Motorsports
Sports > List > Motorsports > Fitness > Testing
Fitness Testing for Motor Sports
As discussed in this article about fitness for motorsports, fitness plays a very important part in the success of any motor sport athletes. In order to measure and monitor the changes in fitness, they should undertake fitness assessment on a regular basis.
The Australian Institute of Sport has a yearly camp for motorsport riders, in which a small part is fitness testing. In 2008 at the Elite Rider Camp for Road Racing, Dirt Track and Speedway athletes, the fitness tests included the following tests. Some results from 2008 and 2010 have been included:
-
Anthropometry: height, weight and skinfolds tests were conducted to measure any excess fat levels that could be hindering their performance, and the measurements are also useful for comparison to any future measures. In 2010, it was suggested to the girls to aim for a result of around 90 (sum of 7 sites), the average at the camp was 111.
-
Power: The vertical leap test was used to measure leg power, and to get an indication of general body power. In 2008, Road Racer Jordan Burgess had one of the highest leaps, achieving an excellent 61cm. The average for the girls in 2010 was 37.5 cm.
-
Abdominal Strength: assessed using the 7-stage test. in 2010, the women averaged stage 4.
-
Speed: 20 meter sprint test was used to measure running speed. In 2008, Jordan Burgess was the fastest with 2.99 seconds.
-
Aerobic Fitness: The common beep test was used to measure aerobic or endurance fitness. This is important in order to stay alert and fresh during long races. In 2008, Blake Leigh-Smith (Road Racing) took the honors reaching level 14.2. in 2010, the women were told they need to be around level 9 and the average for the group was 8/5.
note: in 2008, there was no ab strength test, and in 2010 there was no speed test.
Honda Girls on the Gas
An annual Australian women's motocross event is the Honda Girls on the Gas competition. The scoring for this event is based on five categories: Rider Technique, Public Speaking, Lap Time, Fitness (Shuttle Run), Race 1 (5 laps), Race 2 (5 laps). In the fitness component, the 20m shuttle run is used.
The results for the beep test fitness component in 2009:
1st Jess Gardiner NSW 8.3
2nd Jess Moore WA 8.1
3rd Courtney Knight Qld 7.8
4th Jackie Gibbs SA 6.5
5th Emily Flint Tas 5.8
6th Jess Heaney Vic 5.7
2010 results of the fitness test
1st Jess Moore, 10.1
2nd Sarah Stubbs, 8.10
3rd Krystal Sowten, 7.10
4th Jacqui Gibbs, 7.5
5th Tayla Jones, 6.9