Motocross During the '50s

The exciting and thrilling sport of motocross originated in the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century and has gone on to gain popularity all across the world thereafter. In the early days, however, the sport was better known as 'scrambles'. Derived by combining the French word 'moto' with 'cross-country', the sport of motocross is a form of all-terrain motorcycle racing that takes place on dirt or off-road tracks. These tracks could also be muddy, hilly, slushy or rocky routes including sharp turns and uneven rides.

During the 1920s and 30s, scrambles started becoming quite a rage with sporting events such as the Southern Scott Scramble held in 1924. This is the event that is said to have led to the initiation of motocross. Many other such renditions form possible origin tales of motocross.

The 1950s witnessed progress in the sport with certain steps toward its formalization and structuring. The early years of the decade witnessed Individual Motocross races generating interest rather rapidly. Towards the close of the year 1950, a proposal for the initiation of an event of international stature was submitted by the Belgian Federation to the F.I.M. (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) or the International Motorcycling Federation. It was in 1952 that the F.I.M. created the European Championship that used motorcycles with 500cc engines. This was a turning point in the history of motocross racing and the sport as a whole. In 1957, this event was upgraded to World Championship status.

Over the years, a wide variety of other motorcycle sports have branched out of motocross. One such sport that gained popularity in the 1950s was Sidecar Racing, also known as Sidecarcross. While it started off in Europe, it also went on to fetch fans in Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. Europe, however, is the only place where Sidecarcross was actually contested at a World Championship level.

Sidecarcross involves the use of a motocross bike built with a flat platform attached on either side of the rider's seat. It also includes a handlebar that the biker on this platform, the passenger, can hold on to. The role of the passenger is to balance the vehicle as it swerves on sharp turns or bounces on rocky, bumpy terrain. This variant of motocross, has witnessed a decline ever since its glory days in the 50s.

The motorcycles used in motocross have also witness an evolution in themselves ever since the sport initiated and became popular. The major part of the decade witnessed racing in the MX3 category. While in 1952, 1953 and 1954 the winners of the Motocross World Championship were of Belgian origin, the podium gave way to British participants in the latter half of the 50s. The 1957 winner of the Motocross World Champion ship was Swedish participant Bill Nisson.

The 1950s were an era of rapid growth in motocross. It witnessed formalization of events, creation of new structures and a brand new zeal for a highly adventurous sport. It was during this decade that motocross gained its true prominence in the milieu of motorcycle racing in Europe.

If you would like to know more about motocross parts and gears, you should visit 24MX. They carry a huge selection of riding gear for motocross and a complete range of motocross parts.

View the original article here

Motocross During the '90s

The twentieth century witnessed colossal economic as well as political transformations in the history of humankind. The emergence and upsurge of information technology marks another feather in the cap of this era. Furthermore, technological enhancements extended to nearly every aspect of human life, and motorsports is just one of them.

Ardent fans of motocross would be aware of the gigantic leap that the sport had taken from its initiation as the off-road speeding game called 'Scrambles' to one of the hugest motorcycling championships at the close of the century.

By the 1990s America had safely established itself in motocross, a sport of European origin, and there were several names that were slowly gaining popularity in the motocross circuits. Bobby Moore, Donny Schmit, Tallon Vohland, Trampas Parker and Mike Brown are some of the motorcyclists that took the motocross world by storm during the 1990s.

It was also during the 1990s that the popularity and thrill of racing 500cc engines started declining. 125cc engines were the technologically advanced versions being preferred in motocross fraternity. The advent and establishment of the Japanese manufacturer, Suzuki, in the arena of motocross machines was another indication of the rapid globalization of a sport that had its inception in Great Britain and had in its early years, off-road tracks and dirt roads as the racing circuits.

In fact, in the 250cc category, which had become the most loved by this period, all the first riders in the same were supported by the factories. Yes, motocross had definitely come a long way from those early twentieth century days to a more mature and organized sport by the end of the century.

The decline in the 500cc category, however, implied a string of victories for European motocross riders, and a major part of the decade saw the dominance of Belgium in the championship.

The overall effect of technological transformations was that the manufacturers were being encouraged to produce more environment-friendly machines. This change saw the increase of four-stroke engines in motocross racing circuits as well.

Motocross, over the years, has become a sport loved across nations, as well as continents. The end of the twentieth century also brought with it rapid changes in terms of popularity of the sport to extend to women riders. Championships held exclusively for women motocross riders are exemplary of this.

Motorcycling and motocross gear is another aspect of this series of transformations. From simple cloth attire to stylish leather, motocross clothing, boots, helmets and other accessories speak the language of rising fame and growing awareness of the sport. For that matter, there are special motorcycles and motocross equipment for kids keen on the sport as well. These changes have made Europe's dirt-road, off-track game turn out to become one of the most widely liked sports of all time.

However, this does not go to say that motocross is a simple riding sport. It requires a large amount of grit and skill to actually be a motocross rider. This is so due to the possibility of dirty, muddy, hilly and uneven terrains that the rider would have to encounter during a race. Such high levels of danger and adventure are what make motocross such a demanding, yet high-intensity motorsport!

If you would like to know more about motocross parts and gears, you should visit 24MX. They carry a huge selection of riding gear for motocross and a complete range of motocross parts.

View the original article here

Motocross During the '70s

Having originated as a sport among motorcycling enthusiasts in the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century, motocross grew to become a raging phenomenon in other countries in Europe as the decades progressed. It was the 1970s that marked the rising popularity of the sport at a global level. The sport that started out as a fun racing event called 'Scrambles' had steadily gained international stature.

The 1970s witnessed further changes in the way motocross emerged as the popular sport among all motorcycling enthusiasts across various countries of the world. This included rules in the game undergoing changes. Minimum weights for motorcycles were introduced, as were two heats counting points towards the Motocross World Championship, as opposed to only one previously.

The trend as far as the motocross champions themselves were concerned also underwent a drastic change in the 1970s. In the 500cc category, Belgium's Robert De Coster won the championship in 1971, marking the first of a series of five consecutive wins, broken only by Finland's Heikki Mikkola in 1974. The former half of the decade also witnessed Belgian dominance in the 250cc category, prominent names among whom were Joel Roberts, Sylvain Geboers, Roger De Coster and Harry Everts. Everts went on to win the championship in 1975, which till 1972 had been triumphed over by Roberts for five consecutive years.

1972 was also the year in which the first motocross event was held in a stadium. The venue happened to be the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was also in this era that the MX3 category of motocross racing or the 125cc category was introduced. This was in the year 1975. Belgium seemed to dominate the first few championships in this category. In fact, except for 1978, when Japan's Akira Watanabe won the championship, it was Belgium that dominated this category throughout the 1970s. Gaston Rahier and Harry Everts were two names that rocked the motocross 125cc circuit in this era.

The case was similar in the 250cc and 500cc categories, where Belgium dominated in the former half of the decade. Roger De Coster, Joel Roberts and Harry Everts remained some of the prominent winners of motocross racing championships. This decade also marked the end of Roberts' motocross world racing career, which was the result of a severe knee injury during the 500cc Belgian Grand Prix in Namur.

This decade marked the gradual dominance of Japanese manufacturer Suzuki in the motocross racing fraternity. In fact, in all the racing categories of the Motocross World Championship, Suzuki's machines were at some or the other winning position. Amid the European motorcycle makers, this brand was not only gaining recognition, but also delivering machines that had in them the winning streak.

The latter half of the 70s marked the advent of motorcycling enthusiasts from the United States into serious motocross at the championship level. This slowly developed into the American presence in the winner position as well. As far as motocross was concerned, America had finally arrived!

Formed in 1972, the American Motorcyclist Association held the first race in its motocross series, the AMA Motocross Championship. The 500cc and the 250cc categories were introduced in this championship. The 125cc category got added two years later. In the first motocross championship held by the AMA, Brad Lackey won in the 500cc category, while Gary Jones was the winner of the 250cc category.

If you would like to know more about motocross parts and gears, you should visit 24MX. They carry a huge selection of parts for motocross and a complete range of Leatt Brace.

View the original article here