If you’re a new entrant into the world of Motocross racing, either as a budding racer or just an enthusiast, you must’ve wondered what do they mean by Motocross, Supercross, Enduro and Trials.
Well, this article will clear things up for you.
Just like in Football (Soccer), you have the Association Football (the most well-known form all over the world), Beach Soccer, Street, Freestyle etc.; dirt bike racing has the Motocross, Supercross, Enduro and Trials (or observed trials).
Supercross vs Motocross
Motocross and Supercross represent the biggest and most popular of all the racing events. Similarities exist but the two are quite different. Both racing series invite the top professional athletes in racing. Both series feature jumps, insane tight turns and a whole lot of dirt. The difference lies in how each course is created.
Supercross
The Monster Energy Supercross series starts the professional racing season every year in January. The races take place on man-made courses in the arena or stadium. Riders go through a lot of high jumps and tight curves and turns. The race consists of 20 laps which decides the winner. The whole series consists of 17 races which is based on a system of points. The rider with the most points at the end of the season wins the series. The points system is just like how it works in a Football (Soccer) league.
Motocross:
The second half of the racing season is covered by the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series. The series starts after a month-long break in May after the Supercross series concludes. The series consists of 12 races and all. Since the Supercross series champion has been announced, all the racers will start with zero points. The races take place outside the confines of an arena or a stadium. Instead, they take place in a man-made course which built into naturally occuring terrain with complex obstacles like high jumps and drops thrown in. Each race is called a moto and the riders compete in two motos which is 30 minutes long plus two laps, with the results of both determining the overall winner. So, a rider who came second in both motos can be the winner and take first-place on the podium.
Enduro
Living up to its namesake, Enduro is obviously a test of endurance between the rider and the terrain. This is a physically and mentally demanding race since the rider goes through fallen logs, rocky upgrades, low-hanging tree branches, splashing through streams and riding up and down the hill on gravel, dirt, sand and even mud for longer distances.
The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a time-card enduro, whereby a number of stages are raced in a time trial against the clock. The riders are divided into groups and each starts at a certain time. The aim is to arrive at a fixed location in a specific time period and penalties are issued for arriving early or late.
The United States’ GNCC (Grand National Cross Country) series is the most popular Enduro racing in the country. A three hour long gruelling race where the racers follow a predetermined path through the woods, forest, across creeks and whatever terrain makes up that part of the country (usually East Coast).
Few Enduro races stretch on for days and bringing along extra equipment and a lot of fuel is a must.
Trials (Observed Trials)
While this might not be racing, it is definitely a challenging sport. This is a test of skill whereby the riders need to go past difficult terrain including boulders, fallen tree trunks and other obstacles. They are given points for touching their feet to the ground, stopping the bike, going in reverse or off-track among other things. The winner is the one who receives the least number of points.
There are ‘Time and Observation’ trials where the riders attempt to complete the track in a specific time period and ‘Indoor’ trials where the track is man-made in contrast to the natural terrain.
Well, we hope that your confusion has been wiped out completely by the end of this article and now, you are one step closer to completely knowing the world of Motocross Racing.
Keep riding!
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