Thor Mini Olympics

Over 6000 entries someone said. Bigger than Loretta's for sure. Crazy the traffic just going back and forth to the track. Internet service is horrible, so posting photos is tough.

Hershey looked good in 50 Plus.....for Hershey you know. Track was beat when he was out there.

Matthew's motos are 1, and something like 46 and 75. Got through moto 27 today. So tons of motos before Matthew even races his first motos. Then LCQs and 2nd motos. Would probably be better if they capped classes at 84 riders. Some classes have 4 and 5 divisions.

To all the guys doing starts in the pits. Hate to tell you, but if you dont have them down by the time you get to the mini Os, the 15 starts you do in the pits are not going to help. These guys are worse than all the pit bikes. DQ a few people and it would stop. Guess a kid has to get hit to get their attention.

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The pitiless are way out of control. And tesring up the roads by putting foot deep ruts in them with little turn tracks.

Scott needs to enforce no pit bikes under 16 period at CTMX next year or it will be like this. Don't think the fair board will put up with the place getting tore up like it is here.
 
Ran across this pic this morning on FB.

While your eyes may be drawn to look at all the vehicles parked, look at the end of the start straight -- we used to race Cross Country through all those woods that are now gone. It was a really fun CC race and a bit sad they tore that all down. But, moto is dead so I guess you have to sell trees to stay afloat now LOL.

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Where the trees were removed is now a track called Diamond Back. And the pitbike track.

Just got home. More later.
 
First trip to the Mini O's. Crazy how many people spend a week at Gatorback every year for sure. Matthew rode Collegeboy, 450 B, and 450 B Limited. For not raining. I got tired of riding what looked like mud motos. Collegeboy was first, they watered before 450 B Limited, and 450 B was first moto of the morning on Friday. Matthew was 3 spots shy in collegeboy and 450 B from qualifying and fell in the limited moto. So three LCQ's. Starts in the LCQ's were not the hottest and we had to pack up in Collegeboy and Limited. In 450 B, Matthew rode in 3rd, but finished 5th in the LCQ and got into Moto 2. Moto 2 he has a very outside gate, so he was dead last in the first turn. Ended up 30th in the moto, rode 10 laps, and Gage Linnville Lapped him in the 11 lap moto. Not sure how they determined the laps. I thought it was a 8 lap moto, but Matthew was scored on 10 laps, and was lapped, so must have been 11 laps.

Some take aways. You can be a superstar locally, but when you go on that National stage, there are some really really fast B riders. Told Matthew he needs to figure out how to be on the gas throwing roost down hill!! Some of those kids are amazingly fast down hill. His conditioning is fine, just flat out raw speed is what he needs more off.

Track was good. It got super rough. I spoke to one guy who had been there for like 6 years in a row and he said the prep was lacking some this year, but I have no comparison. Tons of motos, so you know it is going to be rough. Last time I was to Gatorback was about 20 years ago. They have added some sand for sure. It is no longer the hard pack, blue groove limestone it was when I raced there in the early 90s.

Amazes me the amount of amateurs that ride out of semis with full time mechanics, etc. Honestly amazes me that the factories and others invest that much money into a Amateurs program. Times have changed for sure.

For shits and giggles, look at the lap times of the B classes, the pro sport classes and the C classes. The lap times of the C riders will make you laugh. Just do away with C and make them ride B class. Start a beginner class, 1 or 2 on your AMA card or your riding B.

The pits and camping are ok. I hear they are adding more full hook ups into the back lot next year. The pit riding is out of control! Honestly, they need more security to patrol. Make pit bikes for transportation to and from the track, but not riding through the pits, raising hell. I cant believe parents don't stop kids from making circle tracks in the drive lanes of the pits, making foot deep ruts where people drive. Then to all the people doing practice starts in the pits at 40 to 50 MPH, STOP!! If you're at the Mini O;s and you need to practice 15 starts, its too late! Practice at home, not in the pits! Besides, your starting off a grate, not dirt anyway. Oh, but one father had a grate for his kid to practice on it the pits as well. Hershey almost became his victim, riding back in the pits.

I suggest CTMX address pitbikes and riding in the pits before their event. No one on a pit bike under 16. They should be used only for transportation, not riding around. And have a burn out area for people that want to do starts. You break the pit bike rules or doing starts in the pits, no warnings, DQ a couple people. I guarantee, you DQ a couple people, and the problem stops. If they have these issues at CTMX, I am sure the fair board will not be happy.

Overall it was a good trip. Could not have asked for better weather. For the most part, sunny and nice most of the time. I would probably go back again. Maybe...............
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They need to create a burnout area for practice starts like they have at LL.
I actually had a long conversation with a person involved about it. He was going tontry and make that happen. They have a pitbike track that is monitored all day, there is room for it there. He did they could even put a metal grate in also.

What a week. Sort of disappointing for me, Austin has really come around in speed. We went this year for the first time because his riding is on pace to make mains. But the lack of exposure to large events definitely showed, he was not comfortable at all riding in the crowds and it showed. But I did have that possibility in the back of my head. Still had tons of fun!

The MX track is amazing. Everything about it was awesome. The elevation is fantastic, the track is demanding, rough, ruts for days with lots of fun jumps. Line choice is everything, I was able to knock 8 secs a lap off my times 2nd moto simply by picking better lines. I didn't ride the SX track but it is very tame looking. Austin really liked it, there were lots of safe fun jumps, nice corners and they kept it very well prepped.

The competition is deep, not LL deep but close depending on what class you're in. Austins class I would say is just above regional level, in my class I would say between area and regional levels.

There were more vendors than I remember at LL when we went. Lots of deals by many of them, free VP fuel, free motomuck bike wash (the best I've ever used hands down), lots of clothing deals, parts ect. Lots of things to see and do. The pitbike races were awesome, even had a hot moms class. Heather said she is in for that one next year.

All in all a fantastic time. Like John 259 said, the pitbike riding is insane. Think CTMX and multiply by 3. So many kids just racing around on pitbokes and golf carts. He isn't lying, litterally 1' deep circle ruts right in the middle of roads. Saw a little girl get ran over, they were pretty sure her leg was broken. The people across from us were there last year. Their 6 year old daughter has a scar on her face from getting hit last year. There were litterally 10 people doing starts 2 at a time for an hour next to my rv one day. Starts were a regular part of my day beginning at 710 am most days. I'm really surprised they didn't have more security after seeing that girl break her leg and the stories from last years injuries.

We will be back though for sure, just pick a better parking spot. Lol


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Little Greg Cameron



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A super mini that grenaded during racing.


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Glad you guys had a good time and had a safe week.
You have to realize these are the biggest sandbagging events ever created. How do you have a B class full of A riders with factory support? The reason is they don't race anywhere but 4 to 6 events a year so they don't have to move up. Like John said a local top 5 guy don't stand a chance unless he pulls the ride of his life off
Same thing in bmx just had their grands and guys running novice that were B pros. They dq'd a few.
 
Good job to my "not so little anymore" buddy Mitchy Z.

For the week he got 4 top 10 finishes in totally stacked B and SchoolBoy 2 classes. The other two he finished just outside with a 12 and 13, and really would have done better if not getting collected with Preston Boespflug in a first turn crash in SX. He and Preston came through the pack together from the 30's to the low teens that moto with Mitch staying ahead of the Factory Kawi rider the whole time.
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Amazing how stacked Mini O's is....
 
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Good job to my "not so little anymore" buddy Mitchy Z.

For the week he got 4 top 10 finishes in totally stacked B and SchoolBoy 2 classes. The other two he finished just outside with a 12 and 13, and really would have done better if not getting collected with Preston Boespflug in a first turn crash in SX. He and Preston came through the pack together from the 30's to the low teens that moto with Mitch staying ahead of the Factory Kawi rider the whole time.View attachment 73936
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Amazing how stacked Mini O's is....
He looked really good. I watched the race where he was in front of the Kawi rider. Cool to watch for sure. Never talked Zman all weekend, he is too snobby but talked to Mitchell and his mom a few times.
 
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