Questions and Answers about Supercross

Hi. Last week I talked a little bit about the bikes and where they came from. This week I am going to try answer a few questions that bothered me about supercross and some other people I know. How much does a supercross rider earn? Most riders would earn in the range of a few million dollars a year, this is mainly due to contract with gear and boots companies and also energy drinks. Most riders don't actually earn that much money from the races on their own.

What kind of people are on a riders team? Well there is usually a personal mechanic, suspension and engine specialist. There are also test riders and mechanics who work to get the best out of the bike. There are PR staff as well as riding and personal trainers.

How are the tracks built? Dirt Wurx is the name of the company who have been building supercross tracks for more than ten years now. There are hundreds of truckloads of dirt piled onto the stadium floors and then they are shaped to make the track and jumps. When the race day is over, they usually have all the dirt taken away within 24 hours and it is reused at the next track.

That's all the questions I have to answer for this week.   

Supercross Bikes

Last week, I talked a little bit about the history of supercross and where it came from. This week I am going to talk about the bikes, where they come from. So what are the big bike manufactures in the supercross scene? Well there are Yamahas, Suzukis, Hondas and Kawasakis. However these all come from Japan and the only other well known bike at the minute not assembled in Japan is the KTM ridden by Ryan Dungey. This is not to say that the dirtbike manufacture scene is dominated by Japan, because it's not. The bikes are just assembled there. The exhausts are made in America and engine parts generally come from Europe. Yamaha offer the YZF whilst Honda sell the CRF, Suzuki RMZ and Kawasaki KXF. All of these bikes are designed and a new model roles onto the production line every year. Usually there is very little change although sometimes there are big changes like Honda's new dual pipe system this year. The factories set a stock bike that is usually on a budget then the big supercross riders get sponsored by these makers and receive their bike to ride. This is not to say the riders are handed a bike straight off the production line, oh no! The teams work long and hard and go through many thousands of dollar working out the best features for the bike and putting in more lightweight and durable parts for their new bike. Some of these bikes have bee known to start at a price of $6000 and rise to well in excess of $70000 by the time the mechanics are finished with them.

The history of supercross

Hi. This week on my blog I am going to give you all a bit of info on supercross,

its history and where the idea came from. So where are these big races held? Well it might surprise you to know that they are mainly held in American football and baseball stadiums, except for the race at Daytona which is held at Daytona International Speedway where the island separates the pit lane from the circuit. In 1972, the first supercross race was held in the Los Angeles Coliseum and was won by 16 year old Marty Tripes. The American Motorcyclist Association govern the championship and regulate the rules and safety procedures.

Supercross became growingly popular amongst motor sport fans but it didn't seriously begin to gain public opinion until the early 2000s. Today supercross is the second most popular form of motorsport in the United States just after NASCAR racing. There are currently three different race category in supercross, the 450cc class, 250cc east, 250cc west and all bikes are generally four strokes. The 450cc class consists of 17 rounds and begins in late December and finishes up around the mid May mark and are held in 14 stadiums and one permanent race circuit in North America.

Some of the most notable winners of the 450cc class in the last 20 years are Jeremy McGrath-7 times winner, Ricky Carmichael-5 times winner and Ryan Villopoto-4 times winner. Well, I hope that gives you a bit of an insight into the history and origins of supercross in America and next week I will be talking about the race day formats and much more besides.

Championship Update and Ryan Villopoto

Last week, Ryan Dungey got his third Monster Energy Supercross win of 2015 in spectacular style on his flashy KTM 450 SX-F, in front of 54,000 eager crowd. Eli Tomac took some of the spoils on his promising second place display, his ever reliable Honda CRF450R seeing him through. Next up on the Supercross calendar is Indianapolis, and with Dungey on 199 points (25 points for a race day win) and Trey Canard hot on his heels, this Championship is far from done and dusted.
Now to some more news about a past legend of Supercross. As most of you may or may not already know, Ryan Villopoto and four year consecutive winner of the championship (2011-2014) chose to not enter the 2015 supercross season and instead entered MXGP motocross championship in Europe. At the moment it is not clear whether he will return to Supercross but I and many others think this could be his last season professionally. His contract with Kawasaki will also end this year and his trusted and fantastic factory Kawasaki KX450F will also follow him into retirement and beyond. On the brightside though, this current championship will soon get very interesting seeing as there is no dominant rider. A true legend of the sport and ending with 73 AMA race day wins, I'd say not a bad return for Villopoto and his team!
So, all eyes are on Daytona and the next race and the new look track which is running in a different direction to usual and some wider lanes to account for. It seems like next week could be quite an interesting and exciting one to watch.
Credit Image: amasupercross.com

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About my blog

Hello my name is Kyle and this is my new blog about the geography of the AMA Supercross Championship. I will be giving all the latest buzz from new bikes to the latest races, and much more besides. I hope you all enjoy reading my blog.