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AU
Edited Date/Time
10/4/2013 12:11pm
So the MXDN has been run on two tracks in a row now with track conditions far outside the scope of what any MX promoter in America is trying to produce...
What say you?
Do you need a race at Coco beach and Carlsbad?
I think the track prep argument goes out the window, track was perfect all weekend and looked like what MX was when I was a kid. Didn't look fun, but looked difficult. Like a pro race should be.
Eli was the only one who looked like he wasn't fighting his bike all weekend.
What say you?
Do you need a race at Coco beach and Carlsbad?
I think the track prep argument goes out the window, track was perfect all weekend and looked like what MX was when I was a kid. Didn't look fun, but looked difficult. Like a pro race should be.
Eli was the only one who looked like he wasn't fighting his bike all weekend.
I thought it was prepped perfectly and it got rough, wasn't really worked on at all and honestly I think Dungey and Barcia's bikes looked pretty rough all day...
Not saying it is the bikes, but between the bike or them or the track they looked really uncomfortable. Dungey never pushed it seems, just had no spark.
Riding tracks like that, or like last year would be pretty difficult coming from SX and then for the most part sandy or loamy perfection every other weekend.
it was a super rough version of our tracks in the USA. If we care about this event and would like to win in the future the promoters of our outdoor series need to take note and stop over grooming their tracks.
Mike Brown related in an interview how when he first went to Europe to race the GP's he took his outdoor suspension from procircuit that he used the previous season in the USA and it was much too stiff and the rebound was too slow for the tracks he raced over there. The GP racers bike were dialed for those conditions after a full season but our guys only had a few days to get their bikes close.
The Shop
Clearly Dungey and Barcia looked uncomfortable all weekend. And Barcia DID say that the track was outside what they ride normally. VurbMx
The question is about whether the US tracks are too similar, too prepped, too loamy. The last two MXDNs have had track conditions outside the scope of American MX tracks and the US riders have struggled to adapt.
It is Monday 1pm tho.... Hmmm
Eli was simply hauling ass today. Barcia rode extremely well to with his 4th and come from damn near last to 11th I think. RD is the big question mark here. Not sure what his deal was today.....as that seems to be a big speculation in a lot of these threads here today.
Bottom line.....The GP riders are the real deal and have been for quite a few years. Team USA aint as dominant as they once were and to some people that just can't get that through their heads.
As a "Fan of the sport " ( not an American or a guy from across the pond ).....you have to commend guys like AC222 , big Ken , CD25 , Ferris and so on........they just plain haul ass.
Eli and KROC, both full time AMA riders, had zero problems with the track. Other than the ill fated scrub which can happen "anywhere, planet Earth"
I see it this way, Eli was beast mode as usual, Justin finished about where he should have, given circumstances and more competition at his level. And Dungey, well... he rode mediocre. RD was the only one not affected by "bad luck", had good starts and yet, he went backwards.
Simple as that, confirmed by Roger's interview in the other thread.
My point, like Jeffro says is more to do with Barcia and Dungey looking uncomfortable on a track surface/condition that maybe isn't presented to them in their native series - And wether or not that is best for them and the MXDN etc.
Would your rather see some more variety in the USA mx tracks? Theoretically, Red Bud/Buds/Millville/Muddy Creek/Colorado/Hangtown are all really similar loam etc... Elsinore/Utah are just weird! Washougoul and maybe Unadilla or High Point are hardpacked but they still have loam/woodchips on it and get groomed... are they as rough?
Maybe lites bikes are easier to ride on rougher stuff? Maybe Ken woulda done on any home German track? Maybe Eli is just a beast as you say... Barcia said on the Vurb interview that he felt uncomfortable just as much as last year for different reasons, and we can probably assume Dungey wasn't comfortable because he is better than 6-7. No doubt.
Supercross styled lake bed, wood chipped and moon dust buddy, the future of American MX, woohooo!
Hehehe
That's a pretty good indicator that the conditions are pretty similar at each event.
In my mind.......if that isn't going backwards to what MX is all about..........then I have no idea what I'm even talking about.
Pit Row
A lot of their tracks overt there don't look like that either. And what this thread is about is how the AMA tracks look all so similar compared to what the GP guys get to race on. Gotta admit....they have some beautiful and challenging tracks over there.
But remember, Barcia feeling uncomfortable is not that hard to believe, he's not "proven" outdoors. No 250 title and not even a single 450 moto win all season. He's at a brand new track, regardless of track conditions, and he had a lot of competition today.
I still think this hinges on Dungey's performance, or lack thereof. His lack of "quick strike" aggression, both when passing and simply at the beginning of a race is more telling of the results than the track itself.
I do believe last year was most definitely a Team out of their element though
If the track is in S CA, leave 75% of the dirt natural. Hard pack, sand, loam, top soil.... all all natural dirts need to be at the rounds.
The MXDN is by far my favorite race.
This year .....high speed Supercross/motocross hybrid nowhere near as rough as it used to be.
Heck maybe we are lucky cairoli and herligs stay over the pond. They might light the world on fire with smoother groomed tracks.
another thought, maybe more variety in the tracks will bring the riders closer together, if villopoto couldnt run the same set up all year, would it slow him down?
Next year the GP of Germany will be back at Teutschenthal.
Listen to what Barcia has to say, for him the track has everything to do with it. It was gnarly as fuck.
This MXdN proved again that conditions between the GP's and AMA are very different. Send Gp riders to the nationals and they wil get eaten by the conditions aswell. (heat, humidity, elevations and different man made obstacles for example)
On TV that track looked nasty, one lined, man made and short. 1.44sec lap times. I think they could do better.......
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