Greatest Outdoor Track in History?

JMX82
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Hyllykallio, FI
4/3/2018 2:06am Edited Date/Time 4/3/2018 2:12am
Maggiora Park! It's such a shame that the iconic track is closed again




4/3/2018 2:28am Edited Date/Time 4/3/2018 2:35am
Historically, probably Namur!

As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV.

As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history...









Jrewing
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4/3/2018 2:38am
Historically, probably Namur! As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV. As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/03/253280/s1200_251953_404256506276628_251430131_n.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/03/253281/s1200_539828_404256762943269_707418649_n.jpg[/img]...
Historically, probably Namur!

As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV.

As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history...









Where the heck is that track ^^^
roninho
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4/3/2018 4:39am
Is that you Rob on the No. 30?
Robgvx wrote:
Yup. Can you name any others?
5 Thorpe, 9 geboers, 3 vd ven, 11 carla, 6 persson or Ljunqvist.
Maybe Nicoll behind Carla on the kawa (guess)

The Shop

doghouse
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4/3/2018 4:47am
ATKpilot99 wrote:
Namur
/thread
Flip109
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4/3/2018 4:47am
Another for Whitney. Cut my teeth on that track.
Bramlett321
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4/3/2018 4:53am
Robgvx wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/02/253202/s1200_3E3A7D27_68B9_40A5_9A0F_45C058921E70.jpg[/img] I can’t imagine how much of a badass one would have to be to holeshot at this place. :)


I can’t imagine how much of a badass one would have to be to holeshot at this place.

Smile
Is that you Rob on the No. 30?
Who's number 30? Full name?
Bramlett321
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4/3/2018 4:56am
mb60 wrote:
Best track attended. Red Bud no doubt. Best track I ever Rode. Lake Whitney motocross.
I agree...Lake Whitney, Mosier Valley, and Swan ....but I'm partial as I live in the area.
ruy
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4/3/2018 5:43pm Edited Date/Time 4/3/2018 5:45pm


Circuit of La Garrotxa in Olot. Spain. Closed since 1991, but there is still the land with no other occupation than a rural hotel. Circuit of good terrain, with great jumps of all kinds, large climbs and descents, long straight out, curves with very beautiful banks, the two big climbs, with their descents, could not be done when there was mud, even in the championship races of Spain were cut.
Thats me in 1990
4/3/2018 7:08pm
OMC Boise Idaho winter track (sandy) after a nice rain storm about this time of year.
tcallahan707
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Morrison, CO, USA
4/3/2018 7:30pm
TXDirt wrote:
I like everything but your Thunder Valley. Having grown up at that place in the late 80’s and through the 90’s , other then location that...
I like everything but your Thunder Valley. Having grown up at that place in the late 80’s and through the 90’s , other then location that track is shit.
Forty wrote:
Thunder Valley or the old Lakewood track? I had good times on both but that old Lakewood track was gnarly.
TXDirt wrote:
That track has been similar over the years. Yes a few changes but on the whole same layout. Aren’t Lakewood and Thunder Valley the same thing...
That track has been similar over the years. Yes a few changes but on the whole same layout. Aren’t Lakewood and Thunder Valley the same thing? Grew up on that track. Lived 10 minutes from it. It’s a shit track.
This is all before my time so I don't know specifics and some of this may be inaccurate.

My understanding is that the old Lakewood track was on the south end of Green Mountain. Green Mountain is directly across the highway from where Thunder Valley is currently. The old Lakewood track was a national back in the early 70's (I think). It was all natural. Thunder Valley came around in the late 80's (I think) and was shit until the mid 2000's. At that point, capital was put into the track and facility in order to get on the Pro Motocross schedule. This greatly improved the quality of the track. I've been around since 2010 and I can tell you that A LOT of material has been put onto that racing surface in the last 8 years alone.

It sounds like you haven't rode on TV since it's been a national track. I think you'd be surprised. It's more than capable of being all time when the stars align, which isn't as rare as you'd think. I wouldn't put it in the running to win the Greatest Outdoor Track in History Championship, but it's deserving of a factory ride.
Sully
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4/3/2018 7:40pm Edited Date/Time 4/3/2018 7:46pm
Robgvx wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/02/253202/s1200_3E3A7D27_68B9_40A5_9A0F_45C058921E70.jpg[/img] I can’t imagine how much of a badass one would have to be to holeshot at this place. :)


I can’t imagine how much of a badass one would have to be to holeshot at this place.

Smile
Is that you Rob on the No. 30?
Who's number 30? Full name?
It's Rob Andrews.

ETA: I'd have to say that Namur, old school Unadilla and Saddleback are three tracks I would love to visit if I ever get this damn flux capacitor figured out.
Paw Paw 271
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Benton, LA, USA
4/3/2018 7:53pm Edited Date/Time 4/3/2018 7:54pm
mb60 wrote:
Best track attended. Red Bud no doubt. Best track I ever Rode. Lake Whitney motocross.
I agree...Lake Whitney, Mosier Valley, and Swan ....but I'm partial as I live in the area.
I too loved all those tracks and I still ride Swan these days. Started riding there in 1985.

Paw Paw
Flip109
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4/3/2018 8:16pm
Oh yes mosier also. So much fun. The cool part was watching races from the back cliff part where the 3 table tops were. That place was so cool.
Premix
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4/3/2018 8:25pm
Saw a lot of damn good Motos at Steel City. Miss that place





loftyair
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riverside, CA, USA
4/3/2018 10:21pm
Indian Dunes was the funnest place on earth. A bunch of tracks, different types, all open to ride. Plus, river bed and hills, forever. Trees, open, you name it.
willie838
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New Windsor, NY, USA
4/3/2018 11:59pm
Historically, probably Namur! As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV. As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/03/253280/s1200_251953_404256506276628_251430131_n.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/03/253281/s1200_539828_404256762943269_707418649_n.jpg[/img]...
Historically, probably Namur!

As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV.

As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history...









Jrewing wrote:
Where the heck is that track ^^^
this reminds me of that track that bt 101 showed in the one video....

where it was a personal loop and like 10 minute lap times.
Bearuno
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4/4/2018 12:39am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2018 7:37am
Namur : truly a unique 'Track'. From the Esplanade in front of the Citadel, through the dark forest sections, Tar and Cobble Stone sections, Ancient Walls and Battlements / Killing Zones, massive uphills. steep drops with No run off into turns, and on and on until they'd jump back onto the Esplanade.

Truly, any that have not been there, if you ever get to Europe, go there and walk around it. It's pretty much still there. There's a few videos and pictorials from blokes that have been there - Paul Malin did a Twitter / Instagram (don't know which one) 'Walk Around' a year or so back on it, that's worth searching out.

Lommel. The Total opposite to Namur. As a fair few cretinous f**kwits said prior to the MXDN " it's just a flat bit of sand, how can they have an MXDN there?" - showing how little they knew / know about Motocross. Yes, it's a flat (well, there's about a 10 / 15ft 'lump' there) grey sand area (littered with the bones and bloody of innumerable Battles) in a Light Industrial Area. That turns into one of the greatest Motocross Tracks on Earth. So many tracks in Belgium and The Netherlands. Sand - the great leveler and Destroyer..

Unadilla - back in the 70s / 80s. When they left it rough, just knocking the top of the nastier ruts etc, then planted grass and left it . Then raced it. It's become a ripped Jump Fest (as most tracks have become - Damn the unrelenting SX influences) nowadays, but it's still pretty special.

Carlsbad - such a burnt out, vicious place when I got to it. I stayed with Bob Barnett prior to the 98 World MTB Championship in Mont Sainte- Anne , but it was great, for someone who'd watched it on TV, and seen it in all the mags over so many years. I made a point of going there as much as possible in later years, before its final demise.

So many great tracks - the full Hawkstone, the full Farleigh, Maggiora, Swiss Tracks . Austrian tracks, Swedish tracks, French Tracks, and yes, Desert Martin. That Red Dirt is like the centre of Australia - set in the Greenest place on Earth - WTF? Trentino for the rock base - and watching the lunatic Free Climbers on the cliffs above. Too many to name.

Get off your arses and Travel, boys.

On my local level, I loved racing at Mount Lambie, just past Lithgow - it had that Grassy Hills Euro layout to it. And, it snowed there at a few races, really bringing the 'Euro' feel to it. Yes, it snows only about 80 miles from the center of Sydney sometimes - but most don't even know that, stuck in suburbia, as they are. When I drive past the little farm gates every now and then, I wonder what's on the other side of the hill.
Drtbykr
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Fredericton, CA
4/4/2018 5:43am
Historically, probably Namur! As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV. As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/03/253280/s1200_251953_404256506276628_251430131_n.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/04/03/253281/s1200_539828_404256762943269_707418649_n.jpg[/img]...
Historically, probably Namur!

As a fan, Ernee from the fences. Lommel from the TV.

As a rider, a place that literally lacks any history...









Jrewing wrote:
Where the heck is that track ^^^
Heaven? Even I could have the time of my life on that. Beautiful..
lumpy790
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4/4/2018 5:48am
Old natural Unadilla
Nuffsaid
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4/4/2018 5:55am
“Get off your arses and travel boys” Bearuno.
Nailed it!!!
Go a day ahead and walk the track, walk the area, eat the local food, be a part of the whole experience and program into your memory banks because it could all end tomorrow
TXDirt
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4/4/2018 6:32am
Forty wrote:
Thunder Valley or the old Lakewood track? I had good times on both but that old Lakewood track was gnarly.
TXDirt wrote:
That track has been similar over the years. Yes a few changes but on the whole same layout. Aren’t Lakewood and Thunder Valley the same thing...
That track has been similar over the years. Yes a few changes but on the whole same layout. Aren’t Lakewood and Thunder Valley the same thing? Grew up on that track. Lived 10 minutes from it. It’s a shit track.
This is all before my time so I don't know specifics and some of this may be inaccurate. My understanding is that the old Lakewood track...
This is all before my time so I don't know specifics and some of this may be inaccurate.

My understanding is that the old Lakewood track was on the south end of Green Mountain. Green Mountain is directly across the highway from where Thunder Valley is currently. The old Lakewood track was a national back in the early 70's (I think). It was all natural. Thunder Valley came around in the late 80's (I think) and was shit until the mid 2000's. At that point, capital was put into the track and facility in order to get on the Pro Motocross schedule. This greatly improved the quality of the track. I've been around since 2010 and I can tell you that A LOT of material has been put onto that racing surface in the last 8 years alone.

It sounds like you haven't rode on TV since it's been a national track. I think you'd be surprised. It's more than capable of being all time when the stars align, which isn't as rare as you'd think. I wouldn't put it in the running to win the Greatest Outdoor Track in History Championship, but it's deserving of a factory ride.
I first rode Lakewood in probably 1988. I have attended several Nationals there since it was added back to the circuit. It's pretty much the same track in the same place. Certain parts of the track like the start, the turn around the tower, and then going up the mountain hill have been the exact same since like the 70's or there abouts. The track gets gnarly for sure and the location is really cool, but overall that track doesn't make my top 20. It's certainly gotten better no doubt about that. Through the 90's the track sucked and wasn't even the best track in the state at the time.
4/4/2018 6:35am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2018 6:36am
So damn proud to say I experienced a race at Namur. 2006. Everts clinched his 10th championship, his first time doing so in front of his home fans. Absolutely unforgettable experience..


^^photo credit ME


^^photo credit MX-Large
r103
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4/4/2018 6:56am




Desertmartin, Ireland
mumbles
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Fantasy
4/4/2018 7:33am
Namur for me. I was stationed in Germany in the mid eighties. I went to Namur in 85 and 86. These two David Thorpe shots were converted to digital from some slides I took so they are not as good as the originals. First one is of David going into the woods and the second is him coming out of the pits. I walked the whole track in 85. It's hard to describe it really. No other track like it. The history of that place all the battles. The first Motocross Des Nations was held there in 47.





Forty
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Saint Paul, MN, USA
4/4/2018 7:47am
This is all before my time so I don't know specifics and some of this may be inaccurate. My understanding is that the old Lakewood track...
This is all before my time so I don't know specifics and some of this may be inaccurate.

My understanding is that the old Lakewood track was on the south end of Green Mountain. Green Mountain is directly across the highway from where Thunder Valley is currently. The old Lakewood track was a national back in the early 70's (I think). It was all natural. Thunder Valley came around in the late 80's (I think) and was shit until the mid 2000's. At that point, capital was put into the track and facility in order to get on the Pro Motocross schedule. This greatly improved the quality of the track. I've been around since 2010 and I can tell you that A LOT of material has been put onto that racing surface in the last 8 years alone.

It sounds like you haven't rode on TV since it's been a national track. I think you'd be surprised. It's more than capable of being all time when the stars align, which isn't as rare as you'd think. I wouldn't put it in the running to win the Greatest Outdoor Track in History Championship, but it's deserving of a factory ride.
That’s how I remember it
peelout
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4/4/2018 7:53am
hands down







SwingHard
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4/4/2018 8:04am
loftyair wrote:
Indian Dunes was the funnest place on earth. A bunch of tracks, different types, all open to ride. Plus, river bed and hills, forever. Trees, open...
Indian Dunes was the funnest place on earth. A bunch of tracks, different types, all open to ride. Plus, river bed and hills, forever. Trees, open, you name it.
Gotta agree with you on this! Indian Dunes was Motocross Heaven. The Shadow Glenn track, winding thru all those cottonwood trees,it seemed that dirt would stay perfect all day. Next would be Mammoth, location & scenery is incredible!
And not sure how many of you have had the opportunity to ride Honey Lake, a.k.a. MX 395 in Milford Ca., Incredible, big hills,great dirt, scenery is great.
ga_pike
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4/4/2018 8:47am
Surprised nobody mentioned High Point.
motomike137
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4/4/2018 8:58am
I can only speak to the places I have spectated or ridden.

Ridden: Baja Acres Millington MI in the early 2000's. Sandy, whooped out, sweeping fast ass man's track where every situation called for more throttle! (The track has since been homogenized imho and just isn't as good as it was 15 years ago.)

Spectated At: I am a long time REDDDDDDD BUDDDDDDDDD!!!!!! slappy but It isn't at the top of my personal list. Until 2 summers ago I would have said Unafriggindilla. But I got to attend Washougal in 2016 and I was blown away being there in person! The setting is so beautiful and the track damn cool that it is at the top of my list.

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