Supermoto History Superbikers Supermoto began with a simple concept that was invented by promoter Marty Trippe back in the late 1970s and aired when the ABC TV-network commissioned the racing series "Superbikers." From this notion, a new type of motorcycle race was born. The premise of the series was to find the ultimate all-round best motorcycle racer in the world. The racing series was in conjunction with ABC Sports and its long running and epic Wide World of Sports television program. Superbikers was the first motorcycle competition to bring together the stars of various specialties of motorcycle racing to compete head to head. The "Superbiker" series ran until 1985, when the network show ended. This marked the demise of the sport in the USA until its resurrection in the early 2000's. Europe Supermoto found a home in Europe during the 80's, after it was discontinued in the US. The French were the first to adopt the sport, where it quickly gained popularity and spread to other parts of Europe. European Supermoto continued to prosper and grow throughout the 90's, this lead to the creation of several championship series. 2002 the FIM SuperMoto World Championship was launched, and is the current premier Supermoto championship in Europe. (Supermotard is the European term for early Supermoto events, and is the French translation of the word  'Superbiker'. ) Course In order to find the ultimate racer a unique race course is used. The tracks are composed of both pavement and dirt, and are a combination of on- and off-road racing. The race tracks often have a combination of Motocross-type obstacles such as jumps, constructed of either dirt or steel. The course is typically 70 percent asphalt and 30 percent dirt, with both tight and twisting turns, as well as long high-speed turns and straight-aways. This type of course requires a rider to master all types of track surfaces where all-around skill matters far more than outright machine performance. Machines Supermoto racing bikes have to be able to reach high speeds on paved sections, as well as negotiate dirt sections and traverse both large and small jumps. The motorcycle that proved to be the best choice to handle the diversity of track conditions and terrain is a modified four-stroke Motocross bike. Several changes are required to transform an off-road Motocross bike into a Supermoto bike. The primary change is to fit the bike with short wide rims to accommodate the mounting of road-race tires or  "slicks". The addition of a large front brake rotor is made and finally the suspension settings are stiffened and often lowered. Series In 2003 professional Supermoto racing returned to the USA when the American Motorcyclist Association announced an all-new national series called the AMA Supermoto Championship. This is the first new series the AMA has launched since Supercross more than twenty-five years ago. In 2004 the sport was added to the X-Games and was seen once again by millions of viewers on a worldwide broadcast. 2008 will launch a new chapter in Supermoto with the creation of the ESPN Moto X World Championships, held April 12th at Qualcomm Stadium - SanDiego, California.