Off Road Racing

From Bicycles to Motorbikes

Two-wheel transportation may have originated in Paris in the 1790s with a contraption called the célérifère. Basically, it was a wheeled hobby horse with a saddle, but with no steering or propulsion mechanism. The rider straddled it, “walked” it along with dangling feet, and lifted it to effect turns. A German inventor, Baron Drais von Sauerbronn, developed a way to steer the front wheel in 1817.

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Primitive systems to transfer foot power to the wheels came about during the mid-1800s. Not until 1861, though, did a Parisian father and son, Pierre and Ernst Michaux, install pedals on the front wheel, introducing what might be termed the “modern” bicycle. (One of their shop workers, Pierre Lallement, claimed it was he who came up with the idea.)

Within a few years, European inventors were perfecting early gasoline engines. Naturally, some wondered how to apply this technology to the increasingly popular bicycle. Gottlieb Daimler is credited with developing the first motorcycle in Germany in 1885. By 1904, makers like Harley-Davidson were mass-producing motorcycles. As throughout the history of transportation, informal motorized racing quickly followed.

Going Off-Road

Motorcycle racing spread across Europe and the United States after World War I. Many famous European sports car champions of the mid-20th Century began their careers in two-wheel competition.

Typical dirt routes used for motorcycle races a century ago were little better developed than today’s dirt trails. Wet weather made riding conditions miserable, and cycling in general presented challenges.

Cycling enthusiasts engaged increasingly in trials, rugged non-racing events that trained them to become more intimate with their bikes and to hone their balance and throttle control skills. In Great Britain, riders in 1924 turned trial riding into a competition they called “scrambling.” Scrambles led to motocross races—one of many forms of modern off-road motorbike competition.

Motocross races take place on closed circuits of dirt, mud, grass, desert and other surfaces. There are local, national and international motocross competitions. Other types of off-road motorbike sports evolved from basic motocross competition. They now include cross-country, start-to-finish rallies; long-distance, timed enduro obstacle/challenge races (which take their name from the ultimate level of “endurance” demanded of riders); and hare scrambles through natural, usually wooded courses.

Off-Road Racing Becomes Official

NORRA, the National Off-Road Racing Association, became the sport’s first official sanctioning organization in 1967. It was organized by Ed Pearlman and was launched with a race in Mexico that subsequently became known as the Baja 1000. Other organizations and events now exist around the world.

Off-road competition is a wide-ranging sport, with events dedicated to many types of four-wheel as well as two-wheel vehicles. Engine size, driver skills and terrain are among the factors that define the class of off-road motorbike racing.

The first off-road bikes in the 1920s were little different from street bikes. Since then, off-road bike designs have become noted especially for their greater ground clearance than street bikes. Modern off-road vehicles also are lighter and have special suspensions to absorb the brutal terrain. The original European motorbike manufacturers began to face formidable Japanese competition in the 1960s.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the physical demand on riders. Off-road motorbike racing, now as in 1924, is a rugged athletic sport that requires strength, stamina, skill, experience and wit.