Motocross is a form of racing that involves motorcycles. The word Motocross, comes from blending in the two words, Motorcycle and Cross Country. It was genuinely called Scrambling by the British. The sport is like BMX riding, except there is an extremely
fast and powerful engine in the bikes used in Motocross.
The sport started off in England. The first recorded “scrambling” was at a place called Camberley, Surry in 1924. The bikes used during those times were almost like the ones used on the roads. Although, the pressure of competition caused the bikes to improve
and change, by 1950, the bikes featured swinging fork rear suspensions.
The sport was immensely popular in North United Kingdom. In 1952, the World saw the beginning of the European Championship, which was created by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). They used 500 cc engines. Soon after, in 1962, the 250cc
World Championship was also started. During the 60’s, the sport was mostly dominated by the Swedes and Belgium.
Motocross was brought to the United States of America because of a Swedish Champion, who went by the name of Treston Hallman. He rode with the best American riders in exhibition races. Near the end of the 60’s, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers were
bringing their bikes to race in the motocross madness.
Suzuki was the first Japanese company to win a World championship. They did this by winning the 1970 250cc event. As the Japanese came, they brought with them new technology. The old bikes featured “twin shock rear suspension”, and the engines were air
cooled. The newer more advanced bikes had the “single shock absorber rear suspension” and had water cooled engines.
The 70’s were a big era in motocross history, as this was the year when the first “stadium race” was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1972. And by 1975, a 125cc World championship had started. By the time the 80’s had started, the American motocross riders
were as good as the Europeans.
There are four basic events that rule over the Motocross World. These are, FIM’s Grand Prix, the World Championship, the AMA Motocross Championship, and the Motocross Des Nation (Motocross of the Nations).
The FIM Grand Prix is usually held in Europe. The first races started in 1959, using 500cc bikes, which were later on changed to 4-stroke engines. There are three classes in this Grand Prix. The first one is called the MX1 (premier class) and featured bikes
with 2 stroke engines with a limit of 250cc, and 4 stroke engines, with a limit of 450cc. The MX2 class allowed 2 stroke engines upto 125cc, and 4 stroke engines limited 250cc.
The final class is called MX3, which allowed 2 stock engines limited till 125cc and 4 stroke engines limited to 650cc. The race lasts for 16 rounds, which lasted 35 minutes each.
The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) begins in early May and lasts until no mid of September. The AMA is an “outdoor” race, (i.e. there are no buildings around). These series began in 1972, with the introduction of two classes, 500cc and 250cc. The
500cc class was dropped due to the fact that there were not that many riders willing to participate. There was also the MX class, where the bikes are limited to 250cc 2 stroke engines and 450cc 4 stroke engine. The MX light class, had restrictions of 125cc
2 stroke engine, as well as a 450cc 4 engine.
“The Motocross Des Nations” is an annual race where racers, who represent their country, compete with each other to win the goal for themselves and the glory for their country. This race was started in 1947, where the trophy was won by the British. There
are three classes that can be raced. The first class is the Motocross Des Nation, where bikes with 500cc can compete. The next level is the “Trophee des Nation”, where bikes with only a 250cc engine can compete. The third type is the “Coupe Des Nation” where
only bikes with 125cc can race. This event was held by Britain for 13 years!
A study done in the National Athletic Health Institute, in Inglewood, California, did an experiment to see, which athletes are the fittest among other athletes such as basketball players, and Soccer players.
(Continued in par 2…)
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