The History of Supercross Motorcycle Racing

Article by Owen Jones

The history of motorcycle racing can be traced back just about as far as when the first two motorcycles were sold. In those early days of motorcycle racing, people just raced along a stretch of road or along a beach; whatever was available really. In deed there were not many proper roads to speak about either, not in the modern sense of the word.

So people just made the best of dirt tracks. As time went on and the dirt clogged some engines, races were held on asphalt and real race tracks were created by business people. It is comical when you think about it, because the sport of motorcycle racing has almost turned full circle, in many regards.

All the styles of motorcycle racing that have existed are still being raced somewhere in the world. Flat track racing is still popular, but the riders and the producers and at the end of the day, the fans wanted more thrills and faster races, so supercross motorcycle racing came into existence.

Supercross motorcycle racing is off-road racing, but the off-road territory is man-made. This way ‘natural’ obstacles such as tight bends, small hills and even ponds can be put in, taken out and moved about at will in order to change the course. It has made motorcycle racing much more exhilarating, bringing cross country racing to the arena where it can be watched and filmed more easily.

The objective, as with all races, is to finish first, but with supercross racing, there are a lot of bikes in each race and the course is very demanding. So much so that it is a triumph even to reach the finishing line leave alone win the race.

Supercross motorcycle racing is really a variation of motorcross, although motorcross is held in the countryside. With supercross they have brought the countryside into the arena. Because of this, it is difficult to put an exact date on the origin of supercross. It just sort of evolved bit by bit.

Motorcross began to attract viewers in the Seventies, but crafty business people noticed that it was difficult to charge fans for standing on the roadside, which is why they brought supercross into the stadium. The first time the word Supercross was used was in the Los Angeles Coliseum, when a promoter said that that racing occasion was like a cross between motorcross and the Superbowl. The term supercross was coined and stuck.

Supercross motorcycle racing teams are similar in many ways to the NASCAR racing teams in that they are large teams that travel the country putting on shows or races in various stadia, often the very same ones that a NASCAR team has just left. However, amateur supercross also exists, albeit mostly only on a local level. Most, but certainly not all local supercross courses are in the open.

Often, these supercross races will be held either once a week or once a fortnight.. Television has increased the popularity of both professional and amateur supercross and has provided money to make the sport much more extravagant.