Motocross has always been known to be a racing sport. But just like in Football, we have Freestyling, similarly, we have it in Motocross too. Let’s delve deeper into what it is.
Freestyle Motocross is a variation of the sport where the riders attempt crazy jumps and stunts and impress the judges and viewers/audience in doing so.
There are two main categories: —
- Big Air (or Best Trick) — In this form of FMX, the rider gets to attempt two jumps which usually covers more than 75 ft, from a dirt covered ramp. The rider is evaluated by a panel of judges on his/her style, the difficulty of the trick and originality/uniqueness. They are given a score on a 100-mark scale and each rider’s highest jump-score is compared and the top scorer obviously wins.
- Freestyle Motocross — This is the older brother of the two forms of FMX. The riders perform two routines between 90 seconds and 14 minutes, on a course filled with multiple jumps of different lengths and angles. The arena is usually as big as 1-2 acres. This is also judged by a panel of judges and each rider is scored on 100-point scale, with reference to the difficulty of jumps and tricks.
Some of the famous events include the extremely popular X-Games, Gravity Games, Red Bull X-Fighters and Dew Action Sports to name a few. It started in Southern California and went by the term ‘Freeriding’. It was carried out by Jeremy McGrath and Phil Lawrence in the hills of reche canyon. In this form of Motocross, more value is given to the stunts, tricks and showmanship rather than the speed or time unlike other forms.
The Backflip
This was once considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of FMX and also, impossible to accomplish with a and MX bike. This originated with BMX riders such as Travis Pastrana (Maybe link this to the article about the legends) doing the flips with BMX bikes. The backflip was successful with a few modifications to the Motocross bikes. The first ever successful Backflip on a large motorcycle was performed by Caleb Wyatt on April 25, 2002.
Click here to watch the first ever triple backflip in Motocross History by Josh Sheehan.
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Image Source: squibbfreestyle.co.uk
