Ask Ping

Premix,

Common sense tells you that letting 250’s race against 250’s would be an easy decision. But common sense waved bye-bye when the politically correct crowd pushed their way in and decided that nobody should ever get their feelings hurt ever again and turned this country into a crowd of hypersensitive whiners. I’d love to rant about the angry letters this column generates from some of those sweethearts but I realize many of you are reading this at work on a Friday and you can’t spend the entire day listening to my frustrations. Anyhoo, the rules have changed a million times regarding which amateur classes you can race a 250 two-stroke in and which ones you cannot. The Canadian Nationals allowed 250 two-strokes to race their 250 class but after Kaven Benoit won two titles on his KTM they added some rules to “even things out.” Now you have to run a stock cylinder/head and, get this… you have to be CANADIAN! Talk about government overreach.

Here in the States the issue comes down to politics. The manufacturers that don’t make two-strokes have made it clear that they would throw a temper tantrum and walk away from professional racing altogether if two-strokes were allowed back in the game. Wait, wasn’t one of the selling points for four-strokes that they would make privateers more competitive against factory equipment? That could be true in the 450 class now but in the 250 division that logic backfired, big-time. Now here we are, asking for 250 two-strokes to be allowed back in the game for the sake of privateers and cost effective racing, and it falls on deaf ears. I believe that cost will bring two-strokes back in the future but who knows how long it will take. Hopefully before the grass roots of our sport wither up and die completely.

PING

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Great and Almighty Ping,

Okay... I really can't suck up... I'm just too old to do that. Straight to the question: Can't we just enjoy the race? We ponder lap times, how many times a specific rider has a good start, and now we have data to prove someone was 1 MPH faster than his competitor in a difficult section. I realize that the difference between getting by on what you earn in the sport and being a millionaire revolves around the above, but I feel we are losing the human part of the sport. Even Bob Hannah thought at one time Rick Johnson was some sort of android. It seems like most top riders have been assimilated at this point. There is even a video of an android riding an R1 nearly as fast as Vale Rossi. Would it be too much to ask to have announcers stop pontificating about overly detailed data and just get back to men and their two wheeled stallions? (Look up the definition of "stallion" for more insight). Just seems like one more step on the slippery slope towards the singularity.

Thanks for your consideration,
Analog Kid=

Analog,

We’ve definitely gone detail-crazy lately. GPS line tracking, speedometers and video overlay are all cool features but they have changed the complexion of the sport. Cut down to the very basics, motocross is man and machine against the course and his competitors; it’s beautiful in its simplicity. As technology advances and the sport grows, these things are bound to change. I’ve always said that we need to be careful what we wish for because the more similar we become to NASCAR or MotoGP the more of our soul we lose. I suppose you have to be of a certain age to appreciate that but there is truth in it. Even with digital mapping, traction control and all the things that are on the horizon, motocross will maintain its unique persona because of the ever-changing tracks conditions we deal with. If the details bother you just turn down the volume and enjoy the racing; it’s still the same sport you’ve always loved.

PING

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Sir Ping,

Multiple outlets are reporting that Roczen is leaving RCH Suzuki after this year and heading to Factory Honda. We all know the drama that went down with Ken, his dad and RCH last summer. My question is: Does it really come down to money with the top guys like Roczen? He struggled in SX this year but in outdoors he keeps saying that he's finally got the bike dialed in and is feeling good, and his results through four rounds obviously show that. If bike set up is SO hard to figure out it seems weird to throw it away and start over completely with a different brand for a few more bucks? Would a guy want to have a chance to win more championships on a bike they've figured out or make a few more clams and "chase bike setup" for a whole season and waste a year while he's in his prime??

On a side note: Can you pass along the word to the track builders that us fans would like to see a 300 foot uphill triple before the end of the summer? These 150 foot jumps are so 2014.

Xoxo,
Ryno-SW Missouri