Is this really the deepest field ever?

kage173
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Edited Date/Time 6/21/2020 7:31am
At the beginning of the season, the big call was that this is the deepest field ever with 6-8 riders that could win.

Last night the 3 started in about 20th place then came back to get second and pass 3rd in points with ease. We've had, I think 4 winners, which is the usual. We've seen the normal pattern of one guy being the best with a couple of others keeping him honest and then a big drop off after that. The podium is the same week in and week out. It's a much healthier group than we usually have at the end of the season.

I'm not bagging on the riders, they are as talented as ever. I just don't think it's any deeper than it's been for the past 25 years. It is always stacked and always tough.



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Drtbykr
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6/18/2020 4:11pm
kage173 wrote:
At the beginning of the season, the big call was that this is the deepest field ever with 6-8 riders that could win. Last night the...
At the beginning of the season, the big call was that this is the deepest field ever with 6-8 riders that could win.

Last night the 3 started in about 20th place then came back to get second and pass 3rd in points with ease. We've had, I think 4 winners, which is the usual. We've seen the normal pattern of one guy being the best with a couple of others keeping him honest and then a big drop off after that. The podium is the same week in and week out. It's a much healthier group than we usually have at the end of the season.

I'm not bagging on the riders, they are as talented as ever. I just don't think it's any deeper than it's been for the past 25 years. It is always stacked and always tough.



See 80’s moto for the deepest fields ever.
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kb228
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6/18/2020 4:18pm
2011 was
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DaveB771
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Minneapolis, MN US
6/18/2020 4:26pm
kage173 wrote:
At the beginning of the season, the big call was that this is the deepest field ever with 6-8 riders that could win. Last night the...
At the beginning of the season, the big call was that this is the deepest field ever with 6-8 riders that could win.

Last night the 3 started in about 20th place then came back to get second and pass 3rd in points with ease. We've had, I think 4 winners, which is the usual. We've seen the normal pattern of one guy being the best with a couple of others keeping him honest and then a big drop off after that. The podium is the same week in and week out. It's a much healthier group than we usually have at the end of the season.

I'm not bagging on the riders, they are as talented as ever. I just don't think it's any deeper than it's been for the past 25 years. It is always stacked and always tough.



Drtbykr wrote:
See 80’s moto for the deepest fields ever.
As I approach my golden years I'd have to say competition was tougher in the 70s. Hannah, Tony D, Pomeroy, Ellis, Tripes, Wienert, Smith, Howerton, itinerant Euros...
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Drtbykr
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6/18/2020 4:41pm

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The Shop

haydos25
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Sydney AU
6/18/2020 4:43pm
If you took MC out of the 90s then the field would've been the deepest in history because there was 10 guys in a battle for 2nd regularly. But because MC was out front nobody talks about it. Same deal with RC/CR/Stew era.

What you're really trying to discuss is whether a particular era had a standout talent. Todays era has the most former race winners or development class champions that i can remember. From 4th-15th is probably the closest its ever been. It's just that top tier is still a step above as usual.

80's fields were deep. But did they really produce that many different champions? It was still the top few guys each year as usual.
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dimetime
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6/18/2020 4:48pm
I don't think it's fair to assess the field as of the race last night. It's near the end of the season and it's been an odd as fuck season on top of all that but not everyone is racing with the passion they all have at the beginning of the the season.

In my opinion it's a deep field compared to some years but the 80s is still the zenith for deep competition.
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hamncheeze
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British Columbia CA
6/18/2020 5:33pm
Ask Vuillemin. He always has an opinion on this topic #deepfieldbro
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hyler199
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CA
6/18/2020 7:01pm
They all race the same track as the Lawrence brothers so thats pretty cool

the field is pretty deep, especially the 6th to 18th place guys. its good for us thats for sure
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6/19/2020 4:32am
hamncheeze wrote:
Ask Vuillemin. He always has an opinion on this topic #deepfieldbro
Who is Vuillemin?
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6/19/2020 4:38am
hamncheeze wrote:
Ask Vuillemin. He always has an opinion on this topic #deepfieldbro
Who is Vuillemin?
"Ya but they don't know shit" - DV
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Derpin' DJ
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Newcastle AU
6/19/2020 4:42am
It's gotta be one of the deepest in terms of number of people who have won a pro title
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6/19/2020 5:14am
1990 would be tough to beat
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6/19/2020 5:23am
Deepest field ever side conversation...could a bunch of dudes who have been groomed/trained and prepared for racing top tier motocross their entire lives beat guys from the 70s and 80s? I mean...yes.

If you look at literally every other sport the numbers climb significantly every generation. It’s human nature. Carey Hart did a backflip 20 years ago and didn’t land it we all freaked out. Now kids do them in their backyard at 12 years old.

Progression is how humankind operates. The riders now are undeniably better. Maybe the whole participation trophy limerick is ironic in that the younger generations (millennials) smash every record and physical feat set by boomers.
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IWreckALot
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6/19/2020 6:44am
"Deepest field ever" is simply a cliche marketing phrase. Every year is the "deepest field ever" because the phrase is objective and the criteria can be manipulated to fit the phrase on any given season.

I've learned that field "depth" isn't as entertaining as much as the action out front is. Give me a race any day where the two guys out front are trading leads multiple times while lapping third over a race where only a few passes happen with the front runners.

In that context, it's fun to watch Tomac and Webb. Webb is a better starter and incredibly difficult to pass. Tomac is a hit or miss starter and passes everyone with ease until he gets to Webb. Get Kenny on a good night and we could have the greatest race we've ever seen. Those races just seem to rarely ever happen because it requires about 10 things to line up that are all 50/50 chances. All 3 get good starts, Tomac on a track he happens to somewhat struggle with, points close enough that all three want the win, etc. . .
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6/19/2020 6:58am
Decades ago the playing field was more level but the riders today are far and away better than they were then Without question.
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mxman
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Armpit, TX US
6/19/2020 7:45am
As the top 3 guys in the 450 class are lapping up to 6th place, no the field isn't very deep.
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bultokid
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Houston, TX US
6/19/2020 7:52am Edited Date/Time 6/19/2020 7:55am
Decades ago the playing field was more level but the riders today are far and away better than they were then Without question.
No doubt todays rider is highly evolved and skill level is incredible....BUT....could todays rider thrive back then ???? I doubt it, different time.
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NateDawg
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Athens, GA US
6/19/2020 8:04am
Decades ago the playing field was more level but the riders today are far and away better than they were then Without question.
Like Bob Hannah said, put these guys on the same bike as Roger DeCoster for 35+ minutes in Belgium and there's no way any of them would beat Roger. Different bikes, different times.

I also firmly believe that, with the exception of Tomac, Prime CR/JS/RC would all be smoking the current field.
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Park Boys
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6/20/2020 4:04am Edited Date/Time 6/20/2020 4:05am
The entry list for A1 2014 was pretty ridiculous. Of course Tomac never made the main due to injury and Reed was out fairly early in the season.
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tobz
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Adelaide AU
6/20/2020 5:11am
Deepest field ever, at this time of the season*
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Tarz483
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Mankato, MN US
6/20/2020 8:30am
I think this was a deep year but we have had a lot of injuries in both classes (which has become normal) was there even 1 week where we didn't lose at least 1 rider in each class to injury?
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toroP
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Cincinnati, OH US
6/20/2020 8:51am
2014 was good at the start.
RV, RD, CR, JS, KR, (all with wins),ET, JB, JB, JH, (podiums)...
In the end, injuries and DNFs made it a fairly easy title for RV.
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6/20/2020 9:04am
As long as the teams and riders can make a living staying down in the 250SX class the field will never be as deep as it could be in the 450SX class like it was in the 80s-90's. Bradshaw got rookie of the year at age 17 in the premiere class. Now Davalos got rookie of the year at age 32 or something. Thats the difference for those who weren't there.
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Raikzz
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EE
6/20/2020 9:32am Edited Date/Time 6/20/2020 9:32am
There's about 5 guys who can win, and usually there's max 1-2 guys on one night who can win, but from places 2-10 it's probably the deepest field ever.
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6/20/2020 9:37am
There will always be a few (3-4) riders that can obliterate the rest of the field. This does not say that the other riders are slow, it just shows how incredibly talented a few riders are. Hell, last place in any 450 main would obliterate me in my prime. Period.
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6/20/2020 9:52am
nope , next year will be the deepest ever ...repeat next year
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RudyRayMo
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AL US
6/20/2020 10:37am
If it had stayed 2 strokes, nobody would have touched js7 or rc for 20 more years
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BigBoreFan58
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Beverly Hills, CA US
6/20/2020 12:29pm
How many SX winners have we had in 450 big boy this year?

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