FAST FACT

Pro Circuit GETS 300th Win.

April 17, 2024

By Brett Smith

Mitch Payton (left) and Chad Watts wait in the staging area in 1997 with Ricky Carmichael, the eventual 125MX Pro Motocross Champion. Simon Cudby Photo

UPDATED: Ty Masterpool won the 2024 High Point Motocross (2-1), giving Pro Circuit Kawasaki its 300th win as a team. The Pro Circuit record charts have been updated but the text below was written in April, 2024 after Levi Kitchen gave the team 299 wins.

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It’s been as many as 22 wins (2007) and as few as a single victory (2002, 2015) but one thing Mitch Payton’s Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team has never failed to do at least once per season is win.

The next victory will be the 300th for the team, which first raced at the 1991 Orlando Supercross under the name Team Peak Pro Circuit Honda. If you do anything well for 34 straight seasons, you’re going to stack achievements.

Brian Swink has the distinction of being the first ever race winner (Orlando 1991) and the first ever champion crowned for the Pro Circuit team (East Rutherford, 1991).

Pro Circuit’s Race Win Breakdown

Pro Circuit’s Championship Breakdown

A full list of every rider that ever won for Pro Circuit can be found further down in the story.

An Historic Win (and title) That Got Away

One of the most memorable moments in Pro Circuit’s history is from a race (and championship) they didn’t win: the 1995 Steel City Pro Motocross. Had it worked out, it would have been the team’s first Pro Motocross championship.

Ryan Hughes won 8 races with Pro Circuit. One race he didn’t win, however, (Steel City, 1995) is the one he’s remembered for the most. Photo: Steve Middlesworth

Ryan Hughes (pictured above) entered the final moto of the 125MX series tied in points with Steve Lamson.

It was do or die. And Ryan Hughes refused to die. Even despite losing his change with appx. 100 yards to go. That long tale is subject of a completely different story – Broken Hearts and Busted Chains – which is also available as a podcast.

Listen to Broken Hearts and Busted Chains.

This artwork of Ryan Hughes at the 1995 Steel City Pro Motocross is available from the We Went Fast shop.

RYAN HUGHES AT STEEL CITY 1995: $20

Pro Circuit Won Early and Often

Payton started winning races long before any of the riders on his team were born. Heck, most of the staff of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki wouldn’t remember that the original Pro Circuit team won six of its first seven Supercross races (and both championships).

Adam Cianciarulo won the 2019 250 Pro Motocross Championship, the last title for PC Kawasaki. Photo: Octopi

They don’t stack as easily as they did in the 1990s. The team hasn’t won a Supercross title since 2017. And Payton’s success undoubtedly sparked interest in private team ownership that led to Star Racing Yamaha, Factory Connection Honda, Troy Lee Designs GasGas, etc.

*Pro Circuit vs. Star vs. Factory Connection

*This table is as of June 17, 2024

Ryan Villopoto (seated) added four #1 plates to those doors

That competition slowed Pro Circuit’s roll but also made watching 250 racing more interesting.

Pro Circuit won 12 championships in its first 10 seasons as a team but in the most recent 11 completed seasons, it’s claimed just two.

Jeremy McGrath 1992 — Jeremy McGrath spent two years racing with Pro Circuit (1991-1992) when the team was on Honda CR125s

Pro Circuit’s Wins by Rider

41 different riders have won races for Pro Circuit as of June 15, 2024. Below is the full breakdown

So don’t expect Payton to be making room for a new championship bike on his showroom floor until the #1 plate is secured. The pain of seeing two sure titles snatched away in 2019 still stings.

Before he can even start to think championships #32 and #33, he’s thinking about win #300.