It’s 1956 and in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 80,000 fans have filled Strahov Stadium to watch the “Great Victory Day Race” (Great Victory Day marked the liberation of the Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic from Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union), and Supercross racing was born.
Off-road motorcycling had already become a major sport in post-war Czechoslovakia, so there was plenty of interest in such an event, and plenty of talent to thrill the fans. But there wasn’t adequate public or personal transportation to take great throngs of people into the countryside, so the idea of staging a race for people to enjoy in comfort in the very center of Prague was only logical.
The motocross course twisted over a half-mile circuit that included a steeple-chase type water crossing and seven or eight jumps, which were created by piling dirt on wooden ramps.
Because of the political nature of the holiday, only Czechs and riders from neighboring Iron Curtain countries were allowed to participate, and only motorcycle brands from the region (ESO, Jawa, CZ, MZ and Junak) were to be raced.
Due to state-controlled communication on both sides of the Curtain, Western riders and motocross fans had little knowledge of or interest in the event.
16 years later, at Daytona International Speedway, the “first” Supercross race was be held.