Posts
1717
Joined
6/7/2008
Location
Flower Mound, TX
US
Edited Date/Time
6/1/2025 6:21am
It began years ago in Supercross, with mud races getting 5 minutes, sometimes even more time, shaved off mains because of a mudder.
Now here we are in the Nationals, shaving time off moto's. Seems to me it's accepted and becoming more common. I'm sure the teams even lobby for this in SX.
I understand safety protocols, but I figure if all of us just accept this time and time again, this could become even more commonplace. There are several races in the midwest and east coast area where the humidity can make it as bad or worse than the low 100's outside Sacramento.
I hope this doesn't become a commonplace situation, nor an issue this year or years to come.
Too hot, riders have died in the past due to heat exhaustion.
If you only knew the conditions 70% or more of these riders train in. Training in Florida, Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, easily top what we saw at Hangtown. I get that they can take a break, but we all know they train doing at least 30 minutes plus in tougher conditions
Racing in these conditions is different. From the looks of it not much was going to happen in the last 5 minutes anyway.. they were cookt
"Too hot, riders have died in the past due to heat exhaustion."
That's your answer, move on.
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
17:05ish onwards
It got up to 106 degrees....that's a bit hotter than usual!
Agree, on that for this race, the only one who might have gained another position in the 450 class was Tomac.
In the 250f class, Marchbanks was moving up, maybe him?
Hard to tell
I'll take the words of deegan's mechanic over the ill formed opinion of a vital poster.
Sounds like EVERYONE was suffering.
Smart move.
None of us want the riders having a heat stroke, or worse.
With climate change being real, this will probably be come more prevalent. "a bit hotter than usual" is something I hear more frequently. Maybe should just make moto's 25 minutes plus 2 starting in 2026.
There is a thread of someone complaining about the costs of going to the Nationals. If they shorten the moto's beginning inn 2026 to 25 plus 2, maybe they'll lower the price of admission along with it
Cowboy could have maybe won if they did that first moto...
Racing and training in these conditions is a big difference
Very aware of that. Just like 105 air temp in Sacramento and 94 degrees in Talahassee with a 65 degree dewpoint and 72% humidity is a big difference.
My point is this: If they factor dew point, humidity and air temperature in at all the races, they will shortening Southwick, High Point, Millville, Red Bud and all the rest soon enough. As any given weekend it can be just as hot and exhausting do to relative conditions. I truly believe we will be at 25 minute moto's soon enough with the comments so far.
We're not heading to the next ice age, quite the contrary in fact. Its only getting hotter
They shortened all 4 motos at Fox 2 in 2022 as well. This isn't new, but it is smart.
That would’ve required consistency, that’s not the AMA’s thing. Would 3 laps really have made the difference between “life and death” in the second motos ? Are they that close to the edge ? Seems like cutting it kind of close if so.
You got to acclimate to the heat. There was not that chance to do that before this race. I did not hear a single complaint from some of the best athletes on the planet. So was the right call.
Bikes getting stuck in ruts for 5 minutes, and bikes buried that had to be pulled out by the skid steer after the race in SX mud races. Horrible conditions when they always shorten those races too. Never heard a complaint from the riders all those times either, so again, the right call for sure.
The 2024 SMX race in Fort Worth was 95 degrees and 55% humidity back in September 15th, 2024. So not near as extreme as Sacramento yesterday. Probably won't shorten any motos the rest of 2025 if that race is the threshold going forward.
This time of year California has weird weather patterns. It's supposed to cool off as much as 10 degrees this week. It was 10 degrees cooler on Wednesday before the race. This is common until summer hits in full force so it's tough to acclimate with these weather swings.
Anyone who was there in person understands why they shortened the motos, I don’t ever remember a Hangtown this hot and I’ve been going for almost 20 years. Like I said in the other thread, if the temp is showing 100 degrees in town it is easily 115 down by the track, it’s situated in the middle of a dirt pit and heat radiates out there like you wouldn’t believe. I can handle the heat pretty damn well and even I was struggling yesterday just spectating, I have no idea how those guys survived the motos.
Pit Row
5 minutes, man. Goddam, it’s like 2 laps.
"Can't hold races in the Southeast because it's too hot!"
"We shorten the motos when it's too hot to prevent heat related issues"
Make it make sense.
https://www.espn.com/action/news/story?id=6737913
I think you'd be more concerned about the oceans rising and flooding the tracks.
🙄
You can put your assertion that climate change should be accepted as universal truth somewhere anatomically impossible.
I am agreeing with you. 25 plus 2 starting in 2026. Goddamn, 5 minutes, it's like 2 laps.
Every insurance company in the US has raised premiums on your house and my house using the premise of climate change as a factor. We all pay for it. If they're lying to us, can you get some of our money back?
Race in Alaska this time of year ! Sorted
There were plenty of dudes in jeans, black shirts, and work boots, still slamming silver bullets with no shade all day at the end of the second motos. Not sure how they do it. But it's peak male performance.
And yes it's was hot. At least 110 down on the track. But the crowd size seemed huge despite the extreme temps.
You can’t please everyone.
I’m pretty sure that the decision wasn’t made willy nilly and that some people with knowledge of heat exhaustion were at least consulted. If they felt that the shortened time was needed, then so be it. Far better to have a slightly shorter moto than to risk severe heat exhaustion or even death.
Yes, I pretty sure you are correct on this.
I've gotten a lot of down votes for posting this. I feel like we may be headed towards a lot more of these, and quite frankly surprised on how many people on here down voted me for that, and how many were happy to point out "its only 5 minutes". I believe in a year or two if this happens frequently most Vital'rs will have no issue with 25 minute plus 2 motos. So I guess I should not have started this thread on the topic.
Good thing for everyone is I started this at work today, and since I'm only here until 2 central time, with all the negative from it, I'll be deleting it at 1:45 so I don't continue to hurt peoples feelings on this
I was a little salty after I heard it was only 25 minutes, but I know there’s nothing more important than the riders health!
Post a reply to: Whats with shortening motos now?