Motocross

Motocross is a kind of motorcycle sport that ranges from racing to freestyle. Before being known as motocross, first it was called scrambles which derived from trails. Motocross was the combination of the french word moto and cross-country. The UK trails derived motocross, such as the Auto-Cycle Club’s first quarterly trail in 1906. From there on the sport grew in popularity. The United States and motocross were introduced in 1966, when Swedish champion, Torsten Hallman rode an exhibition event against the top American TT riders at the Corriganville Movie Ranch also known as Hopetown in Simi Valley, California. In the 1980s, motocross technology was taken over by Japanese factories. The two stroke moto bikes now were water cooled and were fitted with a single-shock absorber rear suspension, instead of being a air cooled and twin shock rear suspension. In 1990 California laws started to become more environmental friendly and so derived the 4 stroke motocross bikes. Sub-categories of the sport came about as the sport evolved. Stadium events such as supercross and arenacross are held in indoor areas. Freestyle motocross (FMX) are events where riders compete for their best tricks they can do on their bikes, which is the aerial acrobatics, and jumping. Supermoto is another sub-category to this sport which includes motocross bikes racing on the street and dirt track. Vintage motocross are riders on motocross bikes that are pre-dated 1975 model.

Motocross Sub-Sports

Freestyle

By Yannick Croissant

In 1999, Freestyle Motocross (FMX) was introduced to the X Games and mainstream audiences. FMX involves riders perform acrobatic stunts while jumping the moto bikes. Judging is scored upon the difficulty of the trick, style, best use of course, and sometimes the crowd reactions.

Supermoto

By Meyer Felix

Supermoto is where riders take motocross bikes on a dirt/street track to race. They convert the bikes from being only off-road to being a duel sport bike, meant also for street. They include fitting the bikes with special tires that have a grooved tread to grip both the pavement and dirt. Like pure off-road motocross tracks these tracks may include jumps, berms, and whoops. Supermoto tracks may have ramps that are meant for jumps that can be transported to other locations by disassembling it, for special events. There are also classes for kids such as the 85cc class.

As a fun side project, Supermoto originated in the late 1970s for many road racers. Its debut to a wide audience came on the American television program ABC’s Wide World of Sports in 1979. Gavin Trippe, a UK racing journalist, organized an event called “The Superbikers,” from 1980-1985, that he envisioned would prove the best motorcycle racer. The Superbikers pitted the top racers against motocross racers on specially made tracks. After 1985, the sport died and received little exposure, but in Europe, the sport started gaining popularity, and in 2003 it bounced back in the United States, when the name became “Supermoto”.

ATV/Quad Motocross

By Magliocchetti.M.

Throughout the United States and the United Kingdom there are many quad racing clubs with enduro and quadcross sections. GNCC Racing began around 1980 and includes hare scramble and enduro type races. Now-a-days, events are mainly held in the eastern part of the United States. GNCC racing features many types of obstacles such as, hill climbing, creek and log crossings, dirt roads and wooded trails. In 1985 the ATV National Motocross Championship was formed. Throughout the U.S. ATVMX events are hosted at motocross racetracks. ATVMX consists of several groups, including the Pro (AMA Pro) and Amateur (ATVA) series. Championship mud racing (CMR) saw its beginning in 2006 due to the leaders of the ATV industry realization for the need for the formation of classes and rules of various local mud bog events. Providing standardized rules created the need for a governing body that both racers and event promoters could turn to and CMR was born. Once unified, a true points series was established and lead to a national championship for what was once nothing more than a hobby for most. In 2007 the finalized board of directors was established and the first races were held in 2008. Currently, the CMR schedule includes eight competition dates spanning from March to November. Points are awarded throughout the season in several different competition classes of ATV and SxS Mud Racing. The 2008 year included Mud Bog and Mudda-Cross competitions, but the 2009 and future seasons will only have Mudda-Cross competitions. Classes range from 0–499 cc to a Super-Modified class which will allow any size ATV in competition.

Supercross

By hackmanj1

Supercross is a motocross racing sport involving racing specialized high performance off-road motorcycles on man made dirt tracks consisting of steep jumps and obstacles. Professional Supercross contest races are held almost exclusively within professional baseball and football stadiums. Many notable differences exist from supercross and regular motocross. Supercross tracks generally have much tighter turns and are more technical than motocross tracks due to the limited space of an indoor arena. The supercross season takes place during the winter and spring months, partially due to more controllable indoor climates involved. The supercross season travels all of the US going a different city every weekend for the next race. There are 17 races in the 2011 and 2012 Monster Energy AMA/FIM Supercross schedule. The Supercross Lites riders series is split into 2 series, the East and the West Coast. The Supercross class has one large series where they travel from east to west for the race and even go to Canada for a couple rounds out of the series. Racers only get a month or two off out of the year between the Supercross and the motocross series, Racers endure crazy jumps and obstacles in their Supercross races that they have to endure for a heat race and a main event.

Pit bikes and mini-motocross

By Todd Quinn

Pit bikes are small motorbikes that participants in powersports events use to ride around the pits. Recently, they have been used in races held on either supercross or motocross tracks. Numerous performance and aesthetic upgrades are often applied to pit bikes. A rider would buy a minibike, usually a Honda CRF 50 or Kawasaki KLX110, and apply all the necessary upgrades and modifications to build a competitive pit bike. Since 2004, manufacturers have begun designing, manufacturing, importing, and selling already complete pit bikes. These bikes are less expensive, and require less time to complete. Pit bikes are powered by 4-stroke, horizontal, single cylinder engines. A typical pit bike is usually a small dirt bike, but it has become common to be able to buy pit bikes with street-style wheels and tires. Pit bikes with street tires are used in Mini Supermoto Racing. Pit bikes are frequently heavily customized with decorative add-ons and performance-enhancing parts. Many riders and mechanics bore-out or replace engines in order to increase displacement and therefore power output. Heavy duty suspension systems, are often a necessary addition, since the stock mini-bike suspension was designed for a small child. Wheel, brake, and tire upgrades are sometimes performed to improve handling. Pit bikes also have their own separate competitions held with classes generally corresponding to wheel size. This is a notable difference from Motocross and Supercross competition, where classes are separated by engine displacement. Pit bike racing is a relatively new niche of motocross, and as such, there is no official governing body similar to the AMA.

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