Motocross about

Motocross first evolved in the United Kingdom from motorcycle trials competitions, such as the Auto-Cycle Clubs's first quarterly trial in 1906 and the Scottish Six Days Trial that began in 1909.\

When delicate balancing and strict scoring of trials were dispensed with in favor of a race to be the fastest rider to the finish, it was called scrambles, said to have originated in the phrase, "a rare old scramble" describing one such early race. Originally known as scrambles racing in the United Kingdom, as the sport grew in popularity, the competitions became known internationally as motocross racing, by combining the French word for motorcycle, motocyclette, or moto for short, into a portmanteau with "cross country". The first known scramble race took place at Camberley, Surrey in 1924. During the 1930s, the sport grew in popularity, especially in Britain where teams from the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), Norton, Matchless, Rudge, and AJS competed in the events. Off-road bikes from that era differed little from those used on the street. The intense competition over rugged terrain led to technical improvements in motorcycles. Rigid frames gave way to suspensions by the early 1930s, and swinging fork rear suspension appeared by the early 1950s, several years before it was incorporated on the majority of production street bikes. The period after World War II was dominated by BSA which had become the largest motorcycle company in the world. BSA riders dominated international competitions throughout the 1940s. The AMA Motocross Championship begins in early May and continues until mid-September. The championship consists of twelve rounds at twelve major tracks all over the continental United States. There are three classes: the 250 Motocross Class for 0–125 cc 2-stroke or 150–250 cc 4-stroke machines, the 450 Motocross

Class for 150–250 cc 2-stroke or 251–450 cc 4-stroke machines and a Women's Class. Freestyle Motocross (FMX), a relatively new variation of supercross, does not involve racing and instead concentrates on performing acrobatic stunts while jumping motocross bikes. The winner is chosen by a group of judges. The riders are scored on style, level of trick difficulty, best use of the course, and, frequently, crowd reactions. FMX was introduced to the X Games and mainstream audiences in 1999. Supermoto involves taking a motocross bike meant to be raced off-road and converting it to be raced on tracks consisting of both dirt and road.

The bikes are fitted with special road-racing tires with grooved tread to grip both the pavement and dirt. Some tracks for these race events have jumps, berms, and whoops just like true motocross tracks. For special events, the Supermoto track may incorporate metal ramps for jumps that can be disassembled and taken to other locations. Supermoto races may take place at modified go-kart tracks, road racing tracks, or even street racing tracks. There are also classes for kids such as the 85 cc class. Supermoto got its start in the late 1970s as a fun side project for many road racers. Its first exposure to a wide audience came on the American television program ABC's Wide World of Sports in 1979. UK racing journalist Gavin Trippe envisioned a racing event that would prove who the best motorcycle racer was and from 1980 to 1985, he organized a yearly event called "The Superbikers", which pitted the top road racers and motocross racers against one another on specially modified bikes raced on special tracks on the television show. After 1985, the sport died and received little exposure, but in Europe, the sport started gaining popularity, and in 2003 it was revived in the United States, when the name became "Supermoto".