Mangaluru: The searing heat and the puffs of dust did not the stop the crowd – mostly youngsters – from cheering and screaming, while a set of bikers showcased intense competition on the 900m track, during the fifth round of  the off-road biking competition, hosted by National Supercross Championship, here in Kulur on November 23.

The Mangalorean were treated to a intense competition, which was hosted in the city after 12 years. It featured “table tops” — mounds of dirt at a height — apart from 22 ‘jumps’.

Brad Ripple, an American dirt bike specialist designed the track, which allowed bikers to get at least a 20-ft jump.

More than 100 professional and amateur riders took part in the competition, apart from at least 25 people from the city for the ‘locals’ category, said Shyam Kothari, president of Godspeed Racing, organisers of the competition.

At the end of four rounds held in Nashik, Pune, Chennai and Coimbatore, racers from Hero 9T9 team and Team TVS were head to head here in Mangaluru. The championship trophy will be held in Bengaluru at the end of the month, Kothari said.

The competitionwere held in eight categories: SX1 (foreign bikes), SX2 (foreign bike and only for privateers), juniors (under the age of 15), Indian expert class (Group B), Indian expert class (Group C), Novice class and Locals class.

Earlier, Minister for Youth Services, Sports and Fisheries K. Abhaychandra Jain inaugurated the event. Minister for Health U.T Khader surprised the onlookers by showing his racing skills. City Police Commissioner R Hitendra and others were present on the occasion.