Gopher Dunes VS Lommel

turbotime
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turbotime
Edited Date/Time 10/3/2012 1:59pm
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track.


If you want a real sand track, come up to Courtland, Ontario, Canada and ride Gopher Dunes. While you're at it, have it included as part of the 2013 AMA (inter)national series instead of trying to replace the almighty 'Glen Helen' with some lackluster SOCAL track.

If you want confirmation, ask RC. He's been to Gopher Dunes. He'll tell you where it's at.


Love from Canada.

P.S: Matt Goerke is probably USA's fastest four stroke sand rider.
P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships.
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yota
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yota 10/2/2012 7:21am
10/2/2012 7:21am
"P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships. "

this I believe to be true.
jamma10
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jamma10 10/2/2012 7:40am
10/2/2012 7:40am
Kyle Chisholm has raced Gopher Dunes.

Kyle Chisholm ‏@KyleChisholm11 29 Sep
..But having fun & doing my best with what I have. I'll say 1 thing: this is the gnarliest track I have EVER rode! Feel like a beginner! Lol

Kyle Chisholm ‏@KyleChisholm11 29 Sep
& again that was the toughest track I've EVER rode! Unbelievable watchin @Antoniocairoli & Herlings & some other GP guys in those conditions
scooter5002
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scooter5002 10/2/2012 7:41am
10/2/2012 7:41am
Wow. Nice first post. From what info do you draw this conclusion? I live 10 minutes from the Dunes, and I've run a million laps at the place. Raced a lot there, too. Won there when I shouldn't have, against faster guys, but they couldn't stay upright in the sand. That place can be very nasty, and the day the National runs there, it gets REAL nasty. To say that it tops Lommel is a bit of a stretch. No, it's a LOT of a stretch. Though it might be a good place for guys to practice before the next Lommel. Can't remember what year it was, but it rained HARD during the race day. Downpours where you couldn't see very far. That was indeed, the worst I've ever seen the Dunes, when we walked the track after the races. Brutal.
RC has been there. Yes, but did he cut motos? To my knowledge, he taught at that West49 contest winner school, and watched some motos during the day, no doubt. To say that he has pounded out motos there ad nauseum is bordering on an outright lie, if that's what you are inferring. Yes he has seen the track, and taught there.
Maybe refrain from the bashing until you have some credibility. Oh, btw, there's a guy you should chat with on here. Goes by the name Mohammed. Total douchebag. You may find some common ground between each other. Wink
Huckster
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Huckster 10/2/2012 7:48am
10/2/2012 7:48am
turbotime wrote:
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track. If you want a [b]real[/b] sand...
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track.


If you want a real sand track, come up to Courtland, Ontario, Canada and ride Gopher Dunes. While you're at it, have it included as part of the 2013 AMA (inter)national series instead of trying to replace the almighty 'Glen Helen' with some lackluster SOCAL track.

If you want confirmation, ask RC. He's been to Gopher Dunes. He'll tell you where it's at.


Love from Canada.

P.S: Matt Goerke is probably USA's fastest four stroke sand rider.
P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships.
2015 MXoN @ gopher Dunes.....Team Canada, Tyler Madaglia, Jay Burke and Kyle Keist and Rob McCullough as team manager?

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Ramrod
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Ramrod 10/2/2012 8:13am
10/2/2012 8:13am
I agree that comparing the two is a bit of a stretch.

Gopher is a great track and I love it but to be truly a national track it would be nice if it was longer and had a little elevation change. For my level it's perfect and long enough.

What about Baja Acres in Michigan? How does it compare?
ehr400
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ehr400 10/2/2012 8:18am
10/2/2012 8:18am
Ramrod wrote:
I agree that comparing the two is a bit of a stretch. Gopher is a great track and I love it but to be truly a...
I agree that comparing the two is a bit of a stretch.

Gopher is a great track and I love it but to be truly a national track it would be nice if it was longer and had a little elevation change. For my level it's perfect and long enough.

What about Baja Acres in Michigan? How does it compare?
Baja is pretty deep, but has a hard pan to it.

I would say Bulldogs or Polka Dots is way more deeper then Baja or Gopher Dunes. They get way gnarly with normal to low turnouts. DBoivin on here can attest to that. I think actually Polka Dots or Bulldogs had a AMA national in the 70's I believe as well.
kev472
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kev472 10/2/2012 8:18am
10/2/2012 8:18am
jamma10 wrote:
Kyle Chisholm has raced Gopher Dunes. [b]Kyle Chisholm[/b] ‏@KyleChisholm11 29 Sep ..But having fun & doing my best with what I have. I'll say 1 thing...
Kyle Chisholm has raced Gopher Dunes.

Kyle Chisholm ‏@KyleChisholm11 29 Sep
..But having fun & doing my best with what I have. I'll say 1 thing: this is the gnarliest track I have EVER rode! Feel like a beginner! Lol

Kyle Chisholm ‏@KyleChisholm11 29 Sep
& again that was the toughest track I've EVER rode! Unbelievable watchin @Antoniocairoli & Herlings & some other GP guys in those conditions
watchin Lommel on a TV or helmetcam doesn't do it justice

Just like Roger Decoster said, you have to see it with your own eyes
ehr400
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ehr400 10/2/2012 8:21am
10/2/2012 8:21am
As growing up riding in sand and bottomless sand, there is a big difference. I have spent countless hours at the Silver Lake sand dunes and that is bottomless sand and with a handful of bikes it gets gnarly so I couldn't imagine 40 bikes over the course of 100's of laps.
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motomike137 10/2/2012 8:25am
10/2/2012 8:25am Edited Date/Time 10/2/2012 8:27am
ehr400 wrote:
Baja is pretty deep, but has a hard pan to it. I would say Bulldogs or Polka Dots is way more deeper then Baja or Gopher...
Baja is pretty deep, but has a hard pan to it.

I would say Bulldogs or Polka Dots is way more deeper then Baja or Gopher Dunes. They get way gnarly with normal to low turnouts. DBoivin on here can attest to that. I think actually Polka Dots or Bulldogs had a AMA national in the 70's I believe as well.
Polka Dots (Midland) had a National for 2 or three years (76-78?) back in the day and Bulldogs is pretty challenging. But I would hesitate to compare either to what I saw on TV last weekend... that was full on knarly!
ehr400
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ehr400 10/2/2012 8:32am
10/2/2012 8:32am
ehr400 wrote:
Baja is pretty deep, but has a hard pan to it. I would say Bulldogs or Polka Dots is way more deeper then Baja or Gopher...
Baja is pretty deep, but has a hard pan to it.

I would say Bulldogs or Polka Dots is way more deeper then Baja or Gopher Dunes. They get way gnarly with normal to low turnouts. DBoivin on here can attest to that. I think actually Polka Dots or Bulldogs had a AMA national in the 70's I believe as well.
motomike137 wrote:
Polka Dots (Midland) had a National for 2 or three years (76-78?) back in the day and Bulldogs is pretty challenging. But I would hesitate to...
Polka Dots (Midland) had a National for 2 or three years (76-78?) back in the day and Bulldogs is pretty challenging. But I would hesitate to compare either to what I saw on TV last weekend... that was full on knarly!
Agreed! It would be like running the race on the Lake Michigan shoreline.
blueoval177 10/2/2012 9:09am
10/2/2012 9:09am
turbotime wrote:
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track. If you want a [b]real[/b] sand...
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track.


If you want a real sand track, come up to Courtland, Ontario, Canada and ride Gopher Dunes. While you're at it, have it included as part of the 2013 AMA (inter)national series instead of trying to replace the almighty 'Glen Helen' with some lackluster SOCAL track.

If you want confirmation, ask RC. He's been to Gopher Dunes. He'll tell you where it's at.


Love from Canada.

P.S: Matt Goerke is probably USA's fastest four stroke sand rider.
P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships.
Sand Ratings

Lommel >> Gopher dunes > Southwick

Never been to the other ones (or Lommel). Lommel looked unreal, Decoster mentioned the ruts being up to his waist. I hope they release GoPro footage of Herlings in the last race...
Glory
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Glory 10/2/2012 9:21am
10/2/2012 9:21am
turbotime wrote:
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track. If you want a [b]real[/b] sand...
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track.


If you want a real sand track, come up to Courtland, Ontario, Canada and ride Gopher Dunes. While you're at it, have it included as part of the 2013 AMA (inter)national series instead of trying to replace the almighty 'Glen Helen' with some lackluster SOCAL track.

If you want confirmation, ask RC. He's been to Gopher Dunes. He'll tell you where it's at.


Love from Canada.

P.S: Matt Goerke is probably USA's fastest four stroke sand rider.
P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships.
blueoval177 wrote:
Sand Ratings Lommel >> Gopher dunes > Southwick Never been to the other ones (or Lommel). Lommel looked unreal, Decoster mentioned the ruts being up to...
Sand Ratings

Lommel >> Gopher dunes > Southwick

Never been to the other ones (or Lommel). Lommel looked unreal, Decoster mentioned the ruts being up to his waist. I hope they release GoPro footage of Herlings in the last race...
They probably won't :/
Cause it wasn't GoPro, it was the helmetcam they us on every GP for the TV, so you can view live from it. Guess what was shown from it on TV is what we got..
three9zero
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three9zero 10/2/2012 9:32am
10/2/2012 9:32am
I grew up racing Bull Dogs, Baja Acres, and Polka Dots as well... Bull Dogs is the nastiest of all the Michigan tracks and I would put in right with Gopher Gulch in Ont.....
steed 2.0
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steed 2.0 10/2/2012 9:49am
10/2/2012 9:49am
our sand doesn't contain clay that make it so special (pure silica) Lommel is not the exception many similar tracks here

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msp138 10/2/2012 9:50am
10/2/2012 9:50am
three9zero wrote:
I grew up racing Bull Dogs, Baja Acres, and Polka Dots as well... Bull Dogs is the nastiest of all the Michigan tracks and I would...
I grew up racing Bull Dogs, Baja Acres, and Polka Dots as well... Bull Dogs is the nastiest of all the Michigan tracks and I would put in right with Gopher Gulch in Ont.....
Yeah I raced all those tracks so many times and the dunes once. From my point bulldogs gets worse than all of them,but like I said I only raced the dunes once. I basically lived at baja when I was racing loved that track.
Flip109
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Flip109 10/2/2012 10:01am
10/2/2012 10:01am
yota wrote:
"P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships. "

this I believe to be true.
Haha I agree
PPS Moto
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PPS Moto 10/2/2012 10:04am
10/2/2012 10:04am Edited Date/Time 10/2/2012 10:05am
From my experience Gopher Dunes is bottomless sand and much gnarlier than Baja or Polka Dots - they don't even compare. I think Gopher dunes gets harder to ride than Bulldogs because of the jumps and higher speeds. How rutted out the jumps get at Gopher Dunes, especially that big finish line jump definitely make it sketchy. Southwick is no where close to as deep of sand as Gopher Dunes or Bulldogs. If you were to have as many fast riders on the track at Gopher Dunes as they had at the des nations it could possibly get that rough, but I doubt we'll ever see that.
ehr400
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ehr400 10/2/2012 10:38am
10/2/2012 10:38am
What up PPS! Get your TM back together?

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PPS Moto
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PPS Moto 10/2/2012 11:18am
10/2/2012 11:18am
ehr400 wrote:
What up PPS! Get your TM back together?
Still in pieces in barn, took me awhile to actually take it apart & get the bottom end somewhere to get fixed.
AMA714
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AMA714 10/2/2012 12:48pm
10/2/2012 12:48pm
I rode Gopher, Baja and Motoland in Indiana before moving to TX, and can vouch for the depth of the sand at Gopher Dunes...It gets deep, gnarly and downright scary at speed, and is harder than the Michigan and Indiana tracks. Its all about flow, and keeping it pinned.

I have also witnessed Lommel in person (thankfully on a beer tour) and can personally say the ruts and depth of the ruts that developed was INSANE!! The local guys were so fast in that stuff, it was hard to believe.
I was there on a practice day, and could not believe how incredibly destroyed the track looked after only a few hours of riding. The sand rollers and deep ruts that were everywhere, definitely looked worse than anything I remember at Gopher.
IceMan446
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IceMan446 10/2/2012 12:51pm
10/2/2012 12:51pm
turbotime wrote:
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track. If you want a [b]real[/b] sand...
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track.


If you want a real sand track, come up to Courtland, Ontario, Canada and ride Gopher Dunes. While you're at it, have it included as part of the 2013 AMA (inter)national series instead of trying to replace the almighty 'Glen Helen' with some lackluster SOCAL track.

If you want confirmation, ask RC. He's been to Gopher Dunes. He'll tell you where it's at.


Love from Canada.

P.S: Matt Goerke is probably USA's fastest four stroke sand rider.
P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships.
Wrong.

That would be that number 7 guy. I think he rides a Suzuki.
Mr. Ted
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Mr. Ted 10/2/2012 1:00pm
10/2/2012 1:00pm
Screw it just have the damn thing at Glamis...
AMA714
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AMA714 10/2/2012 7:43pm
10/2/2012 7:43pm
turbotime wrote:
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track. If you want a [b]real[/b] sand...
After viewing recent Lommel helmet cam footage, I am not very impressed with this so called "monster" of a track.


If you want a real sand track, come up to Courtland, Ontario, Canada and ride Gopher Dunes. While you're at it, have it included as part of the 2013 AMA (inter)national series instead of trying to replace the almighty 'Glen Helen' with some lackluster SOCAL track.

If you want confirmation, ask RC. He's been to Gopher Dunes. He'll tell you where it's at.


Love from Canada.

P.S: Matt Goerke is probably USA's fastest four stroke sand rider.
P.S.S: The invention of the four stroke cost JS7 900 championships.
IceMan446 wrote:
Wrong.

That would be that number 7 guy. I think he rides a Suzuki.
Uhhhmmmm ya... Matt's fast, but I hope you are not basing your decision to call him USA's fastest sand rider on the 1 Southwick win...
sdfog1
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sdfog1 10/2/2012 8:09pm
10/2/2012 8:09pm
Chicolm just said on Pulp that Lommel was far gnarlier. Not that he would know or anything. Whistling
NB304
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NB304 10/3/2012 6:57am
10/3/2012 6:57am
I always wondered what it would be like to lay out a full motocross track at silver lake sand dunes and see how it shapes up after a day of motos. that would be pretty fun. i love the sandy tracks around mi. baja, polka dots, battle creek, portland.
three9zero
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three9zero 10/3/2012 8:00am
10/3/2012 8:00am Edited Date/Time 10/3/2012 8:06am
three9zero wrote:
I grew up racing Bull Dogs, Baja Acres, and Polka Dots as well... Bull Dogs is the nastiest of all the Michigan tracks and I would...
I grew up racing Bull Dogs, Baja Acres, and Polka Dots as well... Bull Dogs is the nastiest of all the Michigan tracks and I would put in right with Gopher Gulch in Ont.....
msp138 wrote:
Yeah I raced all those tracks so many times and the dunes once. From my point bulldogs gets worse than all of them,but like I said...
Yeah I raced all those tracks so many times and the dunes once. From my point bulldogs gets worse than all of them,but like I said I only raced the dunes once. I basically lived at baja when I was racing loved that track.
I LOVE Baja Acres. Off topic but I would eat like 5 of those "baggies" a day from the concession stand there.
Old school mini shots from back in the day...
1987, Massive 80cc class.

Lining up beside the fastest 80cc rider in the world b4 pracitce

1987



1989, Michigan in the fall is really the best riding in the world IMO, wet sand and really nice back drop with the leaves changing colour(color for you 'Maricans)
ehr400
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ehr400 10/3/2012 8:28am
10/3/2012 8:28am
NB304 wrote:
I always wondered what it would be like to lay out a full motocross track at silver lake sand dunes and see how it shapes up...
I always wondered what it would be like to lay out a full motocross track at silver lake sand dunes and see how it shapes up after a day of motos. that would be pretty fun. i love the sandy tracks around mi. baja, polka dots, battle creek, portland.
I miss them here in Bama. Definetly have to change your riding style here in the hard pack clay.
jsmx198
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jsmx198 10/3/2012 8:30am
10/3/2012 8:30am
I have raced both. (and Southwick) Lommel wins as the roughest sand track I have ever rode. It gives me nightmares. You can't hide from this monster.

Although I remember at Gopher Dunes going completely off the track to find smooth lines. Both insanely rough.
NB304
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NB304 10/3/2012 11:27am
10/3/2012 11:27am
NB304 wrote:
I always wondered what it would be like to lay out a full motocross track at silver lake sand dunes and see how it shapes up...
I always wondered what it would be like to lay out a full motocross track at silver lake sand dunes and see how it shapes up after a day of motos. that would be pretty fun. i love the sandy tracks around mi. baja, polka dots, battle creek, portland.
ehr400 wrote:
I miss them here in Bama. Definetly have to change your riding style here in the hard pack clay.
the track i built in the back field at my new house is hard packed clay (must me the only spot in the state), while the horse pasture in front of my house is moto perfection like the rest of the state. unfortunatly the boss will not sign off on me putting the mx track in the front yard. those pics make me want to to go to baja. i think i will head up there for the last race of the year in a few weeks.

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