Most people only see “dirt bikes” as they are being hauled along the highway behind a car or truck, but local residents like Jay Maloney and John Morrisroe of Oakland, and Andrew Haetophilis of Wyckoff, are following in the tracks of “old timers” like George Braynack of Oakland, NJ who raced back in the 1980s.
Motocrossing originally began in England back in the 1920s and was described as scrambling, a term that could probably still be used today. The word motocrossing is a mix of motor and cross country, which also deftly defines what the sport is about. While interest originally grew mostly in Europe, the popularity of motorcycles expanded enormously between 1999 and the present with less than 3 million riders to over 8 million according to the Department of Defense.
The DoD took an interest in making soldiers safer in their extracurricular sport, and they have been immensely successful in dramatically decreasing accidents experienced by novice riders. The Mayo Clinic has also recently taken in interest in the growing sport hoping that guidelines, like those implemented for football players, will be accepted to prevent chronic health issues for motocross riders.
The accompanying video, with racing highlights from the 2007 Kawasaki Race of Champions at Raceway Park in Old Bridge, NJ, explains the attraction of the sport, and few spectators would argue that awesome is an apt description. Controlling a bike on a dirt course is one skill, piloting it as the bike flies through the air is another. Many people outside of the the motocross subculture might not necessarily look at motocrossing as a sport, but athletic conditioning is more than just a requirement.
A well quoted study in 1980, and another one in 2002, found that the overall fitness of motorcross riders was only surpassed by those engaged in soccer. Football, baseball, basketball, all allow players to get a bit out of shape before the sport begins to take its toll on talent. Controlling a dirt bike in a high speed race leaves less room for the physically unfit.
The recent 2010 AMA Arenacross Series featured the first ever AMA sanctioned electric versus gas powered race, dubbed the Energy Crisiscross. The debate in the motocross field is just heating up with regards to what technological changes will bring to the sport. Even normally geeky Wired Magazine is getting into the conversation with an article on the electric bikes. They defer to HellForLeatherMagazine.com which lays out a compelling argument on why people should be excited on the developments being made with regard to electric bikes.
As for Oakland’s Jay Maloney, he’s the subject of some chatter based on his performance at the recent 2010 AMA Arenacross Series which debuted the Amateur National Arenacross Championships (ANAC) at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The ANAC featured the nation’s top amateur arenacross racers across 23 classes, competing for the chance at a national championship. Maloney placed second in the Pit Bike AM classification.
Simmersm, commenting on PlanetMinis.com, had this to say on the electric verse gas races:
“If you want to do gas vs electric for next year, take the five top guys on gas against the 5 top on electric..The true winner of the 16Am class… Jay Maloney…”
Thank you for an excellent article. As a lifelong motocross competitor and enthusiast I was pleasantly surprised to see the positive light of motocross being presented in a public forum. Far too often our sport is portrayed negatively because of a few bad apples.