In part, Table Over Two was always meant to be my public motocross journal. The main focus is what contributes to success at the highest level, but as I begin articulating my perspective here in 2026, I'm compelled to open personally.
From the machines and personalities to the strategies, daring lap-after-lap challenges, visceral atmosphere, and more, the SuperMotocross World Championship is far from lacking reasons to captivate. But no matter why you love motocross, there come moments when all of that falls away, displaced by an interest shared by all who are aware of the sport.
At a competitive, well-attended "AMA Featured Event" amateur race local to me at the end of last summer, I witnessed a serious crash that left a young 85cc racer and his bike blocking most of the track after a double jump's landing — blind to oncoming riders.
In a complete and utter failure of the flagger's responsibility that was already commonplace on the first day of the event, the flagger remained as motionless as the rider. They weren't paying enough attention to notice the crash and weren't making the riders aware. The riders — children — continued jumping the double, getting stunned in the air, and narrowly avoiding catastrophe upon landing.
After a few pure miracles of nobody hitting the downed bike or rider, I had seen enough.
I ducked under the fence, sprinted to the jump's landing, shouted at the flagger, and raised my arms at the top of the landing. Now aware of the situation, riders stopped jumping.
It was infuriating to hear my actions called "one of the dumbest things I've ever seen at a motocross track" over the track PA while I helped the rider off the track to safety. But I'll take that over the sort of news that could've been delivered to that racer's family that day.
Jerry Robin, Aidan Zingg, and others who have suffered serious injuries were clearly not top of mind for the track announcers in that moment. I found that sickening.
Broken bones, spinal cord injuries, or death were simply not acceptable outcomes, and yet they were inches from being the story. Watching from the fenceline is the rule, apparently even when most of the track is blocked and nobody else knows about it, but what took precedence for me was the human side. I don't regret it.
If you're reading this, you know what happened at the Anaheim 1 opener involving Malcolm Stewart and Justin Barcia. You know that both riders might only be on the sidelines for a relatively short period. You know that we got away with one.
Once I read on X that Barcia had feeling and movement in all limbs, I felt better about going to bed. But I stayed on X a couple minutes longer — long enough to see the videos and anger beginning to spread about how long it took help to arrive for the downed Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing rider — and the unease returned.
Steve Matthes, Jason Weigandt, and Jason Thomas agreed on their "review pod" that it's not uncommon for medics to rush to a rider and the red flag to be thrown only for the rider to pop up and be okay. The Barcia situation was definitely the opposite.
I won't pretend to have solutions for what very well could've been an anomaly. I am familiar with how the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team just about arrives on the scene before crashed cars are done moving, and the general efforts in the NTT IndyCar Series to preserve safety. By comparison, IndyCar stands as proof it's possible to take safety and accident response even more seriously.
One question did strike me: Why not have an Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit presence strategically located at, say, the landing of the first triple? There may not be physical space beside the track to be proactive like this at all venues, but there clearly was in that area of the floor at Angel Stadium. Those qualifying for a main event could survive a Supercross triple blindfolded, but it shouldn't be an undertaking to get medical assistance to a potential hotspot.
Barcia laying there for over one minute didn't seem real — not at a major sporting event in the year 2026. Thankfully, all involved are well and on the mend. I think we all expect there are procedural improvements on the way.