P94
Feature
THE SUPERCROSS EXPERIENCE
BY JEFF BUCHANAN
I
t wasn't until the flamethrowers and fireworks went off as the gate
dropped on the first 250SX heat race at Oakland that I fully appre-
ciated the evolution of spectacle that is supercross. As a motorcy-
cle journalist and former Team Maico race mechanic I've attended my
fare share of races—perhaps having become a little jaded to the whole
affair. But this time it was different. I was sitting with a seven-year-old
who was experiencing it all for the very first time. I had been entrusted
with a friend's son, Wyatt, to take him to his first motorcycle race.
Wyatt's mouth dropped open in absolute astonishment at the thunder
of the first heat race—accompanied by the blast of flamethrowers and
the cheer of the crowd—sliding to the edge of his seat, bouncing up
and down with excitement when the pack roared past and leaped
the gap of the massive triple jump directly in front of us. His reac-
tion gave me the opportunity to look at supercross with a fresh
perspective and to fully appreciate the awe and excitement
through the eyes of a kid.
FIRST
SUPERCROSS
SUPERCROSS, THROUGH THE EYES OF A KID
