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CPR
3/27/2022 2:52am
3/27/2022 2:52am
The ‘Hunter Lawrence to 450’ thread got me thinking; over the years, plenty of riders have moved to the ‘open’ 250 2t/ 450 4t class, at what is now considered a young age.
Examples like Lechien and Bradshaw. In Australia, during my youth it was not uncommon for young fellas to race open in their teens. A teenage Jeff Leisk was successfully piloting savage CR500s. While myself, as a total amateur, thought nothing of riding two stroke 250 or 500 at 16yo, as did all my riding mates. Then Chad Reed skipped the 125 class all together and went straight into the big boy class at 16 and won too. We saw Stew in the premier SX class at 19 etc etc, There are many examples. Though Sexton is the last I can think of who was considered going early.
Why is that? Why when it was not uncommon to move to the top capacity class years ago, does it not happen much anymore, or is frowned upon?
Examples like Lechien and Bradshaw. In Australia, during my youth it was not uncommon for young fellas to race open in their teens. A teenage Jeff Leisk was successfully piloting savage CR500s. While myself, as a total amateur, thought nothing of riding two stroke 250 or 500 at 16yo, as did all my riding mates. Then Chad Reed skipped the 125 class all together and went straight into the big boy class at 16 and won too. We saw Stew in the premier SX class at 19 etc etc, There are many examples. Though Sexton is the last I can think of who was considered going early.
Why is that? Why when it was not uncommon to move to the top capacity class years ago, does it not happen much anymore, or is frowned upon?
Poll
Yamaha: Reed, Ferry, Vuillemin
Honda: Carmichael, Fonseca, Ramsey
Suzuki: Pastrana, Tortelli, Roncada
That extra bike helps when there's only so many 250/450 rides available.
I wish 450 teams would run 3 bikes.
1) The Teams want to see more championships so will keep a rider in the 250s longer than they should (i.e Jett if he stays 250 in 2023)
2) As someone else said, a 250 ride pays pretty well. Better than going on your own in the 450 class.
3) Easier to show better results in the 250 class vs 450.
4) People are softer these days. There is no denying that fact.
The Shop
Example: we've actually had rules, over the recent years, that kept riders from 18 years-old on 250s (4T) or smaller. Some folks think it was all for "safety" or the like; but, in a case/some cases it was due to a law suit and/or a response to law suits (regarding the 18 y/o requirement we had here in the states). This is all from memory; so, someone with the specifics is welcome to chime in and tighten up my collective memories. DC knows all this stuff. Over in Europe...wasn't it 21 or 23 was/is the "Age Out" rule in MX2? Like I said...this is all recollection. But, there are various "age rules". They're all a result of the changes we've seen in our collective thinking over the years.
As for the reality of our culture and how we think nowadays? I'd call it "protectionist". I say that without any form of judgement, just the reality of living thru it. We've become very protectionist and rather Ubber-Safety minded. Again, not accusatory. Just rational thought based on experiencing the change; and, who's to say getting safer isn't a good thing?
But, to CPRs (the OP's) point: I watched a young Rick Ryan that was barely tall enough to hold a big bike up...
Race a 80, 125, 250 and 465(I think it was a YZ 465...may have been a 400)...All in the same day...at 14-15 years old.
I remember more than a few racers that pulled this stuff off in their early-to-mid teens, too.
Danny "Magoo" Chandler comes to mind. Think he raced Nationals as a rather young dude.
CPR brought up Lechien, Bradshaw and Reed.
Our moto-culture has changed and become a bit more uniform in its thinking about "what" we should ride and "when" we should ride it. Terms like "risk versus reward", safety, technology, "too dangerous" are used WAY more often than I think we realize. Just look at a helmet or neck-device thread! And, guess what?! It's not a bad thing! Sure, there are some of us that'll claim we were "bad asses" back in the day...probably including myself; but, out-side of that? We're doing OK with the safety and the "eye on risk" aspect of our sport.
Above, I start out with rules...and if you think about it, those rules came about with an eye towards safety. And...some of those safety rules came into place due to learning...the hard way. This sport went thru unexplainable growth back in the day. This sport didn't just "grow" in the 70s (& into the 80s): It EXPLODED on to the Racing Scene; and, plenty of people got hurt...bad...or worse...back then.
It was a crazy time that's almost impossible to explain if you didn't live thru it...
Maico, CZ, Rickman, Bultaco, Monarch, Harley Davidson, Hodaka, Indian, DKW, Penton...these were brands of dirt bikes you could see at Indian Dunes back in the day...on top of all the Japanese brands you know nowadays. And you could find dirt bikes EVERYWHERE. You could buy a dirt-bike at the mall...at Sears!
We rode at places that were smack-dab in the middle of The Valley back then...Fallbrook and Saticoy right in the middle of Canoga Park, for example. So many "Dirt-Lot Tracks". We were riding EVERYWHERE! Like I said...INSANE growth. INSANE opportunity. It was all new. Safety wasn't the concern that it is now.
Since those days, we've learned helluva lot more about rider safety and have imposed rules and requirements aimed at making our sport safer. That's all had it's affect on what we think we should ride/race...and...when.
Society, in general, is much more risk-averse and there are plenty of ambulance chasers willing to go after ANYONE for ANYTHING...
So, I'm going with..."Something-else".
The 250 class is perfect for gaining experience before trying to race 6-7 other past 250 champions at the highest level of intensity at the same time
Pussified.
The damaging Helicopter "parenting" has been buried by the even more damaging Bulldozer "parenting"....
Bring in Live TV. The Regional class practically gets the same broadcast time / exposure as the Premier class today. Somewhere in the equation exposure plays a role and it's a money decision (ultimately) for sponsors and riders.
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Still, the amount of rides is relevant, but there’s generally always been less rides in the 250/ 450 class than the 125/ 250 class, however that has never stopped some young riders going to the big class previously. And I wasn’t specifically talking about pro AMA, I mean in general, at the local club track, in Europe, in Australia, in the pro class, or in C grade etc. Obviously I used well known pro AMA examples, because that’s what most guys would identify with, but I also mentioned Reed’s early days in Oz and my mates and I as weekend hacks, to try and illustrate that.
Regardless of the number of available rides in each class, the fact remains that younger riders in the big bike class were a lot more common in past years than now. It’s likely a combination of factors, which some have provided above. Team Green I think nailed it.
Pit Row
Honda had 4 factory 450s in that same era also
KTM: Webb, Musquin, Plessinger
HUSKY: Stewart, Wilson, Osborne
GASGAS: Barcia
I get Osborne is retired, but he was set to race this year until his back injury flared up and forced him into retirement. Even without Osborne, that's 6 factory riders.
All the other manufacturers have deeper pockets. I don't know why they stopped supporting 3 riders, but my only guess is that it's simply not worth the investment to them.
Bradshaw was also racing 250s overseas at 16
I’m sorry 2002. Chad didn’t ride here full time until then right? 2 races overseas isn’t what we’re talking about. Haiden Deegan is racing 450 races right now. That isn’t what we’re taking about.
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