2023 Virginia City Grand Prix | Make Checkpoints Great Again
The 2023 Virginia City Grand Prix delivered everything you want from a spring race day in Northern Nevada — good weather, great people, and a design debut that nobody saw coming and everybody wanted to take home.
The Weather Finally Cooperated
After the cold, rainy 50th Anniversary in October 2021, the 2023 VCGP was a reminder of what this race looks like when the Nevada spring shows up properly. The sun was out, the conditions were good, and the energy on the hill reflected it. Riders, fans, and vendors all got to enjoy the day the way it's meant to be enjoyed — without freezing, without hail, without questioning your life choices. Just a great day on the mountain.
Friends and Family from All Over Northern Nevada
One of the things that makes the VCGP special for VCMCo. is that it draws our people out. Friends and family came from all over Northern Nevada to be part of the day — some to watch the race, some to support the booth, some just because Virginia City on a good spring day is exactly where you want to be. That kind of turnout means everything for a small, independent brand built in this community. It's a reminder that what we're building here has real roots — in the dirt, in the hills, and in the people who call Northern Nevada home.
The Debut of "Make Checkpoints Great Again"
This was the year we debuted one of our most talked-about designs: Make Checkpoints Great Again. And it was a smash hit from the moment we unrolled it.
If you know the VCGP, you know checkpoints are a core part of the race — riders navigate the rugged Virginia City terrain and hit designated checkpoints to complete their run. It's one of the things that makes this race unique in the off-road world. The design leaned into that culture hard — bold graphics, a dirt bike racer mid-flight, and the kind of unapologetic VCMCo. flair that includes a nod to the classic biker aesthetic: naked women and dirtbikes, the way the old school always intended. Raw, irreverent, and completely on brand.
The crowd got it immediately. Racers, fans, old-timers, and first-timers all stopped at the booth for the same reason — they saw it and they wanted it. That's the sweet spot for VCMCo.: designs that mean something to the people already living the lifestyle. You don't have to explain it to the right person. They just get it.
The Make Checkpoints Great Again Men's Dirt Bike Motocross T-Shirt became one of our signature VCGP pieces, and we also brought it to the Make Checkpoints Great Again Stainless Steel Water Bottle — because if you're going to rep the checkpoint culture, you might as well stay hydrated doing it.
What Makes the VCGP the VCGP
The Virginia City Grand Prix isn't a polished, manicured race event. It's raw Nevada — steep high desert race, loose rock, unpredictable terrain, and a course that has been testing riders since 1971. The checkpoints aren't just a logistical detail; they're part of the character of the race. Navigating them correctly, under pressure, on a course that doesn't forgive mistakes — that's the VCGP. And that's exactly the kind of culture worth putting on a shirt.
The riders who line up at the VCGP aren't doing it for prize money or Instagram. They're doing it because it's hard, because it's Virginia City, and because there's nothing else quite like it in the American West. VCMCo. exists to celebrate exactly that kind of rider — the ones who show up, suit up, and attack the hill regardless.
Another Year on the Hill
The 2023 VCGP was a good one. Good race, good weather, good people, and a design debut that confirmed we're dialed into what this community wants to wear. The Virginia City Grand Prix keeps giving us reasons to come back — and we keep showing up.
See you on the hill.