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Allot of local races do this. You draw straws for first gate. Second gate is off of finish in first. Always kept it real.
I got that. I was just being sarcastic.
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So if everyone else is jumping off a cliff, you'd jump to? :-) Following the crowd has never been a motivation for me to change so SX and MXGP using starting gates, is not a reason for the Nationals to do the same.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it so unless someone can point to a problem with the current way, "we don't need no stinkin' grates."
So no qualifying just draw for gate picks? No way, Jose.
When it comes to starts I'm old school. I just want a simple gate, bike on dirt, nothing else. No holeshot device, no cement pad, no starting grate, no engine mapping or RPM adjuster, no bells whistles and lights to tell you what RPM to be in. Pick your gate based on 1) Best angle to 1st turn. 2) The rut behind the gate for best traction. 3) The rut in front of the gate to be straight.
Hell yeah....and let's go back to 2-strokes. They took real skill to ride (powerband).
Forget about the starts for a second. If the goal is to level the playing field should the tracks be made harder or easier? If they shave down the whoops and take out all the potential quads, what would the racing look like? Would someone else be leading points now besides Tomac?
Because if your answer is no then I have a hard time supporting the musings of this thread. The starts should be left traditional.
Convince me why the first turn will be better with a start grate. I don't see why it logically would be. I think it would be worse, having a more consistent roster of who is getting the holeshots. Anyone who claims they want to see the same top 5 people come around the first turn in every race is full of sh!t.
If I had a nickel for each time I damn near did a backflip from dumping the clutch with it wide open as a little kid. I practiced starts at least an hour every day at practice to get it right. But that's part of the whole skill...learning how much throttle to use and not looking at a light, learning how to clutch it just enough, nearly kissing the front fender to keep the front end down while sliding your ass to the rear fender for traction.
Honestly what bothers me more than the grates are the holeshot devices and the RPM lights to tell them the perfect RPM to be at for the start. Keeping the front end down enough, traction control, knowing the right RPM or gear to start in....to me those are all "skills" essential to be a pro and get a holeshot.
A can of this and 1 holeshot coming up... Or 1 loop out.
Pretty sure all true motocross is pure dirt. In other words, if it's not dirt...
It's NOT motocross.
It’s okay to have change, guys.
It's also okay to leave things the way they are.
If it's not broken, don't fix it.
Yeah your rt. We should also b allowed to bring our own gate also. For entertainment & promoting the sport. We should hv teams of gate prepers. I,ll hv a team of 8 Asian chics. All dressed in team tube tops.
If all the other riders have smooth starting gates, no ruts behind the gate, start devices, traction, control, and launch control….does that make it easier for you?
I don’t even understand the question. if they add more people on the line, how does that take away from the professionalism or the starting technique required? Oh ffs… did you mean they’re switching to grates behind the start gate or did you mean they’re adding gates?
From the standpoint of someone who is very confident in his starting abilities... bring it.
If I were a pro who gets good starts, I wouldn't care. I'm still gonna smoke you guys to the first turn. Grate, dirt, concrete, peanut butter or ice, it doesn't matter, as long as all the gates are the same.
Also don't forget that the grate is only behind the gate. There will still be some strategy with gate pick due to the condition of the rut ahead of the gate, as well as the line to the first turn.
Sneak a mobile wireless remote activated system , electric magnet under the grate. Direct the beam at the top of the gate. As a bonus it should make near by bikes miss fire. Hole shot city.
Pit Row
To be fair, quite a bit of testing would go into the setup to find the "perfect start".it is not like they just guessed at what works. I'm sure it is ever changing too.
I can take or leave the grates. If they do go with grates I would like to see them do a random gate pick order for the first motos. Let the top 20 in points be seeded and have a random order for gate pick. The bottom 20 would get into the field by qualifying times and their gate pick would be determined by qualifying time.
I'd bet some different lines would shape up if not everyone was rushing to put in a quick qualifying time...
The grates r loaded up & transported. Probably bent some. Are they all the same height behind the gate ? I never saw any survey equipment to check this. If your gate is 1/4 in higher you hv an advantage
Keep it dirt, some riders are better on clay and some have the loam better figured out. A great starter can find the right rpm on any dirt and fine tune that with how far down they put the holeshot device. It’s a great strategy I would say they should keep in. It also doesn’t allow everyone to shoot out the gate at rocket speed being more closely spaced which keeps the first corner a safer place. The only places I would tell tracks to get a grate would be sandy starts that get foot peg deep ruts but even then you see the ama fixing those ruts before getting to deep.
The first turn on most tracks is the most dangerous part of the race! Making it easier for everybody to get a good start isn't the answer! They are dirt bikes they should start in the dirt lol
I'm so with you on this. Next time you should slip on your red mini skirt the one you wore while racing your tricked out CR125 in the Super Allstars Pro Race and prep the rails.
What’s next ? Concrete mx and supercross tracks like BMX?
Why? Leave it dirt.
Easier to paint the grates black and green than it is dirt I suppose.
We’re both not wrong here. And that’s totally fine.
You hit on a very interesting point regarding different lines developing during "timedqualifyingpractice" if it were like the old days and truly just practice.
Did Glen Helen remove their concrete pad? I forget
It’s a bit odd to me that anyone is against eliminating the potential for one gate having an advantage over another gate. This makes it an even start surface across the whole line. On dirt you will have better spots to start from, dirt that will pack better here vs there, all creating the potential for one riders gate to be an advantage over another’s. I want the the guy who gets he best jump out of the gate to get to the front as opposed to the guy who didn’t have the best jump but had a better patch of dirt to get a better drive from.
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