Supercross Information

The AMA Supercross consists of high-powered race motorcycles racing on dirt tracks with big jumps and other obstacles. Usually the dirt tracks are inside of large stadiums that are usually reserved for football and baseball games. The term Supercross came from the popular sport Motocross. There are many similarities between the two, however, Supercross is advertised more often, shown on television, and held in major cities.

Supercross started in 1972 when promoter Michael Goodwin set out to create what he considered to be the “Super Bowl of Motocross”. That same year the event was held inside the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. After 16 year old Marty Tripes rode away from the event victorious the popularity of arena races took off. Over the next few years many imitations of large races in arenas were started. In the wake of this new trend the term Supercross was coined.

In the early 2000’s the popularity of Supercross grew large enough to make it the second most popular motorsport behind NASCAR racing. A large part of this popularity is due to racers Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael.

Supercross is divided into separate classes. Two of these classes are the 250cc class and the 125cc class. Because of the shortening of the track to fit inside the arenas Supercross races are generally shorter than those in the Motocross category. The average Supercross race lasts around 22 minutes, compared to the 40 minute plus races in Motocross. Supercross winners are determined by qualifying through preliminary races and then finishing first in the main event. Supercross riders are often considered to be more skilled technically because of the tighter turns and jumps that are involved on the indoor races.

Supercross grew largely from its popularity in Southern California and later spread east to Las Vegas. European Supercross is still not as popular as the American version. This causes many European racers to come to the United States to race.