Yup! Hats off to Pat for promoting the event this year! I wouldn't have come, if it had not been for his pursuading. Rules had nothing to do with it at all....it was
his efforts that got 4 rigs there, simple as that.
Hell, I don't think I'd really even heard of the event before this year.
Yes, I would like to pass on the pursuasion and try to get some of the eastern factor road racers involved. Not the super high $$ F1 type modern rigs....but the vintage road faction that is trying to make a come back in the scene just as much as the western off road faction.
The road race rig I ran across would be perfectly suited to race with other vintage road racers. That would be an even match.
Competition draws me there, besides the over all mystique of the event. Really is a cool event all the way around.
But, if you come on a super modified MX rig and really smoke everyone....you can pretty much gaurentee that
no one will return the following year. No one is going to spend that kind of money to have abosolutely no chance at winning. They certainly won't convince their friends to come try, either.
As a rookie on a tight budget, if you plan to be there, it might just take the event off my list of things to do next year. I cannot compete with your rig and I know it. I'd see no need to spend several thousand $$ to prove myself right.
If you want to call that sniveling, so be it. To me, I spend the money I do to compete....not to get my ass handed to me. Same reason I wouldn't enter the truck class to race the mtn on my stock Ranger.
If I had a rig that I felt could compete with you, my feelings would be entirely different. But I don't. Nor does
anyone I currently know. Since readily available, affordable rigs aren't falling out of the woodworks....I don't see you having much competion if you did show up.
Then you'd say everyone was sniveling, no one would show up,....and we're right back to where it was a few years ago.
You already know that your presence nearly gaurentees you will be the only one there.
We were all basically rookies this year on rigs that were not modified other then maybe sprockets and tires to do the race. This made it fun.
We all had the same chance of winning as the rest.
If I showed up on a road race rig and smoked everyone....I'd fully expect people to snivel, rightfully so....then not show up the following year.
Yes, I do want something written in there so that dumb asses like us don't
try to unreasonably press the rules.
This year....we didn't win. You also didn't hear
any sniveling about it because we were
evenly matched and we all knew it. Having no officially, legally poured over rules made no difference what so ever to anyone that showed up this year. We showed up on the same rigs we regularly race against each other.
If I showed up on a road rig....yup....there'd be controversy. As it stands....who knows who'd officially win that debate (and who cares) if we'd raced the damn thing on an MX track.....but I assure you, it will gaurentee no one shows up the following year. If I lost the debate,
I wouldn't show up, and if I won, none of my current competition would show up.....which would make me not want to show up.
I know even with a road rig, 750cc....I could not shave the 3+ minutes off my time that I'd want to if I was
truely going for the record.
Yes, I play to win....but also want to do it against head to head competition. Showing up to a fist fight with a gun is not the way I'd want to win.
Technically, as our local rules are written, it doesn't specify
what classifies someone for the women's class. Technically, if Morgan wanted to sign up for the women's class, he could....and there isn't a damn thing in the rules keeping him from doing so. But, what sort of glory would he feel from signing up in the women's class and smoking everyone?
Same thing.
Bottom line....no matter what the rules say.....unless I happen along an appropriate rig....I won't be there. I won't race the 540, Morgan wouldn't last year. I won't try to convince others on 540 rigs to come. They are not appropriate for the race, just as my stock truck isn't. But, there
are others currently racing MX/GPs that
do have rigs that fall well into the rules and would be
viable competition to the 600-750 rigs that showed this year.
I don't see a full sponsorship from Big Bear Choppers on my horizon, but ya never know. If such a sponsorship should happen along....then yeah....I'd look forward to sitting next to you on the line.
I'd emplore the powers that be to set us in our own class, though.
I'd feel no glory what so ever by showing up on a professionally set up rig and kicking the asses of those that do all their own stuff in their garage.
I brought this up to stir things up. We need more then 4 teams on the line next year or we stand too close to the "cute class". If we can get people thinking about it now, we stand a better chance of seeing more rigs and possibly a more diverse showing of rigs. This is good for the sport and good for
all of us all the way around in trying to obtain more sponsorships. As you well know, one guy racing alone generally doesn't get many sponsorship oportunities.
Unless I am racing for the record, I'd focus my efforts on getting a full grid.....not winning at all costs. Unless we are truely racing for the record, the only thing we are racing for
is the competition of it all. With a 750 limit....
none of us would be racing for the record....mx set up or road set up wouldn't matter one bit.
Winning this event, to me....is breaking the current record.
At least someone is talking 'round here.
peace,
janette