Freestyle motocross

Freestyle motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts.

The two main types of freestyle events are:

Notable freestyle motocross events include Red Bull X-Fighters, NIGHT of the JUMPs, the X Games, Gravity Games, Big-X, Moto-X Freestyle National Championship, and Dew Action Sports Tour. Freeriding is the original form of freestyle motocross which started in the hills of southern California; due to professional racers such as Jeremy McGrath and Phil Lawrence "play riding" in the hills of reche canyon. It has no structure, and is traditionally done on public land. Riders form natural jumps and drop-offs to execute their tricks on. Some freeriders prefer to jump on sand dunes. In many ways, freeriding requires more skill and mental ability. Notable freeriding locations include Ocotillo Wells, Glamis Dunes and Beaumont in California, and Caineville, in Utah.

The backflip was once considered all but impossible, the "holy grail of FMX". Freestyle riders began contemplating it after the 1998 film "Children of a Metal God" showed riders attempting the trick into water. Also it had been done many times on BMX bikes, and FMX riders were using tricks from BMX riders, such as when Travis Pastrana performed an Indian Air, originally from Mat Hoffman, a BMXer.

In 1991, Jose Yanez became the first person to backflip a motocross bike. He practiced for it by flipping his motorcycle into the Salt River, just as he had done with his BMX bike. He would kill the engine on his 80cc motorcycle just before he hit the water to prevent damage to the bike. Yanez performed the world's first ramp-to-ramp motocross backflip on an 80cc motorcycle in October 1991 on an 8' tall box jump he built himself in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Jose's next motocross backflip attempt, this time for The National Enquirer, resulted in a crash that kept Jose off motorcycles and bicycles for two years due to an injured knee.

In 1993, Bob Kohl was the second person to perform the backflip on a motocross bike. The bike was a 1993 Honda Cr80. He was a professional BMX rider who had performed the trick regularly on a bicycle. He continued to exhibit the trick until a crash in 1995 left him with serious injuries.

In 2000, Carey Hart attempted the first backflip on a full-size motocross bike off a modified dirt landing ramp at the Gravity Games 2000. The landing was less than perfect, and Hart crashed immediately after. But Freestyle Motocross was forever changed. Many people started to attempt it, such as Travis Pastrana, who attempted the backflip off a Step Up jump at Summer X Games Freestyle. He bailed off mid-flight, breaking his foot. The trick was still not attempted on a normal FMX setup, off a ramp-to-dirt setup. Hart attempted the backflip again at Summer X Games in 2001, during the Moto X Best Trick competition, but bailed off the bike 45 feet (14 m) in the air, seriously injuring himself.

In 2002, Caleb Wyatt was the first person to land a backflip on a large motorcycle, on April 25, 2002, at the Rogue Valley Motocross track (RVMX). This backflip was performed over a mulch pile of grass clippings, leaves, and bark collected during maintenance of the RVMX track. Wyatt constructed a quarter-pipe ramp with the take-off completely vertical shoved into the pile of mulch.