de:Bahnsport

Track racing is a motorcycle sport where teams or individuals race opponents around an oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type.

The most common variant is Speedway which has many professional domestic and international competitions in a number of countries.

Administered internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), the sport became popular in the 1920s and remains so today.

Nature of the sport

These points are accumulated over a number of heats, with the winner being the team or individual who has scored the most.

The machines used are customised motorcycles, these have no brakes and are fuelled with methanol. Speedway also uses motorcycles with no gears or rear suspension. The use of methanol provides an increased compression ratio to the engine resulting in higher speeds (approx 80mph when cornering) although the skill of Track Racing lies in the overall ability of the rider to control his motorcycle when cornering and thus avoid losing places through deceleration.

This has resulted in powersliding or broadsiding being used as a technique in most variants of the sport to progress around the track.

Track characteristics

Competitions take place on tracks which are defined by the FIM as being of the following:

• Speedway - a track with a top surface in granite, shale, brick granules or similar unbound material rolled in on the base ground
• Long track - sand, shale or similar unbound material rolled in on the base ground
• Grass track - firm, level turf with minor undulations
• Ice Racing - ice with a minimum thickness of 10 cm

Speedway

main: Motorcycle speedway

FIM regulations state that the motorcycles used must have no brakes, run on methanol, use only one gear and weigh a minimum of 78 kg. Races consist of between 4 and 6 riders competing over 4 laps.

Originating in New South Wales, Australia in the 1920s, there are now both domestic and international competitions in a number of countries including the Speedway World Cup whilst the highest overall scoring individual in the Speedway Grand Prix events is pronounced the Speedway world champion.

Grasstrack

main: Grasstrack Grasstrack racing takes place on a flat oval track usually constructed in a field. It is similar to Speedway with races usually taking place over 4 laps from a standing start. Unlike Speedway, which has 4 riders per race, Grasstrack racing can have many riders in each heat and the circuit is normally longer allowing higher speeds. The motorcycles are also different in that they have the addition of two gears, rear suspension and are larger in length overall. Like Speedway, the sport uses bikes with no brakes. - Brakes are required in UK grasstrack racing under ACU rules.