Jan 18th sign up-2023 Loudon classic $250k payout

Up here last night the sun set at 9:30, what time did they start?
And in theory couldn't they have postponed it to today?

 

They never ran more that 5 consecutive laps the whole day. And it was not a massive cannot see down pour.

 

Were they even breaking even on a sunny day and decent crowds ?
Seems like a great idea for the sport but not for profitability.

 

The track has a mandatory end of racing time as part of their agreement with the town. I thought they normally got a set number of exceptions that they use for the Classic weekend but appears they didn’t this time around? As far as pushing it back to today, many racers had to catch flights out last night or early today, and the teams had to get packed and out so they can make the Ridge on the opposite coast this coming weekend.

I only recall seeing a couple ambulances roll, and for at least one the rider refused and AFAIK opted to instead walk to the T6 bleachers so he could start drinking with his friends and watch the rest of the fiasco. I don’t recall seeing any bikes trailered off the track, looks like all were able to be rolled off, mostly just light sliding damage.

 

Vendor area outside the track pretty much shut down and was half packed up early by noon, was basically a ghost town. LOTS of money invested there for demo fleets/etc that didn’t get used either.

 

The "TV" coverage was underwhelming to say the least.

Not sure how you put on a big money race and not capitalize on the social media aspect.

This whole thing reeks of some sort of mafia money laundering scheme lol.

 

A annual no-points Loudon race like Daytona with good streaming would be amazing.

 

Naa, there was still plenty of daylight. I’m still trying to digest everything I saw and heard up there yesterday. Suffice it to say, it was not the one NEMRR staff’s finer moments and hope this *new* organization can get past these growing pains (which, unfortunately, were on full display at this event which had national exposure).
[Edit]
Josh [Kurlon], I don’t believe it had anything to do with the town requirements (especially for a Saturday). If it was, race direction would have used that as a justification instead of what was said over the loudspeaker just before the winner circle. Not sure if you heard it or not, but I and others just shook our heads.

Knarf Legna ~ stopped by your pit a few times, but didn’t see ya … didn’t help I have no idea what you look like either though. Brandon was doing great on that last red flag. I was really pulling for him. The decision to call the race (for the second and final time) was not right. The rule to not finish on a red flag was put in place to resolve a prior conflict which had arose (not too long ago either). I (and many others I talked with) believe it was an unjust, unfair, and an inconsistent decision, but our opinions matters not to the decision of the one in authority. Not sure whether Brandon would have been able to beat Blake or Tyler, but he should have been given the opportunity. He was really in the hunt. I truly believe whatever the result, the last two lap finish would have been epic and unforgettable. The racers and the fans had that taken away from them (which was the genesis for that rule in the first place).

I was also really pulling for Hayes. I have to say, his riding in those conditions (knowing what I know and have experienced on this track) was just that much better than the rest of the field … so smooth, so in control, very impressive … right up until he got caught out. Not sure if Josh was just letting it all hang out, and the others were holding back and biding their time … but it certainly did look like Blake and Tyler were trying hard not to let Josh slip away at the front.

I thought all the MA guys were great, nice, friendly. Most that I or others talked to seemed to like the track. Maybe they were just being respectful to our home track. Some said it reminded them of other smaller tracks they really enjoyed. Said it was fun. Others were candid and said when they first got on it they hated it, but then as they did more laps, and kind of figured it out, they started to really enjoy and like the track. They were really positive. Not one comment that it was too “sketchy” or way “too dangerous to ever come back.”

I guess my hope is that this is the takeaway from this Classic event. Notwithstanding the issues with the NEMRR race direction, the track is better/safer now than back when Mladdin, as echoed by 27, said “its way too dangerous to ever go back there again too race.” The track continues to make improvements, and *should* continue to improve. To let a comment made over 20+ years ago define what the track is today isn’t just, fair, or accurate.
.

 

With memories of the 2023 Daytona 217.52 mile debacle in their head, while being tired and frustrated with the day's turn of events.

 

Isn't NJMP the closest MA track to New England?

I think getting something going up there would be good for the sport and seems like it's an untapped market at this point.

 

I still can't wrap my head around what was so different come race time.

The conditions in morning practice/ qualifying were the same as the race. Lap times were similar and everyone was riding cleanly from what I could see and somehow bikes still went flying.

 

At Loudon, it is preferable to have a consistent rain all day than to have the rain coming and going which leaves the riders with constantly changing conditions in the corners. Constant rain means quite a few crashes initially, but then the riders usually settle in.
You also get less damage to the bikes and riders because they slide so nicely on a cushion of water.
Some of the locals love a downpour because they can take advantage of it.
Knowing the track conditions were challenging due to the weather, I was incredibly impressed by what a lot of the riders who weren't familiar with the track were able to do. There was some world-class racing going on out there.

As far as stopping the race after two starts that didn't make it past T2, I think they realised that a one-lap sprint for that kind of money might end up with someone getting seriously injured or possibly killed and I doubt that that happening would have been an acceptable result either. Restarts are always dangerous at Loudon due to the nature of the first few turns; bikes stay packed up until they are heading over the hill into the bowl, so they probably concluded that it was going to be almost impossible to run a full lap considering all the conditions.
Rock and a hard place.
I can ask what the thinking was there after the weekend is over. I'm sure the decision wasn't made lightly.

 

My guess is that the money was the main difference. There was a lot of incentive to take extra chances.

I know a lot of folks are probably upset with the officials, but they really had their hands full running a unique race under tough weather conditions so I think they deserve a big thank you for their efforts. Sometimes there just are no good solutions to the problems that arise.

 

Sorry I missed you but it was a hectic weekend.

Apparently the timing and scoring software crashed because of so many restarts which explains why grid positions remained the same after the first few not reverting to position in the race when the red flag was displayed. Didn't really hurt Brandon, he actually got the holeshot on the 9th restart and led the race by a comfortable margin until the race was again stopped. Tough situation for the officials, glad I was on the other side for this one.

 

For the last green, white checker would cutting the field down to the top 12 make any sense, since running even two laps with a full grid was a difficult task at best?
Just an idea.

 

I would say doing ANYTHING other then the way they ended it would have been better. They didnt even send the guys out for one last lap so we could clap and cheer for thier efforts (because I feel so much for those guys having to do all thoae restarts in the rain) instead they came over the speaker and told people NOT to leave. That they were going to finish this. Then 2 attempts later say ok its all over and we dont know who won. I was watching in the rain and cold for over 2 hours out in the bowl and witnessed this giant wtf moment from everyone out there when they said that. Everyone just looked at eachother in disbelief. All the hype and that's how it ended and nobody even got a paraid lap. We just all walked away. I have never heard so many people saying they will never come back to this "shit show" again. Again I feel for the riders most and secondary to the officials because that was a shit show but man, your back was against the wall and you just said screw it and literally told everyone that sat there for 2+ hours for a 20 lap race that they all get NOTHING for it. Go home and dry off. I cant say how disappointed I was.

 

I feel for the guys who missed out at a proper opportunity at the fat check.
$55k would help a lot of the privateer guys programs- is what it is at this point.

 

I thought there were 10 but David Swarts corrected my PR to RRW said there were 9. Could be, I trust his count. Race was scored final on the running order of lap 19 of 20 scheduled.