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Fitness Testing for Motor Sports

As discussed in our 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, motor sports athletes should undertake fitness testing on a regular basis.

The Australian Institute of Sport regularly hold camps for motorsport riders, of 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 other years have been included too,

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.

Motorcycling Australia Elite Performance Academy (EPA)

The inaugural Motorcycling Australia Elite Performance Academy (EPA) was held on the Gold Coast at the AIS Training Facility at Pizzey Park in 2015. The camp included intensive days of physical testing and psychological profiling. Some of the fitness results include Road Racer Troy Guenther achieving 13.11 on the beep test, Enduro rider Ben Kearns excelled in the core strength assessment and New South Welshman Tom Edwards came out on top in the upper-body strength endurance test. Another test that was completed was a 400m repeat effort test.

Honda Girls on the Gas

Skinfold Bodyfat Calliper 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.