Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all races or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.
Polo or Chovgan is a ball game that is played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. It originated in ancient Persia, dating back over 2,000 years. Initially played by Persian nobility as a training exercise for cavalry units, polo eventually spread to other parts of the world. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or chukkers.
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with more goals at the end of the game wins the match. Each team is made up of six field players and one goalkeeper. Excluding the goalkeeper, players participate in both offensive and defensive roles. It is typically played in an all-deep pool where players cannot touch the bottom.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of the twentieth century and large national events were often given the title Grand Prix. The foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme as the international governing body for motorcycle sport in 1949 provided the opportunity to coordinate rules and regulations in order that selected events could count towards official World Championships. It is the oldest established motorsport world championship.
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. Since in the 1980's, Aprilia has also produced large sportbikes such as the 1,000 cc V-twin RSV Mille and the V4 RSV4.
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
Supermoto is a form of motorcycle racing held on race tracks that alternate between three kinds of track surfaces: the hard packed dirt of flat track, the irregular jumps and obstacles of motocross, and the paved tarmac of road racing. Supermoto was originally conceived by Gavin Trippe in 1979 as a segment of the TV show Wide World of Sports. It was something like an all-star game, in which the best riders from the three separate genres of motorcycle racing could temporarily leave their normal race class to come together and compete for the title of best all around racer. Today supermoto is a distinct genre of its own and riders in the other classes do not routinely cross over into supermoto.
The International Motorcycling Federation or (FIM) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 121 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six continental unions.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
AMA Superbike Championship is an American motorcycle racing series that has been run every year beginning in 1976. For most of its existence it has been considered the premier motorcycle road racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned by the AMA American Motorcyclist Association since its inception, and the promotion of the series has been licensed to several organizations over the years. Since 2015 the series has been run and promoted by MotoAmerica, who also manage several other AMA professional road racing championships, including the popular 600cc Supersport class.
Cycle polo, bicycle polo, or bike polo is a team sport, similar to traditional polo, except that bicycles are used instead of horses. There are two versions of the sport: Hardcourt Bike Polo and grass court bike polo. The hardcourt game saw a sharp spike in interest in the first decade of the 21st century and new teams are sprouting up across the world in China, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, France, India, Germany, Pakistan, Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, England, Scotland, Argentina, Italy, Spain, United States, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Nepal, Brazil and Cuba.
GasGas is a Spanish motorcycle and bicycle manufacturer specializing in off-road and trial bikes. The company was founded in 1985 in Salt, Girona, Catalonia, by Narcìs Casas and Josep Pibernat after the closure of the original Bultaco factory, where they previously worked.
Ossa was a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer which was active from 1924 to 1982 and from 2010 to 2015. Founded by Manuel Giró, an industrialist from Barcelona, Ossa was best known for lightweight, two-stroke-engined bikes used in observed trials, motocross and enduro. The company was known originally as Orpheo Sincronic Sociedad Anónima (O.S.S.A.) and was later renamed Maquinaria Cinematográfica, S.A..
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
Ice speedway is a developed form of motorcycle speedway racing, featuring racing on frozen surfaces. The sport uses bikes enhanced for the terrain. Participants can compete at international level.
Superbike World Championship is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles.
The European Superstock 1000 Championship, formerly FIM Superstock 1000 Cup or Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, was a supporting class to the Superbike World Championship.
Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan, is a team sport with horses that originated in ancient Iran (Persia). It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Supersport 300 World Championship is a motorcycle racing competition on paved surfaces, for production-based motorcycles. Created in 2017, the championship runs as a support class to the Superbike World Championship.
The 2022 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The event took place between 1–14 January 2022. This was the third time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race started in Ha'il and ended in Jeddah, going through canyons and cliffs in the Neom region, passing by the Red Sea coastline, into the stretches of dunes surrounding Riyadh, with a lot more action on sand dunes in the Empty Quarter. The route consisted of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Riyadh on 8 January.
