Indoor Short Track and TT Racing

Indoor races consist of either a polished concrete floor with coke syrup or other media sprayed or mopped onto the concrete for traction for the tyres of the motorcycles, or on dirt that has been moistened and hard packed, or left loose (often called a cushion). Similar to size of the Arenacross Arenas or sometimes smaller the riders must have accurate throttle control to negotiate these tight Indoor Race Tracks.

In the U.S., Short-Track and TT events are more commonly held outdoors. A Short Track event is one involving a track of less than 1⁄2 mile in length, while a TT event can be of any length, but it must have at least one right turn and at least one jump to qualify.

In the A.M.A. Grand National Championship, Short-Track and TT races are part of a specific discipline labelled "Dirt track" or sometimes "Flat track" (also called Flat Track). However the AMA Sanction rule books refer to this discipline as Dirt track racing. Whether Short-Track or TT, traction is what defines a dirt track race. The bikes cannot use "knobbies", they must use "Class C" tires which are similar to street tires. On a Short-Track course, the track is an oval, all turns to the left only, and only a rear brake is allowed. On the TT courses, there must be at least one right hand turn with a jump being optional, a front brake is allowed, but the same "Class C" tires are required. Although not mandated, most flat track racers wear a steel "shoe" on the left boot which is actually a fitted steel sole that straps onto the left boot. This steel shoe lets the rider lean the bike to the left while sliding through the corners.

Hard-packed tracks are generally referred to as "groove" tracks, loosely-packed tracks are called "cushions".

Speedway

Speedway racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt or loosely packed shale, using bikes with a single gear and no brakes. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways (powersliding or broadsiding) into the bends using the rear wheel to scrub-off speed while still providing the drive to power the bike forward and around the bend.

Grass Track

Grasstrack is "outdoor" speedway. The track are longer (400 m+, hence it is often also referred to as Long Track at world level), often on grass (although other surfaces exist) and even feature elevation changes. Machinery is very similar to a speedway bike (still no brakes, but normally two gears, rear suspension, etc.).

Ice Speedway

Ice racing includes a motorcycle class which is the equivalent of Speedway on ice. Bikes race anti-clockwise around oval tracks between 260 and 425 metres in length. The race structure and scoring are similar to Speedway.

Board track

Board track racing was a type of track racing popular in the United States between the second and third decades of the 20th century, where competition was conducted on oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. By the early 1930s, board track racing had fallen out of favor, and into eventual obsolescence.

Auto Race

Auto Race is a Japanese version of track racing held on an asphalt oval course and seen as a gambling sport.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 917