by Chase Stallo
Bench Racing Ammo: 2011 Vs. 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012 | 1:15 PM
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PrintNumbers never lie, right? For this week's Bench Racing Ammo, we decided to dig out some key stats through the first five rounds of the 2011 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and compare them to the first five rounds of 2012. It's easy to chart the progress of a few riders, athough we had to leave some athletes out due to the injury factor (we realized, for example, that Ryan Villopoto scored a lot more points last year than this year, but you already know that) and the fact that some new riders are here from the GPs and some riders have switched classes.
Here's a look--numbers never lie!
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250 class still fun 450 was much more fun to watch last year.
I dont know- i kinda like watching RD crush everyone this year.
@MustardDog,, Yeah, he's crushing everone now. Boring,, but fun for him..
I don't understand why you people say the 450 class this year is boring. Is the battle for 1st the only battle you guys watch? There are so many battles going on all over the place for all positions its awesome to watch. Pick your favorite 'not top 10' rider and follow him through the motos next time. Its really fun to see those guys do battle! They are trying just as hard as Dungey or Stewart or the other top guys... only no one pays attention to them because they are just a little slower than the championship contenders. Learn to enjoy all facets of moto... not just the 1st place trophy
Although I like to see close battles, I have an appreciation for total dominance and the effect it has on the competion. When Mc was killing everyone in SX it was interesting how the competition started to be happy getting second! Do not take this wrong but second is the first looser. When Villopoto, Stewart, Dungey and Reed get second they are pissed.
@Kxpwr18,, I think the point you are missing is, when its pretty clear who is going to win the moto BEFORE it even begins,, its jusy not quite as fun to watch.. And,,, when RC was winning everything, the amount of spectators that showed up, proved it.. But, yes, the other battles are fun to watch, but battles for the LEAD, are just more fun,,,, because there is more at steak..
@Kxpwr18.....I agree with you in that there are 40 racers on the line and each has their own battles, and they are interesting to watch as well as the leaders. @mxmofo1....We all think who is going to win, but the past has proven that anything can happen, at any time, because of any reason. That is why we line up to race, and not just call it quits based on paper predictions. I agree that 2nd place is first loser, but that does not diminish his / her efforts and accomplishment as just like first place, there is only "one" second place as well...and so on down the line. I have a healthy respect for the speeds these guys race at all the way back to 40th.
@mxmofo1....I think you mean "stake" not "steak" as in something to be eaten :-)
Being the guy who wins all the time, you are truly the only one who's happy. Spectating (or being the guy on the track behind the perennial winner) gets boring REAL fast (in any sport!). Racing is all about competition! Look at that 250 class! Yes, now that's worth watching. No matter how much MC, RC, Bubba, Cairoli, Everts, Jeff Gordon, (insert dominating rider name here) tries to be nonchalant about it off the track nobody wants to see them win all the time. Boring!!! I do not like seeing them or anybody else winning all the time any more then I like being beat by somebody at every race. Never have, never will! Dungey cant help it. It's not his fault he's the only one left standing out of the big name riders. But I'm looking forward to watching the 250's each week! The 450 class? Meh!
What might not be totally obvious to many of us is that we are using Dungey's name in the same sentance as the all time greats, and I feel that he has richly deserved to be mentioned in that manner. If the postulate is 85% rider and 15% bike, then Dungey, Carmichael, Stewart, and McGrath are all the proof you need. Stewart has proven to me that the 15% really does matter, but I think any of the legends, Dungey included, could be a legitamate threat to win even if he were on a stock bike of any color, although some colors and setups make the job easier.
It is good to see Villapoto and Dungey make it into the legend club. Really good.
I didn't mean to leave Stewart out of the club. Clearly, he is a contender!
It's a given that there's racing going on every lap of a moto. My suggestion is for the "TV people" (producers, cameramen, etc) to find it during the race.
I like to see what the guy laying down the fastest laps is doing but, there could be a full-on death match for 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th or 12th / 13th that is the best racing to be viewed at that point in the race.
I know it seems "easier said than done" to accomplish these tasks but, that's the way it is with everything in life. If I were a better Cameraman / Producer / TV package putter-togetherer than I am a tradesman, I'd do it. Maybe they need someone who knows something about moto up in the booth / box / TV van / whatever.
@Carlsbad I agree...theres alot of good racing going on ...the camera guys maybe need some more info as to what is happening and a little more familiarity with the riders...i don't know if thats possible. But then again when you see three or four guys together in a corner thats probably a pretty good indication of some action is going to take place.....
Thats the job of the producer in the "truck". They have the multitude of camera monitors on the wall, and it is his job to direct which cameras are to be "Live" as the action is on-going. He does this with the assitance of spotters, and or the announcers.
What we seem to have is a producer who "maybe" knows a little something about MX, and what to look for as the race progresses, and, we have announcers who don't seem to have any input into the televised action at hand. If the announcers could have a direct line to the producer (or some such thing) maybe the producer can televise what is the relevent racing at that time. Jason and Jeff seem to just ramble on about what they are seeing (I think that at some races they are blind to the actual action) instead of being able to lead the producer in the race truck.
It doesn't seem that difficult, but only if you have cameramen who know what they are filming, AND, a producer in the truck that can effectively direct the cameras according to the flow of the race.
Does this make sense??? I'd like to hear from Jason as he would be in the best position to confirm, deny, or expound on the task steps that are happening each week.
BigUglyManiac,
Dungey is already in the record books as a first. He is the only rider in the history of our sport that won both the SX and MX championship in their rookie year.
Kxpwr18 People go to the races to see the BEST, There not there san's RD. I like to watch it all too but would rather see RV
I think they are doing a better job now, Did not see much of RD untill the end. But on the flip side I am sure they get an ear full from KTM who put a TON of cash into RD and if the camara is not on Him there not getting the moneys worth either so its a double edge sword for the producers, Show a battle for 17th place or show the guy winning who's team is laying out Huge money??
These are all great points!
Maybe the TV folks need a "Riders meeting" of their own for the sake of the broadcast.
I can only assume it comes down to money (hiring enough competent people: spotters, moto-minded people to point out relavent happenings on-track, etc) and the disconnect between camera-producer-editor-final shot.
All that said, I appreciate what we have and am not brow-beating the people doing their jobs out there but, we've seen better and it's difficult to take a backwards step and be happy about it.
On a positive note, they are doing a great job on the starts.......
Ya, no complaining here either, but all good businesses do / should strive to excel in sending their product to the masses.
A riders meeting for the production, camera and announcer crew would be a great idea.......
Hmmmm......I wonder if NBCSP needs a COO??? I have 20 years leadership experience with Army Infantry units of varying size. I'm sure a live TV production crew would be a piece of cake. Its not life and death you know...... :-)
Dungey is a beast, look at the consistancy, even last year at the start they had all the whos who on the gate, this year he just has it easy.
Interesting to see how he goes at Lommel at MXdN on his new untested in euro KTM, against the 350 of Cairoli? Good test for KTM i reckon.
On the subject of TV coverage. I think it would be great if we could always have all four motos back to back so we don't have to go searching for them and take the risk of missing one like I did last week. Missed A-Mart's hole shot! Damn! Had to watch it via Jesse Nelson's Go Pro. But that was way cool! Two different channels and two different times seems to have gotten the best of me. And to top it off, now I sound like a whiner!
The weekend format needs an overhaul. This is PROfessional motocross. Get rid of amateur day (or move to Monday) and have nice amount of practice and qualifiers on Saturday. Sunday have a quick 15-20 min session for each class to warm up @ 9ish and start the motos at 11am or noon. I say no live coverage and give each moto an hour time slot on Sunday evening so you can cover everything that happened during the motos as well as some decent off track coverage that doesn't air DURING the damn moto I am trying to watch.