Win a Stark Varg MX 1.2 Electric Motocross Bike — MXA Fantasy League 2026

What you're playing for

The headline prize is a Stark Varg MX 1.2, the current version of the bike that dragged electric motocross out of the novelty aisle. Underneath the plastics sits a 7.2kWh battery and a 360-volt motor in a carbon-fibre housing, feeding one gear through a chain. No clutch, no shifting, no fuel. Stark quotes 80 horsepower with a 10-to-80 range you dial in from the bar-mounted display, 260 pounds at the curb, and KYB suspension at both ends — a 48mm fork with 310mm of travel and 303mm out back. The 1.2 update brought a lighter, more flexible chassis and about a fifth more battery capacity than the original Varg, plus GPS lap timing built into the dash.

One detail MXA does not pin down: which power tier of the 1.2 is being handed over. Stark's own page lists the MX 1.2 at 80 horsepower, while at launch the range split into a 60-horsepower standard and an 80-horsepower Alpha.

Two other prizes ride alongside the bike. A Giant Trance X2 trail mountain bike in Metallic Black — 140mm of Maestro rear suspension, adjustable geometry, flip-chip rear wheel sizing — goes to whoever finishes the 31-round season with the most points. An Arai VX-Pro4 helmet went to the top scorer at the Anaheim 1 opener, and sponsors put up product every single round.

Why the Varg matters

Ride one and the first thing that goes is your clutch hand. Torque arrives from zero and stays flat, so corner exits become a throttle-position problem rather than a gear-selection one, and a rider who is bad at shifting suddenly is not. The adjustable power curve is the genuinely useful part: the same bike can be a 25-horsepower trail machine for a beginner and an 80-horsepower weapon for an A-rider, changed in the time it takes to tap a screen.

The honest side. At 260 pounds it is heavier than a modern 450F by a meaningful margin, and you feel it when the bike is pinned in a rut. Run time is measured in motos, not trail days, and racing a full program means either a second battery or shore power in the pits — worth solving before the bike arrives, not after. The dealer and service network is thin next to Honda, Yamaha or KTM, out-of-warranty battery replacement remains the sport's great unpriced question, and resale on early Vargs has been unkind. This is a bike to ride, not to flip.

The fine print worth knowing

Start with the term that decides whether you are actually in this drawing. The grand prize is awarded at random, not on fantasy standings — but the pool is not everyone who downloaded the app. MXA writes that "This Grand Prize will be randomly selected after the Las Vegas SMX Finale from a list of names of the people who were consistent and diligent enough to enter their picks on time for every race, all season long." In plain numbers: the 2026 SuperMotocross season is 31 rounds, it opened at Anaheim 1 in January, and a perfect on-time pick record across all of them is the filter. Someone installing the app for the final round can still chase that round's sponsor prizes; they are not in the Varg draw. The Giant mountain bike works the opposite way — pure standings, most points after 31 rounds.

On timing: the article refers to a "Las Vegas SMX Finale," which is where the season ended in 2025. The 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship Final runs September 26, 2026 at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri, and the grand-prize draw follows the finale.

Entry is free. "No purchase necessary," the contest fine print reads, and the MXA Fantasy League app is a free download on iOS and Android — you build six 450-class and six 250-class riders and score on predicted results. Eligibility is narrower than the marketing suggests: "Contest limited to continental U.S. residents only," which puts Alaska, Hawaii and everyone outside the lower 48 out, and anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian's permission. Employees of Hi-Torque Publications and their families are excluded.

Taxes and substitution are spelled out in MXA's Fantasy MX rules. "An IRS Form 1099 will be issued for all prizes with an approximate retail value in excess of $600," so a bike MXA values at $15,000 lands on next year's return as income, and winners of $600-plus prizes have to supply a Social Security number. The same rules state: "No prize substitution allowed by winner(s). Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any reason in the sole discretion of Sponsor if the prize or any component thereof is unavailable for any reason." There is no cash route out of the tax bill — "No substitute prize will be given, nor will cash equivalent be paid." Disputes fall under California law with jurisdiction in Valencia, and claims are handled individually rather than as class actions.

The sponsor is Hi-Torque Publications, Inc., the Valencia, California publisher that has produced Motocross Action since 1973 and posts a named weekly fantasy league winner after every round. Accepting a prize grants the publisher the right to publicize your photograph and the award, and entering gives MXA and the league's sponsors permission to email you offers.