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The Sport of Motocross

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The Sport of Motocross

Its time for more people to begin to find out more about this fun and interesting extreme sport called motocross. The sport is composed of riders, their dirt bikes, and an extremely challenging, high-flying racetrack. The tight, fast action and out of control airtime is what keeps the fans coming back and has also translated in to financial success for many of the sport's top competitors. Sponsors such as MCI and 1-800-COLLECT have allowed for these stars to make up to two million dollars a year. Although the word motocross is an unfamiliar word to many, it has existed for more than a quarter century. Motocross is one of the most exotic and exciting sports to watch and participate in.

Motocross is not a brand new phenomenon, its origins can be traced all the way back to 1972 when two drinking buddies in a bar designed a race track on a cocktail napkin. The event to be held on this racetrack was called The Super Bowl of Motocross, which is what we now know as supercross (Faught 1). Since the beginning of motocross it has grown into a sixteen race series that attracts 700,000 spectators every year. Supercross has been held in arenas such as the Texas Stadium, the Pontiac Silverdome, and the Seattle Kingdome. A common question asked by many people is, "What is the difference between motocross and supercross?" The difference between the two is that Supercross is usually held in an arena and the course is extremely tight. The jumps on a supercross track are also very vertical, which means the riders are constantly kicked high into the air. While motocross is an event usually held outside. The track is larger and wider, and the jumps are long but not quite as steep (Naden 15). Both of these events have their advantages and disadvantages to the rider, but they both provide and excellent show for the spectators.

My own personal interest in motocross began at only the age of six. It was December 25, 1987, Christmas morning, when my Dad rolled a brand new YZ50 out of the garage. I learned to ride a dirt bike that very day, and from that point on my passion for the sport would continue to grow. Since then, I have climbed the ladder of motocross bikes going from an '87 Yamaha50 to a '93 Kawasaki80 to a '95 Kawasaki125 to my current bike which is a '99 Honda250.
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