It doesn't seem like that long ago, Stark Future was essentially banned from competing in many off-road championships. Then, when the bans were lifted, the electric motorcycle manufacturer would compete and either dominate or, at least, finish exceptionally well. And that's kind of what has happened again, but this time in the world of freestyle motocross.
Patrick Evans just took home Moto X Best Trick Gold at the X Games Sacramento aboard a Stark Varg. This happened just two years after Evans rewrote the rulebook to win X Games Moto X Best Whip aboard the Stark Varg in 2024.
Taking the gold for the Best Whip showed the world that electric motorcycles could change the world of freestyle motocross, but taking gold for the Best Trick shows the world that they are. Evans secured the win during his first run, but made a statement with his second run.
Although Evans didn't compete in the Best Whip competition this year, he finished his second run in the Best Trick category with arguably the best whip of the 2026 X Games, after having already done enough to win Best Trick. The whip was a poke (middle finger) at the X Games, which banned electric motorcycles in 2025, after Evans and Stark took Best Whip in 2024.
Even after the X Games changed its policy in 2026 to allow electric motorcycles to compete in the Best Trick competition, they're still banned from Best Whip, so Evans hasn't been able to defend his Best Whip win and won't until the ban is lifted.
After winning, Evans said, "Winning another X Games gold means everything, especially in Best Trick against this level of riders. Once I'd landed the run I wanted, I could just enjoy the moment. That second jump was my own little wink to everyone watching. I couldn't ride Best Whip this year, but I figured I'd throw one anyway; passion will always beat politics."
Landing the best whip of the night, in the Best Trick category that you've already won, is an exemplary middle finger to institutions that are trying to curtail the progression of electric motorcycles in competition. Whether you agree with that will depend on what side of the fence you sit on regarding whether electric motorcycles are changing freestyle motocross for the better or not.
Looking for an anti-authority motorcycle brand to support? You've found it.
