Hangtown, way to hard to pass.

The track changes last year, removing the section around the pond before the big drop off/tree, took a away 2 good passing points, there were always a ton of passes going into the left hander before the step up. And the sweeper right hander always seemed to have passes too. 

I’m sure it was done to cut down the lap times,  and freshen up a track that has been the same general layout for 10+ years. Just seemed like that was an area passes were made consistently.

The off camber section is technical and I like it in concept, but how many passes were made there this year? That’s a good 15 seconds of track, single file, 4-5 corners into the race that pulls the pack apart. 

I’m gonna get this in before Falcon shows up…

“…too hard….”

The track was like most hard-packed clay outdoor tracks…Certain lines get burned in and rutted and many riders chose to stay in those lines. 

The off cambers need to be free of the ruts.  Make people go way outside to a cushen, or skate the short line.  

Where the big step up use to be.  There was a tricky double out of a turn that they smoothed between motos and made it one lined also.  Killed a good passing spot in the process.  

Bring back the fly 150.  Every obstacle on the track was so easy and small even with mistakes they could easily jump everything.  

Before the pit lane the single wasn't just on the inside of the arc, but all the way across.  Removed another old passing spot.    

They also smoothed the big long downhill after the old step up, used to be crazy rough and lots of passing.  Saw only a couple there all day. 🤷‍♀️

And for the love of God please stop allowing people to set up east ups.  The big hill viewing was blocked by a bunch of easy ups.  And people were asses about it.  

They are back to flooding the tracks this year and making everything rutted out. 

Hangtown has always been narrow but their inside/outside option always makes the track shorter by making one inside and the outside is way outside and unusable.

The 180 corners are too tight to set up a pass and every other turn is a fast sweep with no way to setup

Camera angles were off too. Seems like they had some closer on the speedy sections before. Glad the series is leaving cali.

Yeah I’m not sure how decisions are made on the track layout. The one line switchback has been there for a few years. I think Tomac fell there a year or two back. The rough downhills and the finish line sweeper seem to be common passing points. Other years the same general layout had more passing points. I don’t like the small switchback after the Fly (1)50. Funnels to one rut for the next roller section and delays passing opportunities for the next several sections. 

Agree with you man, no disrespect for the Cali tracks, and the 250's have been decent, but it seems a little disappointing so far.

It's the great outdoors, I'll watch every minute of every race, no question, but hopefully getting out of the state and folks getting their outdoor legs under them and their bikes dialled in can perk things up.

There's one good track there for the pros. And unfortunately mx sports and the track owners hate each other so we lose out as fans. 

Series is leaving California so the tracks will only get better from here on out. Hangtown is very condition dependent; get it right and it's a beautiful track with plenty of lines. Get it wrong, and it looks like it did yesterday

To be fair, it was pretty hot yesterday and so it developed like you would expect a clay, hard pack track to develop in the heat

Looking at the dirt (while there) it looked like they went with more sand than rice hulls as amendments this year too. Think it was more thirsty than they were ready for when combined with the heat. 

The sweeper around the pond wasn't always a feature.  Last amateur day I raced in 91 used the section they had this year to lead up to the Oak Tree before the  big drop off.   

One of the things that would improve Hangtown I think is to widen the track to closer to what it was when they first moved to Prairie City in 79, a few years after Sacramento County bought the site from the McGill owners using Green Sticker money (becoming a state park was later, 88 I think).   It was extremely wide (there were a couple straight and sweepers almost as wide as the start) and now is very narrow, which confines riders and limits line development.  This is at least the third start configuration, and the old track used to sweep around the vendor area to behind the vendor area before coming back out to the bowl where the track is now (Oak Tree corner was not wedded to the big drop off).  I'm not sure why that changed, probably to keep the track within the bowl for spectators, maybe State Park limitations to contain the track (may have happened about the time the infield became off limits to general admission).  It certainly made Hangtown a track where you can pick a spot to camp and see most of the track.

I don't know which way that compromise cuts.  But people have complained there are not enough hard pack tracks, and I don't think the soil condition is as much a factor as lay out.  Hangtown's soil needed to be improved

I expect the Dirt Diggers had much more flexibility before the state acquired it, in part because the state has done more to make it a destination for different types of OHV two and four wheel use, other promoters control the track the other 48+ weeks of the year for races and formal practices (haven't been out to rider there generally for a few years, but I don't think the pro track facility is generally available if you go out on a weekday).  

Yeah Zeb Armstrong runs it the rest of the year 

Track was the same for everyone, could they have prepped better? Only the locals know…I have a feeling it wouldn’t have mattered results wise….

Yes it was the same for everyone until you factor in the start. Both Hangtown and Pala have been start dependent. Any fast guys with an average start have struggled to make passes quickly enough, before those with good starts have run away. That impacts the quality of racing.

That’s the thing with hard clay tracks though, you don’t have to rip the whole bloody thing. Embrace the hard pack!

Great passing opportunities can be created by deliberately packing and rolling some open corners so they stay flat and hard, instead of being rutted slots.

Little know fact, most pros hate GH. Kinda opposite of what the fans say about GH. 

All the tracks seem to be one lined.  Whoever gets the start wins most of the time.  They should build them with better passing options.

Interesting. They sure seem to race/ride there a lot after retirement. 

Seriously, bring back the half pipe. There’s basically nothing interesting on that track, and the half pipe used to be a great passing spot while being a truly unique feature for the track. 

Also, turning the uphill rollers into jumps meant everyone was doing the same thing through that section. Another bad choice. 
 

Sorry not sorry: Saturday’s layout was just lazy. 

too*

With four strokes the start is so much more important. It is easier to recover from a mistake with them. 2 strokes if you made a mistake it took awhile to recover. Momentum and staying on the pipe was key. Now we just need to figure out how to get tracks to make for better racing. Unfortunately not as easy as it sounds.

I liked it better when they ran it the other direction. Probably an easy fix for next year if they are looking to spice things up a bit, though I doubt it. 

Edit: I don't think it was "one lined" I was there. It was hot, and it was a hard track. There was room for creativity, you probably just didn't it on TV. 

hunter didnt have much of an issues working his way through the pack

At the same time though, could he have made it closer to the front in moto 1 if there were more passing options?

Watered hardpack with slippery snot was the name of the game for both amateur day and by the LCQ's on Saturday.

As they ripped it Friday night, you could see the dust coming up the deeper they ripped. They missed the window of the track getting water deep into it days before the race.