As I sit here in my modest hotel in Bali, taking my regular off-season adventure, away from the cold of The Netherlands and a bit closer to home (Australia), I can’t help but think what a brilliant 2024 it was. Both in Europe and America, the best motocross riders in the World made us all excited and continued our enjoyment of a sport we all love.

MXGP once again stood tall with a three-way battle for the MXGP championship, as Spaniard, Jorge Prado became a four-time World motocross champion and won his 49th Grand Prix. Those are number that will stay in the sports history books forever and he will be mentioned in the same breath as names like Harry Everts, Heikki Mikkola and Torsten Hallman (all four time champions). The fact he is just 23 years of age (he turns 24 in a month) and is heading off to USA to try and dominate there, well, that is some career already.

Of course, the season also belonged to Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings, the two men who battled with Prado and let’s be honest, while Prado deserved to win the title, there were times throughout the season, we all thought either Gajser or Herlings could win it. It was that close.

In MX2, Kay De Wolf made a couple of historical moments, being the first Dutchman (without the name Jeffrey Herlings) to be crowned World champion since Pedro Tragter in 1993, back when Herlings was one year old and De Wolf a long way from being born.

It was also the first Husqvarna World motocross champion since Alessio Chiodi in 1999, so the young De Wolf made good for 2024. He then made that trip to USA to try the waters, but if he goes or not, I think that is very doubtful. Just get the feeling he would prefer to follow his hero (Herlings) to some GP records of his own.

Anyway, what I would like to do today is give me MXLarge top ten riders of 2024, both in USA and Europe. We have six from MXGP/MX2 and four from AMA and that shows how close the sports are from each side of the Atlantic Ocean.

1. Jorge Prado: You just cannot put anyone above the former GasGas, now Kawasaki rider. His performances throughout the season were epic and the fact he could come back in those final couple of rounds and pull back the large points deficit, to win his fourth World title is amazing. He also beat the two best riders from the last 15 years in Gajser and Herlings and beat them straight up. No excuses in 2024 for the Spaniard. He also showed some brilliance in winning a heat of the 2024 AMA supercross championship and showing good speed. His Nations performance wasn’t what we expected, but damn, the guy who stole the show, Tim Gajser fought hard with Prado all year and for that, Prado is our number one rider of 2024.

2. Tim Gajser: Yes, I know, he didn’t win a title, and Chase Sexton and Jet Lawrence did in USA, but Gajser came very close to being the 2024 MXGP champion, losing by just a handful of points and his 1-1 performance at the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations, where he defeated Lawrence and Prado, well, that makes him number two for me in this list. He will be the favourite to win his sixth World title in 2025 and hopefully add to his 49 GP wins (he needs two to pass the 50 of Joel Robert). If he can do that, he would become the third most successful rider in Grand Prix history, just behind Stefan Everts and Antonio Cairoli.

3. Jett Lawrence: He hardly raced motocross in 2024, but he did win an AMA supercross championship and had won four of the five motocross rounds and sat second in the championship points behind brother Hunter (until he got injured). He also took Australia to their first ever Chamberlain trophy win. Lawrence showed what a talent he is at the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations, and while he didn’t beat Gajser, his 1-2 result was special on a circuit he hadn’t raced before and in slightly slippery conditions, something he has shown not to be as effective in. Lawrence is for me, the top man in the sport, but that lack of an AMA motocross championship and sitting out a lot of the year, I can’t place him at number one.

4. Jeffrey Herlings: I know, he isn’t at the level we remember him, and his MXoN wasn’t the old “Bullet” either, but he was in that MXGP fight and at one point in the season, it looked like he might pull it off. Still my favourite rider, but you have to be realistic, there were times in 2024 that we all felt the sensational career of the five-time World champion, with 107 GP wins is coming to an end. Damn, just saying that makes me sad, as Herlings has given us a stack of mouth wide open moments, and I would love to see him come back and win another World title. Just like Gajser, if he takes a sixth World title, he leap-frogs Joel Roberts and moves into third place in the all-time list. He deserves that in my opinion.

5. Chase Sexton: Yes, he is the AMA motocross champion and belongs in the group above him, but he just lacks a little in my opinion to be above all four. He is technically brilliant, and he does own the 2023 AMA supercross championship and 2024 AMA motocross championship, but both came after riders ahead of him crashed out of the series, Tomac in supercross last year and Lawrence in motocross this year. Until he beats the likes of Jett Lawrence straight up over a season, or shows up at the MXoN and handles Lawrence, Herlings, Gajser and Prado, then I can’t place him any higher than fifth.

6. Kay De Wolf: Yes, he is a 250 rider, but he showed in 2024 that he can get the job done. Starting fast in the opening four rounds of the MX2 World championship he kept a nice points lead over another sensational rider in Lucas Coenen and took home the title. He also won the MX2 class at Matterley Basin and while that did come after blazing speed by Coenen, the end result reads MX2 overall winner at the MXoN, Kay De Wolf. He also travelled to America to reach a dream and while he might not return, at least full-time, he will no doubt sample racing in America at some point and that is an exciting prospect. Hard to see anyone beating him in the MX2 championship in 2025.

7 and 8 Haiden Deegan and Lucas Coenen: I cannot split these two and while Deegan has an AMA 250 motocross championship and Lucs Coenen finished second in the MX2 championship, Deegan only won five rounds in USA and Coenen nine in MX2. I don’t think the competition Haiden had was as good as what Coenen had to deal with, but without question, both these guys are SPECIAL!!!! Coenen showed us at the MXoN what he is capable of and when he races the top MXGP boys, I expect some fireworks. As for Deegan, he won the AMA 250 championship and the SMX series, but his lack of desire to head to Matterley Basin, well, that leaves a bad taste in many people’s mouths. Let’s hope they pick him for Team USA at Ironman in 2025, and he shows his desire to represent his country. A victory in the MX2 class there, sure would see him charge up our top ten list.

9. Hunter Lawrence: Already an AMA 250 motocross champion from last year and clearly the next best motocross rider in America when it comes to motocross, only behind his brother and Sexton. The older of the Lawrence brothers had a brilliant season, but when little brother Jett is making stunning performances, it’s easy to forget how good Hunter is. His 8-4 performance at the MXoN might not have been what many of us expected, but it was more than enough to help Australia win the event and becoming one of three Aussies to make history for their country. I would place Hunter close to Sexton when it comes to potential, but it seems hard to see him beating his brother any time soon.

10. Romain Febvre: Now, he missed four rounds of the MXGP series and still finished fifth in the points, only 30 or so behind fourth placed man Jeremy Seewer. For me, this guy has to win another World MXGP championship, mainly, because he deserves it. Always close to the big three and until his injury, he was in fact, right there for the championship battle. He even won the French GP with his busted thumb, until it was taken from him by the FIM, for no fault of his own. He also crashed out of the MXoN, but his third-place finish in the opening race on Sunday, behind Gajser and Eli Tomac and ahead of Prado, Herlings, De Wolf, Seewer, (Hunter) Lawrence and Roczen says enough about how good this Frenchman is. You can be sure, when the 2025 season starts, he will be up there again fighting with Gajser and Herlings and lets just hope he can keep away from an injury, something that has really damaged his career.