Mammoth Mountain MX

https://www.2xpromotions.com/rules/

See “road 2 mammoth qualifiers”

They do have “qualifiers” but what’s funny is they just let qualified riders sign up first then open it for open sign up (no qualifiers needed). There is a chance a class could be full but I don’t think that’s a huge issue in the vet classes, more of a 250 C class thing. 

I remember it well.. Back when you checked your mailbox looking for the CycleNews that had Mammoth entry forms! 

Before the bears 🐻

Never been to Mammoth but I was surprised to see no camping at the track. So everyone loads up and drives in and out everyday for the event? Seems like a nightmare. 

5 am waiting in line to get in was not fun, haven’t been since 07, definitely would love to go back

Depends on the class. Like non-vet classes, the C class is sandbagged and you will need to go to qualifiers to get in, at least for certain. For B and A, not so much. Track parking is really tight, most take vans/trucks or at risk of not parking in main lot if you take a large RV and trailer. Google the track or go the website with the track map and it will be clear. And yeah, if you are line at 5am you are late. 4am to get in line and get a decent spot to park. Best to leave your bike in truck/van night before and bicycle in (or friends car). There is a guard there all night but I lock my bike just in case. 

Most classes have spots to sign up for without qualifying. They open reg to public on a certain date and time.

Waiting in line each morning is the worst part. Track is super fun!

I think if you get to the gate at 5am now, you’re late! When I worked for PitPro in 2008-2012 and we were a vendor I had to be over at the gate around 4-4:30 to hand out flyers and the line was already ridiculous when I got there. That sucked!

I rolled into the pits at 7am all weekend this last year no issues. First time I’ve ever been able to do that and it was wonderful!!

It is a bit of a nightmare 

Here is the schedule, They try to get qualifying done so the day can be smooth. Back in the day, there would be three divisional heat races for just one class. The race day would finish at 4PM. if you start at 3am, it becomes a LONG ass day. 

https://www.mammothmountain.com/motocross/event-guide#tab=event%20schedule

Mammoth is not so much about the race as it is about the fishing, the mountain biking, the hiking, the golf, etc. Compared to spending a week at any other amateur MX event it’s by far the best one to spend a week at with the family. Now if you just charge up there for two days of racing and head straight home, I can see how you would think it might be overrated.

As far as parking goes, I guess it depends on what you think a good spot is. Keep in mind the first one in is the last one out. Sure when your kid gets hurt people will do their best to make room for you to get out, but some of those fingers are packed in 4 or 5 deep and if one of those 4 or 5 has just left for staging it could be an hour until they get back. My approach was always to roll up between 6:30 and 7:00 try to be one of the last vehicles in.

I can understand that. But it’s a unique track at elevation that starts off amazingly smooth (through like maybe the second practice!) and then gets rough af. Add to that the fact that everyone brings their A+ game to try to score one of those trophies and it’s a few steps above the local race experience. I raced it with the Over the Hill Gang, and it was a cool vibe. 

Were entries down this year?  They were posting open entries a few days before the start of vet weekend.  I don't remember that ever being the case.

Different strokes for different folks - 

Track is old school in the sense of no big jumps (or any jumps really outside of the freeway tabletops).

Gorgeous scenery

The track crew sweeps your gate 

The town is stunning

No pit bikes, so not a ton of jackholes blitzing through the pits.....

Its just about the only race that the entire family was actually excited to go to every year because

I have always found those in better shape love the place because of how rough it gets, while riders that enjoy more flowy (smoother) tracks with jumps never seem to be a fan.

From everything I've heard and been told by those that raced or attended, entries were down. And ya, definitely can't remember entries being open longer than maybe a few days after opening? Weird to hear they were advertising days before vet weekend.

Too bad Mammoth isnt open all summer for MX. Would love to be able to go out there and Spend a week site seeing and riding a couple days. Not interested in the MTB tho. 

They used to leave it open to the public in the early 2000s and a group of us would take a trip or two each summer out to practice. They left the hoses out and everyone would do their part to water sections if it got too dusty. It was kind of surreal to be there with barely anyone around compared to the pro race weekend.

Damn, I thought i remembered that. This is exactly the idea I had in my head! 

Those were the days. Living in Mammoth, we’d work until 3:30 PM, show up at the track by 4:00 PM, get unloaded, and by 4:30 we’d usually have afternoon thunderstorms, perfect for a nice, wet track. And if we didn’t get rain, the Race Dept. was kind enough to leave the hoses out (Thank you forever, Dave.) We’d turn on the water, soak the track, shut it off, and roll the hoses back up. We’d ride until dusk, then have to stop for the deer migration. The mule deer would cut right through the track, you definitely didn’t want to hit one. Not good for the deer, or for you.

After the storm.

Locals. 

Awesome! ^^^

Wife and I just pedaled our e bike's to the track the other day. Beautiful there or anywhere in Mammoth. Spend multiple weekends a year just down the road from the track. Got a couple hundred miles in on the ktm 500 too!

Used to go every year in the 90’s when the otmx and later othg had their own weekends. Too bad they’re not allowed to have more races during the summer. What is it now one or two weekends a year ? 

Raced it this year for the first time since 2009. Raced the VET class and it kicked @$$. Plenty of great restaurants, breweries, and coffee shops in the area. Did some fishing and hiking as well a few days prior. 

It's not light on the pocketbook is the only thing. My entry (no qualifier), I believe, was $200 plus $100 for practice on Thursday before racing kicks off. I would also recommend staying in the local condos in the area, which was about $1100.

Walked away safe, plenty of great memories, and bagged 3 bears. 

No you didn’t.

Yup. Those were fun days. We’d go up to fish and I’d bring my bike for the very frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Track would be awesome right after. 

Mammoth Mx is still an awesome event but it’s way more corporate now. It’s always been kind of a prestigious event and was very popular with the riders but it used to be run by the town and was more laid back. You didn’t need to get in line at 3am to get in. The track was open for practice every day the week leading up to the event, 10 bucks. Anyone could ride. For practice days, wake up, get breakfast then roll to the track. Never worried about not getting in. Race days get inline about 6am.  If you wadded in practice you could sell your entry no problem. There was a tree where people would post their entries for sell, by the end of practice week most of the classes were available on it. The races were one day. 3 Moto format. 2 heats and a main. Main was double points. Low score won. 

"Walked away safe, plenty of great memories, and bagged 3 bears."

This is just a funny statement to me. My first thought was 3 fat chicks and no STDS! 🤣

I know, the mentality of a high schooler, even though im old. I assume its the trophys for the Moto's .