ADAC MX Masters·22.5.2016

MX adrenaline rush – What drives the stars?: Loud engines and high pulse rates

Motocross is an extreme sport with powerful machines, demanding tracks, loud engines and high speeds. Those riders who have managed to become one of the top 40 on the European MX scene and can line up at ADAC MX Masters race weekends are certain of their first adrenaline rush.

At any rate, ADAC MX Youngster Cup rider Glen Meier (17) thinks that the excitement he experiences just before the race is the best: "My pulse rockets just before the start sound is heard and the gate falls, and I think to myself, ‘Oh no, there´s no turning back now!" But it´s precisely my high pulse rate that then helps me focus. I love that moment," said the young Dane. His colleague Leon Ast (18) is of the same opinion. He always has to go to the toilet immediately before the start. "For me, it´s a cross between fear and the need to push, because the actual race is normally already decided shortly after the start," said Ast.

ADAC MX Youngster Cup competitor Mika Kordbarlag prefers to use his feeling of nervousness to really spur himself on before the race: "I know that I´m doing the right thing when I get so worked up. I subsequently experience lots of adrenaline spikes during the race itself, as I especially like the speed and the jumps," said the 19-year-old. Maximilian Pleyer likes the big jumps most of all. "There´s nothing finer than to fly through the air with your bike at an angle and experience a sense of freedom," said Mika´s 18-year-old rival. Johannes Klein (20) enjoys the many motocross jumps so much that he can keep his adrenaline levels up at a consistently high level until the end of the race. "I used to be a bit wary of the jumps, but I now find it much nicer to be in the air and simply have fun," said the ADAC MX Youngster Cup rider.

However, Petr Pilat, one of the ‘Big Boys´, prefers taking the corners in order to get his motocross adrenaline rush: "When there are deep grooves and the ground is in perfect condition, as at Holzgerlingen, for example, then I´m at my happiest," said the 25-year-old Masters rider.

On the other hand, Stefan Ekerold has to win. "It´s just a feeling that you can´t describe when you achieve your goal. I get the biggest spike of adrenaline imaginable when I finally stand on the podium," said the 20-year-old ADAC MX Youngster Cup rider, telling us about his personal fascination with motocross.

As you can see, many riders experience their special rush of adrenaline in quite different ways. Consequently, adrenaline levels remain high throughout the entire ADAC MX Masters weekend, so that it never gets boring either for participants or spectators.