One hundred years in the making, an epic Motocross of Nations in England marks the ultimate birthday celebration for the sport.

WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: RAY ARCHER

Motocross started in England. In a way. More than twenty years ago (August 2002, Volume 5, number 8) Racer X’s original managing editor Bryan Stealey went to the site of the first-known motocross race, the Southern Scott Scramble at Camberley Heath. Held March 29, 1924, it was the first off-road motorcycle race ever run under the simple format of “whoever gets to the finish first wins.” Before that, popular events included trials with sections observed by judges, and road races (often called TTs back then), but the Southern Scott Scramble had no roads, no judges, and no timekeeping. They just raced.

Mind you this was called a scramble, as it was the French who eventually coined the term motocross, a combination of motorcycle and cross-country. But the racing started in England in 1924. England also just happened to be hosting a very big motocross race in 2024, at Matterley Basin, just 34 miles from where it all started a century ago at Camberley Heath.