Athletes - Jeremy McGrath

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	Athletes - Jeremy McGrath

Jeremy McGrath (born November 19, 1971, San Francisco, California) is a Supercross racer and has won a record 72 250cc Main Event wins and captured 7 250cc Championships between 1993 to 2001. He is known to many as the greatest Supercross racer of all time and is often referred to as "The King" (meaning, the King of Supercross).

After two 125 West Region Supercross championships in 1991 and 1992 for Team Pro Circuit Peak/Honda, he became the first (and so far only) rider to win the 250cc Supercross Championship as a rookie in 1993. He won 4 Supercross Championships in a row with Team Honda before moving to Team Suzuki for the 1997 season. Many in the industry were shocked that McGrath had left the most powerful team in motocross but the two parties were unable to come to terms with one another when negotiating a contract. Mcgrath was also reportedly annoyed with the restrictive nature of his relationship with Honda who prohibited him from appearing in the popular video series "Crusty Demons of Dirt" and scolded him after he appeared in an enthusiast magazine doing his signature trick, the nac-nac, on a Yamaha Waverunner . McGrath had produced the most amazing supercross record to date, winning 14 out of 15 250cc Main Events in 1996, and he effectively moved from the strongest team in motocross to one of the weakest. Suzuki had not won a Supercross Championship since 1981, and even mere event victories were few and far between for the beleaguered squad. McGrath had a very unlucky year in 1997 as several uncharacteristic crashes and mechanical gremlins with his RM250 left him just a few points short of winning the Supercross title for the fifth consecutive year. That crown went to McGrath's longtime nemesis, Jeff Emig of Team Kawasaki.

He switched to Chaparral Yamaha for 1998 and regained the Supercross championship in convincing fashion. During that summer's outdoor national season, McGrath withdrew from the series as the points leader due to a broken wrist. It would be the last time he would contest a full outdoor season, because for 1999 McGrath signed a "Supercross only" contract. He won the titles for Chaparral Yamaha again in 1999 and 2000. During these championship runs McGrath seemed to put his total Supercross win record at an almost untouchable level.

McGrath started off the 2001 season in typically strong form, winning 2 of the first 3 main events. However, he lost the next event to Team Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael. Carmichael would then win every race from there on out, dethroning McGrath as Supercross champion and equalling his 1996 win record of 13 consecutive main event victories. McGrath returned in 2002 to take a shot at regaining his crown, but chronic arm pump and perhaps age caught up with him, and he could only muster a 3rd place in the final standings behind Carmichael and Yamaha's David Vuillemin.

For 2003 he signed with Team KTM but a preseason crash on the much maligned KTM 250SX made him rethink his future in racing and he decided to retire on the eve of the 2003 supercross season. He did a farewell tour with KTM to show his appreciation and sign autographs for fans.

In 2005, McGrath came out of retirement to race a limited schedule on the Supercross circuit. He rejoined forces with his former Team Honda sqaud and has recently proven to be at a competitve level and speed that has not been seen from McGrath since the 2000 or 2001 seasons. At the age of 34, he has placed regularly in the top 5 positions. The same year Jeremy also raced Supermoto in the X-Games and placed 2nd to take home the silver medal. McGrath switched motorcycles from his trademark Honda CR250R 2-stroke to a Honda CRF450R 4-stroke at Round 3 of the 2006 Supercross season.

McGrath, Jeremy

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Athletes - Jeremy McGrath

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