The Motorcycle Race 40 Million People Watched — Then Forgot

ABC called it the ultimate test of motorcycle skill: road racers, motocross champions and dirt-track stars on one brutal mixed-surface course at Carlsbad Raceway. The Superbikers ran from 1979 to 1985 and helped create the sport we now call Supermoto. Contemporary promotional material claimed that 40 million people watched the first broadcast. Then, after seven editions, one of television's boldest motorcycle experiments disappeared. This documentary tells the complete story — from Kent Howerton and Steve Wise to Danny “Magoo” Chandler and Eddie Lawson — and explains why the race did not simply fail. It succeeded so completely that its original idea became an entirely new form of racing. CHAPTERS 00:00 Opening 03:04 A Question Nobody Could Answer 06:22 A Motorcycle That Did Not Yet Exist 11:14 The Man the Race Reinvented 14:42 Magoo Against the Harleys 17:31 When a Road Racer Beat the Motocross Stars 21:01 Why a Television Success Disappeared 24:46 Europe Takes the Experiment 27:55 Could This Race Return Today? 30:17 The Race Did Find a Winner FOOTAGE SOURCES 1980 Superbikers at Carlsbad Raceway:    • 1980 Superbikers at Carlsbad Raceway   Superbiker Mettet 2025 POV:    • POV | Superbiker Mettet 2025 - Semi final ...   Superbikers 1984 — Wide World of Sports:    • Superbikers 1984 wide world of sports   Superbikers — 1979 and Modern Revival:    • Superbikers   Hakan Carlqvist — Carlsbad Superbikers 1979:    • Hakan Carlqvist Superbiker Carlsbad 1979   Tim Gajser — MXGP Trentino GoPro:    • GoPro: Tim Gajser 2022 FIM MXGP Round 5 Qu...   S1GP Belgium 2026:    • S1GP 2026 ROUND 6 | GP of Belgium   Supermoto of Nations 2023:    • S1oN 2023 [S1oN] - Supermoto 26 Min Magazine   Danny Magoo Chandler — 1982 Superbikers:    • Danny "Magoo" Chandler SuperBikers 1982   RAW Flat Track Racing — Winter Throwdown 2024:    • RAW Flat Track Racing - Winter Throwdown 2024   RAW Superbike Footage — Road Atlanta:    • RAW SUPERBIKE FOOTAGE - Road Atlanta [4K]   Steve Wise — 1981 Superbikers:    • Steve Wise Supermoto Highlights of ABC TV ...   Bushnell Supermoto — 48 RAW FILEZ:    • Bushnell Supermoto - 48 RAW FILEZ   #Supermoto #Superbikers #MotorcycleHistory