Why that all important 'B' class?

B class is where many of the fastest young riders go immediately after they move up from superminis.

Maybe "A" is the new pro class for amateurs, and "B" is the new "A". It's a thought.

Doesn't 250B usually have the fastest lap times at LL?

JBecker 72 wrote:

Doesn't 250B usually have the fastest lap times at LL?

just depends on the whos in what class. like when forkner moved up and raced B, he had the fastest times.. but then he went pro and sexton turned the fastest time in A the next year i believe.

JBecker 72 wrote:

Doesn't 250B usually have the fastest lap times at LL?

iBobbyb wrote:

just depends on the whos in what class. like when forkner moved up and raced B, he had the fastest times.. but then he went pro and sexton turned the fastest time in A the next year i believe.

Makes sense. I remember checking lap times a couple years ago and 3 out of the top 5 were B class including first overall.

Depends on the year and the riders that are racing A or B, but a lot of times it happens because a top Supermini kid moves up to a B rider when moving up to big bikes and in March (when you start your Loretta qualifiers and decide A or has more room for advancement during that 5 months time than a rider that raced B the year before and moved to A does over a 12 month period.

Also sometimes as Team rider you are contracted to race B class because there already is a Team rider in A. And you race what your team tells you, if you are eligible for the class.

TymeMoto wrote:

B class is where many of the fastest young riders go immediately after they move up from superminis.

Exactly. Kids move up to a big bike in the spring, race Area Qualifier in April, become locked into B class and progress all summer to become super fast by Loretta's. It's been this way for decades.

A class is for the washed up riders, B class is where its at

It seems the a class has turned into the class for b riders who didn't get on a factory team as b riders

It has to do with teams looking for the next up and coming kid. Normally the B class kids turn pro in 2 years. So the factory teams are looking for their next rider. Most top A riders are already locked in.

It also is affected by decisions to "move up" by the riders, factory contracts, pro debut timing, and more (like mentioned above by others).

Another is, staying as a group in a class gives more accurate gauges of where a rider is in the pecking order of speed with familiar foes. The A class presents more numbers of "new" competitors of which they arent familiar with, and may have different goals, so comparisons can be harder to make. Its been an unwritten practice that has gone on for quite a long time, and only if the collected group decides to move to A, B will be the class of choice.

Here is a scenario. Say you have a supermini rider moving up to big bikes that qualifies and races the A class at LL's immediately. Lets say said rider does very well (maybe even win, its possible) in the A class. How well did he really do when all (or almost all) of his direct competition is in the B class (lap times are not a valid comparison for many reasons)? Of course, there can be an exception, but not the rule.


In other words, it fits and works. Although, taken at face value, it does seem odd

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

How many of you have ever attended LL's or just look at live lap times? Its very different from race to race.

Track and lap time is different between every race with different track maintinance getting done before each race. They do maintinance along the entire track at different stages before every race.

School boy and B class have the future superstars and they are often charging the hardest.

A class winner will usually go fast enough to win by going fast enought to stay in front of 2nd not just to go as fast as they can.

RCF wrote:

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

Actually, I think Damon Bradshaw went straight from B class to pros.... Not 100% sure, but I think he did.

RCF wrote:

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

ty159 wrote:

Actually, I think Damon Bradshaw went straight from B class to pros.... Not 100% sure, but I think he did.

87- B class
88- A class

RCF wrote:

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

Dungey never raced B class at LL's.......

There are people trying to be racers and people that race because they love racing/riding. The C class is typically guys who just love racing and don't really care about being the hot shot next fast guy.

A and B are typically guys at some point in their life they hope to make some money out of motocross. Even if it is working for an industry company: example, Paggio

C and Beginner classes pay the bills for promoters.

kkawboy14 wrote:

There are people trying to be racers and people that race because they love racing/riding. The C class is typically guys who just love racing and don't really care about being the hot shot next fast guy.

A and B are typically guys at some point in their life they hope to make some money out of motocross. Even if it is working for an industry company: example, Paggio

C and Beginner classes pay the bills for promoters.

Lol @ this post.

I would say most C riders who make it to Loretta's aspire to make money, they probably just run out of talent before getting so far. Jimmy Albertson, Mike Brown, and Jeremy McGrath are the only C riders I can think of that made a career for themselves after racing C class though. The sad reality is that most of the C riders who make it are fast enough to race A locally and recoup some of the money they spend on racing.

What's even more sad is that most guys come realize, in the January of the next year, the 20th place they got in 250C Limited @ LL's is the best it will ever get and they quit halfway through the season never to be seen again except for the lowly vital post seeking help locating A kit forks for their YZ250 frame up build or at the Supercross coming to a town near you.

I don't think making money off the industry is exclusive to A&B riders. There are industry jobs to be had for normal speed guys, although the connections that tend to come with speed can definitely help and from what I've seen industry jobs come with dues one must pay. Send a homeschooled training facility kid on an interview and pit him against a moderately educated guy who is bright, sociable, and demonstrates a strong work ethic, I don't even think its fair.

kkawboy14 wrote:

There are people trying to be racers and people that race because they love racing/riding. The C class is typically guys who just love racing and don't really care about being the hot shot next fast guy.

A and B are typically guys at some point in their life they hope to make some money out of motocross. Even if it is working for an industry company: example, Paggio

C and Beginner classes pay the bills for promoters.

TJMX947 wrote:

Lol @ this post.

I would say most C riders who make it to Loretta's aspire to make money, they probably just run out of talent before getting so far. Jimmy Albertson, Mike Brown, and Jeremy McGrath are the only C riders I can think of that made a career for themselves after racing C class though. The sad reality is that most of the C riders who make it are fast enough to race A locally and recoup some of the money they spend on racing.

What's even more sad is that most guys come realize, in the January of the next year, the 20th place they got in 250C Limited @ LL's is the best it will ever get and they quit halfway through the season never to be seen again except for the lowly vital post seeking help locating A kit forks for their YZ250 frame up build or at the Supercross coming to a town near you.

I don't think making money off the industry is exclusive to A&B riders. There are industry jobs to be had for normal speed guys, although the connections that tend to come with speed can definitely help and from what I've seen industry jobs come with dues one must pay. Send a homeschooled training facility kid on an interview and pit him against a moderately educated guy who is bright, sociable, and demonstrates a strong work ethic, I don't even think its fair.

"Most C riders"....I was really referring to locals

It's a minimum of C riders that ever make it to Lorettas

Get rid of it

kkawboy14 wrote:

"Most C riders"....I was really referring to locals

It's a minimum of C riders that ever make it to Lorettas

I fall into that local category myself. Hell, if I didn't race the vet class I'd have to race C class. I'm too fast for D class and not fast enough to win C class :-)

RCF wrote:

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

Ryan turned pro at Mammoth MX in 2006.

He was upset that they wouldn't let him race the B class, but after deciding to race the A class, he battled with McGrath for the win. MC won, but it was a GREAT race and proved that he had no business in the B class any longer !

Can't speak for every year, but I can say that the A class in 2007, was way faster than the B class

A class-
https://llvault.racerxonline.com/2007/mx-lites-apro-sport

B class-
https://llvault.racerxonline.com/2007/mx-lites-b-stock

RCF wrote:

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

APLMAN99 wrote:

Dungey never raced B class at LL's.......

Correct.
He raced the Schoolboy class in '05
https://llvault.racerxonline.com/rider/ryan-dungey/races

Its about retaining your amateur status
once you race even one pro race (A class) you cannot go back to amateur status

RCF wrote:

I could be wrong and somebody probably will correct me, but didn't this start with Dungy I kind of remember it being a big deal when he went from b-class right to the pros.

APLMAN99 wrote:

Dungey never raced B class at LL's.......

langhammx wrote:

Correct.
He raced the Schoolboy class in '05
https://llvault.racerxonline.com/rider/ryan-dungey/races

School Boy is B/C so i guess he can claim he never racing B class lol

What is the payback for A class at Loretta's?
Anyone know?

KMC440 wrote:

What is the payback for A class at Loretta's?
Anyone know?

It depends which manufacturers contingency your riding for!