How to scrub and whip in Monster Energy Supercross 6

Controlling your motorcycle in the air is a key component to a successful career in Monster Energy Supercross 6 – but if you aren’t familiar with the real-world sport or the video game series, scrubs and whips may seem like an elusive movement that only happen by accident.

Here’s how to pull them off with more aplomb than Cooper Webb, and why you need to master the art in order to progress through the game.

What is a motorcycle scrub?

A scrub is a real-world dirt motorcycle racing (supercross or motocross) technique where the rider pushes the bike sideways through the air, which helps them stay lower and reduces the time spent in the air. Less time in the air, means more time on the ground making forward progress.

It means you can take the run-up to a jump faster, without braking, but then still ‘cut off’ some air and land quicker.

How to scrub in Monster Energy Supercross 6

You have two ways of pulling off a scrub in Monster Energy Supercross 6, both involved precise timing and the analog sticks.

It’s important to remember: don’t try to scrub on a small jump, only attempt when you know that the upcoming incline results in big air. Trying the scrub over a small crest, or ‘whoops’ in SX terms, will only result in a crash.

Just before you take off, at the top of the gravel/mud surface, quickly move the analog sticks in one of two ways:

• Both sticks inwards
• Both sticks outwards

Hold the sticks there, briefly, and your rider will slew the bike sideways in mid-air. But, then quickly move both sticks in the opposite direction to straighten the bike before landing.

So, if you moved both sticks inwards upon take-off, move them both outwards before you land.

If you moved both sticks outwards upon take-off, move them both inwards before you land.

Upon hitting the ground, you then must release the right stick and use the left stick to steer, as per normal.

What do we mean by ‘inwards’ on the analog sticks? Well, at the same time, move the left stick to a 3 pm position (as if the circle of the stick is a traditional clock face) and the right stick to 9 pm. For outwards, it’s left stick at 9 pm, right stick at 3 pm.

To recap:

• Only attempt a scrub on a bigger jump
• As you reach the jump’s crest, move both analog sticks inwards or outwards
• Hold the sticks there, as you ascend in the air, for a couple of seconds
• While still in the air, move the analog sticks in the opposite direction to straighten the bike before landing
• Upon landing, use the left stick only to steer

What happens if you mistime all of the steps above? You crash. Don’t straighten up in time before landing? Crash? Spend too long sideways in the air? Yup, crash again.

Once you’ve got the scrub process locked down, there’s still learning at which part on each track where pulling on off is possible. There’s no set rule for this, it’s very much open to interpretation, but just stick to the big jumps – once or maybe twice per lap depending on the track layout – and you’ll be okay.

What is a motorcycle whip?

A whip is where a motocross or supercross motorcycle rider lays the bike down on its side, mid-air, by shifting their weight. Similar to a scrub, but used for a different purpose, as a whip is used to re-adjust the motorbike’s position ahead of an upcoming corner.

For example, if the rider has taken the incorrect line riding up to a jump or been compromised by a competitor, they can use a whip in the air to reposition themselves.

We found that in Supercross 6, to pull off a successful scrub, you would tweak the analog sticks just before you take off, whereas with a whip, you can trigger one whilst already in the air.

How to Whip in Monster Energy Supercross 6

There are two methods to a whip in Monster Energy Supercross 6, and both are using your controller’s analog sticks.

First, you should know that to safely execute a whip, only attempt when in the air and during a bigger jump. Trying to whip over some small bumps will result in your rider parting company from your bike.

In many ways, the process of a Whip is the same as a Scrub, except you move the analog sticks in a different direction.

Just before you take off over a jump, at the bump’s crest, quickly move the analog sticks in one of two ways:

• Both sticks left
• Both sticks right

Hold the sticks there, briefly, and your rider will use their weight to move the bike sideways mid-air.

However, you must then quickly move both sticks in the opposite direction (to the right, or left) to straighten the bike before landing.

So, if you moved both sticks to the left upon take-off, move them both to the right before you land.

If you moved both sticks to the right upon take-off, move them to the left before you land.

Upon hitting the ground, you then must release the right stick and use the left stick to steer.

To recap:

• Only attempt a whip on a large jump
• As you reach the jump’s crest, move both analog sticks either to the right or to the left
• Hold the sticks there momentarily, as you ascend in the air
• While still in the air, move your analog sticks in the opposite direction to straighten the bike before landing
• Upon landing, use the left stick only to steer

Much like a scrub, this will take time to refine the process, but mainly knowing when to judge an upcoming jump as to whether you’ll get enough air to pull a whip off.

Scrubs and Whips unlock Coach Quests

In the career mode of Supercross 6, in between the main race events, you can partake in optional challenges within the open-world Supercross Park with seven-time SX champion Jeremy McGrath.

Some of these are unlocked based purely on the number of scrubs and whips you successfully achieve.

• Scrub King quests are unlocked through this method, and unlocking all five will require that you do 50 scrubs within career race gameplay.
• Whip King quests, meanwhile, are unlocked through successful whips when in the career mode, with 50 needed to open all five.

Completing these Coach Quests unlocks skill points, which are used on the skill tree to improve your rider’s abilities. So you’ll want to do them in order to achieve better results and also help towards the Perfect Shape Trophy and Achievement too.

Master of the Scrubverse Trophy and Achievement guide

The Master of the Scrubverse Bronze Trophy or 15 Gamerscore Achievement pertains to the number of scrubs you successfully complete in the game across any game mode.

So, read our guide above on the correct scrub technique, and continually focus on these in every race, Supercross Park challenge and online race, and when you hit 100, this will pop.