Ask Ping!
Friday, April 27, 2012 | 9:15 AM
ODI dates back to the 1980’s as the leader in grip manufacturing. Focusing primarily on the bmx and mountain bike industries through the 90’s and early 2000’s, ODI re-entered the motocross scene when they developed the patented lock-on grip system that eliminates wire and glue. Continuing to advance the way riders hold on to their bikes, ODI has worked closely with the teams they support such as Troy Lee Designs to create the product that is now being used by some of the top teams in the industry.
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PrintDear Ping,
The news about Townley is beyond an exaggerated reaction. I'm a Townley fan and the frustration of a title candidate losing his chances repeatedly due to injuries makes you think what could be done. I keep reading "injuries are a part of our sport" and we just have to deal with it. There is no denying that injuries are a part of our sport but why isn't there more time for riders to heal before the next championship starts? Why can't there be a buffer period of say a month or two between Supercross and Motocross? I'm sure Townley, Reed, Dungey, Stewart, Tedesco, Hill, among countless others wouldn't mind right now. If the outdoor season ran further into the fall, the more northern tracks could be done during the warmest months and as fall closes in it could move towards the south. It might also give Stewart time to switch teams… there I said it. Anyway, just curious.
Lars
Madison, WI
Ben would like the MX series to start in October this year.
I’m not even sure what to say about the injuries this year. I’m crushed that Ben has yet another injury and I really feel bad for every single rider this year that has been put through the ringer. Injuries are a huge mental setback as well as a physical blow. The sad truth is that injuries are a part of our sport. So, why can’t there be a break between series? It comes down to scheduling, really. Booking stadiums for supercross events isn’t as easy as just calling them up and giving them a credit card number. There are very few weekends when stadium owners will allow trucks to dump massive amounts of dirt all over their baseball/football fields. Feld has worked out a nice little schedule that seems to fit into the stick-and-ball world pretty well. The nationals could, realistically, move another month or so into the fall but many of those promoters rely on holiday weekends to draw a big crowd (4th of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day). Three-day weekends definitely help turnout and those promoters don’t want to give up those days. You also have school starting back up in the fall and a very short break for the riders between MX and SX, especially if you push the end of the series back a month or so. The bottom line is that injuries suck. But changing the schedule around isn’t the answer here. Although it would give James more time to get adjusted to his new bike...
PING
Pinger,
Why doesn’t Reed or Kawasaki or one of these teams take a shot with Jason Lawrence? He’s still showing up and winning local off-road events. Obviously the guy still has talent. Why doesn’t he get another shot?
Jersey Mike
Please check the Care-O-Meter.
PING
Ping,
I have a question about some of these injuries lately. I know racing means everything to these guys but do they think, or care, about the long-term consequences? Like, is Partridge’s foot ever going to be normal again? Will Morais ever recover 100%? Are Villopoto’s knees going to be clicking and popping like an African bushman every time he gets up to pee at night for the rest of his life? Do these guys even consider the very long life they have ahead of them after racing is long gone?
Petey P.
That is gross, Kyle.
In short, no, they don’t think much about it. I remember at one point early in my career actually going through the thought process of what would happen if I ever got seriously injured. I had a “Plan B.” It was poorly thought out and certainly not what I would want now but I made peace with that option and was able to just accept it. That’s how badly these guys want to win. They know full well the risks involved and they choose to compete anyway. Are Ryan’s knees going to click and pop? Yeah, but they’ll sound more like a pack of M-80’s going off in an underground parking garage. I haven’t heard the latest on Kyle’s foot but I hope this image isn’t his foot. Some of these guys you just want to sit down with and talk them out of getting back into the fray. My buddies BT and Morais come to mind. But that is a decision that each of them have to make in their own time. If they don’t make the call on their own terms they could regret it for the rest of their lives.
PING
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As far as scheduling, let's not forget about MXoN, don't want to send a team that's worrying about a championship back home. I'd love to see a few rounds knocked off the SX series, and maybe a couple more nationals, but it'll never happen because of damn dirty money. Jason, nice try, but you've had enough chances already, in fact, far too many. Nice touch disguising your writing by having someone not quite as stupid proofread it, but we can see right through you.
haha. Care-O-meter. AND those Honders would look nice with some gold wheels, Pingy.
stewart's new bike...nice teaser
I would like to see the outdoors cut back to 8 races and then have a Trans-Ama type four race series run in the southern part of the states during the fall.I would love to see the GP's best run against the US outdoors best.
stewart is now metty's teammate on suzuki !
Agree that the SX season should be shorter,15 rounds would be plenty...but which venues are deleted?? Some cities such as Detroit would like to host SX again..how do you decide?? I am sure "MONEY" has the biggest say in all of those talks...Some people are cops and emts, they dont worry about the dangers that face them every day, it is just an accepted risk of the job. Racers are alot the same way, they know the risk, but its what they are best at and where their passion lies..some are good enough to gain awards and financial success, while the rest of them take solace in knowing that they get to ride a dirt bike for a living!
Way too many supercross races. New Orleans and some of the lesser attended California rounds need to go. 13-14 races is enough.
You know ping why don't the racers wear shoulder pads, knee braces, etc? I played football for 10 years and wouldn't think about not having gear. Uncomfortable or not it is about protection and being safe
BobTheBuilder wrote: Way too many supercross races. New Orleans and some of the lesser attended California rounds need to go. 13-14 races is enough.
Heck yes. 8 is plenty, with one 125/250 class. Motocross is the Outdoors. SX is an aberration, a sideshow, a synthetic motercross show for the unknowing and easily amazed. SX is purely artificial and has no connection to amateur MX (99.9% of the total MX-bike activity surrounding and supporting the sport).
We sell-out the the sport for the benefit of professional race promoters. Who are they to me and what do I care? I pay the bills. I buy the bikes. I PAY to race. I want cheap and easy to maintain race bikes (2-strokes) for both myself and the guys I race against. All else is pap.
To everyone saying the SX season needs to be shorter, it's only because riders are injured this year. Last year (A.K.A. the best season ever) everybody was whining that the season was too short.
Changing the length of the season is only gonna make the riders hang it out that much more during the races they do have. How is that gonna help with injuries?
Also if you went with a 14 race season, you would have just over 4 hours of actual main event racing in AN ENTIRE SEASON. Offroad guys do that much each weekend. SX has a lack of racing as it it, how much shorter do you want it?
Why is everyone still hung up on Jason Lawrence? I've seen like 3 other posts elswhere on other MX sites that say Factory Honda or Kawi should go with J-Law. I'm sorry, it's great that he won his local fairground race or hare and hound, or poker run or whatever it is. But you cannot go frombeing absent in the AMA for a few years, to riding factory equipment, it just doesn't happen. I can't believe that guy actually wrote in to ask that. Factory Honda will go with Short, or T. Hahn, not Jason Friggin Lawrence.
i could be wrong, but didn't that little piggy stay home. the big toe when to market.
come on get it right, its permanent
nickeenoo, I've always wanted a shorter SX season, including last year, elsinoreracer really summed up my thoughts on SX quite nicely. I also feel they could make it a bit less of a joke if they got rid of opening ceremonies, put semis back in, and lengthened the main events, maybe even a 2 main format. But Feld doesn't care about racing or racers or fans, so it'll never happen.
not sure why people think that J Law has had so many chances, He rode for YOT then for his own team. So where are all the chances, If you want to talk about someone getting chance after chance after chance they you should be talking about Hanson.
So Glad Ping gave J-Flaw almost "0" ink
What will JS do....Will this ever end?? LOL
@TheChosen1 You are right I did not think about that.Damn!
@TheChosen 1- be nice to fred, he is old and living in memeroy lane! lol
Every year we talk about injuries, but this year has really taking a toll on these riders, so what is up?
7E + 7W + E/W shootout
1 month off
12MX
Ping, you blasted a guy here for saying Townley's move to Reed's team would end in the ER. You called him a jackass and said you hoped to see him at the races so you could point and laugh. That saying, are you the jackass on this one? Are people going to point and laugh at you?
If lil Stewie is looking for a ride, he can borrow my CZ 400. Maybe he can hire Harry as a wrench and Rex as a trainer. lol
@thatcatschaaf
All of the sponsors of all of those teams were his chances. Then he got that pretty little ankle bracelet, I think that will count as another one.
THIS JUST IN!!!-- JGR'S JAMES STEWART TO GO OUTSIDE FOR 2012 ON A 2013 ON A 2013 YAMAHA YZ360AF!!!!
http://www.2y4t.com/8/viewtopic.php?p=1210591YZ360AF!!!
Report
I wish the 360 two stroke was true!!
Warrior462, I'm just not really sure how shortening the season will benefit anything or anyone. With the exception of Villopoto EVERY rider that got hurt would have gotten hurt within a 14 race season. Most of them would have gotten hurt within an 8 race season. The only thing shortening the season will do is suck for the people who like to watch races.
I get that the moto purists like motocross only. I get that there are some who think four strokes are the whore of dirt bikes. If that's how you feel, buy a two stroke, only watch the first 12 races of the SX season and enjoy the outdoors when they are on. As it is, at an average of 55 seconds a lap, there are only 5.2 hours of main event racing in a SX season. That's a complete joke if you ask me.
Shortening the SX season will not help anyone in any way. The riders that got hurt this year would have gotten hurt anyway. There would be less airtime for sponsors which would mean less money which would only decrease the salary of the already struggling riders. Factories would have less marketing because in reality racing is marketing for them. Less fans would get to see races. The list goes on.
I just don't see how a shorter SX season is a benefit in any way.
jersey mike...since ping won't answer your question I will. It's a very simple reason...Lawrence has proven to be more trouble than he's worth. Im not understanding why the 360 kit had to go in an F frame...the 2 stroke 250 chassis works very good....that looks like an older motor....if your gonna go old school drop a 400 Maico in it....air cooling is from the future..no coolant no hoses but still able to go two 45 min motos +2 without boiling the fuel... .....sorry.no electric start and may that be a problem for boys wearing pajama like riding gear , steering is damped by two giant forearms ,trick Metzler tires...and so on....
Bring back the old days Grand Poobaa just reverse them. Two stroke 125cc privateer & support 250cc two stroke. Open markee classes.. open class 4 stroke the good old days reversed
Cutting out 3 SX's and adding 2 nationals would have a ridiculous amount of positive effects for fans and riders alike. More total race time per year; better racing which comes from open tracks outdoors, rather than follow the leader SX tracks; a desperately needed extra week of outdoor testing after SX; a southeast national that those people have been screwed out of for a long time, without screwing others by taking a national away, and the list goes on. It would be nice if they would spread the SX series a little more evenly throughout the country as well, but I'll take a national over a SX without even thinking about it. Also, I love four strokes, and I feel the people who don't, it's because they're too stupid or lazy to take care of a four stroke. I maintain mine meticulously and it's cost far less than my two strokes over the years, for a far superior machine that's way more enjoyable to ride.
Elsinore racer is pretty much right on. I'm expecting to see some 'backflip required' jumps in SX soon. The whole thing is getting more and more irrelevant. It's kind of like watching the stupid skateboarder jump off a ledge and land 30 feet below with bent arms. Not really entertaining to me. I grew up loving to watch any motocross on wide world of sports and I'm pretty sure there was no such thing as a triple.
I kinda like Fred's idea to cut the Supercross series and add another new series of some sort. That would mean more championships and a chance for more champions per year. Or even more titles for an uninjured RV, perhaps...If a rider is injured in one series, maybe he could heal by the next, and his whole year wouldn't be lost. Just a thought,might not work, But seems like there would maybe be even more media coverage. I don't know, but maybe Fred is on to something here.