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That’s a FACT !
It’ll be weird to see him in FXR gear
I guess he doesn't have as many SX starts as I thought. I understand that it makes sense to stay down from a financial standpoint, but I personally still see the 250 class as the minor leagues or a development class and just assume these guys would want their shot against the best.
I shared the same sentiment for a while but I’ve realized you can’t fault the riders for making the choice. Fault the system.
He would go 450 if he had an option that made sense. He prefers ridings 450s.
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tht is fax but look at who haiden going to be going against, I like all of em equally but I don’t see chase , Jett or anybody else shutting him out of titles , yal gotta look at yal surroundings , realistically he only has to be on the look out for 3 guys & thts Jett , chase & Cole Davies , maybe 4 with how quick Levi can move up to 450s
Unfortunately no. There are no light weight Airoh helmets anymore since they decided to have all their high end helmets meet ECE.06. The Aviator 3 is a boat anchor. The Carbon TLD is likely lighter and the euro version is definitely lighter. I grabbed one of the last ACE ( Aviator 2) helmets, 1040 grams for my medium. Airoh discontinued the ACE and replaced it with the ACE 2 and it is another boat anchor.
So what exactly would you like him to do?
Actually, that’s not true…
I just bought the Airoh Commander 2 ADV helmet and it’s a fill pound lighter than the Bell MX9 ADV helmet I have been wearing. It’s a huge difference after a few hours on the bike.
The Aviator 3 carbon weighs 1270 grams with the ECE 2206 rating.
The TLD Carbon weighs 1350 with the ECE
I have several 6D ATR-2 helmets and I was going to try the ATR-3, since it’s lighter. But I think I’ll get the Airoh Aviator 3 instead, after having such good luck with the Commander 2.
I would like the 40 best guys to race 450 and for the guys on 250 to be desperate to move up, and for incentives to be aligned in a way to create that...... I would like guys who are ready to move up to not even consider staying down. I'd be fine with all of the factory rides and money going to the thing that gets referred to as the premiere class and for the 250 class to be full of the support teams. No other sport pays a bunch of minor league guys so well that they choose to stay in the minor leagues while the major league has bunch of guys who make nothing and would get smoked by many of the minor league guys. Both classes would be better off if moto wasn't this way.
I know all of the reasons it isn't this way so don't bother, and I understand why guys take the paycheck instead of the bigger challenge, but the above is what I'd like.
Not that Jo's a sandbagger - yet - but any of the top 250 guys could move up, it's just they don't want to be on anything less than a factory team. I think the 250 class needs an age out clause, I'm tired of seeing geriatrics like Smith and Oldshire hanging around like a bad smell.
Oldshire 😂
All the young'uns have to do is beat them and take their rides. That would also move them out of the 250s...
The problem is there is an unspoken rule you need to win a championship to get a factory 450 ride. When you have people like Deegan and Jett back to back they will end up winning all of the titles which leaves little room for anyone else to get a title and subsequent ride. The only ones we have past 2 years are Vialle and RJ. One
And I’d argue Kitchen will have a much better 450 career than RJ, so I’d argue it’s a bit arbitrary RJ gets the call up just based purely on a title that he probably should have lost if not for McAdoo.
Realistically, Kitchen if he moved up now would be better than Anderson, Barcia, and Cooper.
The system is at fault but riders in the 450 class are riding well into their 30s now.
Everyone used to be done by the time they were 30(ish) besides a few exceptions.
I’m glad there is no age restriction in the AMA. It ruined the GP’s
I don't understand hating on guys because of the rules....In a perfect world the lowest paid 450 guy should make more than the highest paid 250 guy....and even then people would find reasons to bitch instead of just enjoying the racing
Why would teams pay a 450 guy more to ride around in 10th place vs winning a championship in the 250 class?
And that is why we have the situation we have with riders staying in the 250 class for extended periods....I personally don't have any issues with guys racing 250's their entire careers to maximize their earnings....The hate that is generated by some "fans" for riders doing that is ridiculous...
Pit Row
I don't really follow GPs. How so?
That’s part of the reason why Tom is racing here right now. He aged out of the 250 class and wasn’t ready for the 450. Haruup is also racing here for the same reason.
...and those same "fans" need to be inspired to buy any given OEM's 250 as well. This goes back to the whole "make 250SX national" debate. For me, let's have two national classes (just like Outdoors) and let the riders decide (not aging out or championship rules) where they can perform their best and make the most money during their career. There are dozens of legit factory guys over the decades whose skillset did not translate to bigger displacement machines, be it 125 to 250 or 250f to 450f. Let's have the best of the best for factory riders in both classes.
I mean could say ruined the GP's or could say the MXGP class is the premier class, where USA has 2 premier classes. MX2 is just a stepping stone class over there with the ultimate goal to go 450. Coenen a prime example.
I agree with you on that. There are going to be some guys who are just small bore specialists;
Just let the best riders ride where they want. This applies to 250 and 450 class.
Where are all the young guys coming up to put pressure on the likes of Smith and Hampshire? If new talent was coming through that was good enough they’d force those older guys out of a ride.
Unfortunately eliminating the regional series and making it one national series will have an adverse effect on the class and factory teams. Many 250 teams have 4+ riders, 2 per coast if you eliminate the regional series it will eliminate rides and jobs for the essential personnel. If you think Mitch and Star etc... will continue to have 4+ riders if it's just one series? I will guarantee you that they will become max 3 rider teams and will cut 30-40% of the rides in the 250 class.
genuine question:
"should fans value both classes to the same regard? OR are they to look at like any other Motorsport pyramid? i.e. F1 > F2, Indycar > Indy NXT, Supercars > Super2, etc. - 450 > 250?"
A lot of the young guys coming up get one short chance on good equipment before they are put to pasture for the "next big thing". Only a select few like RJ and Smith get a full decade of Factory Equipment to prove themselves.
I agree with that perspective, to a point. There are teams that do have the wherewithal to go national, be it factory or satellite operations, just not the opportunity. In many of those cases, their riders, still supported by the same staff and financial backing, will race a 450 during opposing rounds - exposure for the team and rider alike to grow their collective brands and earnings.
Look at given 250SX team like AEO; they bring in outside funding from non-endemic sponsors, but their pitch is limited to (besides broadcast) eight rounds of on-site exposure and paid thusly. It is possible that a team in this position (I am not speaking for AEO, just an example), to pitch for more funding based on the scale of exposure.
Now that I am working through the financial side of this concept, that means considerably higher costs to we endemic sponsors as well...maybe this isn't such a good idea 😂
The other issue with this is you're comparing apples to oranges. To beat them, younger guys on support rides have to be much faster to make up for the disadvantages they face compared to factory guy with all of the perks and power. So this notion that they can just beat out the older guy for the ride isn't as simple as it sounds. I think we'd get a much clearer picture of who was truly faster if there was a little more level playing field in 250 class.
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