If you’re a racer you’ve probably grown up starting on either dirt or concrete. After all, what other surfaces are there in amateur racing? In Monster Energy AMA Supercross however, racers launch off a completely different surface—a metal grate. But why? After so many years of dirt starts, why change it up? Turns out there are several reasons why this unique starting surface is now the supercross standard. 

The metal starting grate was first used at the Monster Energy Cup in 2013 when the race featured an elevated start. Using dirt on the elevated platform was ruled out, and the grate, which was something Feld Entertainment had been looking at already, was the solution. The grate continued to be used at the Monster Energy Cup several years after that too, including the time the start gate was at the very top of the stands. An added bonus was that it eliminated any roost getting launched over the edge of the stadium and landing on unsuspecting people outside far below. And, since everyone is starting on the same material, it serves as an equalizer.

“From a racing standpoint, everyone’s starting on the same surface. We wanted an even playing field for the guys on the gate, which was the main driving force, the reason we started discussing it in the first place,” said supercross senior director of operations Mike Muye. “But an additional bonus is that before, there was a rut behind the start gate, and when they would hit it, it would kick the back tire up and over the start gate and into another rut, so having a grate alleviates that.”