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But seriously, it's a good rule and the selfish person in me views this as a tiny stepping-stone towards a 125 class at the Pro level. Halftime at the Nationals, anyone?
Exactly what class does this rule affect. All the classes that you can ride a 250F in are ALREADY 14 yr old class. 250 A, B, C and Schoolboy 2 are ALL Already 14+ classes.
Also how does this do anything for 125s. You can ride an 80/ Supermini till your 15 and then jump right into a plus 14 class. The only change is you have to be 16 to ride a 450.
This is also useless, name one rider that has been injured that everyone talks about, that was riding a 450, none.
This is once again a "see we are doing something" without do anything.
How about you make rules that address the REAL problem.
EVERY one of these injuries that have been fatal or life changing has been because of track maintenance. Faces of jumps that are not maintained properly.
Want to make a rule for safety, how about require every track to have an official that monitors jump faces. I know every one "likes it rough" but this does not mean letting jumps get blow out of kickers in them, which is what has caused the most injuries. Don't believe me, how come the pro SX tracks are prepped after almost every heat.
How about make it a rule that when the water pump goes out at a national, they are required to fix it before they can continue the race instead of letting a certain section go to crap, a rider crashing then getting hit when he was on the ground. How about before you can hold a regional you actually have to have a few races at the track so you can determine how the track is going to deteriorate instead of finding out mid race and having to continue and cause a rider to endo off a huge kicker and land on his head. I have seen more people leave "national" events over the last few years because of track safety than I ever have.
This rule does absolutely nothing except let people, who sit and read forums think the AMA is doing anything. This rule affects NO CLASS of racing and will do nothing for the return of the 125 which I agree should be made a mandatory 2 year class before moving up to bigger bikes.
IF you really want to do something then change the age to 16 to ride a 250/450 (this would really hurt my rider cause he is 15, 6'2" and can throw a 450 around like its a toy) but for the general safety, make the age 16 for the big bikes.
THIS OF COURSE WILL NEVER HAPPEN. MX Sports, the OEMs and every "National" will lose money. And no matter how everyone rewords the problem. Kids safety really boils down to how much money the are still able to make.
If you don't think this last statement is true, I was standing right next to an AMA official under the control of Sam Gammon, you know the track crew and personal friend of MX Sports and Davey Coombs, tell a 65 riders father after stagger starting 73 bikes on the track at one time, that his KIDS SAFETY WAS NOT HIS CONCERN!!!!
So for the truth, I know it hurts sometime.
Out of the AMA rulebook
"Schoolboy 2 14 - 16 yrs. 122cc - 250cc any
Minimum wheelbase 53 inches. No minicycle or Supermini." (notice how it says "any" after 250. MXsports however does not allow 250 2 strokes in their Schoolboy 2 classes though (who's killing the 2 stroke again, oh, but its an AMA race that does not use AMA classes)
This is also right out of the rule book "6. The minimum age for amateur riders is 12. In all
events, a rider must be 14 or older to ride
motorcycles above 250cc"
So please tell me again what this so called new rule changes.
This guy just dropped a "truth bomb" on this thread. Typically when that happens, shit hits the fan. This thread will be a mess by the morning.
I think 15/16 is about right to get on a 250f after a year or two on a 125.
You must be 14 years of age to race a 250f on the day of the event and 16 to race a 450.
That would mean any 250 cr 450 class. As far as SB2 they may remove it to possibly make room for a new 125 class.
Pit Row
But for the life of me, I don't understand why MotoX85 brings up something that Sam Gammon said (or maybe the official said), at a race I wasn't even at, several years ago, apparently, and that means he doesn't deserve to be around the sport or something?
Why do you keep mentioning that and what does it have to do with this rule? If you don't like Sam, don't attend his races. I am sorry to hear that he or anyone would say something like that, it goes against anything he's ever said or done around me, and I see him twice a year at Muddy Creek and then Loretta Lynn's, and he's also tried hard to make folks feel welcome and riders safe.
DC
As far as being allowed to race a 250F in the C or B Class you are not correct.
Per AMA Rule Book:
The minimum age for amateur riders is 12. In all events a rider must be 14 or older to ride motorcycles above 250cc.
The new rule would not allow 12 year olds to race in the 250 class.
Here in Ireland, the 125 class and the 150/250F class are both 14-18. At 16 you are eligible to ride both adult and youth classes, which means you can ride a 450 (no 450 youth classes). However, if you race a 450 even once, you can't ride youth classes anymore. Or at least, that's what I've heard. I've never seen in written down.
I guess the rule change means day of the event which again really affects nothing since nobody really moves up in age before they are eligible anyway.
So why do I post that every chance I get, because nothing was done by mxsports when it occurred so I am using every other means necessary to say that if you attend one of his races you do so at your own risk.
And I don't attend his races except the Indiana national, which after last year, will be questionable this year.
The current minimum age for amateur riders is 12. In all events a rider must be 14 or older to ride motorcycles above 250cc.
Above 250cc with "above" being the magic word.
Current Rules:
12 year olds can currently race a 250F.
14 year olds can currently race a 450F
New rule effective in 2017:
14 to race a 250F
16 to race a 450F
MX Sports follows the AMA rules.
Understand?
And I have never heard of 600 entries leaving a race over anything less than a complete cancellation. There's got to be more to this, and I will ask Tim Cotter of MX Sports and Kip Bigelow of the AMA, as well as Sam himself, what this was all about. I've know Sam for a very long time -- he was a friend of my dad's long before I was involved in promoting races -- and I've never seen him say or act in the way you recall from that day.
I do know that arguing with an angry parent in the middle of a race is never a good idea, and I might have said "you are free to leave" too if it was so hostile that twenty parents were about to beat the shit out of anyone, let alone a dozen law enforcement officers called to the scene. When things get that bad, we should all feel free to leave.
Regardless, please send me the letter: DC@mxsports.com
It might also jog your memory that it was the same year that Dillon Greer was being protested because he had raced a higher age class at an outlaw race and he was protested at Balance also. I only say this because it was talked about a lot.
A staggered start at a regional with 73 riders? That was not a good idea and I wish whoever made that decision would have thought better of it.
Thanks, and good luck with your son's next season.
DC
Post a reply to: DC, the AMA & 125s...