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4970
Joined
3/6/2010
Location
BE
Edited Date/Time
3/12/2022 2:36pm
The question is as simple, but at the same time as hard to do! How to become a great starter in motocross. I've noticed that there are riders who use one leg to stand on, and their other leg is already on the footpeg ready to shift up. Others are both feet at the ground.
Do you start in second gear like most of them, or in third? How do you keep your arm, do you hold your hand and elbow in one straight line upwards so you can give the throttle a swing from the moment the gate drops?
Are you also playing with the clutch till you feel that he's biting and keep it there so you're bike will react faster when you throttle?
Some riders are real hero's in taking holeshots. I remember Mike Brown in his later career, racing with the CAS Honda in the MXGP class and time after time he clinched a great start. Same with Jorge Prado but with him, I don't know if it's technique or also weight advantage.
So the question is easy: What is the ideal technique to get yourself as first out of the gate, towards the first corner.
Edit: The guy on Honda coming from the middle of the pack with the uncharacteristic number 4 is Mike Brown.
Do you start in second gear like most of them, or in third? How do you keep your arm, do you hold your hand and elbow in one straight line upwards so you can give the throttle a swing from the moment the gate drops?
Are you also playing with the clutch till you feel that he's biting and keep it there so you're bike will react faster when you throttle?
Some riders are real hero's in taking holeshots. I remember Mike Brown in his later career, racing with the CAS Honda in the MXGP class and time after time he clinched a great start. Same with Jorge Prado but with him, I don't know if it's technique or also weight advantage.
So the question is easy: What is the ideal technique to get yourself as first out of the gate, towards the first corner.
Edit: The guy on Honda coming from the middle of the pack with the uncharacteristic number 4 is Mike Brown.
I see more of the younger generation going with the one leg on the ground one on the peg technique. I still go with both feet on the ground and make the first shift from 2nd to 3rd with my heel.
However! With some practice AND parts, I got great starts at vet fest and then again at a local shindig in a "holeshot challenge" bracket style. I ended up second in that behind a local fast A rider. Actually beat a few other A kids to get that far.
On my 21 I am running map 3 and tc 2. On a last ditch effort, I tested out the holeshot assist thing built into the computer. On a Honda, it just limits the RPMs to a constant. Same thing, every time. Doesn't retard power after the gate drops or anything. Doing this, coupled with the TAMER front AND rear holeshot devices, this thing is a rocket ship that pulls for days with zero wheelie. Neutral body position with head about even with the bars. I watched countless starts and analyzed some fast guys body positions and found neutral to work best for me. We'll tester out at Daytona again this weekend, as long as I'm not found sleeping on the gate.
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Anyone else reading what I wrote above, take it for a grain of salt if you wish. Just the take coming from a washed up vet rider who has had a fair amount of gate drops! Been doin this awhile tho and I got way better starts on my 250 2 strokes!
Aggression
Technique
As mentioned above , you have to want it first !
Envision yourself getting the holeshot
Go out and own it
Neutral body position
Both legs down
Modulate throttle/ clutch , don’t just dump the clutch and go wide open right out the gate , smooth transition immediately then hard on the gas a couple feet out
Reaction time is huge but not 100% necessary
Stay hard on the gas all the way to the first turn even if you didn’t get the jump . You still have a great opportunity to steal it as many people shut down wayyy too early
Inside gate is much more important for pros that are so close in speed / skill but not near as important for the Amateur level …. If your gate is not full and everyone is lining up to the inside , go far outside and stay away from all the carnage that inevitably happens , on the inside !
The biggest factor in my experience has always been the confidence and drive to want it .
Best tip I ever received was squeeze with your thighs, I do not use the launch control on my bike ever.
Also I start with both feet down and as far up on the tank as I can go..last but not least I practiced the McGrath heel shift when going down the start straight and that helps grab another gear slightly quicker than the next guy.. and infinitely quicker than the dudes who still chicken wing shift lol.
I’ve never agreed with the holeshot line being after the first corner. As a young fella in Australia we always called the holeshot the first into the turn. It was always about getting a good jump, spot on shifts and power.
I remember being confused when I saw my first AMA race and the holeshot line was after the first turn!
Still don’t like it 😂
Both feet on the ground.
Turn the throttle halfway or so and have the clutch barely engaged. The bike is pulling against my calves very slightly.
When the gate drops, lift my toes so there's no resistance.
Fan out the clutch but don't worry so much about beating anybody off the concrete. Be patient, smooth and calculated.
Right when the rear tire hits the dirt, pin the throttle and lean forward, well over the bars. Let her eat. As the bike gains speed and traction, let it slide you to the back of the seat, all while shifting at the right points.
Look at the pin, when it moves, GO, you wont ever hit the gate!
Dont ”dump” the clutch, if dirt start, keep some slip over the gate bump, shortshift and keep wfo until the other riders get off the gas… 👀👂🏻
Good enough for some vet-mx racing holeshots 😝
I am fat and race a 125 so I HAVE to start in 1st, this means that I have to shift immediately so I have my left foot on the peg, when I raced a 250 I could start in 2nd and keep both feet on the ground, well actually my start blocks. Did I mention that I am short and fat? anyhoo... on concrete starts since traction is limited, my posture is more straight up instead of over the bars to keep as much weight as possible on top of the real wheel, on dirt more over the bars, on expanded metal really over the bars and as far forward as possible since the traction is at a premium.
Pit Row
I was always a rubbish starter growing up could never get round the first corner any better than mid pack. Never got a holeshot in years of racing.
Anyway I get a wildcard into what was a local schoolboy national event. I wasn’t good enough to be there but I took the opportunity. They announce that for the last race of the day there was a hole shot prize… I’d never been in a race with a prize before. I said to my old man, watch I’m going to win that, what do you know I pulled the holeshot infront of 40 of the fastest kids in the country and I wasn’t even one of the fastest kids in my town.
I dropped off and came like 2nd to the last but goes to show what the right mental attitude will do.
After that I always got top 5 starts because the belief was there and I realised everyone on the line was skin and bones just like me and even if they were much better at riding, we were all as good as one another in a straight line, it’s just who wants to get to the first corner first the most.
I’ve always been a pretty good starter. Watched motos before me to figure best area to start and vision myself first in the first corner. Even starting in second gear I start with one foot on the ground and the other under the shifter
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