• 269-385-1540

Motocross Track Layouts

Motocross Track Layouts

When it comes to taking fun to the extreme, few sports offer the adrenaline and speed of motocross dirt bike riding. This type of riding is a competitive endeavor where you can showcase your riding prowess over a course made to offer up plenty of challenges along the way. While courses can be set up in any number of ways, there are certain shared elements of all motocross track layouts. Let’s take a look at the most common motocross track layouts to help you get more familiar with the sport.

It is important to note that these are just the main components which make up a track. A track layout can have only a few of these or all of them, but it will depend on the size and setup of the track itself. When training for competitive rides in this sport, the key is to be able to effectively ride through all of these elements in practice so you aren’t thrown off your riding game on the course if you encounter something different from other motocross track layouts. It’s important to train for all the possible setups of a course in order to have a successful ride.

Course Areas

  • Bermed Corner: This is a corner with a built-up berm from riders which essentially packs in the dirt as they take a turn. Eventually as the berm grows, it provides the rider with something to push off and can help them gain momentum as they continue riding.

  • Step On: A name for the small jump preceding a Table Top.

  • Table Top: This is a flat raised jump performed from the upside to the down side.

  • Step Off : The name for a small jump off a Table Top. The Step On and Step Off are related to Table Top since Step On gets you on the Table Top and the Step Off is where a rider jumps off.

  • Flat Corner: This is a slick, un-bermed corner resembling a corner in Flat Track racing.

  • Rollers: This is a small section of the track resembling rolling hills. This is usually an area rising in elevation.

  • Ski Jump: The long drop off after an elevated sector of the track such as the rollers.

  • Double: The name for two large jumps performed consecutively where riders land on the downside of the second jump as a result of the height and distance given by the first jump.

  • Sharp Turn: Requiring a significant decrease in speed and technical skill, this is a tight turn which offers very little room for error or mistakes.

  • Sweeping Turn: This is a wider and naturally more forgiving turn allowing a rider to maintain significant speed.

  • Whoops: This is basically a speed bump on steroids. A car would get stuck at the top to put it another way. This is something riders try to skim across the top at a high rate of speed to avoid getting stuck while also gaining some momentum.

  • Triple: Similar to a double, this is three large consecutive jumps placed together in a group. In the typical layout, riders land on the downside of the second jump before they launch off the third jump, but some riders manage to leapfrog the second jump altogether through elements of speed and momentum from the first jump which allows them to land on the downside of the third jump.

  • Rhythm Section: While it may sound like a musical party, this is just a tamer version of the whoops. This offers smaller peaks and valleys for a less intimidating jump and riders use it to hop over two or three peaks at a time.

  • Sand Section: A section of the track which slows down riders considerably. This is an area which is tricky to navigate without getting stuck and can end a chance at winning if a rider isn’t going fast enough to get through it.

  • Quad: This is the name for four large consecutive jumps. It’s similar to a triple, but with an extra jump.

  • Off Camber: An area meant to challenge the skills of a rider, this is a corner with no berm where the inside is normal track height but the outside is lower making it hard to stay inside.

  • S Curve: True to its name, this is a part of the track which is shaped in “S” shape and can be tricky for riders. It is meant to test their skills while giving some room to gain speed before launching into the next obstacle.

  • Step Up: Often confused with a Step On, a Step Up precedes a Table Top but is not as steep as a Step On. While both are used to get on the Table Top, a Step Up is much smaller than a Step On and riders use this to tell them apart.

  • Step Down: Similar to a Step Up, this follows a Table Top and most riders land on it at the downside of a Table Top because of the length of the Step Down.

  • Step Over/Dragon Back: While this is usually found on a Supercross track, some motocross tracks may also include it in the setup. A Step Over, also sometimes called a Dragon Back, resembles a Rhythm Section but it rolls upwards in elevation and finishes with a small jump.

  • Talladega Corner: Much like a Berm, this is a high-speed corner with a bank meant to test the riding skills.

  • Downhill: A usually steep stretch of the track, this is a downhill slope typically attached to a Step Over.

  • Split Lanes: The name for any section of track offering two different paths of travel a rider can take with the paths going in the same direction toward the completion of the track.

  • Booter: This is pretty much the last big finish for a run. A Booter is a really large jump that occurs right before or at the finish line of the run. It gives the rider some serious airtime and a chance for a landing before they end the race.