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C.Worthy
9/8/2012 9:32pm
9/8/2012 9:32pm
Edited Date/Time
9/9/2012 12:26pm
I'm curious as to what people who actually WENT to the race thought about it. I don't care how or what it looked like on tv because it was honestly a lot different in person.
I had fun but when do you not have fun at a national? I think the facility was top notch. It was super nice and the track held up better than what I thought it was going to be. I applaud those guys for dumping the money into that track. It was pretty cool to experience and definitely a lot different than any other national I've been too.
The only downsides I saw were that it was a bitch to get anywhere on the track. There was a fence here, and white fence there, you couldn't get here or there without hopping a fence or something. It was really hard to walk around the track which was realllyyy annoying. The whole track smelled like mulch and up close on certain parts of the track it looked like they weren't even racing on dirt. And if you wanted to watch the start you could.....but then if you wanted to see the rest of the track you had to walk back the way you came and literally miss 15 minutes of the moto because you could only walk one way around the track.
If you could have walked a full circle around the track it would have been fine, AND gotten rid of a lot of those white fences. Getting out of the parking lot reminded me of....Pala, but instead of taking me 2 hours to get out like it did at pala did, it only took me an hour to get out of here. All in all I though it was a decent debut here and hundreds of times bettter than pala's debut race. It's no Glen helen but I was somewhat satisfied.
Race ATTENDEES what did you think? etc.
I had fun but when do you not have fun at a national? I think the facility was top notch. It was super nice and the track held up better than what I thought it was going to be. I applaud those guys for dumping the money into that track. It was pretty cool to experience and definitely a lot different than any other national I've been too.
The only downsides I saw were that it was a bitch to get anywhere on the track. There was a fence here, and white fence there, you couldn't get here or there without hopping a fence or something. It was really hard to walk around the track which was realllyyy annoying. The whole track smelled like mulch and up close on certain parts of the track it looked like they weren't even racing on dirt. And if you wanted to watch the start you could.....but then if you wanted to see the rest of the track you had to walk back the way you came and literally miss 15 minutes of the moto because you could only walk one way around the track.
If you could have walked a full circle around the track it would have been fine, AND gotten rid of a lot of those white fences. Getting out of the parking lot reminded me of....Pala, but instead of taking me 2 hours to get out like it did at pala did, it only took me an hour to get out of here. All in all I though it was a decent debut here and hundreds of times bettter than pala's debut race. It's no Glen helen but I was somewhat satisfied.
Race ATTENDEES what did you think? etc.
The Hill in the Middle of the Track was PRIME REAL ESTATE...
Note to Track Owners: a coupl'a bigger Hills in the Mid-Field?
I went right outta the lot & around the back of the lake to the Ortega...a bit shorter-time-in-line than most folks that went out to the 15.
The facility could use more "Artificial Shade" or maybe some trees?
If you look at the quality of the facilities and how well it was all managed for a "1st Effort"?
Impressive.
Especially to those of us that WERE THERE!
TeamGreen said it best though. "The facility could use more "Artificial Shade" or maybe some trees?".
The Shop
Took us a while to get out though, like 45 minutes from parking to the road.
Well organized, good first one.
The facility was impressive. I camped in the pits all weekend, so I didn't have to deal with parking. That was a non-issue for me.
I asked Dungey if it earned its spot on the National schedule and he said yes.
As for the middle mountain, some guy told me he couldn't see anything up there so I never went bec of my 2.5 post op tib fib it was an EFFORT to get around the track with a severe hobble.
Also, about that shade......there are a lot of trees planted there and over the years it will look great! I personally was blown away and I've been to hangtown multiple times as well and the pala debacle....parking was a breeze at Elsinore too and it wasn't that bad getting to the fwy once you got out of the facility.....I only wish I had more hands so I could give the new Elsinore national FOUR THUMBS UP!.... Another sweet bonus was my buddy won the tickets on the pulp show last week so we had nothing to lose and THANK YOU PULPMX for the tickets. The only complaint I had and its lame....was the friggin SLOW as hell will call lines....other than that, it was a great experience and I will be going back.....albeit a lot healthier and stronger my poor leg took a serious beating ....some guy walked up to me freaked out telling me I had injured myself amd I needed to go to the medics....he was literally yelling at me to go ...till I showed him my scars from the operation.
OH AND ONE MORE THING which had me laughing my ass off to tears......did anyone see the plane flying the banner that had something written about Twitch and his phone #? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH somebody got him REALLY GOOD I tried to get a pic of it but juuuust missed the plane and the note on the banner he was dragging....
Yeah, I got a photo of the plane and message. Apparently he and Maddo have been going back and forth on pranks.
Remarkable transformation, Peter's and his crew should be proud.
This is what I was talking about. That's only a portion of the parking lots.
The track itself ended up having a great design for racing and the "truck side" was a great use of the facility and grand stands. I would like to see some seating on the moto side eventually, but the hills helped serve that purpose for spectating.
Shade was scattered, but available. It's good to know that is something that can be easily improved.
It was hot, and my only complaint would be the "NO COOLERS" sign at the entrance. I did not see them enforcing it, however. I brought a small cooler in with water and gatorade and I was very glad I did. It can obviously be a dangerous situation with the heat if you are not able to stay hydrated.
That banner with Twitch's # was hilarious. I got pictures, but forgot a card reader and can't get them off the camera until Monday. I probably wouldn't post the full # anyway, though I'm sure he probably changed it by now lol.
I will definitely be going back next year. Props to everyone who made it happen.
Pit Row
Getting in and out was great, no problems at all. The concrete walkways and the chipping laid down in the truck area were very nice - as opposed to the usual dust clouds everywhere.
The viewing wasn't so great but you accept that when going to watch an outdoor race live. That being said and as a fan, GH is where I want to see pros riding around in circles. I don't care what it's like to race on, the political bs, etc GH as a package is way better than the other two ( Els & Pala ) IMO as a paying spectator.
To answer to the original post, I had a fun day and I thought the track was great! I got to ride it on Amateur practice day on Friday, and it was super deep and sloppy, really hard to do some of the jumps on a 250f. Other than it being around 105 degrees, I had a blast!
It was hot, the girls at the concession stand ran out of water very quickly. My most pleasant surprise was that rather than getting frustrated with the situation, they handled it well and passed out cups of ice as they waited for the water to be resupplied. Suggestion here is to get more water and give the staff a raise. On all levels I was impressed with the staff. I set up viewing near the fence under one of the tv lifts. Needed the shade. During down time shot the breeze with the staff there. Very friendly and professional. I think event staff was excellent.
The track is spread out and no real elevated places to watch. I don't see this as a situation that can be remedied given the real estate being used. However, this seems to be a two edge sword. You can't see more of the track, but, the area you do view ends up not being overly crowded so you get very good viewing of that area. The speakers/sound was not over powering.
Anyway, had a great time. Attendance seemed good. A good event overall regardless of the number of times it has been held. For A first effort I'd give it two thumbs up.
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