you better be a badass on a bike if you want to go to lorettas from the NW (and it doesn't hurt to have deep pockets)

First of all, I know it’s impossible to make everyone happy but I still feel compelled to voice my opinion on the Northwest regional and Loretta Lynn National qualification. We are all aware of the cost of motocross alone, then when you throw in travel expenses things get crazy. Traveling to Loretta’s alone is a major undertaking for us living in the Northwest and when it’s coupled with huge drives to attend our own Northwest regional it’s too much of a financial burden for most.

NORTHWEST AREA QUALIFIER *
DATE TRACK / WEBSITE LOCATION PHONE
March 8 & 9 Hollister Hills Hollister Hills, CA
March 22 & 23 Horn Rapids MX Richland, WA
April 26 & 27 Porterville OHV Park Porterville, CA
May 10** Washougal Washougal, WA
May 17 & 18 Oatfield Raceway Turlock, CA (Dual qualifier for NW and SW regional)
NORTHWEST REGIONAL
June 7 & 8 Prairie City OHV - Youth/Amateur Rancho Cordova, CA

I posted the schedule to show that the Northwest region caters to California and puts Northwest riders at a disadvantage financially and competitively. A dual qualifier is available in California then the Northwest Regional is hosted in California! Guess who gets the short end of the stick all the Northwest kids and their parents wallets! The Northwest kids suffer a competitive disadvantage; they have to travel really far to compete on a track they rarely if ever ride for their home regional. The Southwest regional is at a track people have access to year around that’s a lot closer in proximity to most Southwest regional riders. I suggest since a dual qualifier is available the Northwest regional should be in the Northwest (Washougal, Horn Rapids, or Idaho somewhere) there is no reason California riders should be given such an advantage competitively or financially. Look at the numbers below it’s clearly unfair to Northwest kids and families. I sincerely hope this provokes some thought and discussion; I thank you for your time and support of MX a sport we love! I just want to keep things in reach for the middle class.

623 mi, 9 hours 28 mins Washougal Wa to Hangtown Northwest Regional (northwest disadvantage)
390 mi, 5 hours 42 mins Los Angeles to Hangtown Northwest Regional (southwest advantage)
298 mi, 4 hours 27 mins Los Angeles to Dual Qualifier (southwest advantage)
690 mi, 10 hours 28 mins Washougal WA to Dual qualifier (northwest disadvantage)
1,024 mi, 15 hours 18 mins Washougal Wa to SW Regional (northwest disadvantage)
73.0 mi, 1 hour 13 mins Los Angles to SW Regional (southwest advantage)