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At the moment if you get 10th in 250b overall at LL no one cares. If there was a 14-17 250 class and you get 10th it means a lot more because you've actually placed 10th in the nation out of everyone in this age range. Not in this age range but also with an asterisk of we're only this fast.
Instead of A/B/C it should look something like this:
18-24 450cc
250cc
18-17 450cc mod
450cc limited
250cc mod
250cc limited
16-17 450cc mod
450cc limited
250cc mod
250cc limited
14-17 125cc mod
125cc limited
You can have just as many class but they actually mean something when you place.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
A national championship should have only the best riders and only be trying to have the best riders. The A/B/C categories are necessary for local racing but shouldn't be at a national championship event. The A/B/C exists in other sports i.e. high school sports with varsity, JV and freshman. But there's no JV state championship... There shouldn't be.
The amateur scene is a joke in a lot of ways, this is just one of them.
I have worked with athletes who WON and top 5 and get NOTHING of substance - in the highly competitive classes
The event is to make money - period. Don't ever forget that.
All the sales pitch how loretta's is the step to the pro's and sponsors is bullshit in a sense. The total number of rides is very limited.
MX sports, Racer productions, Racerx, all same entity. They control the media on the event and perception of it. They have done a KILLER job of building the event to make maximum profit by engaging the OEMS to come support it and by attracting all the best talent of the USA to show up.
For that reason they offer C-A classes. More entries more money.
It IS possible to showcase your talent at loretta's and get a factory ride. I helped in small part Ty Masterpool in 2017 win 2 titles in supermini as a full on privateer.
He picked up a star racing factory yamaha ride from the result and his career path is on track to be a top guy now.
Contrast that - to Zane Merrett, wins 450 B title on a 350, and got nothing for it - his path to the pro's will prove to be far more expensive for his dad (brutally expensive). He is absolutely flying right now - and if he can get his fitness together I think you will see a top 20 outdoor capable kid as a privateer rookie.
Lastly - the "sandbagging" comments need to stop. There is NO REAL SANDBAGGING.
For the classes that really matter - you can't "cheat'
65-125 classes are age break down only. It's a true national championship
ANY KID WHO HAS MADE IT TO LORETTAS - BE IT ON 50's (yes - a PW) is forever considered a B rider from then on.
Thusly - these kids go from 85 or super to 125 and 250f schoolboy and never CAN RIDE A C CLASS.
From there - typically the TOP kids go A class if they get a ride - some go B depending on AGE and their OEM's desire for them.
Most loretta C class kids were the kids getting 7-10 at the regionals in 85 or supermini. Never quite make loretta's - then C class eligible, and "super fast" for a C rider. But the reality is - they ride exactly where they are vs the competition. Put them against the same kids they raced in 85's - and they are AGAIN a 7-10th place regional rider in B - AKA not qualified into fast 40.
Since the talent that teams look at come from these age limited - truly OPEN talent classes - with the team's looking at 65's and offering support rides on JR 85 classes - then better support in 85 SR and supermini classes - culminated by full on support for B and A classes - the only ride you can EARN comes from the true national championship classes which are age separated.
Once graduated past schoolboy - rides have already been selected and earning a ride once you are In B class or A class is hard - you would have to displace a kid who already HAS a ride, and teams like familiarity over one flash of result
Many team rides are a result of politicizing and hand shaking. All the kids from 1-10th on a team gig are capable of winning - so you have to sell yourself early on to a ride.
I say it all the time - if you don't have a ride coming out of superminis - the likelyhood of getting one is nearly zero unless you do something spectacular.
Getting a ride out of C class is non existent - it's the only class racing 15 minutes at the ranch rather than 20
I said a top 10 will move the needle with sponsors, that's from personal experience. While I never lit the world on fire my better finishes on 80s and 125s gave me a lot of options I wouldn't have otherwise had. Of course the event is about making money, every freaking event is about making money. But within the industry good finishes at Loretta's do carry weight. It brought me gear sponsors, parts allowances, tire support, and other things that were really helpful to a family that could really only afford to hit a few amateur nationals a year like us.
Most of the deals our athletes get - can be had via a supportive dealer.
Very rare now days for anyone to get free anything. Those that do - are generally better at asking the right people at the right time for help - than they are at getting race results.
I agree entirely at top 10 goes a long way, just not in the C class....
We are so lucky to have such a talented track builder and owner at 3 palms. Emil can produce a top notch race track even in the most treacherous conditions. Really cool to have a owner that gets it.
Keep up the great work/facility three palms!
At the time I was wearing AXO, riding for a dealer, and running Tag Metals and Michelin’s.
At Mini O same year I got 4th in schoolboy against Jonathan Kerr, Mark Grady, Davi Milsaps, Mike Alessi, Riley Kuroski, and so on down the line of UNREAL talent.
In 2003 I was on slightly better programs for % off with my sponsors. I raced B and was front to mid pack at the Texas spring nationals, and on the way home my dad and I had a convo about moving to A and compared lap times. A week later he asked me if I wanted to just move up, and told me I could keep whatever I won minus entry fees. I then stayed regional, raced fair races and Missouri state and made fuck you money for a 14 year old. I specifically recall a weekend where I made nearly a grand, at 14, and one of the guys that beat me in 125 C in 02 got 20th at Loretta’s in B.
That was my absolute moment of clarity that going the am-nat/contract hopeful route was totally out of the window and never to be looked back on again. My theory is this: GO TO LL once, and move on. If you’re fast- hyperfocusing on one week out of the year will not guarantee you making the fast track to a pro racer.
Unfortunately the industry "bro's" who run these teams/product companies etc look at LL's as the next step hence while all the manufacturers are there so i think one needs to go to LL's as much as possible.
What ever, i think the amateur farming system is seriously broken. E.g. Look at how much KTM pour into amateurs their top guys have come from other teams not their amateur program.
The bikes from these factory teams are masking to much lack of talent.
Would i want my kid to go to LL's- Hell yeah
Pit Row
Video depiction of me racing on Saturday. Vet classes for me from here on out I think.
The cost of attending the am national far outweighs the benefit gained in actual dollars. If all you get (which is mostly what is gotten) is a discount - or EVEN free gear and free tires, free graphics - it still doesn't offset the expenditure of attending loretta's even once.
At 14 - had you paid bike costs, travel and stay costs etc - that F you money woulda been negative money.
This is true of all racing now days - but I say it all the time to our non national title winners - Go to A class as soon as possible - and hit all the state and regional races you can that actually pay ok money.
You will grow and improve as a rider far more quickly than hanging back chasing a ride in the nationals.
The biggest thing kids NEED to learn - and some have, is that if they TRULY are worth sponsoring - they ADD value to everything they touch.
This means if a dealer hooks them up with bikes at cost - and a mod shop does work for cheap - they can sell the bikes for top dollar and their out of pocket expenses drop
Heath voss was a master of this - he made money selling 20 hour old bikes.
Their brand is valuable - which is why Reedy could sell his SX bikes for good money as well - a local privateer with poor brand strength will sell his bikes for pennies.
But tell that to all the parents and kids who ONLY attend these races because they believe they WILL make money if "only their kid gets noticed"
KC
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