Congrats to the AMA guys... Oh Wait.

One of my favorites.

 

All this month. All featuring AMA racers. If you aren't comfortable with this, race anything but a 600/1000cc bike.

MRA - http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/gagne-moham-win-mra-races-set-records-at-high-plains-raceway/

CVMA- http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/benny-solis-wins-five-cvma-races-at-chuckwalla-valley-raceway/

LRRS - http://www.nhms.com/media/headlines/lrrs/wood-wins-highly-contested-dash-for-cash.html

 

Anything is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. Invested cost has nothing to do with the selling price.

 

correct, to some degree. Classic example.. (i had been looking for his post, thank you) .. build a super nice house in the middle of a desert (Dubai, Las Vegas, etc. notwithstanding - think the middle of death valley).
It's is gonna COST whatever it costs to get materials out there and construct the thing, but it ain't gonna have diddly for "market value" cause who the heck is gonna want to live there. It may be worth something if someone was willing to lift it transport it to a better location, but that reduces a great deal the amount someone would pay otherwise.

carry on with the reasons for and against AMA racers pulling off or not pulling off during an event.

 

Cherry picking is an EPIDEMIC!!!!


Lol...

 

That was a sik race!! Sean and his 'Zuk had his hands full with the new Kawi's, and didn't have the tires he needed. If I'm not mistaken he hadn't won any races until that Shootout! He was just determined to get that win, and Barney made him earn it!

Best club race I'd seen in years!!


Sorry.... back on topic.

 

It is now only worth about $4k because of the changes he made.

 

Didn't Bradley Smith race in Qatar on an R1, earlier this year or late last year, to gain seat time on the track with a 1000cc bike? And he beat them all without pulling into the pits. He's a MotoGP rider for crying out loud, not some random AMA rider.. lol . [nobody said a word]

The WSBK , WSS riders take part regularly on BSB / Spanish CEV races to gain seat time / pursue development but don't pull off at the end.

Happens all the time, in other parts of the world as well, I guess.

 

I'm so confused... At first, I was like, "Yeah! Those guys are jerks!" And then, by the end, I was like, "Ops a pussy..."

 

i thought similarly minus the negative feelings for the Op. now i just think, "who cares?"
honestly, for the majority of us, the only ones who care about our achievements in as Jim likes to put it "our shitty little world of racing" are ourselves and our friends/loved ones. Its not like we're on public TV being touted as hot stuff and then these guys show up and kick our asses to humiliate us.
for those losing out on contingency I sort of understand, but thats the way it goes sometimes. It wouldnt be any different than if someone posted here they were going to show up, you counted on them showing up to make the grid minimum, and then they didnt show up, screwing up the contingency for everyone (im surprised theres not more ourage over the taklers who dont show up than this).

in the end, it elements outside of our control that we have to deal with. What it eventually means to us may be very important, but to others not so much. its kind of like the novice championship argument. to some people, its insignificant, to others its not even an acheivement, its all how you want to look at it and spin it.
99% of us arent even bringing back 1/4 of what we put in so the most important thing to get out of this is having fun. If the pro ruined your fun (maybe he punted you, or came through a battle you were having and you lost touch because of it) then i can understand being a little upset. If you're losing contingency money like I said earlier I can kind of understand. But if you're pissed that you missed out on the podium or the win because they showed up, it no different than some other fast guy/girl showing up out of no where and beating you.

go out and have fun because in the end thats all we have to really get out of this...

 

This thread is dumb, and I'm stupid for reading all 25 pages.

 

Not to mention callin' yourself 'tex' when you're from philly...

 

I have followed this thread and generally I agree with gridding up and giving it a go. One issue that I feel somewhat related is EXPERT attrition. How many racers avoid the EX bump and quit or last only a few seasons before being a grid filling backmarker gets old? I do have concern about the everybody gets a trophy mentallity but there are truely some tallent gaps.
The notion of 3 tiers is not that crazy. Slicing up the bell curve so that most of us in the middle are met with reasonable competition and those that are truely gifted and dedicated have their place too. Bottom tier is true Am. Middle Tier EX and a top tier. Put all the money in the top tier to encourage folks who have the mix of tallent and budget to mix it up at the top and not stay back cherry picking scrap wood.

 

No longer than I have been doing it, i have seen it happen several times. Rider sandbags for a year or two, finally takes Expert bump, qets handed ass, hangs up leathers. IMO, those guys aren't true racers. If you have to quit for financial, injury, etc reasons, so be it. But a true competitor would not quit because he was handed his ass....he would gladly take his ass and work it off to get better/faster.

I had a total of about 7-8 race weekends under my belt when I went Expert. In my first two Expert races (2011), i finished worse than i started (10th-12th, 12th-18th). I could have easily been like "shit on this". But I didnt. I took my ass beating, learned from it and just worked harder. Fast forward to the 2012 GNF and things are looking better (14th-7th, 13th-5th for example). But make no mistake, i have worked my ass off in the past 2 years...on and off the track. I still have a long way to go for sure, but im a lot faster than i was 2 years ago.

It really just depends on how bad somebody wants it. There comes a time when the competition gets tougher and you aren't going to be able to just "show up" for a weekend and place well. You can bet your ass the guys consistently in the top 5 in the Expert classes don't just randomly show up at weekend and finish in the top 5. It takes work and dedication, on and off the track.

With that being said, i think there could be a time and place for a 3-tiered system (Novice, Expert, Pro or something like that), but not with the grids the way they are now. Maybe if 1 or 2 other orgs fail for some reason (obviously i hope they dont), or the economy comes back 200% or something. But right now, i think the grids are too light overall to be split into another category.

 

Fuckin' A. Just go find someone to race with.

 

Hehe.. when Benny Solis came out to Chuckwalla to race and I found myself gridded up with him, I just asked him nicely to give me a clean pass if he lapped me.

For the people whining about AMA racers in your grids, fucking grow a pair.

 

I'm and an old retired has been (and never was been). Suck it up or go back to doing trackdays. They give out great trophies for fastest lap on your laptimer in the A group.

 

I have been around a while now and have seen a lot of people come and go. I've seen quite a few reasons people leave.

One big thing that comes to mind for me is injury, either to themselves or to others around them. I have seen guys see someone else get hurt (or killed), turn around and say "that's it, I'm out". I've seen guys get hurt and either make the decision themselves or be told "you're out".

I've seen people run out of money.

I've seen people wake up and realize just how much money they are spending.

I've seen people lose interest. It is a hobby, it happens.

I've seen people have kids and quit.

And yes, I have seen people leave because they aren't owning the expert ranks like they did as a novice. Adding a third racing group will only address this one subset of people leaving.

3 to 4 years is usually it.

 

wrong, Bradley Smith did not beat them all

and at least one of those other riders had some GP experience

I would put Hayes up against Bradley Smith any day of the week and Hayes would win....nothing against Smith, just the truth of the matter