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Here’s a sample of rider quotes from my interviews after the day:
“I would just say that they needed to get rid of that big triple jump in the back. You’re going so fast, we were all getting head shake going down the straightaway and then up the face.”- Jeremy Martin
“I couldn’t believe how rough it was. It was mentally tiring. You just come around and you’re like, another lap? Come on, give me the two lap card. It was tough. It was really, really taxing out there. I’m happy to get out of it healthy.”- Cole Seely
“The track scared me all day, honestly. But I’m probably not the one to ask about that. I think it’s good because it’s progressive. I think the fans like it. It was a great crowd today. I wish they would rip it a little deeper to slow down the speeds, but if they’re going to build those massive jumps like the triple upstep, you've got to make a wider landing. A little bit of angle on the takeoff makes a big difference when you’re going 100+ feet. So I think they need to be a little more safety-minded if they’re going to build stuff that big. But it’s cool to watch. Scary for me.”- Andrew Short
“Glen Helen’s always tough. With the dirt and the soil here, big jumps aren’t really a good combo for I would say a national, just because it gets so rutted out and edgy that it’s kind of sketchy. Just seeing that video of that guy crashing just makes me melt, dude. That thing’s unnecessary to me. But hopefully the next couple races they mellow some of the jumps out and don’t get too crazy.”- Broc Tickle
“What if a chain breaks or whatever? Anything can happen. It can be mechanical error or rider error, who knows? But it is what it is. Just to get out of here safe. In practice I wanted to ghost ride my bike off one of the catapult jumps they built out there. It was like a quarter of the track was an arenacross track.”- Phil Nicoletti
“I’m just being honest here. You could probably pay me to come here and practice and I won’t go. And usually actually for the races they rip it super deep, not today. It was super hard and sketchy and rough and really weird. Usually at least for the races that’s always my go-to where I’m like, “Okay, it’ll be all right because they rip it really deep.” And they didn’t really rip it too deep.”- Ken Roczen
“Some goofy sections” said Ryan Dungey at the press conference followed up with “I think we can chill out on some of the jumps.”
http://racerxonline.com/2016/06/01/observations-glen-helen
The Shop
Seems foolish and dangerous to me, but maybe someone should ask Coombs, Im sure he had to sign off on that jump at some point...
I didn't like the rhythm section in the middle of the track. That was just too SXish to me.
How does something like that triple you were talking about differ from say, LaRocco’s Leap, or that big Fly 150 at Hangtown last week?
Here’s the difference. With those jumps, all the way up to the run you’re on the gas. You start at the bottom and you’re building speed. With this triple, you start from one end [of the track] and you go to the other, and you’re doing 65 or 70 mph. Your brain can’t think that fast if you have to pull out if something needs to happen. With LaRocco’s Leap, you have a lot of time if you need to abort. There’s a big downside and it’s fairly safe, where this, it’s not good.
It was surreal though, standing under it and watching rider after rider soaring thru the air. I mentioned to a bud "What will we be seeing in another 10 years? 200 or 300 footers?" lol
For all the fuss I think there were very few incidents all day. I couldn't help thinking though that you def don't want someone next to you crowding you on the takeoff. I think maybe a double option that would not severely penalize you time wise could have been added for anyone getting sketchy on the approach. Yeah, you could double it the way it was but it cost you a lot of time.
Pit Row
"I don't know what these guys were thinking honestly. I know entertainment value is big but you're dealing with people's lives here and it's not cool. There's that big triple in the back and it claimed a couple people. It's not that we can't do it, we can do it easily actually, but doing it in a group for thirty minutes plus two, witch chuckholes on the track, the margin for error is too small. I'm all for big jumps, but you're doing almost 70 mph and there's no escape. It's not good. I don't want complain but I feel compelled to speak. We can't have this in our sport."
The Fly 150 at Hangtown, Larrocco's leap and the big uphill triple in Indiana I believe are done the right way. This one clearly wasn't.
Those of you that keep saying Hangtown's 150 footer is safe or that people don't get hurt on jumps like they do on other obstacles should click your heels together three times in an attempt to leave Oz and come back to reality.
GREAT POINT as I am sure we've heard from every person that has jumped them. Seriously how can you possibly make such a gross exaggeration/generalization in an attempt to bolster your point? Do you even lift bro? :-)
The thing about generalizations is they're generally wrong.
But in this case, all the top guys had to jump it if they wanted to remain top guys. In the fly150 it was possible to scrub the double for similar times. Also, the guys that chose not to jump it were at risk anyway from guys committed to flying 180' and dropping out of the air on top of them.
The second is the most important. If you start fast, and have a random amount of time before the jump it just gets too sketchy in the race. Doing the leap or the fly 150 is much safer because it is out of a corner. Rail the outside in 3rd, click 4th and you've got it. Gas is always on. Mess up the corner, traction, doesn't matter you can back out and double. Having a long straight makes it way too easy to go too slow or fast. At 70 mph it's hard to tell the difference between 65 (case) and 75 (blown wheel).
Build up the landing more, add some kind of S turn section down the straight. Make it a challenge, but make it safer. When every rider is doing the exact same combination and nary a single pass is made over it then you know it's really a worthless obstacle.
What everyone is calling the SX section was probably one of the best sections on the track. It was rutted. Guys were making mistakes. Passes were happening there like crazy. Oh, and it was a pretty safe section.
So you can have obstacles that are safe, an extreme challenge to the riders, and provides some great racing and different combinations.
The big jump at GH did not do a single one of those things. It just was a dangerous and absolutely boring jump. You can go sit for a few hours and watch people jump at Nitro Circus or any FMX event. Racing is about challenging the riders against each other and riders being challenged by the track. GH is an awesome track that does that in most every place. Just not that boring gigantic jump everyone was doing.
Post a reply to: Feedback on Glen Helen jumps