American Motorcycle Association (AMA)

The AMA, also known as the American Motorcycle Association, was first founded in the year 1924 and currently headquartered in Pickerington, OH. This is a nonprofit organization that has numerous motorcyclists that host events and fight for motorcyclist’s legal rights around the country.  A few year later in 1974, the AMA introduced the AMA Supercross Championship. This Event would soon lead to one of the toughest off-road championships in the world consisting of multiple different series. 

Supercross

Monster Energy Supercross is the first series of the year starting in early January and held indoor large football and baseball venues around the country. Supercross consists of a man-made course with extremely steep jumps, whoops, turns, and other obstacles. This series uses a 20-lap race format to determine the winner of the main event. Monster Energy Supercross is a total of 17 races that are scheduled nearly every weekend. The rider with the most total points and the end of those 17 races is crowned the Supercross Champion for the given year. 

Motocross

Motocross is the second half of the year’s race season that is usually made up of the same athletes from the Supercross series. Riders receive about a month break at the end of the Supercross season to prepare for the 12-race Motocross series that begins in May. Motocross events are held on man-made courses that are built on natural terrain with similar obstacles but on a much larger scale. Riders compete in two 30 min motos, to determine that weekends overall winner. The rider with the most points at the end of the 12 race series is crowned the Motocross Champion for the given year.

Arenacross

Arenacross is a series developed by the AMA which closely mimics the Supercross-style courses and scoring. These Events are down scaled and held in smaller venues such as ice hockey arenas and basketball stadiums. This series was developed by the AMA for a way amateur riders can transition into the main events of Supercross and Motocross.

Motocross the worlds most physically demanding and dangerous sport

Some of the world’s most elite athletes live lifestyles that are far different from any other professional athlete. Motocross riders endure the most physically demanding and dangerous conditions and are only recognized by a small portion of the total population. These athletes compete year-round for championship tiles and race victories for race teams which are much like employers. These athletes must maintain their lifestyle of extremely demanding training to keep competitive with other top performing competition. As new technology advances these race machines become even faster and more maneuverable than ever before. This has pushed these athletes to the edge as racing has become increasingly dangerous. One small mistake at these speeds can cause severe injury to these athletes, forcing them to sit out for the duration of the season.

Training never stops for these athletes as they transition from an indoor season directly into an outdoor season. They are then exposed to the natural elements of extreme temperatures in head to toe gear in addition to wet and muddy conditions increasing the risk of a mistake which can be devastating to the riders. They are forced to relocate their family to be able to train at team race facilities located in Florida and California. These strategic locations allow these race teams to practice year-round for both indoor and outdoor seasons. Controlling these 250lb pound machines on technical tracks battling with 20 other riders is no easy task. Heart monitors on these riders show results of anaerobic plus heart rates.   This form of endurance has granted motocross the title of the most physically demanding and dangerous sport in the world.