Supercross is an indoor dirt-bike racing sport that evolved from motocross. The major difference between supercross and motocross is that, supercross races are conducted on specifically built indoor dirt tracks which consist of steep jumps and obstacles, as opposed to motocross, in which the course used is longer and consist of dirt and terrain in a natural environment. The sport is very popular in the United States, Australia, and France.
The course consists of several types of obstacles that riders have to navigate through. Some of them are,
- Whoop sections : Obstacles which requires the riders to skim along on the tops of multiple bumps
- Rhythm sections : This sections consist of a series of irregular jumps
- Triple jumps : Obstacles where riders have to make three consecutive jumps that can also be cleared in one single long jump.
Depending on the capacity of the engines used, supercross bikes are classified into two classes, 450cc and 250cc. The 450cc class races are for eight laps, while the 250cc races are for six laps. Races are conducted in heats format, where 20 riders compete in each heat, until the final 20 riders are selected for the final race to decide the winner.
AMA Supercross Championship and FIM World Supercross Championship are the two major series of races conducted for the sport.
Similar Sports
- Motocross — a form of motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits which include embankments and jumps.
- Freestyle Motocross — competition based upon points for acrobatic ability on an MX bike over jumps.
- Enduro — a motorcycle sport with main objective to traverse a series of checkpoints, arriving exactly at a predetermined time. The courses are usually run over thick wooded terrain, sometimes with large obstacles.
Related Pages
- About Motorcycle Sports
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports