Moscow to host Supermoto

The first round of the 2008 Supermoto Championship of Russia will be held at the Grebnoy Canal in Moscow this weekend.

According to its organizers, i.e. the Motorcycle Federation of Moscow and the Esta-Moto sports club, it is going to be an unusually tough race this year. Racers are expected to arrive from Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Italy. So, the championship’s overall level will be higher than in 2007.

There will be several races in two classes – S1 (450 cc) and S2 (open class) which match the classes of the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM). It is something new about the championship that there will be both individual and team racing. The season will close with the announcement of new sport titles.

The Moscow round requires its participants to be over 16 years old. In order to get registered they are to provide their supermoto licenses, an insurance with the overall coverage of not less than RUB 60,000 (approx. $2,540) and a medical certificate to the Motorcycle Federation of Moscow.

The first day will be all about two 20-minute qualifying and pre-race warm-up races. Each motorcyclist is to do at least three laps. The finals in each class are 20-minute long plus two laps. 30 is the maximal number of riders to make it to the finals. On the day of the race each participant has at least 30-minute three-lap warm-up race.

Each round of the supermoto championship gives a certain number of points for the top 20 scores. 25 points are given to the winner, 22 – to the runner-up, 20 – for the top third score, 18 – for the fourth, 16 – for the fifth, and so on. This year, there championship will have seven rounds, two of which (the opening and the final ones) to take place at the Grebnoy Canal in Moscow, and another four – outside the Moscow region in Ulyanovsk (the Sibirsky sports center).

The prize money for the championship will substantially increase this year. It will be paid both at the end of each round and at the very end of the championship. The total amount tops $100,000. The winner in each round will receive $1,500, $1,000 are paid to silver winners, $500 – to bronze winners. $15,000 is the prize for the championship title, the runner-up gets $10,000 and $5,000 go to the bronze winner.

Supermoto is one of the brightest motorcycling events that both the beginners and professional riders can easily afford themselves. As a kind of sports supermoto first appeared in the USA, and quickly became popular among European motorcyclists due to its simplicity. It was a matter of a short period of time that local amateur races turned into real championships in Europe and other countries, and even on the international level.

The World Supermoto Championship dates back to the year 2002. It appeared in Russia in 2005. In 2007, supermoto was officially recognized and listed in the State Sports register. The National Russian Motorcycle Federation and the PE and Sports Federal Agency of Russia approved a calendar of events for 2008 and had it included in the general calendar for this year.

Supermoto is a relatively young category of bikes that dates back to the early 1970s in America. A supermoto motorbike was built based on the basis of motocross or enduro bike with smaller-diameter wheels and street tires. It is a universal bike that can be used both for general use and unusual conditions surviving jumps over street curbs, stairs etc.

This dual nature of a supermoto makes it possible to always stay on the road and be absolutely controllable in side-slips. The bike’s universal characteristics are all due to its design. On the one hand it inherited a long-stroke suspension from a motocross bike, and on the other, it is an extremely lightweight one-cylinder machine slightly over 100 kg and with a powerful engine of up to 600 cc. At the same time, a supermoto is smaller than motocross bike with exceptionally powerful engines. So, the above mentioned characteristics make a supermoto a perfect private means of transport to be used in the city, and, equally can be used in bright sport events. This discipline brings together two types of races – circuit and off-road. The first one is used for accelerating to the maximum speed levels and the second one – for demonstrating off-road capabilities.

The championship’s first round is scheduled for May, the next two will be held in June, one in July, two in August and the final one will be on September 13-14, 2008.