartranft-Ferrandis-Bogle-Plessinger and Alpinestars’ tiro of Tomac-Anderson-Sexton. While FLY Racing and FXR are known for their support of the working class heroes in the 450 Class, they have plenty of presence and power in their picks of Brayton/McElrath and Martin/Chisholm/Starling.

– Helmets is another interesting category, as many gear brands have added high-end pieces to their catalog, but specialty brand Bell still sits at the top of the list.

– No one is beating Alpinestars when it comes to boots. The Tech 10 was used by nearly three-quarters of the 450 Class.