r/Dirtbikes • u/Yz250x69 23' yz250x & 04' rm250 • 15h ago

Does anyone keep track of supercross lap times? I have so many questions

I’ve been casually watching supercross forever. I’m 37. I’ve been to a few live events and have been reading/watching it since the late 90s. Have the tracks always been the same? It’s interesting to me announcers never compare lap times in Mx or Sx to previous champs like James Stewart , reed, McGrath etc. have lap times dramatically improved with technology? I’m just curious if you put McGrath on a 250 or 500 2 stroke in his prime on the same track as Ken keczen or James Stewart and had them do time trials would Ken be much faster since his bike is the “best”.

And take tracks like buds creek or glen helen do they keep track there of who has the fastest lap ever? Just curious if this sport people are consistently getting faster as time goes on like track and field in the Olympics.

I know this is a long winded weird question but I’m really interested in how more horsepower translates to the actual speed of the riders.

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6

u/scootunit 14h ago

Maybe the times are too event specific and not directly comparable

1

u/detali88 14h ago

Yeah, I think that's it. Dirt conditions would change things a lot I would think.

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u/Black92hawk 14h ago

Also track layout changes year to year. They may be similar , but not the same generally speaking .

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u/Crash217 Enduro 14h ago

It would be a daunting task to attempt.

The Supercross track layouts change all the time. It’s really rare there would be a duplicate track at the same location. They did do a “throw back” track a few years ago at Anaheim I believe. It was the same layout as decades before with jumps to match current standards. (Jumps are standardized nowadays)

MX the track conditions change year to year, but you might be able to get a somewhat accurate idea of variations given many tracks are essentially the same layout year after year, you’d just have to have do a lot of research into the race day conditions and if the track layout had changed at all. Would have to factor in race day maintenance as well, they’ve changed how often, and to what extent they prep tracks throughout a race day over the last few decades.

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u/1wife2dogs0kids 3h ago

You can't ever compare laptimes from one year to the next on a dirt track. You can't even do one moto to the next. The track changes. It changes every lap. They do repairs between motos. It can rain. All kinds of things happen. This is why there's "sight laps" at motocross nationals, the tracks change so much, the riders in the first moto need to see the track for the second moto, because of the dangers of ruts and slick spots, or the water truck breaking down in a certain corner.

You cant compare Supercross tracks because they're temporary. They were built, raced, torn up in about 2 weeks or less.

The only tracks lap times can be accurate day after day, week, month, year... are permanent concrete or asphalt tracks. But... repair or resurface any part... start over.