Archive for June, 2011
No one better to ask then a motocross dad. I spoke to a number of motocross dad’s and a mom this past weekend and asked them why they let their children race motocross versus another form of motorsport.
The most common answer was, “because that’s what I did when I was his age.” If a motocross dad’s first exposure to speed as a child was on an ATV, ATC, or a dirt bike, its likely that their child will start there too. Only the motocross mom spoke of a move to something with 4 wheels and a cage to protect her son. “I don’t like the danger involved,” she said.
Injuries will eventually come if your child races motocross for a full season or more. Sprained ankles and wrists, and the high potential for broken appendages all come with motocross. Kids motocross gear has improved quite a bit. Kids are safer on a motocross bike now than ever. Way safer then you were 25 years ago riding a dirt bike without a helmet, and no shirt.
Some of the best feedback I got about the positives of racing motocross at a young age is that they can practice everyday. A rider can go out in the vacant lot down the street, or at any OHV park. Other types of motorsports require a course. Go-karts need an asphalt, smooth surface or a dirt circle track. The more practice, the more comfort at the track.
Families can also participate together. Anyone can ride a quad. The whole family can ride together. If thats not an overwhelming plus, I don’t know what is.
The ten minute barrier was broken at the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb. Nobuhiro Tajima in his unlimited class Suzuki SX4 made it to the top of the hill in 9:51.278. Tajima actually broke his own record set last year. No one else beside Tajima has raced to the clouds in less then 10 minutes. Rhys Millen looked fast in practice but had to settle for second at 10:09.242.
Rod Millen, Rhys’ father also reset the record in the 2WD time attack class.
Carlin Dunne broke the record in the 1205 motorcycle class with a time of 11:11.329.
Although there was snow fall at the summit 4 days before the rally, no snow fell on race day. The off road helmets got a work out at the Pike’s Peak mountain course. Although this year was the last time that an off road section will will exist, we will always have the pictures to remember the slideways corners and big rooster tails.
So you want your child to race. What do you do now? Searching for the right entry point for your son or daughter can be difficult at times. Looking at the best safety, cost, and experience for your young racer can be difficult.
Lucky for you there are plenty of options for your child to choose from. Go-karts, outlaw karts, trophy karts, and dirt bikes are some of the easiest and most cost effective ways to get involved. Over the course of the next 2 weeks of blog posts we will examine the the choices and the factors you should consider in each form of motorsport.
Kids motocross gear, starting age, mechanical inclination of the parent, and what your ultimate goal is for your child will be examined by our team of writers. Motocrosser, Joeyspeed, and The Future (who can’t spell his own name) will each contribute information during the next few weeks. Please enjoy the opinions of our “experts.”
The 2011 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb is scheduled for June 26 2011. Racers from all over the world will attempt to break the 10 minute barrier which has never been broken.
Rhys Millen will have his Hyundai prototype in the field as well as “Monster” Tajima in his Suzuki SX4 that sports 1000 horsepower. Both racers will run the unlimited class in search of the record.
Many 2 wheel classes will also make the run up the hill. Off road racers will strap on their motocross gloves for competition in 250, 450, 750 and 1200cc race classes.
Pike’s Peak is the second oldest motorsports event in the United States. Something every race fan should visit at least once.
Robby Gordon goes into Infineon Raceway as a favorite to win the Save Mart 350 Sprint Cup race at Sonoma. Gordon finished a strong 2nd last year behind Jimmie Johnson. Gordon has struggled on the mile and mile and a half tracks this season in Sprint Cup.
Gordon and the Speed Energy Team will field 2 cars this weekend. PJ Jones will try to qualify the 77 car on speed. Robby’s best shot to win as a car owner is at Infineon. Gordon is a part time racer who also runs various off road races including Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally. No off road gloves for Robby this weekend. It is all focus and Speed at Robby Gordon Motorsports.
While the Sprint Cup drivers are in Northern California on a road course, the Nationwide cars will be in Wisconsin at the Elkhart Lake track called Road America. With both series at road courses a 1000 miles away from each other, only a one driver will try and run both events. Carl Edwards. Edwards won the first event at Road America last year.
Road course specialists in the field include Jacques Villeneuve, Ron Fellows, and Max Papis. Will a Hired Gun have a shot at the win with only 1 Sprint Cup driver in the field?
Road America is over 4 miles long and is narrow in many sections. Perfect for hard door banging racing.
Ricky Carmichael past Motocross Champion will also run at Road America for his first shot at a road course in a stock car. Carmichael will drive the number 30 Monster Energy Chevy. Monster Energy is a long time supporter of Carmichael and has been present on his motocross gear of past and his race suits.
The Sprint Cup Series makes it’s annual visit to Northern California this coming weekend. Infineon Raceway is one of only two road courses on the 2011 schedule. The Infineon event is one of the most exciting races all year long.
Many of the Sprint Cup drivers have to use experience they gained from racing go karts as children in this event. Other drivers in the event are “hired guns.” Road course specialist hired to win. The Hired Guns this year include Boris Said, Andy Pilgrim, and Brian Simo. Still other drivers like Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, AJ Allmendinger, and Robby Gordon began their careers in road racing and will have a rare advantage over the Sprint Cup regulars.
NASCAR road racing is much different then most American road racing series. It is full contact all the time. Look for updates on the weekend’s event on the Probikehelmets.com Facebook page. Stories of motocross gear will take a back seat to the road course events this week. Did we mention the Infineon Raceway Girls will be on site?
The IRL tried something this weekend that had not been done in 30 years. 2 races, 1 night. The IRL racers ran 2 275 kilometer events back to back. Each race had it’s own individual winner who received prize money and points. There was no “overall,” winner. In the second race the drivers drew their starting positions at random. Some of the top drivers (Dario) had to start in the back, and some (Will Power) started up front. Not exactly fair.
Does this sound familiar? Outdoor motocross. Moto 1 and Moto 2 have always been the way to crown the overall winner at a motocross event. The riders and their motocross gloves are always involved in shorter events, but have to run twice. Basic idea that might work for 4 wheel racing also. IRL and NASCAR both continue to look for ways to make their racing more exciting. Look to see more of these Multiple race formats in IRL in the near future.
Sunday’s Canadian GP was one of the best races of the season. But we’ve been saying that a lot lately. Alonso taken out, Schumacher almost gets a podium, Vettel makes a rare mistake, and Jenson Button 21st to 1st. All of these were Sunday story lines. Why is this season so much better than seasons past?
DRS-Drag Reduction System
KERS-Kinetic Energy Recovery System
No Refueling
Tires that degrade quickly.
All 4 of these have made for some great racing this season. F1 management has made some decisions that have benefited the competition level of the series. Although Vettel is running away from the field in points, the races have been extremely exciting.
We will always take a time out from talking about motocross gloves for a post or 2 so we can share the information on the best races in the world.
Chad Reed and the rest of the AMA motocross teams do battle this weekend at High Point Raceway in Pennsylvania. Chad Reed is looking for his third consecutive race win in three tries. The motocross veteran is coming off a solid finish in the AMA Supercross season with his new team Two Two Motorsports.
Reed can leave PA with a comfortable points lead with another win. Look for the dirt bike gear of all the pro riders on Speed Channel this weekend. Who’s gonna win in PA?