Baggett on why tracks get one lined on race day

TXDirt wrote:

This one is easy.... They rip it too deep and water it too much on race day. It’s really that simple. Most timed qualifiers have been...

This one is easy....

They rip it too deep and water it too much on race day. It’s really that simple.

Most timed qualifiers have been a slop fest. It’s been like that for years. So naturally one fast line develops through the slop and everyone takes it.

There is hardly anymore creativity by the riders like there used to be. They get in the fast line and that’s it. No more sweeping into a corner. Hardly anymore setting someone up and squaring a corner up.

Water less and don’t rip as deep, and if you still have to over water and rip deep then atleast re-rip the corners before each moto that have 8 ruts but only one fast line. Do this before motos. Let them start with a clean smooth corner. So lines can then develop again during the moto.

I’m of the belief that you shouldn’t touch many things between races so the track is rutted and rough, but something should be done to help develop more then just one fast line through a sloppy mess.

dirtwalker wrote:

Basically he blames the race day schedule. Pretty good explanation i think. From RacerX interview: “ I think that when it starts out super muddy like...

Basically he blames the race day schedule. Pretty good explanation i think. From RacerX interview:

“ I think that when it starts out super muddy like that, and then of course when you’re going for qualifying times, everybody will take that same line because the mud is getting pushed out of it. It gets down to the hard base, and that’s the fastest line. I think everybody across both classes would agree. So when there’s not just a practice to just get grooves in and get everything kind of lined out, then it just gets that one line. It does make it difficult. The top tree turn, there was the inside line and then there was a middle muck line. I kept trying the middle the whole first moto and kept losing spots. Then the second moto I was able to make it work, but really I think everybody would agree that the inside was by far dominant all day. When I rode with Zach and we rode at Aldon’s or we rode here, we would spend the first 20 minutes of the day getting multiple lines going, and there’s ten of you guys. You can get them all going, and that’s kind of what we do. At the race when it’s a lap time battle, you’re going to go to the best line and try to murder it and hit it as fast as you can because it’s qualifying time. So I think it’s just the way that the schedule is laid out and the way the race format goes. It gets one-lined because of the way qualifying is set up.”

https://racerxonline.com/2020/09/09/between-the-motos-baggett-and-osborne

So should anything be changed to make the tracks and racing better?

FGR01 wrote:

A club I once belonged to ran races. On race day we would have the track ripped/tilled deep. Before practice we put out hay bales blocking...

A club I once belonged to ran races. On race day we would have the track ripped/tilled deep. Before practice we put out hay bales blocking off the inside half of every corner. A riders went out for 1st practice and cut in sweet middle to outside lines. Then we did the rest of the classes with the bales still in place. After that we pulled the bales off and ran the A riders again for 2nd class/Late practice. Every corner had multiple lines and made for great racing. This works great at a local track. Not sure if they could somehow work this in at the Nationals. Block off the insides for timed qualifying and then open them up for the race motos?

just James wrote:

Yep, after the first practice, put a hay bale in the fast line for each corner. Don't remove the bales until just before the first moto.

PRM31 wrote:

Stop ripping the track so deep. I really do not like these slot car tracks. Let the riders use the entire track. I need to go...

Stop ripping the track so deep. I really do not like these slot car tracks. Let the riders use the entire track. I need to go back and find out when they started doing this all the time. There used to be so much more variety in tracks as a result of just leaving them alone. Even leave the bumps. No need to start with a completely groomed track. It has really taken away from the racing where riders could cut from one side to the other, make block passes, etc.

FGR01 wrote:

A club I once belonged to ran races. On race day we would have the track ripped/tilled deep. Before practice we put out hay bales blocking...

A club I once belonged to ran races. On race day we would have the track ripped/tilled deep. Before practice we put out hay bales blocking off the inside half of every corner. A riders went out for 1st practice and cut in sweet middle to outside lines. Then we did the rest of the classes with the bales still in place. After that we pulled the bales off and ran the A riders again for 2nd class/Late practice. Every corner had multiple lines and made for great racing. This works great at a local track. Not sure if they could somehow work this in at the Nationals. Block off the insides for timed qualifying and then open them up for the race motos?

dv12.com wrote:

They used to do that at the Nationals 15-20 years ago... BUT, there were no qualifying timed practices and no transponders then. Gate picks for the...

They used to do that at the Nationals 15-20 years ago...

BUT, there were no qualifying timed practices and no transponders then. Gate picks for the first motos were determined by championship positions or previous year championship positions. Top 10 was qualified directly for the motos, the 30 other guys had to qualify in the morning thru 4-5 laps qualifying races & lcq. I really liked the bales blocking insides during first practice and I was actually talking about it and telling Dylan and Marvin when we walked the track thursday evening before Red Bud 1. They agreed that it would be a good idea. I don't like qualifying with a race in MX. I prefer timed. But I dont like 2 timed practices where you pick your best time out of the 2. Make first practice free using bales and make the second timed. Make top 10 qualified for the motos if they have a mechanical in timed practice or other issues. Keep the LCQ but also do it with lap times, not a race. Too many things could go wrong in a LCQ race. A 10min timed LCQ would be better in my opinion enough to get 3-4 laps in.

aeffertz wrote:

I have a feeling the same riders complaining about one lined tracks are the same ones that would complain about a dry, slick, hard and dusty...

I have a feeling the same riders complaining about one lined tracks are the same ones that would complain about a dry, slick, hard and dusty track as well.

dirtwalker wrote:

You may be right. But it probably wasn’t Blake complaining. He was very upfront in his answer - saying you shouldn’t ask me this - as...

You may be right. But it probably wasn’t Blake complaining. He was very upfront in his answer - saying you shouldn’t ask me this - as he was going to speak his mind and that he is picky...
Its the question that got onto the topic and they were asking him because he was the one guy that found some alternate lines:

Blake, I know a lot of the riders have said the track was very one-lined. Do you think that was how they ripped it? Or do you disagree with that? Do you think the track was fairly as fast as inside as the outside?

Baggett: I think I’m the wrong person to ask that! I think Zach and Adam know. I got too much heavy equipment around me. It’s everywhere. I’m way too picky on that......

Meister wrote:

Track looked good this weekend. Think the powers that be have read any of this? Lol

Meister wrote:

I feel like this will all fall on deaf ears. Track guys need to watch late 90s early 2000s moto and start to make motocross great...

I feel like this will all fall on deaf ears.

Track guys need to watch late 90s early 2000s moto and start to make motocross great again.

Meister wrote:

I feel like this will all fall on deaf ears. Track guys need to watch late 90s early 2000s moto and start to make motocross great...

I feel like this will all fall on deaf ears.

Track guys need to watch late 90s early 2000s moto and start to make motocross great again.

aeffertz wrote:

Whether it’s a coincidence or not the track was definitely prepped differently this weekend and didn’t look like our typical “rut-o-cross” tracks. Was cool to see...

Whether it’s a coincidence or not the track was definitely prepped differently this weekend and didn’t look like our typical “rut-o-cross” tracks. Was cool to see some variety again.

Here’s Blake’s comments on the track this weekend. Interesting...

RacerX: It seemed like the track wasn’t ripped extremely deep. Do you like the way it transformed, or do you think it made everyone closer together?

Blake: I definitely think that it could have been ripped up and disked. It was so fast. It was scary fast in some sections. You were just wide open. I think it definitely could have had some more lines and some more ruts and maybe would have made it different. It was just slippery, and then you had the cushion and you’re just searching for traction.

dv12.com wrote:

They used to do that at the Nationals 15-20 years ago... BUT, there were no qualifying timed practices and no transponders then. Gate picks for the...

They used to do that at the Nationals 15-20 years ago...

BUT, there were no qualifying timed practices and no transponders then. Gate picks for the first motos were determined by championship positions or previous year championship positions. Top 10 was qualified directly for the motos, the 30 other guys had to qualify in the morning thru 4-5 laps qualifying races & lcq. I really liked the bales blocking insides during first practice and I was actually talking about it and telling Dylan and Marvin when we walked the track thursday evening before Red Bud 1. They agreed that it would be a good idea. I don't like qualifying with a race in MX. I prefer timed. But I dont like 2 timed practices where you pick your best time out of the 2. Make first practice free using bales and make the second timed. Make top 10 qualified for the motos if they have a mechanical in timed practice or other issues. Keep the LCQ but also do it with lap times, not a race. Too many things could go wrong in a LCQ race. A 10min timed LCQ would be better in my opinion enough to get 3-4 laps in.