1. Ricky Carmichael
10-time AMA National Motocross Champion- Never lost an AMA National MX Title
- 102 AMA National MX wins
- 3 perfect seasons (2 seasons where he went 24-for-24, and 1 season where he lost a few motos but won every single overall)
- Won titles for three of the four Japanese manufacturers
- Last racer to win the 250/450cc Championship on a 250cc Two-Stroke
- First racer to win the 250/450cc Championship on a 450cc Four-Stroke
Ricky Carmichael is called the GOAT for a reason. He was actually second on our Top-10 Supercross Racers list, too. But outdoors, he was without equal. Carmichael never lost an AMA National MX Championship in 10 full years of racing. He hated to lose. Early in his career, if he lost a single moto, he was known to be so angry he’d throw his helmet across the entire length of his race hauler. Early in Carmichael’s career, Stefan Everts humiliated him in the (man-made) mud in Brazil, so what did Carmichael do? He went to the sand in Zolder, Belgium, and put a whooping on Everts on his home turf, while riding a Honda CR250R two-stroke against Everts’ factory Yamaha 450. In 2002, Carmichael made history by becoming the first racer ever to win every single moto in the MX National season. He did it on his CR250R two-stroke. After having his hands full with Kevin Windham (on his Honda CRF450R) during the 2003 campaign (but still winning the title handily), Carmichael showed up for the 2004 MX Nationals on a CRF450R, too, and promptly went 24-0 again. He switched to Suzuki the next year and won every overall again (although he lost two motos – one to Chad Reed in moto one at Southwick, and one to Windham in moto one at Unadilla after James Stewart jumped on his back causing them both to go down when battling for the lead; Carmichael still finished second in the moto). Carmichael now runs the factory Suzuki effort in the USA, with business partner Carey Hart, and it’s unlikely anyone will ever touch the records that he set during his decade of racing.
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