Our sport has been my obsession since I first saw a dirt bike in 1973. My greatest friendships in life are with people I have met racing motocross. Although racing families come from very diverse backgrounds, they are usually very accepting of anyone who shares their love of racing. That is why I was greatly saddened at this year’s Southwick National when Marvin Musquin was booed on the podium after his heroic win and Dylan Ferrandis was flipped off lap after lap. It’s hard to accept that such xenophobic behavior was coming from anyone involved with our sport. Unfortunately, we are not immune. This is the type of publicly accepted prejudice that has poisoned our country and leads to the tragedies we read about every day in the news. Shame on us.
Paul E. Lerandeau // Racer X Online
I have an idea to defeat mud on goggle lenses. We have all seen the best current technology defeated, and tear-offs just make a mess—and have been outlawed in Australia. You get a battery and a small water pump mounted on the helmet to spray the goggles with water jets. Figure out where to mount the bladder and switch later. It is a $200 R&D project, and I have the rest of the plans in my head. I mentioned the idea to Bevo Forti at Washougal, and he told me that it wouldn’t work. He didn’t think a monoshock would work either. I emailed 100% with the idea but no response. When I announce the local races and a competitor tosses his goggles I say, “It’s okay, ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy has a spare set of eyes at home in the fridge.” Seriously, this idea could be a good moneymaker.
Brien Smith // Campbell River, BC Canada
Any takers for Brien’s idea? Let us know: letters@racerxonline.com.
A lot of riders go to Canada to race the Canadian Rockstar Energy Triple Crown, and some Canadian riders make appearances during scattered rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series. Do you think it would be possible to combine the two championships during one big event, same as the East-West Showdown in supercross, to see the best riders of both countries battling against each other?
Catherine Plouffe // Joliette, Quebec, Canada
Thanks for the note, Catherine. It’s a neat idea, but I don’t think the two series line up well enough to have a combined event on either side of our shared border. If Monster Energy Supercross can’t make it work in Toronto, I’m not sure we can make it work at Walton—though it would almost certainly be a fun project! DC
Could a parallel be drawn to the struggles in both golf and amateur motocross regarding declining participation from perhaps the peaks in the late nineties and early 2000s? Could macroeco nomic and demographic shifts in our society (as well as changing recreational preferences among younger people) make existing business models in both sports unsustainable as soon as the next decade? If so, can anything be done to prevent further decline, or is it inevitable given the changes that are coming?
Bryan Cehelsky // Bridgeville, PA
Bryan: Those are some heavy thoughts. Today’s youth are definitely changing how they spend their free time because they have so many more options at their fingertips. Hopefully we will grow out of it and learn to get back outside and play, whether it’s with golf clubs or dirt bikes. DC