Mark,

While it is much less publicized than the plight of the privateer racer, the LCQ Monster Girls are doing it for the love of the game and hoping to one day hold a "Main Event" sign. While Dianna jets from one metropolitan area to another in first class seating the heat race girls are stuck in row 38 right in front of the crappers. The seats don't recline and the smell of farts and hand sanitizer wafting from the stalls is overwhelming. The girls who are assigned to operate the tee shirt cannon and push the Feld merchandise actually stow away with the luggage and often times arrive with acute cases of frostbite from the lack of climate control in the baggage compartment. Meanwhile, the poor LCQ girl is on her own to get from one place to another. She hitchhikes, rides trains and steals cars, according to a reliable source who once gave her a lift to a race. So give a little cheer the next time the LCQ girl comes out… she's earning her time in the spotlight.

P.S. I've been rented for NYC and I'll take you up on that corn dog and soda.

PING

 

Ping,

I have noticed in the last few years that aggressive and physical racing has gone into a bit of a lull. I love racing, and always will, but a wire to wire win almost unchallenged can become tiresome to watch. What I would give to see a twenty lap fight consistently every week!

But there have been a few instances of fireworks this season that I loved seeing! Dungey running it in on Villopoto, Barcia and Roczen's rivalry, Josh Hill ramming Villopoto at St. Louis, and Weston Peick battling Barcia and Dungey in an intense heat race battle. I get excited to see these guys really battle for position, rather than get passed without a fight. But some of the riders, notably those in the championship hunt, seem to resent getting pushed by another rider and try to avoid it the best they can.

Here's my question. Is the aggressive and physical racing of the 80's and 90's a sleeping giant, waiting for the right combination of competitors? Or, do fans like myself need to accept that the sport of motocross has moved on and not going back?

Thanks!

Seth

Seth,

You aren't the only one who loves that kind of fight. I think there are a number of things contributing to the 'taming down' of the action on the track. First, the bikes are too fast and heavy to be really aggressive with them for twenty laps. You have to ride a 450 much differently than a 250 two-stroke and the new bikes cover up mistakes, leaving fewer places to make passes. Also, the series has grown longer making attrition a much bigger factor. You can't win the title while you're on crutches and the top guys calculate their risks knowing they have a long road to Las Vegas. Patience and a smooth style wins races and ultimately championships and all the top riders know that. Even Stewart has smoothed things out! Also, the tracks are much more technical than they were back in the 80s and early 90s. Riders didn't have to be so intently focused on the obstacles in that era so they could be more aggressive making passes. I don't know if there is any way to adjust for these things, aside from taming the tracks down. For now we'll just have to hope for a good fight at one of these last races.

PING

 

Ping,

I may not have went to college, but Jeffro and Ralph's math seems off to me. There have been several "quads" this year, much like the one James did a couple weeks back in Toronto, that were single-single-table top... Since when was a table top two jumps? My friends and I were seated directly in the middle of that lane and in practice we called out that rhythm and bet on whether or not it would be called a "quad" on the TV broadcast. I can assure you he jumped from one pile of dirt, over a second, onto a third. That's three in my book. What are your thoughts?

Confused in ohio,

Aaron