Motorcycle sport now represents a dozen different disciplines, among which there are both directions, officially recognized as a sport, and competitions that have not received such status, but still regularly gather the best athletes and hundreds of spectators. It is clear that this was not always the case, and motorcycle sport, as a direction as a whole, had to make a serious journey, about which we would like to talk today. This article might be as helpful for placing a bet on some race as a trustworthy online platform with no deposit bonus codes for doing such a placement.
THE ADVENT OF THE FIRST MOTORCYCLE
As banal as it may seem, but the history of the emergence of motorcycle sport is closely connected with the invention of the motorcycle itself. And not only because of the fact that the emergence of a new technique served as an impetus for the formation of separate disciplines and competitions, but because the first motorcycle races (to be more precise, races involving motorcycles), took place just a few years after the appearance of the first models. But we should not start with that, but with the birth of the first prototype.
It is believed that it was patented in August 1885 by the German engineer and designer Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler, who also inscribed his name in history with the release of a series of internal combustion engines and even the development of the first car. The first motorcycle, named DaimlerPetroleumReitwagen ("Daimler kerosene cart for riding"), was almost entirely made of wood (including the frame and wheels) and had a small motor that drove the rear wheel.
The design was very successful and its first serious tests, conducted in November of the same year, ended in success: the inventor's son rode the self-propelled "cart" a distance of 3 km, developing a speed of 12 km/h. A year later, a similar unit managed to produce a British designer, and another 6 years later, two-wheeled machines also appeared in France and Italy.
STICKS IN THE WHEELS
The public met the new inventions without much enthusiasm. Apparently, the neighborhood of an internal combustion engine and only a couple of wheels did not inspire confidence, so at the legislative level a speed limit was set for such vehicles. It was only 6 km/h. A little later, this bar was raised to 12 km/h, which, in principle, was enough to use the capabilities of the motorcycle almost to the maximum.
Not all countries and cities were so lucky. For example, in London at the time of the introduction of the first two-wheeled machines was still in force the law prescribing any mechanical crews to move around the city exclusively accompanied by a man on foot - he was obliged to go ahead and hold a flag or a lantern, if the time of day and weather required it.
However, even this serious limitation, which practically nullified all the possibilities of the new "wagons", could not stop their further development. In the following years, new models continued to appear, and the designers did not hesitate to experiment, offering machines with electric, steam and gas traction, but none of them could surpass the pioneer in popularity.
FIRST RACE
It is quite interesting that at this stage of development, two-wheeled machines not only did not carry the familiar name "motorcycle", but also did not stand out as a separate class at all. That is why the birth of motorcycle sport began, as we have already specified above, not with motorcycle racing, but with a competition in which two-wheeled "mechanical crews" only took part along with cars. It was held in 1894 under the auspices of the French automobile magazine. The 126-kilometer route connected Paris and Rouen.
Of course, at that time it was still impossible to speak about any professionalism of drivers - only 9 years had passed since the invention of the first motorcycle and automobile, but this moment still became truly significant for history.
The competition itself's mechanical crews also made a lot of noise, because the average speed of their participants was really impressive for that time 20.5 km / h. The next race, which again involved motorcyclists, did not take long to organize - the next year, 1895, the world's first "motor race" was held with the route Paris - Bordeaux - Paris. Again competitions were organized in 1896, and from that moment the number and variety of races began to grow uncontrollably. And in each of them wheeled self-propelled vehicles of all colors - from cars to tricycles - took part.
Despite the fact that the center of motorcycle racing of that time was undoubtedly France - it was there, or rather in Paris, that the competitions started most often - the first competitions, in which only motorcycles took part, were held in Vienna in 1899. And they can be safely considered the first step to the formation of the very motorcycle sport to which we are accustomed now.
WHAT IS SPORT WITHOUT RULES?
Serious sport can not exist without clear rules, and they, even with the rapidly increasing popularity of racing, by the end of the XIX century has not been formed. Moreover, the final division of cars and motorcycles into so-called two-wheeled and one-wheeled crews was made only at the beginning of the next century.
It could not go on like this and, finally, on July 8, 1904 in the Czech Republic a group of enthusiasts created the world's first international federation of motorcycle clubs (FICM), which became the ancestor of the modern FIM. Its main task was the transformation of semi-amateur tournaments into a real sport with strictly established specifics, terminology, requirements for equipment and participants and, most importantly, centralized control of compliance with all the established rules. This is how professional motorcycle sport appeared in the world.