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Far as the water, as a spectator I rather the track be watered, and possibly slotted than it being a dust bowl and not be able to see the race....
"We would have rutted it out if not for the expected rain, but if the forecast is clear, don't worry we will rut like always"
Did I hear it wrong?
What really really pisses me off, when they dozer the slop back on the track after the rain stops without ripping the hardpack underneath! Usually arrive at the track on a beautiful Saturday morning and it seems like they only ripped the start. The rest of the track has about 8 inches of muck on top of dry dirt.
Not sure if they invested in more rippers this year, but they ripped the track......before the rain hit.
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The last 2 races have been the track prep of the year.
The year Eli wrecked and destroyed both shoulders, that track was pure pitiful and the riders should have refused to race on it... just my opinion people.
We worked our asses off watering at Washougal this year. It has been an unseasonably dry stretch as far as this summer goes, and we started feeding the track water every day and every evening, a week before anybody showed up. Washougal is a tricky track to water- the soil is moody, the shadows are shifty and will hold and dry water inconsistently, and the wind will absolutely kill the moisture content. The upper half of the track is all hills and heavily shaded, and the lower half is all banked turns that bake in the sun as soon as it comes up. The whoops are another animal all together...
We had Approx. 6 minutes between motos to water due to the tight T.V. schedule. Once bikes are on track, all hoses are shut down immediately. All of the water crew are former or current racers and know their respective sections very well. We pick rocks when we can. We pick up tear-offs whenever possible. We keep the medic paths free of clutter and accessible for rider safety. We try to find time to cool off the rowdies as well, as you can bet they are begging for a spritz when they are half-canned and the sun is out. There is a lot more to it than picking up a hose, turning the spigot, and making it browner.
I invite anybody to volunteer at their local track and help out. You can learn quite a bit conditions-wise, and in the end it will make you a better rider as you can read these conditions better.
My 2 cents.
Thumbs up to all the water crews out there- take pride in your hose. Haha...
Grass would be rad.
Carry on...
I remember a weekend of fun with Saturday qualifying and Sunday racing w/ the Ladies included I might add and Monday Amateur day.
Great times and plenty of track prep time.
All gone now
For real, even guys who have been around our track A LOT look at us operators funny when we give instructions on "how to water".
It's a science bro. If I told a non-moto person how much time I've spent watering dirt, they'd think I was crazy!
I remember a local pro racing at the secession national in anderson, sc and getting stuck on a hill on the 125 site lap. when he fell over and couldn't even get to the bike. Everytime he tried he busted his ass and slid to the bottom.
Also remember the dust at Unadilla being so bad one year that there were riders who dnf because their air filters got so clogged the bikes quit.
It is hard to hit it perfect every time, and to pretend that it happened all the time back in our fond memories of the good old days is just not realistic.
Pit Row
Post a reply to: Track prep...no excuses