Ricky "RJ" Johnson — 7-time AMA champion and the original supercross bad boy — joins the Gypsy Tales Podcast for over 3 hours.
Ricky won 61 AMA national races, held the all-time Supercross wins record, dominated the 250cc and 500cc classes for HRC Honda under Roger De Coster, won 4 Motocross des Nations with Team USA, and was forced to retire at just 25 after a devastating wrist injury at the 1989 Gatorback National. After motocross he won the Baja 1000 twice and earned ASA stock car Rookie of the Year alongside Jimmie Johnson.
In this episode Ricky breaks down how good Jett Lawrence really is, whether Haiden Deegan can beat Jett, what signing with Fox Racing was like, Jeffrey Herlings and the European riders, his biggest rivals from the 80s, the brutal reality of motocross media, factory bike advantages, Hunter Lawrence in 2026, and his 2026 Supercross predictions.
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🔥 CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:11 Welcome Ricky Johnson to the Podcast
00:04:31 The Crazy History of Motocross
00:15:00 Culture Shock
00:22:39 Japanese Culture and Their Motocross Fan Base
00:29:09 The Riders RJ Has Worked With
00:35:46 Working with Roger De Coster & Others in the Moto Industry
00:39:34 How Good Is Jett Lawrence?
00:49:34 Forced to Retire at 25
01:03:21 Staying Active to Stay Healthy
01:09:21 RJ Knew He'd Be a Pro Motocross Racer
01:31:25 The Brutal Reality of Motocross Media
01:51:00 RJ's Biggest Rivals
01:58:09 Jeffrey Herlings and Why European Riders Are So Good
02:02:16 Signing with Fox Racing
02:12:09 Haiden Deegan's Fox Deal
02:13:54 Brad Pitt's F1 Movie
02:20:36 How Haiden Deegan Can Beat Jett Lawrence
02:28:31 Is Hunter Lawrence the Man to Beat in 2026?
02:29:46 The Most Stacked Field Ricky Raced
02:32:51 Factory Bikes Had a Huge Advantage
02:41:37 Starting American Offroad
02:51:09 Are Riders Neglecting the Basics?
02:52:35 Ricky Johnson Speaks on Jett Lawrence
03:00:54 2026 Supercross Predictions
03:04:16 The Mid 400
03:06:32 Outro
#motocross #supercross #rickyjohnson #jettlawrence #haidendeegan #hunterlawrence #jeffreyherlings #foxracing #rogerdecoster #honda #hrc #baja1000 #moto #mx #dirtbikes #gypsytales
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