Racing: is this normal?

AnimalHungry
Edited Date/Time 8/28/2014 9:59pm
I've never raced in the US (raced in the UK as a kid/amateur) and I'm now getting back into it after more than a 10 year hiatus. So I'm looking at entering a race just outside Denver, CO and sign-up starts at 5:30AM. WTFF?!!? 5 in the fricken morning!??! And then first practice is at 7am. Equally uuurgh. Is this normal for amateur racing in the US? I'd have to leave my house at 3:30 in the morning to make it to sign-up at 5:30. Mental. Or I go the night before and sleep in the bed of my truck and race the next day #notfun.

Cheers
Simon
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mmitoptech
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mmitoptech 8/26/2014 5:58pm
8/26/2014 5:58pm
Pretty normal stuff. I used to go the night before.
mjskier
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mjskier 8/26/2014 6:03pm
8/26/2014 6:03pm
mmitoptech wrote:
Pretty normal stuff. I used to go the night before.
That, and then you wait all day long for your 2 four lap motos.
And people wonder why race attendance is on the way down.
mtl
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mtl 8/26/2014 6:12pm
8/26/2014 6:12pm
Sign-up is usually open well into practice. A promoter will always let you hand them money, with or without getting a chance to practice...

Northern California practice is at 8am, which was a big change for me from NESC in New England where it was 9am.

How many classes do they run? it seems like a lot if they are trying to pack in that much into one day. Maybe they have quads and stuff like that...

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k-bull98
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k-bull98 8/26/2014 6:27pm
8/26/2014 6:27pm Edited Date/Time 8/26/2014 6:27pm
Like everyone has said above, practice usually starts at 8am. Then they try and get the races going by 9am (usually doesn't happen). The sign-ups always run through practice. That being said, the later you wait to sign up the longer you'll have to wait in line to sign up as well.

Just curious, what was the schedule like when you raced in the UK?
Tiki
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Tiki 8/26/2014 6:31pm
8/26/2014 6:31pm
mmitoptech wrote:
Pretty normal stuff. I used to go the night before.
mjskier wrote:
That, and then you wait all day long for your 2 four lap motos.
And people wonder why race attendance is on the way down.
This was the No. 1 reason why I started racing WORCS and GP's everything is on a schedule. Rolling in at 5AM is normal.
MarkF
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MarkF 8/26/2014 6:33pm
8/26/2014 6:33pm
AnimalHungry wrote:
I've never raced in the US (raced in the UK as a kid/amateur) and I'm now getting back into it after more than a 10 year...
I've never raced in the US (raced in the UK as a kid/amateur) and I'm now getting back into it after more than a 10 year hiatus. So I'm looking at entering a race just outside Denver, CO and sign-up starts at 5:30AM. WTFF?!!? 5 in the fricken morning!??! And then first practice is at 7am. Equally uuurgh. Is this normal for amateur racing in the US? I'd have to leave my house at 3:30 in the morning to make it to sign-up at 5:30. Mental. Or I go the night before and sleep in the bed of my truck and race the next day #notfun.

Cheers
Simon
That is the norm. After your first race, where you will need to sign up for AMA and the local club (this takes a little extra time) you can show up 20 minutes prior to practice and be fine. They usually give you a practice order in advance of the race, so if you are later in the practice order you can come a little later. A few of the CO races have a split day program, where half the classes run in the morning and the other half run in the afternoon. If you are in the afternoon program, you don't start practice until after lunch. If you are in the morning program, you get to go home early.
thephoenix 8/26/2014 6:43pm
8/26/2014 6:43pm
Short races and too many classes is why I used to ride two classes every race. The extra entry fee is nothing compared to the cost of getting there in the first place.
bigborefan
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bigborefan 8/26/2014 7:07pm
8/26/2014 7:07pm Edited Date/Time 8/26/2014 7:08pm
To the OP, you live in CO, just blow of MX. Get you a KTM XC-W and ride the trails. Do some off-road riding, you're in the perfect place for it.

I quit MX in 94. Got tired of being there allday for 10 laps of endurance...lol!

I still love to follow the Pro scene though. Outdoor MX is the best spectator sport there is IMO.
Kyriazis298 8/26/2014 7:13pm
8/26/2014 7:13pm Edited Date/Time 8/26/2014 7:13pm
Here the riders meeting is at 7:00 so i usually leave my house at around 4:30-5:00 depending on how far the track is from where i am. I would say 5:30 is a bit early for signup
TX24
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TX24 8/26/2014 7:51pm
8/26/2014 7:51pm
It can also depend on what part of a time zone one lives. Here, it's dark at 7:00 am right now.
nytsmaC
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nytsmaC 8/26/2014 8:20pm
8/26/2014 8:20pm
Sign up for 2 classes for more track time. Personally I'd rather get an early start like that than to be packing up to leave at 8pm.i've never had a problem getting up early on race day, just make sure everything is loaded up and ready to go the night before, if you are able to.
AnimalHungry 8/26/2014 8:24pm
8/26/2014 8:24pm
Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I'm gonna be having an early start :-/ It's an RMXA race at IMI on Sept 14 www.rmxa.org, so I think my race classes will be in the middle and the end of the race order, so in theory I could pre-enter in advance and then rock up ready for my practice at 7ish having packed the truck up the night before - no one's sleeping in the bed of his truck then racing 4 motos. Still a rear bear tho.

Cheers
Simon

AnimalHungry 8/26/2014 8:32pm
8/26/2014 8:32pm
k-bull98 wrote:
Like everyone has said above, practice usually starts at 8am. Then they try and get the races going by 9am (usually doesn't happen). The sign-ups always...
Like everyone has said above, practice usually starts at 8am. Then they try and get the races going by 9am (usually doesn't happen). The sign-ups always run through practice. That being said, the later you wait to sign up the longer you'll have to wait in line to sign up as well.

Just curious, what was the schedule like when you raced in the UK?
Signing on was 8am with first practice at 9. In schoolboys there were usually only 6 classes (autos (50s), juniors (60s), 80s, 100s, seniors (125s) and experts (125s but older)) and we got 4 motos per day of about 10-15 mins each depending on how big you were. When I raced, my dad and I would almost always drive to the track the night before because we had a half decent van to sleep in (and I had dad to work on my bike). If I had that van then I'd drive down the night before. That was actually fairly civilized - we'd wake up at 7ish and I'd walk the track, sign on, my dad would get the bike through scrutineering (tech inspection) and I'd be ready for my practice session at 8ish.

I have a truck tent on the back of a Silverado now and no mechanic.
AnimalHungry 8/26/2014 8:34pm
8/26/2014 8:34pm
bigborefan wrote:
To the OP, you live in CO, just blow of MX. Get you a KTM XC-W and ride the trails. Do some off-road riding, you're in...
To the OP, you live in CO, just blow of MX. Get you a KTM XC-W and ride the trails. Do some off-road riding, you're in the perfect place for it.

I quit MX in 94. Got tired of being there allday for 10 laps of endurance...lol!

I still love to follow the Pro scene though. Outdoor MX is the best spectator sport there is IMO.
I ride some trails, but I really wanna qualify for Lorettas once in my life so I'm gonna try out for it next year so I need some MX race practice. Hence this post. I have buddies up here who race the enduros/hare scrambles and I'll prolly join them for a few races to help with my fitness.

mx757
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mx757 8/26/2014 8:37pm
8/26/2014 8:37pm
Youll have a blast. Ive heard IMI has gotten better and better over the past few years.

If you want to check out some races that youll get more track time, and have a less early day, check out the winter combat series in Colorado Springs at Aztec Raceway. Races will likely start in October. aztecraceway.com
AnimalHungry 8/26/2014 8:43pm
8/26/2014 8:43pm
mx757 wrote:
Youll have a blast. Ive heard IMI has gotten better and better over the past few years. If you want to check out some races that...
Youll have a blast. Ive heard IMI has gotten better and better over the past few years.

If you want to check out some races that youll get more track time, and have a less early day, check out the winter combat series in Colorado Springs at Aztec Raceway. Races will likely start in October. aztecraceway.com
That's badass, I didn't realise you could ride in the Winter in CO - I thought everything was under snow! I'll definitely check out that series.
Cheers
Simon
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JVT357 8/28/2014 10:46am
8/28/2014 10:46am
Animal Hungry,
I race alot of the rmxa races. Did the whole series last summer and a few races this year. If I were you I would try and o the race this weekend coming up in sterling, co. It is one of the top 2 tracks that rmxa races on, Sterling and brush tracks are the two best tracks IMO. IMI is kinda weird soil and not the best track. Its very jumpy and they add this weird rubber based compound stuff to the soil. If not prepped good it also gets very hardpacked and one lined. Its not the worst track but I would highly recommend the sterling track. It has a great layout and awesome soil.

Pit Row

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AnimalHungry 8/28/2014 11:07am
8/28/2014 11:07am
JVT357 wrote:
Animal Hungry, I race alot of the rmxa races. Did the whole series last summer and a few races this year. If I were you I...
Animal Hungry,
I race alot of the rmxa races. Did the whole series last summer and a few races this year. If I were you I would try and o the race this weekend coming up in sterling, co. It is one of the top 2 tracks that rmxa races on, Sterling and brush tracks are the two best tracks IMO. IMI is kinda weird soil and not the best track. Its very jumpy and they add this weird rubber based compound stuff to the soil. If not prepped good it also gets very hardpacked and one lined. Its not the worst track but I would highly recommend the sterling track. It has a great layout and awesome soil.
Would love to race this weekend but I screwed my back up a few weeks ago and it's not fixed yet. Will definitely look to race those two tracks next season.
Cheers
Simon
AnimalHungry 8/28/2014 11:22am
8/28/2014 11:22am
So a buddy of mine has kindly offered to lend me his box trailer which I can tow behind my truck and sleep in overnight. So I'll get to the track the day before the race, walk the track, sign up and then I'm ready to rock for the 7am practice session. Man I'm ridiculously excited about going racing again, even if I am old and slow now. Braaaap!!!

Simon
hillbilly
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hillbilly 8/28/2014 11:31am
8/28/2014 11:31am
Always drove the day of the race,2 hrs was the closest,6 hr the longest.

Up at midnight,drive 6 hrs,win 3 classes,make 750 to 900 bucks,drive home.

One timecoming back thru Asheville I dozed a bit,took a wrong exit and didn't know where I was when I woke. Driving awake asleep I guess, came out right on the road to home,jus t detoured around the town a bit at 3am.
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JVT357 8/28/2014 11:43am
8/28/2014 11:43am
Animal hungry check your pms
dirtnapper
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dirtnapper 8/28/2014 9:59pm
8/28/2014 9:59pm
hillbilly wrote:
Always drove the day of the race,2 hrs was the closest,6 hr the longest. Up at midnight,drive 6 hrs,win 3 classes,make 750 to 900 bucks,drive home...
Always drove the day of the race,2 hrs was the closest,6 hr the longest.

Up at midnight,drive 6 hrs,win 3 classes,make 750 to 900 bucks,drive home.

One timecoming back thru Asheville I dozed a bit,took a wrong exit and didn't know where I was when I woke. Driving awake asleep I guess, came out right on the road to home,jus t detoured around the town a bit at 3am.
Pinch FFS

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