Posts
858
Joined
6/14/2014
Location
Crestview, FL
US
Edited Date/Time
6/17/2015 7:40am
Well the run for Loretta's is over for us. We started the year with the goal of my son making it to make it this year. We had a plan to run 2 area qualifiers in the South central region and 2 in the South East region. We headed over to Gravity Alley in Louisiana for the first one in the SC region and my son qualified in the 250c limited and the 250c 12-16 classes and was the first alternate in the 450c class after a fall in the last moto gave him a 9th overall. I figured that since we were going I might as well try myself and ended up making it in the 40+ & 45+ plus classes myself (wasn't hard to qualify since there was only 5 racers in each class). So we called it mission accomplished in the SC region and decided not to go to Veterans MX for the other one we had planned. Onto the Southeast region and we had planned to go to Mill Creek but when the qualifier was moved to WW Ranch we decided to go there. My son got sick missed some school the week before the race we didn't go to that one. Next was Mill Creek but he said he didn't want to go there either since he isn't a fan of the track (personally I don't have a problem with the track but we do this for him so we didn't go). So that left Monster Mountain for us to try and qualify at for the SE region. We ran at Monster and he qualified for all the of the aforementioned classes. I did not finish in the top 8 in the 40+ class but did the 45+ class so I made it to the regional also. We knew we needed to be more aggressive to have a shot at making it thru to the "big show" and we worked on that before the regionals.
Next came the trip to Freestone in Texas and we arrived to a track in better condition that what I expected considering all the rain they had. But when I pulled into where I as going to park for the weekend and promptly got stuck I should have known it was going to be one of those weekends. We got a short rain shower Friday am and it was a sloppy morning practice on a track we had never seen before and then they cut practice from the 3 scheduled rounds to 2 so they had time to prep for the race on Saturday. On Saturday am about 10 minutes before practice was scheduled to start we got an hour long downpour that caused a delay until about 1130 before they started practice. I have to say they did a great job considering the rain we got. My son did ok but did have to run one consi race for one of his classes (they had division races for all 3 of his classes). He went thru the consi onto the final 2 moto's with no issues. My first 40+ moto I stalled the bike twice and finished toward the back of the pack. Next up was my 45+ first moto and on the first lap I got together with someone and we both crashed hard. I ended up with a broken / bloody nose for the rest of the moto and finished next to last. On Sunday the track wasn't muddy but was the roughest and most rutted up track I had ever ridden. By the time we left Sunday I had come to the conclusion that this level of racing is over my head and I was not going to try again at Gatorback when we raced there this past weekend. As for my son he had some bad starts, a fall in a corner and a crash so he ended up like 13th, 16th and 19th overall in his classes. Onto Gatorback we went.......
We got to Gatorback late Thursday evening and got set up and had a good nights sleep and was ready for the weekend I thought. His practice times were pretty decent and I had a feeling that this could be a good weekend for us and we just might have a chance if things went well for my son to make it to Loretta's. His first moto on Saturday he got the 3rd gate pick so again maybe a good sign? He got a mid pack start and was sitting in 13th in the last turn before the last lap when he let someone pinch him off in a corner and he stalled it, finished 22nd.. UGH. Oh well, lets move on I told him. His next moto he got another good gate pick and he decided to line up on the outside and try to take the long way around the outside being aggressive and hopefully staying out of the dreaded first turn pile up. This plan worked to keep him out of the pile up but only put him about mid pack. He was working hard trying to make passes when disaster struck. He got together with someone over one of the small doubles by the parking area and went down very hard on the first lap. He was knocked out for a short time and his back was hurt so a ambulance ride to Shands was next and after evaluation he has a fractured his T 4,5 and 8th vertebrae and a sore neck (his helmet shows a blow to the head). He stayed overnight for evaluation and was released yesterday am with no surgery or brace needed. He is off the bike for 8-12 weeks. So with that our run for Loretta's is over.
We had a ton of fun trying this year and saw / met some good folks along the way. I actually met jjomoto from this forum and he is a super nice guy. Not sure how his son finished up at Freestone or even if they raced Gatorback but hopefully he got in. Overall the tracks we attended were great. Gravity Alley is a darn nice place to ride and we enjoyed it there. Monster Mountain is outstanding and DESERVES a regional next year in my opinion. Tom Brinkman works his azz off and is 100% for the rider. Period..... Freestone was good, track layout was nothing too special but it was fun and if I could have figured out the 10 pack It would have suited me better (this is a knock on me, not the track). Gatorback is the same track it has been for a few years. Prep and layout is darn good.
Before I wrap up let me share my opinion on a few things that will not be popular here but i'm going to say it anyway. This sport is getting too expensive. Why does it cost 50 bucks per class to register with Mx Sports and then another 40 per class at the track for their share? That's 90 per class? What do I get for that 50 bucks Mx Sports? I am sure there is something I don't know about but it's ridiculous. Next, why at Freestone can you not wash your bike in the pits? It was already muddy and lots of folks were going to have to be pulled out when it was time to leave so what difference does it make? And, what's up with having to shut off the water because the track is using too much of the "public water" and there is not enough for the tracks neighbors? Can you not drill a well so you do not have that type of issue? On the plus side the race sign up and the way it was run at Freestone, Monster mountain and Gravity Alley was good. Heck, Freestone did not charge for "pit vehicles" and that was nice and good on them. At Gatorback the sign up was a nightmare. I waited about 2 hours and we had "pre registered" on line. Doing registration this way should saved time but not at Gatorback. Other races I have attended at Gatorback have been much better than this one. They did a good job as usual running the races so no issue there. One thing I was disappointed about though was not getting money back for the class my son did not get to even run a moto (start) in after crashing on Saturday. It might not be something they "had" to do but it would have been the "right" thing to do when my wife went up and asked if it was possible. The answer was "no, since he ran practice there are no refunds, period". Kinda left a bitter taste in my mouth but with the way things are these days it's "profit before anything else at most of these tracks". I understand they need to make money to stay in business but if anyone thinks they don't make a really good profit on these types of weekends are kidding themselves.
Now I have asked my son to think about what he wants to do going forward. Continue to chase the Loretta's dream next year or just do some local stuff, ride and keep it not so serious. I did not give him a time table for an answer but if it was my choice I say the heck with it and do more local stuff but we will see. He is never going to be the next big thing and I know it but we do this for fun, the family time and the great friends we have met along the way. Overall this is a great sport and a great way to spend family time and I would not change anytime I have got to spend doing something we love to do together.
Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.
Steve
Next came the trip to Freestone in Texas and we arrived to a track in better condition that what I expected considering all the rain they had. But when I pulled into where I as going to park for the weekend and promptly got stuck I should have known it was going to be one of those weekends. We got a short rain shower Friday am and it was a sloppy morning practice on a track we had never seen before and then they cut practice from the 3 scheduled rounds to 2 so they had time to prep for the race on Saturday. On Saturday am about 10 minutes before practice was scheduled to start we got an hour long downpour that caused a delay until about 1130 before they started practice. I have to say they did a great job considering the rain we got. My son did ok but did have to run one consi race for one of his classes (they had division races for all 3 of his classes). He went thru the consi onto the final 2 moto's with no issues. My first 40+ moto I stalled the bike twice and finished toward the back of the pack. Next up was my 45+ first moto and on the first lap I got together with someone and we both crashed hard. I ended up with a broken / bloody nose for the rest of the moto and finished next to last. On Sunday the track wasn't muddy but was the roughest and most rutted up track I had ever ridden. By the time we left Sunday I had come to the conclusion that this level of racing is over my head and I was not going to try again at Gatorback when we raced there this past weekend. As for my son he had some bad starts, a fall in a corner and a crash so he ended up like 13th, 16th and 19th overall in his classes. Onto Gatorback we went.......
We got to Gatorback late Thursday evening and got set up and had a good nights sleep and was ready for the weekend I thought. His practice times were pretty decent and I had a feeling that this could be a good weekend for us and we just might have a chance if things went well for my son to make it to Loretta's. His first moto on Saturday he got the 3rd gate pick so again maybe a good sign? He got a mid pack start and was sitting in 13th in the last turn before the last lap when he let someone pinch him off in a corner and he stalled it, finished 22nd.. UGH. Oh well, lets move on I told him. His next moto he got another good gate pick and he decided to line up on the outside and try to take the long way around the outside being aggressive and hopefully staying out of the dreaded first turn pile up. This plan worked to keep him out of the pile up but only put him about mid pack. He was working hard trying to make passes when disaster struck. He got together with someone over one of the small doubles by the parking area and went down very hard on the first lap. He was knocked out for a short time and his back was hurt so a ambulance ride to Shands was next and after evaluation he has a fractured his T 4,5 and 8th vertebrae and a sore neck (his helmet shows a blow to the head). He stayed overnight for evaluation and was released yesterday am with no surgery or brace needed. He is off the bike for 8-12 weeks. So with that our run for Loretta's is over.
We had a ton of fun trying this year and saw / met some good folks along the way. I actually met jjomoto from this forum and he is a super nice guy. Not sure how his son finished up at Freestone or even if they raced Gatorback but hopefully he got in. Overall the tracks we attended were great. Gravity Alley is a darn nice place to ride and we enjoyed it there. Monster Mountain is outstanding and DESERVES a regional next year in my opinion. Tom Brinkman works his azz off and is 100% for the rider. Period..... Freestone was good, track layout was nothing too special but it was fun and if I could have figured out the 10 pack It would have suited me better (this is a knock on me, not the track). Gatorback is the same track it has been for a few years. Prep and layout is darn good.
Before I wrap up let me share my opinion on a few things that will not be popular here but i'm going to say it anyway. This sport is getting too expensive. Why does it cost 50 bucks per class to register with Mx Sports and then another 40 per class at the track for their share? That's 90 per class? What do I get for that 50 bucks Mx Sports? I am sure there is something I don't know about but it's ridiculous. Next, why at Freestone can you not wash your bike in the pits? It was already muddy and lots of folks were going to have to be pulled out when it was time to leave so what difference does it make? And, what's up with having to shut off the water because the track is using too much of the "public water" and there is not enough for the tracks neighbors? Can you not drill a well so you do not have that type of issue? On the plus side the race sign up and the way it was run at Freestone, Monster mountain and Gravity Alley was good. Heck, Freestone did not charge for "pit vehicles" and that was nice and good on them. At Gatorback the sign up was a nightmare. I waited about 2 hours and we had "pre registered" on line. Doing registration this way should saved time but not at Gatorback. Other races I have attended at Gatorback have been much better than this one. They did a good job as usual running the races so no issue there. One thing I was disappointed about though was not getting money back for the class my son did not get to even run a moto (start) in after crashing on Saturday. It might not be something they "had" to do but it would have been the "right" thing to do when my wife went up and asked if it was possible. The answer was "no, since he ran practice there are no refunds, period". Kinda left a bitter taste in my mouth but with the way things are these days it's "profit before anything else at most of these tracks". I understand they need to make money to stay in business but if anyone thinks they don't make a really good profit on these types of weekends are kidding themselves.
Now I have asked my son to think about what he wants to do going forward. Continue to chase the Loretta's dream next year or just do some local stuff, ride and keep it not so serious. I did not give him a time table for an answer but if it was my choice I say the heck with it and do more local stuff but we will see. He is never going to be the next big thing and I know it but we do this for fun, the family time and the great friends we have met along the way. Overall this is a great sport and a great way to spend family time and I would not change anytime I have got to spend doing something we love to do together.
Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.
Steve
BTW, great story!
I bet you dropped some serious coin as well!
i run races up here in MI. the minute your bike touches that track, you forfiet any chance of getting an entrance fee back. Keep in mind these tracks pay insurances and such. It is our policy, that if you want a refund, you cannot ride practice and make that decision.
keep in mind from our prospective. lessay you get 200 entries. you got everything in motion and everyone runs practice. mother nature dumps and its a mud race. 190 riders pull up stakes and leave and want a refund. if the track is to honor that, bankruptcy. Thats just an example as thats an extreme situation and i hope most tracks can survive financially no matter what mother nature throws at them but we have to draw the line somewhere. If you ride the track....even for 100'...you paid to play, track is providing its side of the bargain....no reason to offer refund at that point.
The Shop
Mxsports is definitely making out especially since they run a few tracks that have areas and regionals.
My friend and I did some simple math with some the stats that Tim Cotter gave out as far as entrees and it is big dollars they are pulling in.
Just because I choose to spend them money to do this does it mean I have to "buy into" all the fees and the prices of things these days and the closest regionals that we could do. We came, we saw and got the tee shirt for attending. It was a great experience, nothing more and nothing less.
much quit paying attention.
Do you guys ride the Milton track? I'll be down in the next few weeks visiting friends and plan to hit it a few times. Then over to county line for a ride
the refund thing touches a nerve with me and apologize for coming off crass about it. I get guys kicking and screaming every race when i have to tell them the answer they know they are gonna get when they walk in....but they try anyways. I HAVE TO DRAW the line somewhere or we will be taken advantage of....and once you do it once, they will do it again and use the excuse "you let me do it last time". Back in the day when they allowed refunds, i've seen guys sign up, ride the practice sessions and then come up and and get a refund. Thats why its the way it is. Should there be exceptions for injuries or broke bikes....yes but its hard to police....sometimes a nightmare with all that goes on during race day. Hope this explains it.
I have never been to Golden Pines but hear nothing but good things about it. Got to make it over there someday.
We had a good time this year and I would not change a thing about how we approached it. Train more? Yep but it is what it is. Some folks are just not going to make it and at least this year we fall into that category. Most important thing is the time I have got to spend with my son doing a sport we love doing together.
Think would have done really well crashed at gatorback in plus 40 I think .
Pit Row
wow jb19...get well soon, that sucks. i had quite a few friends in the 35+, 40, 45+ classes. A lot of guys complaining about having to run eliminators for their first motos...and not sure if i blame them. should be 40 guys showing up at those regionals, not 70 per class. few of the faster guys had their qualifying ruined by collisions with slower guys out there for the experience....no chance to qualify.
We did not do well either at Freestone, First class we got a 6th, next class brakes went out plus a bad start he could only work up to 20th, next class was took out on start and the final class was in qualifying spot and caught his leg on those footpeg deep ruts in the straight right after ^^^^this jump here... tore his knee up so we were pretty much done..
Gatorback did not get any better, bad gate picks = bad starts so... in one 450 moto, started 32 in first corner, worked his way to 10th as the checker flag was flying, in the last turn in the pit, he was passing a lapper (24 place) on the outside and he took us out.. finished 22nd after getting back up.. Little stuff like that seemed to happen in just about every moto. It was always something this year for us.
Glad to hear yall will be ok.. its a tuff and scary sport!
I had a gastroenteritis that began early the week of move in, and by Thursday was full on diarrhae, along with pretty bad nausea. That dehydration, coupled with the heat/humidity made for a miserable week. Definitely didn't ride like I could/should have. The other vivid memory of the week was how fed up I got with the sound of generators and the AC units in the RV. They run 24/7 to give you a cool place to escape. But endless friggin' roaring in your ears....
In retrospect, I suppose it was a nice experience, but as a vet rider in the west/southwest, it would be ten times more fun to spend your money (probably about the same total $$) doing all of the OTMX International races up and down the west coast. Masters class in those events is five (5) 25 minute moto's over a Sat/Sun weekend. Some excellent tracks as well.
On the qualifiers thing at the regionals. in my opinion they do that for extra money for mx sports and the track owner / operators. I too agree that it should be 40 guys and that's it but I am not running it. Think about this: You finished in the top 8 at at one of the area qualifiers and planned to go race the regional. You did not pre register and showed up at the track the morning the racing was going to start. You find out that they already have the field of 64 set (this allows 2 divisional races with top 16 going to the second moto an then a consi race with the top 8 to move on to their second moto for a total of 40 riders). The track "thinks" you are not attending because you did not pre register and were not there on Friday to sign up when most folks are. This could easily happen but don't know if it has.
We were parked right where your son crashed and it was pretty nasty. I am glad to hear he is going to be alright. Chasing LL's is tough. I thought this was our year. My son won motos in qualifyers at Mill creek and Muddy Creek, but ended up breaking his thumb at Mill creek. He was cleared to ride a week before regionals and was feeling good, but crashed practicing the thursday before regionals and tweeked his back. By Saturday he was feeling good enough to ride and got 7th and 9th in his first motos even though somehow he got 2nd to last gate picks in both classes. Second motos were looking good until he fell in one class and then was t-boned in a corner running in 9th and that was it for this year.
I've seen regional run 2 gates in the morning to set the 40 for the 3 motos. You could be headed home before it even starts.
It's done different now I believe .
Starts are the most important thing at regionals. I made a 2 place gate to practice on years ago for near nothing , just conduit and a piece of angle iron.
Even the regional has turned into a 4 lap race when it supposed to be 15 minutes .
can you elaborate more on the OTMX master races or a link or site with more info
thanks
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