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Fact is, when you get a bunch of racers and a bunch of talent on a motocross track, it's going to get rough and the track is going to wind up sketchy. Add to that, these guys are racing hard trying to get a spot on the gate at Loretta's, and crashes can and will happen. Unfortunately, this crash took the life of a young racer who was doing what he loved and trying his hardest to be the best at it. It's very sad and tragic, but the reality of the situation is that there isn't anyone or anything to blame. My hope is that the family and friends of this poor rider can find some peace with what has happened at some point, and that time will eventually heal the hurt that they are no doubt feeling right now.
I have rode a ton of places and that was by far the roughest track I have ever been on.
These large events like Lorettas, qualifyers, Mini Os seem to have tragic events on a regular basis, at a minimum annually. I am not picking on any event or MX Sports but challenging us as competitors to expect more. A tragedy in Nascar, F1, MotoGP always leads to change. And don't tell me its only the series with the $ that are making changes, even my local stockcar track has made changes to the outside wall to add cushioning.
I do not have the answers but one death is too many in my mind not to take any action. Our sport needs to evolve. Mention the fact that you are into MX to any Non MXrs and they think you have a screw loose, thats not good for the long time viability of the sport.
I attended some road racing in Ireland last year, arguably the most dangerous form of 2 wheel motorsports and the emphasis on safety was evident, not so in our sport.
I do not have the answers but I beleive something needs to be done. For example.....can a natural terrain track (no ashphalt) sustain 900 riders racing on it in a day before unsafe conditions become increasingly likely (kickers)??? Like I said earlier, there appears to be trend in these larger events, do we need to limit how many can race on a track in a given day? Do we need to limit the number of competitors on the line in any given race? We could cut down the classes to make this happen....do we really need stock and mod classes.....especially at the 50cc and 65cc levels.
Again I do not have the answers and the sport is and always will be inherently dangerous but there needs to be SOME change. I almost lost a son to an mx accident and I cannot imagine the pain this family is going through, what if the SOME change would avoid just one family having the same experience in the future.
Expect more.
I agree I have ridden alot of different tracks around the country and it was definitely a mans track. Super rough.
That being said.....
Other than DC how many of you saying a rough track and conditions were fine actually were there? If you werent there AND ACTUALLY RIDING ON THE TRACK ( Hint DC ) then you have no idea what you are talking about. NOTHING ever looks the same from the side lines, in pictures or from hearsay like it is when you are ON YOUR BIKE RIDING THE TRACK!
Sure DC, AP57 and a few other pros loved it. Not one rider I spoke with in the pits or on the line in my 2 classes thought so. Like a scene from the movie "1984" big brother kept telling us over the PA system and on our radios how great the track conditions were. Trying to brain wash us into believing we were at the pinnacle track, the newest greatest facility in MX.
The jump faces were terrible. Holes, ruts , cupped out sections and weird uneven faces were the norm. Massive holes formed in straight sections. And for DC to say the finish line jump/hill wasnt rough??? What hill did you consider the finish because it was the scariest section of the track for me. It was nasty, chopped up and rough as hell. You are not selling your product here!
Yard sales were common near many jumps, many times over the weekend. Not only was the yellow flag out routinely but the red cross flag was as well. Carnage was a common place thing, much more so than the 3 qualifiers I went to last year.
Again there is no blame directed from me about any one having crashed or worse. We take that risk and decide to ride or not. But to come on here and blatantly claim the track conditions were great and the finish line hill was smooth has shown me the type of character you have DC. You are worried about nothing more than promoting your track and lining your own pocket. A concerned business man would have agreed that there was room for improvement.....that conditions were less than you hoped for. That efforts are being made to improve the riders experience or that in an attempt to improve safe riding conditions you are taking steps to change track conditions for the better.
Instead you come on here spreading propaganda to derail riders who gave you input on their experience at your new facility. An effort to deny any negative aspects of track conditions....almost like a scared person trying to deny that even the smallest aspect of the new venue wasnt perfect.
I was there, I rode 6 motos, 5 practice sessions friday and practice sat am as well as sunday am. My opinion of the track from the view of a person that raced n the track is this.....
1. Fantastic facility! Great parking....no, PERFECT parking.
2. IMO fantastic spectator viewing. Lots of tall shade trees all over the track.
3. Lots of elevation changes on the track
4. Most of the track is very wide but some of the corners are narrow and/or too one lined
5. They had a great bike wash water truck! It had a 2" water pump and you could fill your barrel in 30 seconds
6. The announcer did a good job. We got tired of hearing how great the track was from his tower view and he needed to do a better job of telling us what the next 3 motos were going to be.
7. The program went smooth with little down time
8. The jumps were fun in concept but the faces made your gut knot up every time. The run to all the jumps was chisel plowed right to the face of the transition.
9. The pro national will be fun to watch the steep down hill section. There is a table top with a downhill landing that looks to be about 85 deg steep......
10. It was rough and rutted as to be expected but only the really really nasty stuff and jump faces should have been addressed during track prep sessions. In my 3rd motos sunday they seemed to have learned to try this on the straights and corners but not one jump face was cleaned up during the day that I saw with the exception of the uphill triple once. And on the over night preps it seemed like they may have even disced the jump faces.
11. Watering the starting gate so that you had puddles in your rut behind the gate was one of the stupidest things I have ever seen.
Now go ahead and bash me, discredit me or call me an old wuss. Unless you rode last weekend with me you dont have the experience to do so.
1. Disappointed in food selection. Hey it's one of the reasons I go :-)
2. Good job of keeping dust down in pits.
3. Lots of Porta Pottys
4. Good PA system.
5. Being a first timer the signup was confusing. Could have put up a few signs/instructions.
6. Bleachers?????
7. Good job by EMT's
Pit Row
Hershey, I didn't say the track was perfect, and again, please forgive the local announcer. I didn't think it was as bad as some people said, though as I mentioned before, I left on Saturday evening and was not there for Sunday. But I trust the work of our track crew and know they not only did they do their best, they will do better the next time. Everything we do, we try to do better the next time and the next time. It was very obviously rough, especially after the day-long practice on Friday, and we worked hard until dark that evening, and then all day on Saturday before, in between and after the motos. They took as much time as they could on Sunday as well, and finished around 5:30 p.m.
Everyone feels horrible about Austin's crash, but no one knows yet what exactly happened other than he crashed over the finish line jump. We are talking to as many people as we can and all of the feedback -- including the negative and off-topic stuff people are posting here -- will be sorted through. But to say that me trying to discuss the track and the conditions here is because I only care about "lining my pockets" is really unfair and unfortunate, given the terrible circumstances.
DC
MX Sports
as far as how to make this sport safer, I don't have a good answer. this whole sport IMO has gotten completely out of hand over the past few years.
Notice how you didn't deny him saying (not to me but another father) that "his kids safety was not his concern", just bash me for bringing it up, how about bashing the 7 or 8 other dads that where going to stomp his ass and had to be escorted off grounds by the police. Any "promoter" that would stagger start 73 65cc riders, 37 first drop and then 36 riders 20 seconds later is an idiot and his track running ability should be questioned. The fact that you still do business with this POS says a lot about birds of a feather.
You say that they try to get better "next time", how long again has victory sports been prepping tracks, decades?, when does this next time come around.
If you want to look for the reason of the condition of the track, look no further than the crew prepping it. At the point the conditions got unsafe and "sketchy" some track prep should have been done.
However, I do know that this sport is dangerous and this type of thing can happen at any time, its the risks we take, but look back over the years to the loss of riders and see just how many injuries "questionable" track maintenance was in play.
You seem to keep trying to outcast me for stating the truth about things that happen and then let the swingers jump on your side, but its pretty simple math when facts are facts.
My son wants to go to Lorettas, I hope we never step foot on another victory sports prepped track again, but remember, 99% of ALL motorcycle riders could care less about LL. Egos definitely need checked.
P
For those of you claiming this was the roughest track ever, get a grip because you are sorely mistaken. True to "forum" nature this has unraveled and I believe the negativity is unwarranted.
Was the track as epic as the pictures and announcers suggested? Absolutely not. Can that be improved? You bet. The soil on the track improved every day. The prep strategy also evolved over those three days and in my opinion was better for racing and rider safety.
Sure the operation wasn't a well oiled machine. There were times that a class would make it through staging, then have to sit on the gate for 15-20 minutes in the "hot" sun while track maintenance was being done. But throughout the day the staff re-prepped and refaced several sections. I remember the days when this never happened. You got a morning prep and some occasional water and that was it.
Overall the track could have been better but it was never an issue or complaint in my mind. I just don't believe it lived up to the hype and some folks are disappointed because of that. The motocross community is lucky to have access to this track. I hope we don't take it for granted. It is a rarity these days that a new track with so much potential opens. Lets make sure we help it grow.
Yes I know some people say "the pro riders and good riders ride a rough track" ! Well most of the riders who die or get injured are not pro riders and they are not even A riders. Even the pro riders have talked about tracks being to fast and rough.
If there are "kickers" on the jumps, miss them or go slower, it's about using common sense when you race, not just pinning it.
Most "racers" go as fast as they can given the conditions. If the conditions are bad, you make a choice to slow down or risk injury if you choose not to.
Racers choose how much they twist the throttle and the responsibility lies with them. Go slower if the course is too rough to maintain control.
It is natural to want to point the finger, but the racer is most responsible.
I'm guessing you are referring to my earlier post. Short of having physical obstacles too close or on the course (an obvious safety neglect situation), it is the rider that chooses how fast to go during challenging conditions.
No one made you go faster or slower, it was your choice. If it it slick, rutted, dry, rough, etc. the rider must adjust his/her speed to remain in control.
Apparently there were a lot of racers and the track deteriorate accordingly. If you didn't like it, it is your choice not to return.
To say that someone who wasn't there has no valid input is closed minded to say the least.
We all race knowing conditions change and that is part of the challenge. The rider's responsibility is to ride within his/her abilities given the conditions.
If no one shows up to the next race at this location, the owners have a choice to make - improve conditions, leave it as is or closed down...
Post a reply to: IronMan Motorsports