Supercross Motorcycle Racing 101

Thoroughbred Racing In Australia ... Racing industry Racing in Australia is administered by the Australian Racing Board, with each state's Principal Racing Authority agreeing to abide by, and to enforce, the Australian Rules of Racing... Important races Public interest in Thoroughbred racing, especially during the main spring and autumn racing carnivals, has been growing in recent years with over 100,000 attracted to the running of the Melbourne Cup, the Victoria Derby and the VRC Oaks race meets...

Motocross ... In 1952, the FIM, motorcycling's international governing body, created an individual European Championship using a 500 cc engine displacement formula. In 1957, it was upgraded it to World Championship status...

V8 Supercars ... They are strictly governed in most aspects of performance in an effort to keep all the drivers on an even footing to create closer, more exciting racing...

Harness Racing In New Zealand ... The New South Wales bred, Lawn Derby, racing un-hoppled, was the first pacer to break the two-minute barrier in Australia or New Zealand when he recorded 1:59.4 at the Addington track in New Zealand in 1938...

Production Car Racing ... The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway, on June 19, 1949. Where a racing class requires that the cars raced be production vehicles only slightly adapted for racing, manufacturers typically produce a limited run of such vehicles for public sale so that they can legitimately race them in the class...

Touring Car Racing ... Whilst not nearly as fast as Formula One, the similarity of the cars both to each other and to fans' own vehicles makes for entertaining, well-supported racing... The lesser impact of aerodynamics also means that following cars have a much easier time of passing than F1, and the more substantial bodies of the cars makes the occasional nudging for overtaking much more acceptable as part of racing... Regulations are usually designed to limit costs by banning some of the more exotic technologies available (for instance, many series insist on a "control tyre" that all competitors must use) and keep the racing close (sometimes by ballast weight where winning a race requires the winner's car to be heavier for subsequent races)...

Off-road Racing ... On August 14, 2010, a modified Ford Ranger pickup truck, racing in the MDR sanctioned "California 200", careered off the track into a group of spectators, killing eight, and raising questions about the future of offroad racing on public lands... Short course racing Short course off-road racing has races on a circuit of less than five miles (such as Crandon International Off-Road Raceway), which are sanctioned by CORR (or its predecessor SODA), and by World Series of Off Road Racing (WSORR)... Another format made popular by the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group was called stadium racing, where offroad racing vehicles were used in a temporary offroad racetrack was constructed inside a stadium...

Rallying ... From then on, racing in Europe (apart from Italy) would be on closed circuits, initially on long loops of public highway and then, in 1907, on the first purpose-built track, England's Brooklands...

Racing ... Forms of racing Further information: List of forms of racing Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races may be conducted in vehicles, such as boats, cars and aircraft, or with animals such as horses or dogs... In a relay race members of a team take turns in racing parts of a circuit or performing a certain racing form...

Formula Racing ... Categories such as Formula Three and GP2 are described as feeder formulæ, which refers to their position below Formula One on the career ladder of single seater motor racing... There are two primary forms of racing formula: the open formula that allows a choice of chassis and/or engines; and the control or "spec" formula that relies on a single supplier for chassis and engines... The first racing formulæ Formula One In the process of reviving Grand Prix racing after the end of World War II, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Commission Sportive Internationale was responsible for defining the standardised regulations of Formula One in 1946...

Motorcycle Drag Racing ... The most well-known form of motorcycle drag racing is the Pro Stock Bike category, although several other categories exist, including 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) nitromethane engine...

Track Racing ... Nature of the sport Track racing involves between 4 and 6 sometimes 8 competitors riding around an oval track in a counter-clockwise direction over a set amount of laps - usually 4 to 6 sometimes 8 - with points being awarded to all but the last finisher on a sliding scale...

Grasstrack ... Many famous Speedway riders such as 1976 world champion Peter Collins started their racing careers in Grasstrack... More spectacular racing takes place at larger roped tracks including the Poacher and ASTRA Champion of Champions and Grand Slam meetings in Kent and in particular the most exciting meeting of all at the famous Rhodes Minnis circuit...

Daytona Beach, Florida ... The city is historically known as having a beach where the hard packed sand allows motorized vehicles to drive on the beach in restricted areas. This hard packed sand made Daytona Beach a mecca for motorsports, with the old Daytona Beach Road Course having hosted races for over 50 years...

Motorcycle Racing ... Sidecar racing has many sub-categories including: – Sidecarcross (sidecar motocross) – Sidecar trials – F1/F2 road racing True road racing See also: Isle of Man TT See also: North West 200 True road racing is run on tracks built from closed public and/or park roads and sometimes extra pieces of purpose built track... In the past true road racing was very commonplace but today few races have survived and even fewer have been added... Only one truly international championship exists at present by the name of "International Road Racing Championship" (IRRC)...

Kart Racing ... Karts vary widely in speed and some (known as Superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding 160 miles per hour (260 km/h), while go-karts intended for the general public in amusement parks may be limited to speeds of no more than 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). A KF1 kart, with a 125 cc 2-stroke engine and an overall weight including the driver of 150 kilograms has a top speed of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h)...

Ice Racing ... In the late 1960s ice racing was staged at a number of rinks in Scotland but the machines used were rally based machines with all season tires Tires Ice racing tires are either studded or non-studded... Through 2008, Menard's Racing in Wisconsin manufactured and sold studded racing tires for cars, and they were required in many ice-racing classes... Motorcycle ice racing Ice racing includes a motorcycle class which is the equivalent of Speedway on ice...

American Quarter Horse ... The American Quarter Horse is well known both as a race horse and for its performance in rodeos, horse shows and as a working ranch horse. The compact body of the American Quarter Horse is well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle...

Drag Racing ... Basics of drag racing Before each race (also known as a pass), each driver is allowed to perform a burnout, which heats the driving tires and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction...

Arabian Horse ... The Arabian developed in a desert climate and was prized by the nomadic Bedouin people, often being brought inside the family tent for shelter and protection from theft. Selective breeding for traits including an ability to form a cooperative relationship with humans created a horse breed that is good-natured, quick to learn, and willing to please...

Supermoto ... Races are commonly held on road racing or medium sized go-kart tracks with an off-road section in the infield... This type of racing is also very portable in that an entire track can be constructed anywhere there is a large area of open asphalt and an availability of dirt... Riders also wear a combination of road race and offroad equipment, normally road racing leathers and motocross helmets and boots...