Timed Mains

Now that we're halfway through the series and have had some time to experience the new timed main event format, let's look at how the format compares to last year at this point in the season. Below you'll see a chart that indicates how many laps the riders have put on the tracks so far this season. This combines the heats, semis, LCQs, and main events for both the 250 and 450 classes. 

So far we've seen 98 more laps compared to last year. Considering that last year they only turned 77 laps throughout the course of the night show, this is a lot. It's like the riders have raced an extra round! I do think it's important to note that the amount of laps turned on a track is probably more important to the riders than the fans because it affects how much the track breaks down. This has been a hot topic as of late as several riders have voiced their opinions on the tracks breaking down.

Ryan Dungey noted the amount of laps they are putting on the tracks after Atlanta. "Eighteen laps the 250s do. We’re doing 24 I think. It’s just a lot. If you take 20 more riders and every lap is times 20, that’s 20 more passes. So like last week there was 26 laps, that’s 120 more passes, just us. They had 19 laps, the 250s, that’s another hundred passes. So the tracks are breaking down a lot. I feel like we need more time to do a little more fixing. We were going through the whoops and we were skimming them all day and then we’re jumping them at the end. There’s not enough time to do any work. The tracks, it’s nasty. It really is, but it’s racing." 

The time the riders are out on the track is what is important to the fans and while the racing hasn't been the closest, especially in the 450 class, we have gotten to see all of the riders on the track a lot more this year.