A Beginners’ Guide to World Supercross

First introduced in 2022 to maximise on-track action and wheel-to-wheel racing and, the regulations have been tweaked in recent years to further add to the spectacle and here is what you can expect from the next thrilling round of World Supercross.

Classes

There are two categories. The SX1 and the SX2 classes. The difference between the two is the power output of the bikes. The SX1 class is limited to 450cc whereas the SX2 class is 250cc.

The only difference this year is that the all-electric Strak VARG 1.2, will compete in both classes running at different power modes to create a level playing field against their opponents using bikes with an internal combustion engine.

Practice

Once early entry doors have opened to spectators, both categories have a 10-minute practice session to acclimatise to the track, with SX2 out first and SX1 following immediately afterwards. 

Why do riders’ practice? It’s to discover the jump combinations and explore rhythm sections, discover the best lines and work out where the worst bumps might develop. Getting a feeling for the dirt is crucial.

Qualifying

Qualifying is where the tension ramps up a notch. Another 10-minute session where riders compete to be the quickest in the field.

As with practice, the SX1 and SX2 riders set their fastest qualifying effort, with finals laps run to the end once the 10 minutes has elapsed. 

SuperPole

Those qualifying laps are key to get the riders into SuperPole contention. SX1 and SX2 both follow the same format, a one-lap shoot-out to select the top four quickest riders.

Running in reverse order, the four-quickest in qualifying run for SuperPole. Each rider will have one lap to compete for the fastest SuperPole time. Whoever is quickest will take pole and get to select their preferred starting gate. Outside of the top four, the rest of the field’s starting positions are determined by their qualifying performance.

Races

Every round of the World Supercross Championship will see riders contest three main races in each class, with a short break in between each. The first two races will be shorter ‘sprint’ distances with the top-10 finishers scoring points from 10 for the winner down to one for 10th place. 

In the Main race, run over a longer distance. All 20 riders from both classes score points following the system shown in the table below. 

Podium

The podium order is determined by the collective scores of the riders across all three races of the round and features the top three riders. Those will the most points in SX1 and SX1 will be classed as the winners of that round.

Champion of the World

At the final race of the season, those riders in SX1 and SX2 with the most points accumulated from over the complete season’s results will be crowned as the world champion.

Wildcards

A wildcard is a rider who competes in a race or races in addition to the complete field, rather than the whole season. They do not race for a team but are an individual entry.