Crossed Up

CROSSED UP

FERNANDO BELAIR

Motocross race promotion can be a lucrative business. It can also be very risky financially. I am referring not to the promoters of the great races (Inter-Am, Trans-AMA, Superbowls or F.I.M.sanctioned G.P.s) but to the regular Saturday or Sunday group of people who put on the racing program at the local track.

While there are some promoters who have been accused of being rip-off artists, for the most part these people are trying to earn an honest living, coordinating the efforts required to bring off a weekend of competition successfully. Not only do they have to contend with track preparations, trophy purchasing, insurance policies, and lawsuits by parents looking for someome to blame when Jr. dum-dums his way over the handlebars, but also with conflicting schedules, threatening weather or, as is sometimes the case, a small turnout. It is for these, and many other reasons, that the following problems exist.

CHERRY PICKERS

It wasn’t long ago that Walt Fulton and I went out to a local Sunday motocross to race on a couple of test bikes. Since the machines we had possessed identical displacements, and since Walt’s and my abilities are closely matched, we found ourselves signed up to ride in the same Intermediate class. To facilitate things, the promoters decided to run the Experts (of which there were three), the Intermediates (seven of us) and ten amateurs all in the same race. Then, 20 seconds after we took off, a group of 15 Beginners was to follow.

Our moto got off well and we settled down to business, running about 5th and 6th overall (2nd and 3rd in our class), which wasn’t too bad considering the fact that we had stock machinery.

About halfway through the moto, this guy came flying past us like an F-104 past the Goodyear Blimp. We both immediately recognized him because we had been eyeing his immaculately prepared machine behind us on the starting line. It was quite a piece of iron, for a Beginner. A Beginner! And he was the first of four that were to banzai by before the end of the moto. The fact that we were beaten by Beginners didn’t upset our standings at all, since we scored in our own class and finished just about where we started.

I, unfortunately, suffered a flat tire during the second lap of moto two, so I pulled off the track and spectated. It was then that I realized what the problem was.

The Expert riders were off in a flash, battling amongst themselves for the single trophy at hand. Behind them was a mixture of Intermediates and Amateurs, with the Intermediates leading— mostly. Then came the Beginners, or so they called themselves. More than half of them were true Beginners. No powerslides, no frantic bermshots, no distance to their jumps. Some wore blue jeans and hiking boots. But about four of them took off like rockets. Cherry pickers! Decked out like Heikki Mikkola in their expensive racing gear, they blasted around the course on their $2000 machines as though they knew exactly what they were doing. Of course, they did. The fact that these four lowered the overall finish of several riders is by no means the problem. As I mentioned, the classes were scored independently. First Intermediate finished 8th overall. But what incensed me was their effect on the rest of the Beginners.

The Beginner class is relatively new to racing. It is designed to give a chance to those riders who would like to try motocross on for size, to see if they are going to enjoy it as much as they hope they will. The ranks of this class are stocked full of stripped-down Enduro machines, ratty, outdated MX bikes and somewhat insecure pilots. Hopefully, with a little practice and first-person exposure to racing, they will come to love it as much as many of us do. These new racers will, in turn, purchase updated machinery, more protective riding gear, more accessory hop-up items and generally contribute to the people who have helped—through R&D, contingency programs and sponsorships—to make motocross what it is today: America’s fastest growing motor sport.

Out of the thousands of beginning class riders, who knows how many of them will eventually become the Jim Pomeroys, Brad Lackeys and Marty Smiths of the future? Possibly quite a few. IF they aren’t immediately discouraged by the actions of a few cheaters.

What do you suppose goes through the mind of a Beginner who is just becoming interested in motocross, goes out to a race, rides his butt off to the limit of his simple abilities, and gets the tar stomped out of himself by a group of riders falsely (unbeknownst to him) claiming to be his peers? And if he does suspect that the riders in his race were not being honest about their classification, what future can he hope for in a sport where such blatant cheating goes unchallenged and subsequently unpunished? A very bleak future indeed. It is no wonder that many of these riders return to being just plain trail riders, when, had they been given fair exposure to motocross and an honest chance to test their own riding prowess, they could easily have found it tastefully competitive and a worthwhile endeavor.

Everyone knows that cherry pickers exist. Some of us might be able to name a dozen or so right off the tops of our heads. But what is being done about them? For what I can see, little, if anything. This is where the promoters have failed.

Turnout at a race can vary from 20 to 200. Taking an arbitrary show of 60 riders, you can count on at least 10 percent to misclassify themselves. And it isn’t always as obvious as the Experts in the Beginner class situation that we encountered. Amateurs riding Beginners, Intermediates riding Amateur, you name it and someone’ll try it.

It is unfortunate that so many weekend promoters just barely get by. Because of this, they need all the entries that they can get. Cherry pickers and all. If one promoter clamps down, the C.P.s will go elsewhere to stockpile ammo for their faltering egos.

But what would happen if all of the promoters clamped down? Where would the cheaters go? They’d either have to turn honest and earn their wins the hard way, or else quit racing. If they quit, promoters might feel a temporary decline in income, which would probably reimburse itself many times over as the first-time racers’ discouragement rate declined and they stayed on to become regular participants.

The AMA has control of more than 100,000 competitors, and it keeps them pretty well classified. But only a mere handful of promoters require AMA cards of their competitors. I would like to see the promoters of a given area organize and not only disqualify cherry pickers when they cheat, but also set up a uniform classification/class-transfer system. Riders would be issued a number that would remain with them throughout their racing careers, race results would be sent to a non-profit group of people who would keep tabs on the progress of riders. I am aware that the organization and maintenance of such a system is not an inexpensive matter, and that it would have to be passed on to the riders either through mildly increased entry fees or through a slightly stiffer fee when the number is issued. I prefer the former since it would be less of a discouragement to first-time riders. I am also aware that racing costs today are skyrocketing and that many riders find it difficult to keep their machines competitive, let alone foot an additional cost, though small. But I feel that it must be done. Not only for the good of those being discouraged by cheaters, but for your own personal good and for the good of the sport of motocross as well.