The ACU board has recently concluded a tender exercise to stage the ACU British Motocross Championship for 2025.
A three-year contract was again on offer (covering the 2025-27 seasons), and the decision is that the ACU British Motocross Championship will be organised in-house by the ACU, replacing RHL Activities Ltd, which has promoted the series for the past four years.
The ACU says it will put into place a new team working directly with organising clubs, participating teams and commercial partners, and says it is confident “that the energy and fresh ideas from this new, collaborative approach will ignite a new era in motocross”.
The ACU says that the format and structure of both the adult and youth championships will change, promising exciting opportunities for competitors. Full details of these changes will have to wait until the ACU issues further info.
Throughout the decision-making process, the ACU’s board of directors says it considered British motocross’s wider health and overall future, including the continuing decline in the number of motocross clubs, events and entries across the country. The conclusion was that, while there are many contributing factors to that reduction, as the governing body for motorcycle sport, the ACU needs to act quickly to safeguard the future of motorcycle sport across all disciplines, including motocross.
The ACU board also says it is aware of the critical role that clubs play in providing all levels of rider with a pathway to participate and progress within the sport. The aim is to create a system that allows riders to develop and, for the most talented, ultimately compete at the highest levels of FIM World Championship competition.
It has been 23 years since a British rider won a FIM World Motocross Championship, and the ACU says that if the system is to produce athletes capable of winning the World Championships in the future, then change is essential.
Feedback was sought from a wide range of stakeholders involved in the current series, and the ACU says it will take into account their views of the gaps in the current setup when making the necessary changes to the competition’s organisation and presentation.