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the obstacles can’t become do or die either, especially since how SX has evolved into such high speed tracks.
Mic drop post IMO
There's just too many bikes out on the track. The riders aren't used to riding totally beat down tracks with whoops basically knuckled out or rolled down after every race. The reality is a lot of the riders entering the race just don't belong out there.
The 450 main should have a maximum of about 12-14 guys lining up. With 22 riders lining up, its still only 18 riders out there after the first lap crashes. But then of those 18, you're still left with 3-4 riders being lapped multiple times.
if they're going to send so many 450's out on a supercross track, at least send them out on a fresh prep
So the solution is to make the whoops smaller, allowing speeds to be even higher? Brilliant
Elle Reed**
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Whoops don't have to be high speed as many have posted in this thread but I still look forward to more of your brilliant logic leaps.
There are solutions for the lapped traffic issues like getting a black flag if you've been lapped twice. Going to 22 rider fields was a great thing as it gives two more riders track time instead of watching from the sidelines.
Totally agree on the fresh prep issue.
AMA Pro Supercross is the pinnacle of the sport, they should have the biggest whoops in all of dirt biking. The top guys practice tens of thousands of hours from about 2 or 3 years old, their suspension cost more than your pickup truck. Arenacross whoops are bigger than the pro supercross. Whoops in the late 80's - early 90's were way bigger. I have seen local supercross/arenacross whoops bigger than this new era of supercross whoops!
Whoops are a significant part of supercross history and even the best get it wrong sometimes,
https://racerxonline.com/2012/03/02/the-list-the-whoops
it’s not the size of the track. It’s the bs sub 1 min laps that hold these tracks back. It just the fact that all the all the obstacles are generic. Instead of the exact same supercross triple every weekend with the exact same takeoff and landing they should mix it up a little. Or the 3” to 5” step on step off. I know the riders have 10 minutes to master the track but these are some elite dudes
I feel like they can't really even try to "spice up" the track too much. There will just be way too many injuries.
Yeah some more complicated obstacles will look cool on paper but they will just have more separation between Tomac roczen and everyone else. Even a slightly more technical track will make the racing much less exciting and the fans will complain that the race was "boring."
Like it or not, people are not paying for tickets to watch one guy ride around out front for 20 minutes
Why not just do flat track
Wall jumps. Wall jumps everywhere.
And not a set of woops to blitz 😆
I’m all for big whoops. Tracks become to stream lined with dart fish and bike tech these days. it’s a true skill to blitz a set of big gnarly whoops, and bigger whoops result in slower speeds through them. That’s just a fact. I understand no one likes seeing guys get carted off, but at what point do you stop simplifying tracks for a 60+hp bike to go even faster on and have even bigger crashes. The biggest problem is the bikes are just too fast, but that ship has sailed there. Keep the whoops big, keep the skill alive, that’s what separates really good riders from greats.
I agree and would argue we see far more injuries from rhythm sections and step on/offs. Roczen, Villopoto, Reed, and Webb right off the top of my head. Whoops all come down to the right hand and they control how fast they go into them. Look at Musquin.....he has been very successful but how strong could he be if was as fast as Reed or Craig in whoops?
Right on Ellie...
Obviously not everyone will agree on a topic like this but personally I prefer tall, well-spaced whoops right out of a bowl turn. Keeps the speed down a bit and having a bowl turn before allows lots of opportunities for block passes and/or 2 riders to enter at the same time and really see who has the skill. It's boring to see guys go flying through a short set like simple braking bumps plus the higher speed means any little mistake really can end with serious injury.
It will never happen but I'd love to see whoops like the ones in that Pastrana video at his home track on a 125. They were massive and he was skimming but still not going very fast because of how big they were. You're pretty much guaranteed to wreck if timing isn't perfect but I'd much rather go over the bars at 10mph than 20+.
Fair point. As a fan I’m just waiting for that one obstacle where I’m like “wow I’ve never seen that before”.
Pit Row
Going off of the assumption here, but campagning for smaller whoops would only make me expect there to be LARGER whoops this season, just for the simple fact of realtime results to show who is in charge no matter the complaints and compliments.
Clearly, you have no concept of who pulls the strings in this sport. There's one guy with the horsepower to make things happen. I mean, do the math. Who has the sauce to make sure Herlings doesn't race desNations? That his guy is on the French team? Coincidence you say? You notice how low of a profile he has maintained since the race? Face it, there can only be one bull of the woods....
Who is the puppet master?
May have to adjust the clickers a little though.
There are so many more obstacles that dirt bikes are capable of traversing other than the 4 or 5 that get repeated at every SX round.
How about a set of low whoops around a sweeping corner? Desert race style!
The key to designing tracks that create separation between riders is by making more awkward rhythm sections. They're called rhythm sections because it's supposed to be a challenge for the racers to find a rhythm in them. Most modern rhythm sections are all smooth and spaced out in a manner in which it is easy for any top-10 rider to get through them smoothly.
Indeed, the first one there is helping you to gain speed. In the USA SX the first one is just like all the others a bubble. It's not very clear on this video, but the first one in most French Supercrosses is that the first whoop is more a ramp setting you up for the huge, sick sets of whoop-die-doos. So indeed they should build the first one differently instead of shaping them down, building a plateau where they can make some speed for a long line of monster whoops is also a possibility.
They were good whoops, being rounded and flatter on top, instead of peaky helps.
Also notice whoop masters Roczen and Brayton carried the front wheel over the first whoop, which was faster and smoother.
First whoop in a whoop pad is always a starter whoop.
Yeah. It’s pathetic whoops, supercross triple, finishline double, and the exact same step on step off. These riders are robots. Slow the tracks down, build new obstacles, make the riders think outside the box and get rid of 45 second lap times.
Bring back proper sized whoops to really slow down the speeds
The biggest problems Dirt Wurx runs into is limitations from Feld for safety. They have to leave x amount of space around the track, can’t have whoops and triples in certain parts of the track (hot topic for awhile), piping for tv and all the electrical, finish line structure, the beast, staging/entry, no bowl turns on certain parts of the track, the nets take up a lot of space for hauling it, a lot of track desgins get modified by teams/Feld as well. Everyone has to sign off on them. It’s not as simple as just making new obstacles unfortunately, it’s pretty insane what goes into track building, then you only have 2-3 days to build them in time for press day.
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