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Travis Baker takes you for a lap around the new Lake Elsinore track with his GoPro camera.
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I predict a follow my leader track! Soft damp mulch will create a one lined track no matter how wide it is. Plus they are all sweeping left or right corners that will be one fast line on the inside. Meh.. I ready for sx already.
Since they have been tampering with the soil almost every track is one lined and hard to pass on. Now you add in the same track design over and over and the only thing different between outdoors and stadium is the track length. When a hole shot becomes vital in 30 + 2 that tells a story. I hope this track races better then it looks or it could be a disaster.
Yea I'm no expert, but i think this track is too flat and man-made, but unless i can do better, i should probably keep my face-hole closed. Looking forward to crowning a new champ today.
I'm sick of all these comments about how this track is going to suck. Compared to Pala, this is a superb venue. I can assure all of you that the racing is going to be amazing this weekend. Quit your pessimism and cynical views of absolutely everything that has to do with Lake Elsinore. Some support for these guys that have been slaving away at making it the best they possibly could would probably be much appreciated.
Bring back Glen Helen. Bring back Glen Helen!!!!!!!!!
That track blows pala and LE out of the water.
watching this video I am even more convinced this is going to be the best racing of the year...Awesome track...
Pretty boring and a bit tame. I agree, bring back glen helen.
I agree w/some of the other posters. Compared to most of the rest of the circuit, this looks like the most boring/tame/flat/man-made track. And yeah, Glen Helen is awesome. But, I also have to add, I think these people have made the best track they can with what they've got to work with. Hope it's great racing today regardless.
Hard work or not that place looks like a freeway. You gotta know when you're trying to polish a turd. At least the finish line resembled a jump! Lock it down BAD BLAKE!!
This is the weekend to put the big piston in those 250s along with 9 teeth difference on rear sprocket LOL.
To me GoPro footage and even TV makes things look a lot flatter then they are. It's who lines up to the gate that makes for great racing. I agree some tracks are better then others. Sometimes when they build tracks with to many jumps, rhythm sections, ect. it tends to be one-lined and no room for hanging it out and changing up lines. That seems to be SX problem, Racers start racing the track more then each other.
track looks one lined now but it will change during practice and you will see alot of different lines open up. we are gonna see some epic racing ! it looks like a very fast track with some creative elevation changes . it should make for good fun for racers and fans ! a little different ? yes ! but lets give lake elsinore a chance ! they have gone out and made a motocross track for all of us to enjoy and it seems that most are bashing it before we even see how it plays out. i believe the riders are going to give high marks about the track. and this is a track that any joe dick or harry can practice on during the year. i for one am planning a trip to ride it . and then i will make my decision on which is a better national track , glen helen or elsinore. im just grateful to have them to practice on !
I have seen better field tracks dc must need money
KTMike and srp40 i can tell you guys havnt rode this track. It is just as flat or flatter as it looks.
there is a reason glen helen is not being used and it is not because of the track it is politics I do not think man made tracks should be on pro tour
Ping said it best on Racerhead
" The track itself is buried in a deep layer of mulch, and it rutted up quickly. The layout seems really cool but there is some concern that the surface will form a one-lined track, making passing difficult—the mulch mixed with well-watered soil makes a pretty sloppy mixture, so getting off the racing line is a gamble."
So, a former pro predicts a one lined, rutted track.
I hope he is wrong but I'm inclined to agree with him.
thats a national track wtf???? crap
Looks like freeway. Fast, sweeping turns and it looks really smooth. Crashes could be really dangerous since speeds will be so high. I agree with assessment that the start will be a big factor because everyone will be able to run wide open. Track doesn't look physically demanding, either.
@green-59 you are correct i have not ridden this track as only only a handful of pros have . it being a new track and all, but the go pro doesn't do it any justice either. and i believe it is deceiving as to the elevation changes. i have raced glen helen and i agree it is a better natural terrain track. but the fact is they are at lake elsinore and they have given us a track that should make for a great race ! so lets all sit back and enjoy !!
Alessi looks on in practice !
I give props to anybody that builds and opens a mx or sx track to the public for practice and racing. The more tracks out there for us the better. If someone gets a national, like Elsinore did this year good for them, hope it works out. I'll be watching reguardless. Hey it could be worse, my close local track is clay based and is usually rock hard when it prepped it nice for a little while then rock hard again, as it gets later in th day moisture comes out and its like a skating ring but the place offers a supercross track a motocross track and an indoor arena cross style track so I love it.
track is just to high speed its a drag race not mx
This is for ALL the critics to think about.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
The track looks great , i love moto over sx any day. i wish the season was not over .
I wonder what is going to happen to Baker next year.
@Elpolacomx - I have no doubt that there has been a tremendous amount of hard work and long hours invested in this race, from the track to concessions to spectator comforts. Marc Peters is an excellent track builder. I am confident that everyone involved is trying to make this a great event.
But the only guarantee from hard work is that you are tired.
And this is not a critique of those working to put on an excellent event.
But the track surface is the track surface because of the soil. Marc Peters and the promoter and staff can only do so much with sand, mulch, and water.
I haven't been to Elsinore and I'm not a former pro, so my opinon doesn't mean much. That's why I quoted David Pingree, former pro and someone very familiar with SoCal MX.
I hope the track does not become one lined because I want to see a great 250 finale. I don't want to watch a parade.
But remember, you can't defy physics or mother nature.
How about all us bench racers shut up and wait for the race to start? Until you guys are consultants for building tracks you kind of have a worthless opinion. Climb off your cyber soap-box and wait for the damn racing.
Its definitely different from most nationals with the exception of maybe Freestone. I hope it comes to be a great facility that provides great racing. My major gripe is how poorly the track is naturally defined but I guess that is just something that goes hand in hand with a southern California track. I like the fences they've got going.
This track blows big time, Cant anyone build a good track these days ?? I have seen better private practice tracks !!
Its going to be follow the leader one lined crap again.....................
Not very exciting and visually put me to sleep. There must be politics/money involved for this track to replace Glen Helen.
It's an awesome local track and they did a great job making Elsinore better.
But it's not a national caliber track. Nice try, but please bring Glen Helen back.
This would be another vote for Glen Helen. Looks like a beautifully prepared vet/novice track to me. This being said, I bet the best riders in the world could make a walmart parking lot into an exciting race, so I am good with it.
You guys are all pathetic.
well all the jokers on here saying it was going to be one lined track were wrong .
That's right, the track was anything but one lined. There were opportunities to pass in most corners visible from the grandstands. (maybe a little less than half the track was visible from the stands)
And they charged an extra $5.00 for grandstand seating, which was a bargain.
And they had a big swamp cooler behind me at the top of the stands, and I never get those at the Glen.
The parking ingress was great, big easy going mellow crowd, musta been a hundred but few died. There were plenty of porta cans, no lines and handwashing! Lots of vendors and food and cool drinks (I think I saw $10.00 lite beers, no thanks) They would bring cold drinks and pizza to sell in the grandstands which was convenient. The must have added 100 tons of mulch to the soil but they overwater. That is why the speeds went up towards the ending of the races, the track was drying out and becoming more like a SoCal track.
Now, this is not a track anyone or everyone should even attempt to ride on. This track had some of the biggest and scariest jumps on the circuit! you would have a heart attack seconds before your body even came up short on some of the jumps. the Go Pro and the tv feed do not do justice to the elevation changes and the builders did a really good job with their canvas.
I'll stick to the Vet track next to the big boys track. I'll be the guy in the shade, breathing heavy.
good job LEMX
great year racers!
And as far as NBC goes," there was great passing and scary passing, and NBC managed to miss all of it".
NBC has been the low point of the season. Boos to you guys.