Snocross (also snowcross) is a racing sport involving

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

specialized high performance snowmobiles on natural or artificially-made tracks consisting of tight turns, banked corners, steep jumps and obstacles. Riders race at speed of up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometres per hour).2007 Rock Maple Snocross Racing
, January 26, 2007, Retrieved December 4, 2007 Jumps are up to tall, so riders travel up to before they touch the ground. According to the World Snowmobile Association which governs snocross, watercross, and hillcross racing, snocross is the most popular form of snowmobile racing. Snocross was derived from the sport of

motocross 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. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

. The name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the words "snowmobile" and "motocross". The sport uses a snowmobile instead of a motorcycle, and a snow/ice surface instead of dirt. The snow/ice surface which is either natural or

man-made Artificiality (the state of being artificial, anthropogenic, or man-made) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity. Connotati ...

.WPSA SnoCross Duluth Results
November 27, 2007; Jeffrey Banks, Off-Road.com, Retrieved December 4, 2007 Tracks are generally located in higher latitudes in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

since temperatures below freezing are required to maintain the frozen track surface. Motorcycle riders in

and supercross frequently compete in snocross in the winter. Snocross became an event at the X Games in 1998.The Best North American Snowmobile Competitions
; snowmobilingweb, June 4, 2007; Retrieved December 5, 2007 X Games is a popular gathering place for some snow-related sports in the United States. The course at the first snocross event at the X Games resembled a

course; it was significantly longer than courses are now. It had deeper holes and higher jumps that are now filled in with snow.

Equipment

The snowmobiles vary significantly depending on their class. Sanctioning bodies are governed by International Snowmobile Racing (ISR) rules. Drivers are required to wear a

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

with a minimum of 50% International (Blaze) Orange. (Rule of thumb, a credit card placed anywhere on the helmet must contact orange), racing suit (must have a minimum of 144 square inches of orange on front and back), gloves, goggles/eye protection, leather boots, shin guards, elbow pads, neck braces, knee guards, and upper body protection (Motocross vests are NOT legal for Snocross. Hearing protection is often required in non-stock classes.

Event

Races start with the drivers forming a line abreast at the start line. The event begins with either a drop of a green flag by the starter or by the starter turning on a light. Like other sports derived from

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

, the winner is often the rider who has the best holeshot.Polaris shows 2003 440 ProX racer
Wade West; October 15, 2002, Retrieved December 4, 2007 The event may be stopped for a dangerous condition. The snowmobiles are lined up for the restart by their position in the race, with the drivers involved in the stoppage starting in the rear. The winner of the event is the rider who finishes first in the feature event. Events attract over 10,000 spectators. Typically, a snocross event uses the standard short-track motorsport standard of qualifying rounds, heat races, consolation final, and the feature.

Major events

* X Games, Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado * Duluth Nationals,

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. Held the weekend after Thanksgiving every year since its inception. The unofficial start to winter and the official kickoff to the Snocross racing season. Riders from New England, Canada and points beyond will join the ISOC teams in Duluth to get a jump on their upcoming seasons. * Snowcross World Cup Finals at Lugnet Riksskid Stadium in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

* Grand Prix Ski-doo de Valcourt in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada, in February. * World Championship Snowmobile Derby at

Eagle River, Wisconsin Eagle River is a city and the county seat of Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2020 census. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destination. The area contai ...

, United States on the third weekend in January. The snocross track is quite small yet still exciting and is constructed inside the famed high-banked half-mile ice oval.

Snocross by region

United States

The national sanctioning body for snowmobile snocross racing i
International Series of Champions
(ISOC), owned by John Daniels. ISOC sanctions the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series (ACS) national tour, along with regional series in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. ISOC replaced Joe Duncan's World PowerSports Association (WPSA) starting with the 2008–09 season. The ACS will consist of eight points-paying races in 2015–16, beginning with the AMSOIL Duluth National at Spirit Mountain on November 27–29. Highlights from ISOC's National events are televised on the CBS Sports Network. In the northeastern United States (New England and New York), Rock Maple Racing sanctioned snocross racing from the winter of 1991-92 until being sold (for the second time) in May 2010. New owners Eric Scott and Bob Roscoe chose to form the East Coast Snocross (ECS) series to carry on the tradition RMR had created. Now owned by Mass. native Kurt Gagne, East Coast Snocross (ISOC's eastern affiliate) will sanction eight points-paying events in 2019, along with one ice drag event. Previous years have seen hillcross events sanctioned as well. Snowmobile racing is big in northern New England where snows are deep and temperatures often remain cold for weeks. ECS races throughout New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. Mountain West Racing sanctions on eight events in northern

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

states. There is a snocross track in

Wauconda, Illinois Wauconda ( or ) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 14,084. It is the site of the Wauconda Bog Nature Preserve, a National Natural Landmark. Wauconda ...

. It is home to the Winter Thunder Challenge snocross club, an ISOC affiliate, and they have to make snow to make up for the lack of natural snowfall.

Canada

The Canadian Snowcross Racing Association (CSRA) hosts 5.5 (five full weekends plus one one-day event) regional & regional plus one additional national-only points-paying events across Ontario and Quebec. Owned by veteran promoter Ken Avann, the CSRA is Canada's national tour. Despite being an ISR (the rules body) affiliate, CSRA technical rules differ for various classes, making competition between series' on either side of the border challenging for riders and crew. The Quebec-based SCMX series normally sanctions eight events across Quebec. The Ultimate Canadian Motorsports Association (UCMA) previously known as the North West Racing Association (NWRA) hosts 8 to 10 events in Central and Western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, with races held in the provinces of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and north-west

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Europe

The sport is popular in the Nordic countries, especially in Sweden and Finland, yet its popularity is also growing in former Soviet Republics as well as Iceland and the Alps. There have been several manufacturers in earlier years, but Lynx - a subdivision of the Canadian company BRP, is the only producer left besides the big four; Yamaha, Polaris, Arctic Cat and Ski-Doo (also a BRP marque). Racing is competed in several classes, but the most competitive ones are the Pro Stock and the Pro Open. Both are for a maximum of 600 cm³ and for adults at least 16 years old.

Video games

* '' Polaris SnoCross'' – N64, PSone * '' Ski-Doo: Snowmobile Challenge'' – Xbox 360, PS3 * '' Sled Storm'' – PSone, PS2 * '' Sno-Cross Championship Racing'' – PSone * '' Ski-doo X-team Racing'' – PC * '' Sno-Cross Extreme'' – PC * '' X Games Snocross'' – iPhone/iPod Touch * '' Mad Skills Snocross'' – iPhone/Android

References

External links

The International Series of Champions
(United States, Canada) * East Coast Snocross (United States)
Canadian Snowcross Racing Association
(Canada)
Ultimate Canadian Motorsports Association
(Canada)
United States Cross Country Snowmobile Racing Association
(United States)
Winter Thunder Challenge
(United States) {{Extreme Sports Snowmobile racing