Ben LaMay laying down some fast laps

Premix wrote:

Ben deserved a ride. Guy had some great results last year both indoors and out and filled in for motoconcepts. Lot of rides this year and...

Ben deserved a ride. Guy had some great results last year both indoors and out and filled in for motoconcepts. Lot of rides this year and somehow he got passed over. I’d take Ben over:

Decotis
Noren
A Ray
Cantanzaro
722
Cunningham
Every single one of the riders on ML’s team

How does this happen? Maybe he refuses to ride for no salary. Can’t say I blame him. Hope to see him back soon

ML512 wrote:

Chris Blose raced six 450 rounds last year on his own, beat Ben four of those six attempts. He also just locked down the 250 SX...

Chris Blose raced six 450 rounds last year on his own, beat Ben four of those six attempts. He also just locked down the 250 SX title in Australia. Chris is doing 450 opposite of his 250 Coast, he was hired due to his 250 results.

Decotis is only doing three 450 rounds, he was hired for his 250 results, not 450.

I believe Noren has some level of financial backing that makes his ride more viable. Freddy killed it outdoors anyhow, indoor came about due to the Savatgy injury

Ben was in talks with TPJ again for this season but things didn’t come together, not sure on the details.

ML512 wrote:

Chris Blose raced six 450 rounds last year on his own, beat Ben four of those six attempts. He also just locked down the 250 SX...

Chris Blose raced six 450 rounds last year on his own, beat Ben four of those six attempts. He also just locked down the 250 SX title in Australia. Chris is doing 450 opposite of his 250 Coast, he was hired due to his 250 results.

Decotis is only doing three 450 rounds, he was hired for his 250 results, not 450.

I believe Noren has some level of financial backing that makes his ride more viable. Freddy killed it outdoors anyhow, indoor came about due to the Savatgy injury

Ben was in talks with TPJ again for this season but things didn’t come together, not sure on the details.

Premix wrote:

Chris was on a team all last year, correct? Ben also had a damn good outdoor season, Blose hasn’t raced outdoors since 07 or 08. Is...

Chris was on a team all last year, correct? Ben also had a damn good outdoor season, Blose hasn’t raced outdoors since 07 or 08. Is Blose going outdoors with you or no?

So why take Starling, Robin, and whoever else you have over him? I’ll lay my sword down on Blose, but Ben was more deserving (results wise).

Who is Noren bringing to the table?

Purchased some products from the guys supporting your team ML, great to see it, but I think Ben should of gotten a call. Maybe he did, I dunno.

ML512 wrote:

Chris was for West coast, his 450 efforts were on his own. He had to line up all his equipment and support for that end of...

Chris was for West coast, his 450 efforts were on his own. He had to line up all his equipment and support for that end of the season. He practiced on a 250 during the week and just raced the 450.

Blose isn't going outdoors.

Jerry did the entire SX and MX season out of his van with no mechanic and driving to every round. He's the reason I built my team.

My team was full long before I knew that Ben was without a ride, I was also not planning on running a 450 all season.

TPJ is more of a full team effort now but I'm not sure to what end Ben was having to take care of himself, I'm not sure so I won't assume on that.

ML512 wrote:

Chris was for West coast, his 450 efforts were on his own. He had to line up all his equipment and support for that end of...

Chris was for West coast, his 450 efforts were on his own. He had to line up all his equipment and support for that end of the season. He practiced on a 250 during the week and just raced the 450.

Blose isn't going outdoors.

Jerry did the entire SX and MX season out of his van with no mechanic and driving to every round. He's the reason I built my team.

My team was full long before I knew that Ben was without a ride, I was also not planning on running a 450 all season.

TPJ is more of a full team effort now but I'm not sure to what end Ben was having to take care of himself, I'm not sure so I won't assume on that.

wsmille2 wrote:

If injury were to unfortunately happen on your team, do you have sponsor requirements to fill that position or would you go racing with one less...

If injury were to unfortunately happen on your team, do you have sponsor requirements to fill that position or would you go racing with one less rider?

Premix wrote:

Chris was on a team all last year, correct? Ben also had a damn good outdoor season, Blose hasn’t raced outdoors since 07 or 08. Is...

Chris was on a team all last year, correct? Ben also had a damn good outdoor season, Blose hasn’t raced outdoors since 07 or 08. Is Blose going outdoors with you or no?

So why take Starling, Robin, and whoever else you have over him? I’ll lay my sword down on Blose, but Ben was more deserving (results wise).

Who is Noren bringing to the table?

Purchased some products from the guys supporting your team ML, great to see it, but I think Ben should of gotten a call. Maybe he did, I dunno.

Riesenberg448 wrote:

I'm a Lamay fan and have had the pleasure to work with him and build a personal relationship for years. We sent quite a few messages...

I'm a Lamay fan and have had the pleasure to work with him and build a personal relationship for years. We sent quite a few messages over the offseason trying to see where a ride was available.

Ben's demands were simple:
- he wasn't going to pay to go racing. He's chased his dream, it's his job now.
- he wasn't going to the races like last year being his own mechanic causing his performances to not be where they should (outdoors and SX when he wasn't on MCR)
- if he couldn't get those things handled, he'd stay home and work a job and race when and where it makes sense.

You'll see him at a variety of races coming up on some 250 and 450 KTM's.

Some of the riders you mentioned and some others had interest in Ben, but his needs weren't able to be met within the team's budgets.

Keep in mind, just because a rider has "ride" on a team, doesn't mean they are getting everything free and paid for. A lot of guys may have to buy a practice bike, or pay travel expenses, or entry fees, or for their own mechanics, etc.

Also, results aren't everything. Some guys bring sponsors to the team because they have a relationship or they are doing something off the track that a sponsor likes and cares about more than a 12th place finish.

Some of the posts come off as discrediting the riders who were able to get the rides or the teams who are creating more rides and opportunities. That's a really negative and backwards way to look at it. End of the day is, Ben either needs better results or to find another way to market himself to a team, or be content without a program the way he wants it. I applaud him for making a great business decision and life choice and will be cheering my ass off for him at the races he shows up for. Hopefully another fill in spot will open up for him. The sport is better with the Alaskan Assassin in it.