Freestyle Motocross

As opposed to racing, the focus of Freestyle motocross is on the ability of the rider to performing acrobatic stunts while jumping their bikes. The winner of Freestyle motocross is selected by the judges based on the style, the level of difficulty of the trick performed the best use of the course and more often than not even on the responses of the crowd.

There are many stunts in Freestyle motocross. One disputed stunt is the backflip performed on a 250cc motorcycle by Carey Hart using a specially designed dirt ramp. This stunt was repeated shortly after on a standard freestyle ramp and dirt landing by Mike Metzger who also completed another backflip more recently over the Caesar’s Palace Fountains. The body varial 360 or Carolla is perhaps the most difficult stunt being performed at present in Freestyle motocross according to some observers. This stunt first appeared in 2004 at the X Games where it was performed by Chuck Carothers. The Carolla took over the spot for most difficult stunt from the backflip 360, or off-axis backflip. Another significant name in the world of Freestyle motocross is that of Travis Pastrana who has been stretching the boundaries of the freestyle. He performed what is now being considered as the most difficult trick yet, the first double backflip ever seen. He won gold for best trick when he presented this trick at the Freestyle motocross 2006 X Games. No other rider has contested Travis Pastrana’s accomplishment so far.

Two main types of Freestyle motocross events exist:
Big Air a.k.a. Best Trick is the first of these and involves each rider getting three jumps. The jumps usually cover more than 60 feet from a dirt-covered ramp. A 100-point scale is used by a 10-judge Freestyle Motocross panel to evaluate three different areas of the trick: use of the course, style and difficulty. After doing a comparison of each Freestyle Motocross rider's highest single-jump score, the rider with the top score wins.

The second type of Freestyle motocross event has been around longer than the first and is called Freestyle Motocross. There are two routines that riders perform that last between 90 seconds and 14 minutes. These routines are performed on a Freestyle motocross course occupying one to two acres and that has a variety of jumps that vary in lengths and angles. The panel of judges looks for the variations that riders make over the jumps and the difficult tricks they perform. As in Big Air, a 100-point scale is used.