Moto X Racing becomes the next level for Games

Ricky Carmichael had seen the X Games time after time on television, and each time the same thought would pop into his head.

"Boy, I'd like to be in the X Games," he said.

The problem was there wasn't an event that suited one of the most accomplished motocross racers of all time.

"The X Games were all about flipping and twisting and doing tricks," Carmichael said. "I was a racer."

This year, that problem is solved. Carmichael worked with X Games organizers to create a new event called Moto X Racing, a motocross-style event that has not only attracted Carmichael, but also rising star James "Bubba" Stewart and Chad Reed, another top rider on the American Motorcyclists Assn. circuit.

That event and the big stars are part of the continuing evolution of the X Games, which begin today and continue through Sunday at Staples Center and the Home Depot Center.

Evolution and progression are the founding principles of the X Games. Last year, Travis Pastrana performed the first double back flip on a motorcycle, BMX riders competed on the big air mega-ramp previously reserved for skateboarders and four-wheeled motorized vehicles debuted with the addition of Rally Car Racing.

So, with such a tough act to follow, X Games organizers came up with the idea of trying to tap into a segment of sports fans they hadn't yet reached: Motorcycle racing purists.

"It gives us an extra level of credibility," X Games General Manager Chris Stiepock said of adding the more mainstream style motocross event. "I think that the supercross and motocross world always tuned in with one eye to the X Games, but I think with Moto X Racing, they'll have a vested interest to tune in with both eyes."

Pastrana is paying attention. So much so, in fact, that he is passing on both the Moto X best trick and freestyle competitions this year so he can focus on the Rally Car Race, Supermoto and Moto X Racing.

"I'm totally excited to race against some of the legends of this sport," Pastrana said. "You already have heroes established in that sport. They already have a big following globally. Supercross has its own identity and I think it's going to bring an entire new demographic."

Of course, Pastrana's excitement for those events means he'll be absent from those that made him a star. He completed his double back flip during best trick competition last year and has won the freestyle event five times in seven years.