only 3 riders race all 17 rounds in 12 SX

Mike Alessi, wow, wasn't expecting that from a SX season.

Mike did good this year. gotta give credit where that shits due!

But let's keep pretending nothing is wrong with our sport......

17 is too many.

That's gotta count for something.

17 is fine, tracks need to be slower more tech. like 2001-2006.

This. Easier said than done though. Alessi and Millsaps were the only riders to finish every main event. Crazy season. Our sport is so unpredictable.

I attended the New Orleans round and one of the most "challenging" sections of the track was a long section of DEEP sand. There were several riders who hit the "ground", however it was not a high speed section and obviously the deep sand did not cause any injuries to the riders. I have the upmost respect for all of the supercross riders who risk their health for my entertainment but also appreciate the skill required to not only go fast and jump far but negotiate the technical aspects that a few of the tracks offered.

Note: The fans who appeared to be new/casual fans in New Orleans reacted more to the difficulties of the sand section over any of the other action. This should satisfy FELD that they do not need to build tracks that increase the odds of injury to the riders to have an entertaining and challenging event.

good job to all of them...way to go mike...kick some mass seabass

The big rhythm jumps are exciting at first, but by the end of practice look routine. As a rider I'm not suggesting they are, but the excitement factor as a spectator just isn't there. The slower, more technically challenging sections remain interesting as riders can make mistakes at any time. All injuries can't be prevented, but the numbers could be reduced a bit I think.

They need to utilize the sand in more creative ways like Atlanta and Vegas.


That Vegas sand whoop section looked fun, the whole track was how the rest should be.

When I see these guys flying through rhythm sections at such high speeds, I cringe.
Ever put your hand on the track surface of a fresh Supercross track?-- pavement in some cases.

I saw it in Arenacross. Concussions and broken bones because you are landing on something that resembles asphalt in its density. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see that high speed rhythm sections are gonna hurt you if you crash.

check out the 'Legacy of Motocross' thread and the video at ~45min has some great video of a track with no rhythm. Great racing though!

Wonder what the numbers were for last year....

That is a very damning statistic!

Slowing the bikes down is the answer. Back when the tracks were more technical, the progression of the sport was not as evolved, and the bikes were slower (less power, poorer suspension), there were much less severe injuries than there are now.

The first ten years I watched this sport ('93-'03), I can only recall three high status professionals having spinal injuries: Henry, 1995; Emig; 1999; and Button; 2000 (i think?). Now, you could make a list of 20-40 riders that have had spinal injuries in just the past five years. Almost as many people that will be lining up for the first moto at Hangtown were on the sidelines this supercross season. Still don't think bike power is positively correlated to injury rates? Ask yourself honestly, do you think we would see this many injuries if the AMA Supercross class was ran on mini-moto bikes? Of course not! And yes, it would be ridiculous to see, but it makes a point. I'm not advocating the premiere class be ran on mini-moto bikes, but things do need to slow down. The past two out of three seasons in the 450 class have been survivorcross.

Not only that, but these high speeds are essentially making the tracks narrower to race on. For example, the faster you go the narrower the track becomes from the riders perspective. It's like changing lanes on the highway going 70mph, or changing lanes in the city going 35. On the highway it takes a much greater distance to move from one side of the track, to the middle, or to the other side.

Faster bikes also force the riders to process things mentally at a super rapid speed. It's like guitar-hero on the super difficult level, except when these guys miss a note they end up in the hospital. Slowing the bikes down would allow riders to process things happening on the track easier, which would result in greater safety. In a sense, I really don't even think the bikes are too fast. The pros seem to have adapted to them well, and I doubt many of them would say they are too fast. The problem is that the human body has not evolved with the technology and rider progression of the sport. That, and we aren't racing with roll cages so you can't just build a stronger roll cage. In other motor sports, the governing officials usually do something when things get ridiculous. I'm not expecting any change until electric bikes come along.

Or bikes that can launch 65 feet into a rhythm section with a 10 foot run!

What round did Jake Weimer miss?

I thought this triple-triple section at LA looked particularly crazy speed-wise. Any miscalculation there would've been ugly. (Stewart is just about to lay Weimz down).

Love the comments, too!

INdy, I think.

I hear what you are saying Hank about slowing the bikes down but a 250 can do most of the jumps and rythm sections that a 450 can do. In saying that, I really think putting everyone on 250s would reduce injuries.

You are spot on about the riders getting faster and the body not evolving with the sport. Including practice tracks, these guys are riding thousands of laps a year. They only have to mess up a section on any given lap and that can be it... season over.

In some ways, you need to reduce the risk of injury. More protective gear, less races, off weekends for riders to recover physically and mentally, slower bikes, slower tracks may all help reduce the risk.

I think so too. He wasn't injured, just didn't qualify.

A few things that need sorted on the bikes that we all could benefit from.

Sound. - Really reduce the sound limit and enforce it. That would pull some of the performance aspect of the engines response.

Rev limit - Reduce the amount that each class can rev to. Reducing the maintenance costs and taking some power away.

Suspension- Modified stock only with a limit to internal part changes to say pistons, coatings and valving.

Tracks

Dirt - Needs to be less hard pack and watered a little bit more to allow the development of lines, ruts & bumps to slow the track down.

Jumps - Made bigger and safer in a lot of places. Make it impossible to quad something and if a lane section is going to be tripled through make it safer to come up short. Standard triples lengthened by 10-15ft to stop 250f riders being able to clear from the inside bringing back more block pass opportunities.

Sand - Should be introduced into a lot of the corners and whoop sections to allow it to really cut up.

Practice - During the initial practice sessions the track should be tuff blocked on the inside for first practice and outside on second or something like that to develop more lines.

Timing sections not built to the same distances and heights from week to week. Give dirt wurx more freedom to alter jumps to mess more with timing. Rather than triple triple down through a whole straight it would be nice to see double single triple and other variations being the fastest or only possible line.

Single Jumps - straights again would be nice to see some old school straights with single jumps and rougher straights.