The term is used in
motorcycle racing,
off-road racing (but also
motorsport racing in general) for the rider who is the first one through the first turn. In some cases, a holeshot award is given, which is a prize separate from winning the race. Many motorcycle racers consider the start to be the most important part of a race, and it is particularly important in those forms of the sport where the tracks are very small, tight and difficult to pass on. This is particularly relevant in
motocross and
supercross, where racers line up alongside each other rather than behind each other in
tarmac-based sports. The term had also found its way into
bicycle motocross racing (BMX) by the early 1970s because BMX is a bicycle derivative of motorcycle motocross and has inherited many terms from that sport. In BMX, the holeshot is even more important since BMX races are single lap 25 to 45 second races with only a few opportunities to pass in that time period. Achieving the holeshot in BMX will earn the rider a victory the majority of the time. race This term can also be used to describe the starting performance of a vehicle. A vehicle that is fast off the line (though not necessarily fast overall) is said to have a good "holeshot". == References ==