How Was Carlsbad...Really ?

Gravel
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Gravel 1/27/2017 6:00pm
1/27/2017 6:00pm
I rode a SRA GP there where the ruts got so deep the minis were hooking handlebars on the tops of the ruts! They had to be 30"+ deep, but if you could survive the ruts the track was a blast! I loved racing there, then hitting the beach for an hour body surfing before driving home. Great memories..
Brownstone322 1/27/2017 6:57pm
1/27/2017 6:57pm
Regis wrote:
You could always tell who was a Carlsbad local or not by the first practice. If you went out, you were a new guy. LOL. Carlsbad...
You could always tell who was a Carlsbad local or not by the first practice.

If you went out, you were a new guy. LOL.


Carlsbad taught you how to ride a bike. It was technical. Not because of jumps. Because of the terrain. Blue groove. Nasty, slimy mud in the morning. Chunky, hard packed dirt chunks hanging just outside the main line. Roost that hurt for weeks. Crazy rough uphills, bike gripping downhills. Cold foggy mornings and then hot blistering afternoons. Then in the afternoon the track would be dusty "moon dust". It was a mans track.

I am pumped to have been around and got to race one of the last "Commotion by the Oceans". As a kid I loved watching my heroes at that race and watching some of the locals giving my heroes fits!!! THee was always fast local pros at Carlsbad and heated tempers because of them.

We need a hardback track like this on the schedule. Too much loam and wood chips these days. This is one of the things I like about the Gp's over our series. The diverse soils and terrain in different countries.
That last paragraph nails it. The reason the GPs are better isn't the riders; it's the cool diversity of circuits. The AMA can't touch that.
ctbale
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ctbale 1/27/2017 7:04pm
1/27/2017 7:04pm
I went to the Suzuki School of Motocross in 1978, Mark Blackwell was there. I THINK it was at Carlsbad? Anybody else have any idea where I was? lol (I was only 15 or 16 FFS!)
Ozy
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Ozy 1/27/2017 7:04pm
1/27/2017 7:04pm
bultokid wrote:
Sitting here just watched USGP '80 now watching '82. The place has always been mythical to me, just like Ebbets Field is to baseball. Few of...
Sitting here just watched USGP '80 now watching '82. The place has always been mythical to me, just like Ebbets Field is to baseball. Few of us had meant to go about 10+ years ago but never did follow through, really wished we had now. I've heard guys say it was a complete turd and trashed out but heard the same about Rio Bravo, which was in a sorry sad state before Danny got it. Even though done 1000's of laps there I never get tired of it.
First time I raced there I was 1973 on a Suzuki TM125. The track was mythical to ride after watching the GP guys on the wide world of sports. it was dry, dusty, hardpack and I was still in heaven. The uphill was WFO but the downhill made me nervous.

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AZ35
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AZ35 1/27/2017 7:09pm
1/27/2017 7:09pm
Never got to ride it, but as a kid (barely a teenager) I attended the 82, 83, and 84 USGP races. Memories I will never forget, so amazing to see all the Euro guys and cheering on the US riders.

Family and I rented a beach house in Carlsbad over the New Years holiday a few weeks back, I drove Palomar Airport road and found what I think was the former track area. When I went to the USGP's as a kid I was not old enough to drive so I did not really remember too much about how to get there, and obviously the area has developed a great deal in 30 years. But it looked like most of that valley was still undeveloped, I recall seeing pictures on here (from this thread and others) so I kind of knew what I was looking for but did not really have the time to search too much.

It was just cool to drive around and think back about the memories from those races. It was a unique track for sure.
Brownstone322 1/27/2017 7:28pm
1/27/2017 7:28pm
Ozy wrote:
First time I raced there I was 1973 on a Suzuki TM125. The track was mythical to ride after watching the GP guys on the wide...
First time I raced there I was 1973 on a Suzuki TM125. The track was mythical to ride after watching the GP guys on the wide world of sports. it was dry, dusty, hardpack and I was still in heaven. The uphill was WFO but the downhill made me nervous.
Dude, you had four inches of travel and a frame fashioned from mild steel. Respect.
Boarddesign
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Boarddesign 1/27/2017 8:41pm
1/27/2017 8:41pm
Carlsbad was my intro to moto, I would see it once a year on TV and get so pumped about it. I lived in Wa then, some nearly 40 years later I live a mile away from what was the track and my son moto's 3-4 times a week… Wish the track was still there and we could go home for snacks between motos!!
avidchimp
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avidchimp 1/27/2017 8:57pm
1/27/2017 8:57pm
The thing I remember the most? Sitting on the 5 in traffic waiting to go to "The Commotion by the Ocean." I got to ride there twice around 11 years old, and now I'm glad I did. Didn't like riding a worked over CR 80 there though.
Pdub
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Pdub 1/27/2017 9:13pm
1/27/2017 9:13pm
I only raced there once, around the turn of the century (lol, old fart here) at one of the "Christmas GPs" and was blessed to be able to meet and have a beer with Marty Moates! (sniff). Oh yeah, ran into good ol' Bobby M there too...
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 1/27/2017 9:31pm
1/27/2017 9:31pm
Devils Drop!

Muddy in the morning and blue-grooved in the afternoon. A nice long left handed start. Honest to goodness wooden snow-fence. Hills and vertical limbs...and the drop off I mentioned. And the place had passing EVERYWHERE.
moto9
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moto9 1/27/2017 9:44pm
1/27/2017 9:44pm
I raced there off and on the last 10 years before it closed.
Sadly it was really run down when I first raced there.
The track was a wheel bender, I'd get so many dings and flat spots...I would replace the rims about every season.
The freeway was rarely groomed and it would get hammered after a few races.
However, it was a fun fast track to race on.
The R.E.M. were the best, Frank did a great job promoting his races and keep the track in pretty good shape.
Another era gone by.
captmoto
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captmoto 1/27/2017 9:48pm
1/27/2017 9:48pm
It was a little far for me but raced there 6-7 times. Like has been said, hard pack like that just doesn't exist anymore. Some of the bumps were Iiterally like curbs, vertical and hard as concrete. It really took some time to figure it out along with Bridgestone M22/23 tires. I did like it there though, I guess for the history of it. I did okay on hardpack due to racing at Saddleback and DeAnza in Moreno Valley. As someone said earlier, a hardpack national track would be a nice change up.
Still2StrokenIt 1/27/2017 11:03pm
1/27/2017 11:03pm
ocscottie wrote:
Watch Ronnie on a factory 500 feet on the pegs in a concrete corner at 6:08 it gives me goose bumps! 85 USGP Carlsbad (Part 1)...
Watch Ronnie on a factory 500 feet on the pegs in a concrete corner at 6:08 it gives me goose bumps!

85 USGP Carlsbad (Part 1) - More Motocross Videos

Thank you that's was awesome
hoots3pak
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hoots3pak 1/27/2017 11:48pm
1/27/2017 11:48pm
Gravel wrote:
I rode a SRA GP there where the ruts got so deep the minis were hooking handlebars on the tops of the ruts! They had to...
I rode a SRA GP there where the ruts got so deep the minis were hooking handlebars on the tops of the ruts! They had to be 30"+ deep, but if you could survive the ruts the track was a blast! I loved racing there, then hitting the beach for an hour body surfing before driving home. Great memories..
Southland Racing Association. I had a blue SRA Jersey. I remember in 83 there was a rain rut in the middle of the track that I almost couldn't get out of. The track was like concrete. I spent the the afternoon In an ambulance at Carlsbad.
Bauer
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Bauer 1/28/2017 4:59am
1/28/2017 4:59am














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MX114
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MX114 1/28/2017 5:36am
1/28/2017 5:36am Edited Date/Time 1/28/2017 5:38am
Got to ride Carlsbad in the fall of 2001 for an open practice day. It wasn't exactly what I invisioned but pretty rad nonetheless. Being from NY I had never ridden blue groove like that, was definitely very different than anything I had ever ridden before. I'd say Carlsbad and Unadilla are the two of the most legendary tracks in the USA and I feel really fortunate to of been able to ride both.
MX-Files
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MX-Files 1/28/2017 7:39am
1/28/2017 7:39am
Super neat thread guys! For those who want to support the construction of the Carlsbad Raceway Monument please check out this thread and get yourself a cool "retro style" t-shirt. All monies go to the monument with a small part to Road 2 Recovery.

https://road2recovery.com/shop/t-shirts/carlsbad-raceway-monument-shirt…


You can also watch Marty Moate's story and the 1980 USGP at Vimeo on Demand.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thecarlsabadusgp1980
Ted722
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Ted722 1/28/2017 7:44am
1/28/2017 7:44am
Wow Steve Bauer, that's quite the collection of almost 40 year old Cycle News gems right there. You and Rocket Rex teaming up? Nice. Cool to see Cantaloupi mentioned in there too. So many DNF's in that USGP that year. Lackey could have sure used those points and that's one hell of a list of 250cc "support" riders. Nice job with the 6th.

Thanks!
Bultaco
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Bultaco 1/28/2017 8:04am
1/28/2017 8:04am
Regarding the hard pack, blue groove. Did anyone ever try trials tires instead of knobbies? It seems like the extra rubber would have been perfect in the afternoon motos.
abn166
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abn166 1/28/2017 8:10am
1/28/2017 8:10am
Gre

Great clips from Cycle News Steve. A bunch of names I remember very well. I see that I got second behind you on May 13th. Must have been 1979 since I was on a Suzuki.
se7enmx
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se7enmx 1/28/2017 9:15am
1/28/2017 9:15am


You could have good days when the fog stuck around all day.
Muezh
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Muezh 1/28/2017 9:37am
1/28/2017 9:37am
Regis wrote:
You could always tell who was a Carlsbad local or not by the first practice. If you went out, you were a new guy. LOL. Carlsbad...
You could always tell who was a Carlsbad local or not by the first practice.

If you went out, you were a new guy. LOL.


Carlsbad taught you how to ride a bike. It was technical. Not because of jumps. Because of the terrain. Blue groove. Nasty, slimy mud in the morning. Chunky, hard packed dirt chunks hanging just outside the main line. Roost that hurt for weeks. Crazy rough uphills, bike gripping downhills. Cold foggy mornings and then hot blistering afternoons. Then in the afternoon the track would be dusty "moon dust". It was a mans track.

I am pumped to have been around and got to race one of the last "Commotion by the Oceans". As a kid I loved watching my heroes at that race and watching some of the locals giving my heroes fits!!! THee was always fast local pros at Carlsbad and heated tempers because of them.

We need a hardback track like this on the schedule. Too much loam and wood chips these days. This is one of the things I like about the Gp's over our series. The diverse soils and terrain in different countries.
my local track I volunteer at, Irish Hills MX here in Michigan, has similar conditions. During summer sections of the track are just like this. wet and muddy in the morning and then by late afternoon we can't really water because it turns into a skating rink. The BEST part about this dirt is in the fall and winter its so sticky and tacky its unreal.
LappedU
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LappedU 1/28/2017 9:54am
1/28/2017 9:54am
Carlsbad was real motocross! long rough as hell hard dry, it made a motocross man out of you, blisters on your fingers and a smile on your face at the end of the day.
Ted722
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Ted722 1/28/2017 10:17am
1/28/2017 10:17am
Cool raw footage of RJ at the 1984 USGP and a familiar voice on the PA "Johnson is riding like Charlie Manson!"...."70 MPH down the downhill!" Wink

Mini Elsinore
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Mini Elsinore 1/28/2017 10:56am
1/28/2017 10:56am
Rode there twice (on mini's) and only remember my arms being numb by the 3rd lap and just trying to survive. I may have been in tears by the last lap.... Pinch It was a great track for spectating----right along the fence.
Dan-The-Man 1/28/2017 11:43am
1/28/2017 11:43am
Raced there alot on 80's in the late 90's into the millennium. Broke my foot there in the rain off devil's drop? I think that's what it was called. I enjoyed the track. It was CMXR and SRA doing races back then.
Ozy
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Ozy 1/28/2017 7:51pm
1/28/2017 7:51pm
Ozy wrote:
First time I raced there I was 1973 on a Suzuki TM125. The track was mythical to ride after watching the GP guys on the wide...
First time I raced there I was 1973 on a Suzuki TM125. The track was mythical to ride after watching the GP guys on the wide world of sports. it was dry, dusty, hardpack and I was still in heaven. The uphill was WFO but the downhill made me nervous.
Brownstone322 wrote:
Dude, you had four inches of travel and a frame fashioned from mild steel. Respect.
Thanks! for me the 70's were an amazing experience. Bikes changed for the better so quickly. the 74 CR125M was beyond cool and just two years later the RM125 took it to a whole new level. Then Yamaha dropped the "Monoshock". Had an 82 RM250 "Full Floater" Stoked for the memories

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