Why do they tail whip like that while racing?
what 24/7 said.. also.. there's a difference between a "whip" and a "scrub"..
a whip could achieve the same result.. to an extent.. however, a "scrub" is really what you want to do when racing.. it's basically used to "scrub" some of your speed when hitting a jump... mx racers realized that to jump an obstacle straight on, you couldn't carry more speed than the jump required, or you'd sail over the landing, land flat, and kill yourself...
so.. what theyve started doing in the last few years is this scrub maneuver. it does two things really...
1) it allows you to hit the jump as fast as you want to.. the better you can scrub, the faster you can hit the jump face.. this lets you keep more speed than the guys youre racing against, because they have to slow down if theyre not great scrubbers.. whereas in contrast, you maintain your speed up all the way through...
2) it keeps you low to the ground so you get back down to earth quicker. the more time your wheels are off the ground (in the air), the slower you are going. the goal is to get back down to earth and get that HP to the ground ASAP. a guy who's in the air for 5 seconds is gonna be slower over a guy who's doing the same jump and getting back down to earth in 3.5 seconds. multiply that 1.5 second by 20 laps and its a HUGE difference.. multiply that number by the number of big jumps on the track... there you go..
all that said.. scrubbing is DAM HARD!!!!! i can't do it. :thumbsdown:
its funny.. you watch any sx race today, and keep your eyes on any little double (not necessarily all the triples).. 99% of the guys going over the double will do this quick turn of their handlebars as theyre going over the jump. this, in essence, is what scrubbing is. obviously, it doesnt look like the pics above, but what theyre trying to do is slow their momentum at the last second before taking off into the air so they dont overjump the little double. its funny becaues if you watch any sx racing, from, say, 5-6-7 years ago, not many guys do it.