Ex-Pros racing Loretta's?

Yea those 100k vehicles they drive get expensive. Lol

Lol! Told ya the big dogs peep the pages! 

You mention John Dowd… he is 16 days older than me. He and I both started racing dirt bikes at an older/advanced age by the typical standard for MX.
I didn’t race my first sanctioned race till I was 18 because my folks were terrified of the risk…For whatever reason John didn’t start racing till he was 19 or so either. We both poured our heart & soul into Moto, I lived ate & drank all things dirt bike…wore the casual gear, sunglasses, bought all my favorite riders signature stuff and had the best bike & equipment that I could afford and rode or raced every opportunity that I could get! I bet John Dowd did too!!? SO, while I slowly advanced through D, then into C class…John Dowd flies up the ranks and achieves the skill set to race “pro” level quickly! Meanwhile I barely achieved mid-pack B rider skill level before I finally got old enough to start racing Vet 30, while John Dowd went on to have a storied career and is a LEGEND in our beloved sport. 
SO because John was successful and achieved the speed & skill that every guy that’s ever ridden a dirt bike has ever dreamed of having, we should EXCLUDE him (and the others like him) from appearing & participating in THE biggest event of the year that we regular Joe’s can participate in because they are “too good”??! SOLID logic right there… 

While we’re busy figuring out a way to keep the best Vet riders across the US from racing, maybe someone should ring-up the U.S. Olympic committee and convince them how unfair it is that they are sending NBA & MLB guys into Olympic competition against all those poor countries that aren’t as good at basketball or baseball too! 😵‍💫 👍❗️

Lol

Now we're reaching...

I love watching people ride with a professional skill set!

"LORETTA LYNN'S AMA NATIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP"

All we have to do is remove "AMATEUR"

Now does that make you happy?

Man, just shut up then! Lol. I'm done going on explaining my reasoning, but don't expect me to disappear. 

Lol is that a musky rod you're fishing with. 

This is tough for most people to understand. Excuse my fellow Americans. Like someone said. 

Is Ronnie Renner a simple 9-5 guy in the 45 plus class ? 

You cry babies could always sign up for the 450 C class so you don't have to race anyone who competed as a pro several decades ago. The door swings both ways.

100% this

I raced as a "pro" in both MTB and Triathlon for many years. I was never paid to do so, and funded it all myself. So what was I? Amateur Pro? Pro on voluntary work experience? I was "pro" but I certainly wasn't a professional athlete.

Go back a couple of weeks at Washougal, and you had Hamish Harwood from NZ finishing 22-24 in MX 1 (on a 2-stroke). Hamish earns his living as a full-time builder. Is he a professional MX rider?

 "He's still got the skill because he's a professional"

No. He got the opportunity to be professional, because he had the skill.

Mike Brown is my fucking idol and I hope to be ripping and racing when I’m well into my 50’s. I could care less as I’m not lining up against him or any other former pros in vet class, I race 30b at mammoth and love watching my idols ride the same track as me! Most fast old guys there race 30a as that’s the fastest class available, I believe MC raced 30A well into his late 40’s and maybe even early 50’s. 

Mikes or any pro in 40 are not breaking any rules by riding that class and if Mike wants to go out there and battle nobody winning by 30 seconds then he can and he can get a title as he’s probably the fastest 52 year old in the world. I will play devils advocate though and ask why. Like I said at mammoth for example vets have their own weekend and the former pros almost always race the fastest class no matter their age because that’s where their competition is. Loretta’s has faster classes available while he’s there so he could actually race people his talent level vs winning by 30 seconds each Moto. Maybe that’s what chaps people so bad is that someone crushes their class when there are faster classes to ride. I think most of us race for the competition and we hope to have classes that put us together with people we can push ourselves to potentially beat. I guess the real question lies in wether your “class” should ultimately only be determined by racing people of in your talent group or simply just by age/bike/sex. 

This is more like it. Yes he’s eligible for the class but what’s the point when you are winning by 30 seconds when there are other classes he could be competing in? Why race +50? Run +40 to get his gold and then pro sport (or +25) to challenge himself. No different than someone staying in the local C class or a lower age class to collect trophies that the same people defending Brownie would be complaining about. Sounds like he has a goal for most championships as he said on the podium, another year to rack them up and then try a national so at least we’ll get this thread again next year…

Same thing for Jett Lawrence then…He has already won every moto this year and clearly has NO respectable competition in the 450 class!
All this time I thought Lawrence & Brown were just badass racers kickin’ ass & takin’ names…BUT it turns out per Vital logic, Jett AND Mike are just a couple of sandbaggin’ asshats that need to go spend the day golfing or bowling and give everyone else NOT capable of beating them straight up in the class they are ELIGIBLE for a fair chance! 🥵 

What about married guys over the age of 50? 

Fast 20, you’re only ineligible for sportsman classes if you’ve ever scored a point in pro Sx/Mx. so you can qualify for a pro National or SX night show and still be eligible for sportsman classes. 

For me , as  an average at best Local B rider in my " Prime"   I loved being on the track with faster guys. I would much rather get a 12th place and have it all the guys I wished I could have raced against , or that were winning when I was a kid that finished in front of me.

Southwick used to have a race before the National that many of the newer pros or guys that were in a title fight would come race along with the rest of their team . Being in the OpenAB  on the same gate with Factory riders and  getting a decent start , then watch them pass me and slowly pull away was one of the coolest experiences. Riding with Dowd when he was on his Factory KX250 and seeing how it soaked up bumps , seeing his lines. It was super cool.

So there is that side of it too. Giving the average working guy a chance to go and race his heros .  And making it impressive to do well in a Vet class. The Vault is full of errors for guys back in the pack. A racer I used to help out has  his results  with another rider's name who had the same last name. So he could get past that rule and he has  put down top 10 overall fastest laps at Southwick when RC, Stew,Reed,KW, ETC were all there and he was on the track at the sametime. Then another racer I know is in there under 2 different names.  Policing the rule would only filter out the big name guys. Since the record books are not accurate deep in the results. I imagine that  there are many other small mistakes like that , that are next to impossible to fix.

Also DC has said that adding a class means clipping another.It is a TIME thing  . Only so much time in the day.  If there are 10 guys You think need their own class, is it worth killing a class for the 40 guys it will take to make the room? I do see  that side , but I do not agree with the fix. 

Hahaha good point! There should also be a MARRIED guy over the age of 50 class… and we all gotta ride stock suspension with beat up plastic and bald tire’s because we can’t afford any new stuff buying back to school clothes, and tires for the wife's SUV etc! 😎 👍❗️

I see people don't read the threads before posting lol..

Yes, I know the rules.

I never said add another class. I said reform the current rules to keep the same amount of classes. Only time I ever suggested adding a class I suggested it take the place of one of 87 C classes, but I think it's been a minute since I even suggested that route. 

+25  BECOMES +25 Vet Pro. 

This class would be for anyone who has made the fast 40. Now I know that it's not been recorded forever. The rule would apply using the beginning of the database.

All other age groups would then only allow those who have never made the fast 40. 

Ya ya nutbutter, I replied but felt compelled to clarify so my suggestion stays current. Lol..

The guy comparing Jett... C'mon now lol.. reaching again.. 

I may have missed it because I skimmed through all 3 pages, but Brown's first moto fastest lap was faster than a lot of the Open Pro Sport guys first moto. He would have had the 11th fastest lap in that class.

There are plenty of guys that have made a fast 40 and worked a full-time job  the entire time they raced. I've supported 3 . I think it's great that Brown still loves racing enough to do it. There are not enough former top pros that are still involved. 

Right now a 3rd or 4th place finish, and comparable lap times to Brownie is more impressive than winning the title if you eliminate anybody who has made a Fast 40.  You would take away more than the top 10 guys in there now.   

“This will be my last post regarding the matter”….I’ll just leave this here…. 

Go away. I was just clarifying for some who have misinterpreted what I've suggested. 

Yeah ok….I’ll go away just like this is going to be your last post on the matter….or is it the last last one or the last last last one….

It’s impressive/hilarious, at 52 he’s still so damn fast it makes old men cry 😂

There is absolutely nothing to complain about. There are classes at LL's where the "ex Pro's" are allowed, and classes where they aren't. The year I went, I got a 19th against the "ex pro's"(there was 11 of them), and I got an 8th in the "sportsman". I was just as proud of the 19th as the 8th. I was just stoked to be there(Although getting lapped by Seb Tortelli one moto hurt). A professional is someone who CURRENTLY participates in any professional motocross series or event. An amateur is everyone else. Mike Brown, Emig, Carsten, etc., are no longer pros, the are now amateur racers. If you can't get along with the current class structures(which tries really hard give everyone a class), you're the issue.