Getting Down And Dirty With Dirt Biking
December 4th, 2008

A couple of things come to mind when you think of dirt biking; either a group of people gathered in the desert riding an assortment of bikes over various trails and courses on a hot summer day. Another type of dirt racing that may come to mind is the kind you see on the sports channels as you are surfing through the television trying to find something to watch. There are the X-games, which are very popular and include not only dirt bike (motor cross) racing but also skateboarding, and trick bikes as well. They have several different types of races for those who love to participate in dirt bike racing also known as off road racing of course watching the fantastic speeds and jumps that these athletes perform are amazing for the spectators.

After World War II, dirt bike racing was performed primarily on a "flat track," which is how racing was done prior to the war. If they could not find dirt, ovals were made on a horse track. Europe during this time began holding motor cross racing, but it had not yet reached a widespread audience in the United States.

The first racing bikes were quite primitive especially by today's standards. They were not lightweight, but quite heavy and did not have much power. Their suspension systems left the rider wondering whether they had suspension at all as the traversed the rough terrain. Nevertheless, dirt bike racing offered two elements that would increase its success in the future of the sport: it was affordable and extremely challenging, and it provide up close and personal action for the spectators.

By the late 1960s, dirt bike racing had taken a hold of America. During this time, the American Motocross Association (AMA) began holding a variety of amateur and Pro-am races. By 1972, there was no holding back of the Americans and their love of the sport this same year the National Championship Motocross Series began. During the races, the Americans were primarily trying to beat their European rivals, but they did not have to wait long. By the 1980s, the Americans learned the sport very well and began to dominate dirt bike racing.

In 1971, the American Motocross Association (AMA) did something that would change the way the public would view the support forever - they built a temporary track at Daytona International Speedway. This brought the sport to the spectators and the world of dirt bike racing would never be seen as something done out in the rural countryside again. Now, if this was not big enough, they went further by transforming sports stadiums and the first place they did this was with the Los Angeles Coliseum. A new name was formed for dirt bike racing competitors and fans - "Supercross" was born. This term is from a combination of the words Super Bowl and Motocross.

Race weekends would never be the same once this transformation took place. Race weekends turned into well-executed weekend festivals that would draw spectators by the thousands. These races began drawing the best of the best competitors to the sport. During the 1980s and 1990s the racing teams, sponsors, and manufactures pulled together to bring the sport to a wider audience and before long the top names in motocross became household names and before they knew everyone around the country wanted to own their own dirt bike and sales began sky-rocketing.

Today, the American Motocross Association (AMA) races, which includes, the Motocross and Supercross Championships are the best-attended motorsport that takes place in dirt, in the nation. Their races are watched worldwide via cable, Internet broadcasts, and satellite. You can see children as young as two and three years of age riding miniature dirt bikes complete with the racing outfit and helmet. If you have never been to one of these productions, you are missing a superior sport in action. The heights the professionals pull off jumps, the turns, and of course the inevitable crashes that take place are breathtaking and the adrenaline rush you will be from simply begin a spectator is amazing.

Keep an eye out when the next Motocross or Supercross race is coming to your city and be sure to be there to experience the rush that can only come from a sport that soars over and through the dirt

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