Motocross
10 Essential Skills in Modern Motocross
Plan on winning a pro race anytime soon? Better have these ten pieces to the puzzle dialed.
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Motocross is not what it was in the days of the original On Any Sunday; now, it's an endless streak of perfecting the craft, putting in countless hours at the track to be better than the best. It's always been a man's sport, but here are ten aspects of the modern game that have come to be totally necessary in getting to the top:
James and Malcolm tandem scrub at Straight Rhythm
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
1. Scrubs
Old-schoolers were all about hitting jumps straight as an arrow, and enjoying the ride. But that won’t cut it anymore. With JS7 came the scrub in 2002, and now you are wasting your time on the track if you are not hitting jumps a gear higher than normal and throwing the bike sideways on the face to scrub off that excess mustard you came at it with.
Ken Roczen spotted something shiny
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
2. Whips
The whip is the older, more punk rock brother of the scrub. It’s not as crucial to racing success, but it’s a natural part of riding like a badass. When a rider is feeling the inexplicable flow on the track, he is bound to be tossing some pancakes out there. And the fans love them.
Marvin Musquin takes a trip up the step-up
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
3. The seat bounce
When the jump just doesn’t seem doable, pop a squat on that seat and let the suspension lend a helping hand. It literally makes the impossible possible, so best to hone that ability on the racetrack.
Marvin Musquin demonstrates a proper tear-off pull
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
4. The tear-off pull
A casual tear-off pull on the track while taking a moment to catch your breath would cut it in the 70s, but not nowadays. The only time to grab a fresh handful of clear vision is in the air, so definitely be comfortable with pulling that hand off and have your dexterity on lock.
Jessy Nelson rips a holeshot at Thunder Valley
© Medium Creative Group/Red Bull Content Pool
5. Holeshots
Ok, holeshots have been monumentally essential in motocross since the dawn of time (and motocross). But a holeshot of even 1990 is a cakewalk next to a 2014 holeshot. The throttle delivery, clutch work, and willingness to ignore the brakes is all on a completely different level of perfection now.
Antonio Cairoli mid-corner
© Stefano Taglioni/Red Bull Content Pool
6. Stand-up corners
The Euro boys love to stand up in the turns, and it is transcending GP motocross into AMA. Standing up through the ruts means less set-up before and after, so there’s more time to hold the throttle on. But, it also means less room for error, so impeccable balance and technique are in high demand.
JS7 helmet grab. Don't question it.
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
7. The JS7 helmet grab
It’s an inexplicable phenomenon from the early days of RC and JS7 battling, but you’ll find many pros doing it. It happens in the moment, and most don’t even realize they’re doing it. It’s a zen thing; wax on, wax off.
Cole Seely tire-taps with the best of 'em
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
8. Tire-taps
It’s good for whoops, and braking bumps. When the front end is in the air, it can’t get you into trouble (provided that you are actually in control and not taking a page out of the Larry Loopout Riding Manual). Tire-taps are another skill that can turn two jumps into one, and even make for fewer headaches in dealing with gargantuan braking bumps.
Ken Roczen lays one over at Budds Creek
© Ryne Swanberg/Red Bull Content Pool
9. Man-eating ruts
The On Any Sunday years were all about blue groove, hard-pack motocross tracks. Now, tracks need to be ripped deep and soft, prime conditions to develop ruts that could envelop a small child. But the best guys don’t even let those slow them down; just keep that leg up, and have the set up dialed coming into that monster.
James Stewart sends Larocco's Leap at Red Bud
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
10. Wide F*&$in' Open
The modern day motocross rider has no room to worry about what could go wrong on a huge jump, because the 39 other guys on the track are not thinking about that. Just clench and send it.
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