 Supermoto
British Supermoto
Supermoto was invented back in the mid-seventies in the States
- by a Brit. His name was Bruce Cox and the annual TV extravaganza
was called Superbiker.
It was a simple formula to seek out the best multi-disciplined
rider by pitting them against each other on mutli-surfaced
courses. In one master-stroke of brilliance, dirt track met
motocross, met roadracing. The series was a box-office smash.
 Then,
sometime in the mid eighties, the idea was stolen by the French
who re-branded it Supermotards a literal and quite blatant
translation of the Stateside name. The theatrical Gallic version
culminated in the annual Guidon d'Or, or Golden Handlebar
event, which even attracted giants like Eddie Lawson.
Back in the UK, where it was know as Supermoto (French translation:
supermotorcycle), the sport bumped along at banger-meeting
level, usually in the depths of winter. By the new millennium
- largely thanks to visionary Frenchman Alain Blanchard, the
sport gradually gained enough momentum to warrant a hotly
contested FIM World Championship, a thriving European series
and interest from media and factories around the globe.
 The
key to Supermoto's popularity lies in the lary, scary, sideways
corner entry technique and the feet-up power-sliding exits.
Bikers love to see what they can't but would love to do themselves
and backing a bike into a tarmac turn on full opposite lock
- feet up - is about as difficult and spectacular as it gets.
Promoted ruthlessly and administered with consistency, imagination
and integrity, the future for Supermoto in the UK is clearly
ripe for development. Supermoto also provides the perfect
transition for adult or junior motocrossers to switch sporting
discipline on familiar machinery. With its mix of dirt and
tarmac Supermoto is only the logical transgression. A half-way
house!
Please visit the ACU
Motorcycling GB website. |
