BriarcliffMx
PR Founding Father
C class begins with a C, cherry picker begins with a C......Coincidence? I think not.
I disagree with the practice on Sunday comment. Last Sunday is a perfect example. JO only got 280 out to a great track, when he gets 200 out for practice and has less expenses. He had another track running a race within an hour, and another track within an hour running open practice. I also think the open practice at his own event might have kept people from showing up to race on Sunday. How many of those 6 vets would have come and raced on Sunday, if Saturday was not an option. In all reality, if some of these tracks and practice tracks went away, it might not be a bad thing for the good ones that are in it for the long run, and could help increase participation at races.
But.....could have the opposite affect to bringing in new riders. One of the biggest reasons new riders are not showing up at races anymore is probably the difficulty of the tracks (whoops, doubles, tribles, steep faces, etc.), and just how fast guys are moving. Look at the C class....it is no longer a C class (my opinion). I say 3/4 of those riders should be in the intermediate B class! If your a new rider you don't want to race some of those guys. Either start a beginner class (any bike size 85-up, and any age) or make the C class a one year and done true C class.
C class has been debated to death. But reality is todays C riders have run very well in minis and super mini....and move to C class. Or they get in C class, never go to LL, and race C class for 5, 6, 7 years....yeah I can name a few, that are NOT C riders. But don't want to go to B class, because they feel those guys are too fast. Used to be a rule......if you raced 85s you were ineligible for the C Class. Whatever happened to that rule?
These are some of the things hurting new riders from joining the ranks of motocross racer.
Maybe 400 to 450. No more gate drops, just fuller gates and more profit for the promoter.I agree with you on everything except the Sunday practice. Could you imagine how many races may have been there if no one was practicing?
Scoob, you couldn't be further from the truth bud !
In my earlier post, I mentioned that "We raced our ass's off". That was no exageration.
If you are in pursuit, or being pursued, the physical demands get extreme. And the GP woods racing gets very fast and intense. If you review the lap times you will see what I'm talking about.
I often completely empty a camel pak during a 1 hour race. After my second (afternoon race) I used to have difficulty getting my fingers to stretch open to remove my hand from the grips. If I'm not well hydrated coming into the race I would get charley horse leg cramps in my feet and legs so bad that I would have trouble driving my truck home, (and it's a manual transmission), and then they are cramping up all night long while trying to sleep.
You clearly don't understand the physical stamina, endurance, and skills required to make it into the top 5 of a 30+ or 40+ GP race.
Can I get a witness ????????????????????
Limiting classes will never guarantee fuller gates, that's an assumption. It will push people to the tracks that offer the class that you cut.
Then why don't you race/ride the MX track for 45 minutes is all I am saying...
With all due respect, that is also an assumption. We have years of data showing the numbers of racers continue to decline with the current format of 35 classes and 4 laps. I believe it is a high probability that that format is pushing people away.Limiting classes will never guarantee fuller gates, that's an assumption. It will push people to the tracks that offer the class that you cut.
Moto is all about taking risks.
Try that outside line that no one else has tried, it may be faster.
There's a lot of reasons that the track attendance are down and most of them have nothing to do with the track promoters.
The biggest problem is that there are not enough new riders. The days of riding at the local gravel pits, vacant lots, block of woods or farmer fields are over. My father worked out of state, so the only way I could ride was to be able to ride my bike there. I had 4 old gravel pits to ride at. My high school had over 30 kids that raced, all because they had a place to ride close to home. As we got better we wanted to start racing. Had a lot of great riders come out of my high school, Steve Johnson, Dale Spangler, Keith Perry and Karl Scott all had there pro license. The bikes were cheap and easy to work on.
Now if you want to practice you have to have one of your parents take you to a practice track. Most are a good half hour drive or more. When you get there if you are new, the tracks can be intimidating. Let's face it, if you are new to riding and are trying to learn, what track is there that a new rider can learn at? One of the reasons that OIR has always had a large turn out is because it is rider friendly. There's nothing there that is too challenging for a C riders, but still fun for pro riders.
Now don't get me started on the cost of a new bike and how much harder they are to work on. The cost of riding is expensive today.
Also all the tracks that practice on Sundays are hurting the race attendance. Back in the day no one ran practice on Sunday, if you wanted to ride you went racing.
These are just some of the reason that motocross is dying.
WELLL, i may do the finish line but havent yet done the triple. But i did them at RT62 so idk maybe next time.. Just because someone can hit jumps does not make them fast. Im slow as hell but i can sorta kinda jump sometmes. ANYWAYJMoore, if your a C rider and airing out the triple or finish line jump at BC though, your NOT a C rider.
Its coming... and when it hits the track, all will know.Where is your bike? I didnt see your name in any of the results this year yet.....you said you were racing this year no matter what!
RIsk and faster lines eh???