No doubt, motorsports, regardless if it is a two-wheel or a four-wheel is indeed very popular to a lot of people around the world. We should always remember that sports do not just focus on what we usually see on television where basketball players making three-sixty dunks, boxers knocking each other out and golfers making a hole-in-one. Not to offend anybody reading this article, there are a lot of sports that are beyond exciting than what we see regularly and one best example of it is motorsport particularly the two-wheel version of it. In this article, let us take you on a short tour about the differences between supercross, motocross, enduro, and timed trials to help you out understand more about this sport and somehow we hope that you will gain the interest of it.
First off, a lot of people are left confused about the differences between motocross and supercross. Well, these two major two-wheel motorsports that are held in an off-road race course have actually a lot of differences rather than similarities despite both races pits professional riders, have the same mechanics in winning, and both are held in dirt race courses. The difference, however, is very much noticeable in how the course is created.
Let us start with supercross considering that this is the new trend that a lot of people are hooked nowadays. Supercross takes place on a dirt course which is artificially made. This is the “city” version of motocross considering that it is held inside large stadiums and arenas where the organizers have to place an entire mountain of dirt which is then modified to make it look appear like an actual dirt race course. Supercross is usually held year-round with 12 to 17 legs that are open for competition and the overall champion is determined based on the accumulated points in each leg. The higher the place you finish in each leg, the bigger points you earn and the bigger the chances that you will bring home the overall title at the end of the season with a Supercross TV schedule.
Motocross meanwhile, are held about a month after the finale of a supercross race. Usually, motocross has a 12-leg series that starts in the middle of the year where the overall champion is determined through points as well, however, motocross takes place in a natural dirt race course that is usually held outside of the city where there is enough space to organize a racing event. The race course’ technicalities are usually based on the terrain’s complexity. Riders have to vie in two separate races to determine the overall winner in each leg.
Enduro, on the other hand, is an endurance test hence the word enduro is used to name the race where the riders are tested not by their skills but their endurance to last in the terrain. Enduro racing is both physically and mentally challenging as riders have to finish the race which usually lasts up to three hours in an unfamiliar terrain full of obstacles and hazards. Trials, meanwhile, is an observed time trial where the rider who finishes the race course with the shortest time in multiple heats will emerge as the winner, but the race is not that easy as it seems because the competitors are still going to negotiate with the given race course full of obstacles.