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4412
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2/23/2014
Location
Steubenville, OH
US
Edited Date/Time
6/5/2015 8:12pm
According to MXA's John Basher... his words not mine
When did the AMA Nationals become full of sissies? I’m aware that I just made a blanket statement. Surely not every rider has gone soft. The opening three rounds of the Nationals have been absolutely superb, not necessarily in terms of intensely close racing (you can thank Eli Tomac and Jeremy Martin for that), but in the track conditions. Hangtown was the roughest it has been in years and the half-pipe was an innovative design. Glen Helen was equally as impressive. Thanks to showers in the days leading up to Glen Helen, not to mention a challenging layout, the conditions were epic. Rain hampered Lakewood in the days before the National, which created deep ruts. Certainly there have been tracks more difficult than these three (Glen Helen has been much rougher, much faster and much bigger in the past and Hangtown can get nasty with its square-edges and occasional mud bogs), but isn’t that how motocross is supposed to be? There are plenty of smooth two-wheeled sports—motocross isn’t suppose to be one of those. To hear riders complain about how rough the tracks are is preposterous. The new generation of young racers have been raised on so many groomed and graded tracks and would never have made it in the 1970s or 1980s—when the motocross world was a much tougher place. This is motocross!
My dear pal, Giuseppe Luongo, grand poobah at Youthstream, noted how the U.S. National tracks are manicured too much. He stated that part of the reason why the Europeans have begun keeping pace with Team USA at the Motocross des Nations in recent years is due to the fact that the AMA Nationals were simply too easy. As much as I hate to admit that Luongo is right, he raises a valid point (even though a large number of his tracks are dried-up pieces of junk). I commend MX Sports and each track’s crews for their newfound dedication in allowing the tracks to develop throughout the day. Isn’t that how motocross should be? It’s laughable that some of the fastest riders in the world would complain about difficult track conditions. It is from the difficulty that greatness rises to the top. It’s not like there’s a gator pit on the infield and a pack of lions roaming the course.
When did the AMA Nationals become full of sissies? I’m aware that I just made a blanket statement. Surely not every rider has gone soft. The opening three rounds of the Nationals have been absolutely superb, not necessarily in terms of intensely close racing (you can thank Eli Tomac and Jeremy Martin for that), but in the track conditions. Hangtown was the roughest it has been in years and the half-pipe was an innovative design. Glen Helen was equally as impressive. Thanks to showers in the days leading up to Glen Helen, not to mention a challenging layout, the conditions were epic. Rain hampered Lakewood in the days before the National, which created deep ruts. Certainly there have been tracks more difficult than these three (Glen Helen has been much rougher, much faster and much bigger in the past and Hangtown can get nasty with its square-edges and occasional mud bogs), but isn’t that how motocross is supposed to be? There are plenty of smooth two-wheeled sports—motocross isn’t suppose to be one of those. To hear riders complain about how rough the tracks are is preposterous. The new generation of young racers have been raised on so many groomed and graded tracks and would never have made it in the 1970s or 1980s—when the motocross world was a much tougher place. This is motocross!
My dear pal, Giuseppe Luongo, grand poobah at Youthstream, noted how the U.S. National tracks are manicured too much. He stated that part of the reason why the Europeans have begun keeping pace with Team USA at the Motocross des Nations in recent years is due to the fact that the AMA Nationals were simply too easy. As much as I hate to admit that Luongo is right, he raises a valid point (even though a large number of his tracks are dried-up pieces of junk). I commend MX Sports and each track’s crews for their newfound dedication in allowing the tracks to develop throughout the day. Isn’t that how motocross should be? It’s laughable that some of the fastest riders in the world would complain about difficult track conditions. It is from the difficulty that greatness rises to the top. It’s not like there’s a gator pit on the infield and a pack of lions roaming the course.
these guys going 90mph...
I like the tracks this year, but I'm watchin'... Basher said a lot of the tracks over there are dried up pieces of junk...
Is it any wonder though that some riders struggle when they practice on tracks like Pala? I'm sure it's great fun to ride but it's just nothing like what any of the Nationals have been like to this point. They'd be better off riding enduro than that
Also, I dont seem to remember RC having any problem spanking the Euros when he raced his "perfectly groomed" tracks back in '04.
If yall cared even a little bit about rider safety and making good racing, you wouldnt want the tracks to be a nightmare, but because yall want to project your insecurities to the current racing generation and prove how "hardxxxcore" yall were back in the good ol days, tracks have become nearly unrideable. I personally dont like watching 40 riders tip-toe around a track while maybe 3 passes happen the entire race. Its just stupid.
I think this whole prepare for the MXdN hype is bullshit- RV didnt seem to have a problem waxing the field on a 250 back in '07 when the tracks got groomed between motos. We have got beat at the MXdN recently because the other guys were just faster, plain and simple. No amount of rough track riding is going to change that.
I get really sick of hearing old riders talk about how rough it was "back in the day" because it simply wasnt. I bet yall couldnt provide me with any proof that tracks were rougher.
The Shop
At LLs back when they only did track maintenance at lunch,so if you were the motos right before and were in shape the last 2 laps youd motor by guys with their tounge in the front wheel.
1st moto after lunch was like riding in my garden with no way to make up time,the front 5 guys would all be wfo in the loam.
Ruff tracks are much safer unless you are wanting to demoralize your competition by winning by a minute.
Here is Hannah and Omara battling at Unadilla
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNiRXfzlqjg
By the way, I'm not an old timer. Yet, at least.
It would of been hard to do, when guys are all able to go within a couple of seconds of each other...
Dust was something you had to deal with in the old days, that & only a few inches of travel... wooden fences with
metal stakes...
USGP Lexington, Ohio was so dusty on the first lap Hannah & Akara Watanabe locked bars on the first lap, when the dust cleared, you could see Hannah picking his bike up, Watanabe laying there with a broken leg, his factory Suzuki on it's side with the throttle stuck open...
Bikes are so far advanced now, you got to slow them down some how... they don't want it trials or fast as flat track...
Ryan Dungey reminds me of Jeff Stanton's riding style... Smooth... He was all over the place here...
https://youtu.be/Eaa6oXL4zNQ
I began playing baseball at the age of 6 and played that and/or softball almost continuously into my early 30's. Watch a major league game these days. You have hitters setting up practically on top of the plate. These big burly overpaid players whine time and time again if a pitch is even slightly off the inside edge of the plate. If said pitch gets away and is up around the noodle, it is understandable if the hitter gets upset in any generation. However, a pitcher has a right to protect the inside part of the plate, but way too often when they do, these hitters jsut go off.
Take softball (slow pitch in my area) as another example. I wasn't a huge guy and consequently I wasn't a power hitter. I often targeted the middle as prime real estate to get hits. Many, many of my hits were bullets over the pitchers head. These days, there are practically fights in every tournament if kids try and hit the ball up the middle.
None of us old guys are trying to say anything about how tough we were. We're only stating how pampered much of the youth has been. If I got in trouble at school, my parents beat my butt when I got home. Neither ran to the school to chastise them for mistreating their son. Just saying. You need to check your facts before mouthing off.
very good @ learning shit like flying a drone around looking for targets...
Pit Row
Insane!!
Just once...
JUST ONCE
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