The start of a BMX race is one of the most important areas, once your set it all starts with your reaction time, you can test your reaction on our gate simulator below.

There is less than half a second between the Red light and the Green light when the gate goes down, you need to react to the Red light to get the best start possible. So constantly testing and improving this skill is key.
When preparing your start you should either look at the lights or listen to the beeps, this is really personal preference but make sure you have your head up. The lights go Red, Amber, Amber, Green and for each light there is a beep. You want to be the first person out of the gate to the first jump, to give you the best chance of winning the race.

Being able to come out of the gate first is based on how fast you react, you need to be reacting when you see the red light or hear the first beep. By reacting on the Red light you will give yourself the best chance to be off down the hill by when the green light goes on and the gate has gone down.
The Faster you react the better chance you have of being first!!