THIS MAY HAVE BEEN COVERED ALREADY BUT...

[quote="sc961":334xqffx]Did I miss something? That jump did cause him to loose the lead, didn't it?

Giving credit where credit is due, Reed was trying something different and working on getting around the track faster than anyone else. This time it didn't work, but next time it might. He probably would have won the race by a good margin, but he didn't. And through out the night, these more difficult obstacles took there toll on more than just a few riders.

If you watched the retro night video, Bailey and Johnson were jumping things 20 years ago that guys from today may not. That was flat out desire to win at all costs.[/quote:334xqffx]

Have you been to a SX in the last few years? These guys are doing sections sometimes 4ft out of a corner and jumping 45+ ft etc etc etc.... I am sure bailey and johnson both are happy to not be racing today.

Yes, I've been to a few over the past 35 or so years since I've been racing.
Did you see the Anahiem video with Bailey and Johnson?
I'm sure both would love to be racing today, if physically possible.

I am pretty sure I have seen a lot of old riders talk about how insane tracks are now a days... Sure technology has advanced, but lets face it tracks are a lot more dangerous now than they ever were back in the 80's.

I don't recall saying anything to the contrary about safety.
I did mention the set up is somewhat boring to watch.
Tracks could be made safer, but that is all relative to a different discussion.
The racing looks to be better with less flow and non traditional conditions.

[quote="sc961":2in6m09m]Yes, I've been to a few over the past 35 or so years since I've been racing.
Did you see the Anahiem video with Bailey and Johnson?
I'm sure both would love to be racing today, if physically possible.[/quote:2in6m09m]
There is no way you can honestly think they were doing jumps back then that riders wouldnt now.

My point to the T. A lot of the older riders have talked about how insane it is now AND are glad they raced at a different time and place when tracks were easier. All of us agree, usually the easier the track the safer it is? That is my point.

Since you have been racing for 35 years, you also know the easiest part of track and where most riders rest is in the air on the big triples. That being said, we could just make a track with a triple, turn triple, turn triple you get my point if we want races to be close. Personally, I miss the 200+ feet long monster whoops that seperate riders out. I also like sections where riders can single, double or triple in and run different lines.

You guys are right. I'm wrong. I must have imagined Bailey and Johnson jumping the wall into the whoops after them?

It doesn't always have to be a 100 foot triple to bridge a gap. Sometimes a shorter distance is a tougher jump. But, I'm probably wrong about that too.

I'm sure you saw the video, and I'm wrong about that as well. Maybe that's why we have a couple of guys at the top today, and 7 or 8 from years back.

[quote="Tcannon521":sft0knk4]Since you have been racing for 35 years, you also know the easiest part of track and where most riders rest is in the air on the big triples. That being said, we could just make a track with a triple, turn triple, turn triple you get my point if we want races to be close. Personally, I miss the 200+ feet long monster whoops that seperate riders out. I also like sections where riders can single, double or triple in and run different lines.[/quote:sft0knk4]

Actually you got me there, it's only been 32 years racing. I agree those are the easiest parts of a track. I didn't say easier is better or safer. My point is the wall jump is one thing that seemed to have a higher degree of difficulty, and created less flow on the track. That appeared to create better racing. Maybe not, but that's what it looked like to me and others.

Easier isn't better. Better racing is better. If James, Ricky, and Chad were all riding and healthy the racing wouldn't be close no matter what the track was. Today that isn't the case, and if the tracks get away from the cookie cutter same ole thing, the racing might tighten up a bit.

I will stick to my orginal post on this. Had Chad not made a mistake this wouldnt be a topic. We would have 10 posts about how gay he is, how he is a crybaby and how JS would have kicked his ass.. But he made a mistake and crashed. Maybe we unlocked a bigger conspiracy. The ama has been trying to do this ever since James Stewart came into the pro's bc he has crashed out of a lot of races on jumps both unique and cookie cutter.

Since you brought that up, this post wasn't about Chad. You referenced that, but the post is about the track and what people thought about that.

The "lites" had some interesting racing as well that probably wouldn't have taken place if the track was "cookie cutter" built as many have been in the past. The track in GA demanded more concentration to go fast. Mistakes were more costly, and the safety factor didn't appear to decrease because of the changes.

And holy cow, now there is a conspiracy inside the AMA against Stewart? I thought that started when RC was winning everything....

[quote="Tcannon521":354wpxpn]I will stick to my orginal post on this. Had Chad not made a mistake this wouldnt be a topic. We would have 10 posts about how gay he is, how he is a crybaby and how JS would have kicked his ass.. But he made a mistake and crashed. Maybe we unlocked a bigger conspiracy. The ama has been trying to do this ever since James Stewart came into the pro's bc he has crashed out of a lot of races on jumps both unique and cookie cutter.[/quote:354wpxpn]

I was thinking the same thing, but I watched the race again and Davi was all over Reed. Reed initially pulled out a little gap, but at the time of the crash, DM was pretty much right on his rear wheel. (or Davi was workin' Reed from behind )

i agree that the tracks need LESS flow and but i wouldnt go as far to say endurocross but definetly make obstacles that challenge the riders and im not talking aerial challenges either as todays top riders have no problems jumping...

[quote="sc961":7s80zsn5]You guys are right. I'm wrong. I must have imagined Bailey and Johnson jumping the wall into the whoops after them?

It doesn't always have to be a 100 foot triple to bridge a gap. Sometimes a shorter distance is a tougher jump. But, I'm probably wrong about that too.

I'm sure you saw the video, and I'm wrong about that as well. Maybe that's why we have a couple of guys at the top today, and 7 or 8 from years back.[/quote:7s80zsn5]
Alright watch the video again, you will see RJ and DB have the most inconsistent lines and rhythm. Sometimes they would do the double in the sand and sometimes they wouldnt. The racers today did it consistently. The main problem with comparing the two is that the tracks arent exactly the same so its hard to say.
And about the wall, Reed was killing everyone on it, he was hoping into it and bouncing off saving a bunch of time. It just so happened that his time saving way ended up knocking him on his butt.
Im actually a fan of the wall and I think its cool them using new obstacles. But it wont change anything, whether it is smooth, fast, timing, no flow, the same riders will still be upfront. Long giant whoops are bad in my opinion because all they do is seperate factory riders from privateers.

[quote="Breck":1wmllj9q]THAT WAS THE LAMEST STUPIDEST WORST TRACK I'VE EVER SEEN WHO EVER DESIGNED THAT NEEDS A PUNCH IN THE FACE.[/quote:1wmllj9q]
i guess nobody cares what yiu think

It was probably harder back in 86. Did you see the Anaheim video where only like 4 guys were jumping the big triple on a 2 stroke with that type of suspension back then? Shit, they were pushing those bikes beyond there limits. It took balls for them to hit that big ass triple in 86 anaheim and only a few guys were doing it and not always very smoothly either.

[quote="level":js3inzwj]It was probably harder back in 86. Did you see the Anaheim video where only like 4 guys were jumping the big triple on a 2 stroke with that type of suspension back then? Shit, they were pushing those bikes beyond there limits. It took balls for them to hit that big ass triple in 86 anaheim and only a few guys were doing it and not always very smoothly either.[/quote:js3inzwj]

Do you honestly think the track or jump angles were the same?