Motocross is a racing sport in which a group of motorcycles or similar all terrain vehicles compete against each other in an enclosed circuit. The circuits generally consist of off road terrain that include dirt, mud, water, and jumps. The sport was originally called scrambles and evolved from early motorcycle trials. The origins of motocross can be traced back to the early nineteen hundreds in Great Britain.
Motocross emerged out of the early cycle trials in England which determined whether or not certain riders qualified for races. Over time, the trial’s strict scoring was abandoned in favor of full on races where the faster rider won and scoring was eliminated. The UK racing fans ended preferring this new way of competing and, eventually, the fad slowly spread to the rest of Europe where it was called motocross after the French words for ‘motorcycle’ and ‘cross country’.
The trials became very popular throughout the early 30s and fans would commit to traveling far distances to view them. Back then, street cycles and bikes used for off road events were one in the same but as the new sport’s popularity intensified, so did the requirement to produce better, more stable motorcycles. The early cycles had thin tires and rigid frames that were eventually switched out for gripped tires and total suspension.
The hobby of motocross was introduced to the United States public in the mid nineteen sixties when a well known rider from Sweden raced in a big exhibition against a few of the United State’s top rated motorcycle riders in southern California. The following year the same rider again competed against the ones from the United States and dominated the events. This actually led to a revolution about the way these type of events were looked at in America. Just as with Europe, factories there started making major changes to their products as well.
Companies in Japan, by the sixties, had developed bikes that were lighter, stronger, and faster. In 1970, they claimed their first ever world championship when a motorcycle built by Suzuki won the crown that year. In America, the increasing production of motorcycles and popularity of the sport led to intense competitions between the countries. Not wanting to be left behind, the Europeans upped their productions as well. This helped create the sport’s explosive growth eventually.
The sport, through its rich and long history, has slowly evolved to many sub events as well. There are versions called freestyles which involve a rider doing various acrobatics and tricks during big jumps indoor or outdoors. Vintage games are for fans who appreciate the older vehicles and they can watch games where only bikes that were made prior to 75 are used.
Lastly, there is the extremely popular supermoto sub event that involves racers racing in a close circuit track that has both paved and off road terrain. Before racing, supermoto cycles are quickly fitted with unique ridged wheels that let them grip both kinds of road.
The activity consists of mostly two major races or events, the United States National Championship as well as the Grand Prix International Championship Events. The races take place in Europe and the US respectively.
Motocross is an interesting sport and you can always play motocross games online. These online motocross games are usually free to play.
