Differences in Heart rate response between fast and SLow supermoto race riders

Introduction Supermoto racing is a popular motorsport also performed by riders of other categories as a training for their competitions (e.g. Moto-GP, Moto2 and Superbike). Anecdotally it requires fitness, riding experience, and off-road skills. However, not much it is known about heart rate (HR) responses during racing. The aim of this study was to investigate HR responses during a 12 lap supermoto racing in national-regional riders. Methods Sixteen supermoto race riders (Means ± SDs, Age: 29 ± 9 yrs; BMI: 23.0 ± 2.4; supermoto riding experience : 4 ± 3 yrs) performed 12 laps race simulation on a international circuit 1200 m long without the off-road part (Fig 1 and 2). Mean temperature and humidity during the race were 31.6 ± 0.5 ̊C and 53.5 ± 2.0% respectively. Heart rate was monitored throughout all 12 laps. Results HRmean in the 16 supermoto riders during the 12 lap race was 168 ± 16 bpm. HRpeak was 177 ± 15 bpm, which corresponded to 94% of their HRmax. There was a positive relationship between the best performance (fastest lap time) and the HRmean over the entire duration of the race (r=0.747, p<0.001, n=16) (Fig 3). When the 5 fastest supermoto riders were assigned to the fast group (F group), and the remaining 11 to the average-to-slow group (AtS group), HRmean and vs. HRpeak were significantly higher in the AtS group than in the F group (p<0.05)Discussion HR reflects performance in supermoto racing. Fast supermoto race riders have a lower mean as well as peak HR than average-to-slow riders. This could be due cognitive causes as well aerobic capacity levels. Understanding what determines these differences can be crucial to improve racing performance. It has yet to be determined whether training in this motorsport should focus more on improving cognitive skills such as reaction times and attentiveness, or more on physical capacities, such as cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength.