Racing
Clubbies
All clubs hold clubbies and members from many clubs are welcome to attend. You must hold a valid Auscycling membership to participate in club racing.
Knox BMX holds clubby race meets on the 1st and 3rd Friday nights of the month. Some races form the Knox Club Championship in which points are accumulated over the year. Every rider that qualifies receives an award at our end of year presentation. The rules of the Championship can be found in the Policy tab.
Open Meets
The next step after clubbies is open races. Each club hosts an open race each year. Some open races form a series
Open races are typically held on a Sunday, but sometimes there are exceptions: Frankston Helltrack is usually held on a Saturday night and at Knox we hold a two day carnival over Saturday night and Sunday.
Everyone with a valid Auscycling membership can participate at Open races. There are Novice classes for those just starting.
All riders except Mini Wheelers and Sprockets require a transponder, an electronic timing chip, to participate.
4-month licence holders can hire a transponder. Open licence riders need to purchase one here
Race format
The race
The aim of BMX is simple - get to the finish line first. The race starts with riders in their allocated lanes at the top of the hill. As soon as the gate drops, there are no lanes, and the riders can jostle for position pretty much however they like. But, there are some important rules to ensure the safety of all riders.
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White lines are painted along the edges of the track. Riders may cross them if necessary for safety e.g. if another rider forces them over, but mustn't gain a position from it.
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BMX is a contact sport, and bumping is allowed, but mustn't intentionally or maliciously bump another rider.
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On the last straight, riders can't change their line in order to prevent another from passing.
Transferring to finals
Most BMX races use randomly drawn motos to work out who makes it to the finals. Riders are 'awarded' points based on where they are finished. 1st place gets 1 point, 2nd gets 2, and so on down to 8th, which gets 8 points. A DNS (Did Not Start) awards 8 points, and a DNF (did not finish) awards points for last place in the race. Riders are then ranked in order from lowest to highest points. Depending on the amount of riders in the class, quarter- and semi-finals may be necessary.
Please note: Invitational Finals are run in Victoria for riders who do not make it to the final.