Voice Box
Jason Weigandt
Voice Box

By JASON WEIGANDT   Racer X Twitter  @JASONWEIGANDT

Jason Weigandt
Voice Box

By JASON WEIGANDT   Racer X Twitter  @JASONWEIGANDT

I

’m bordering on 20 years behind the industry curtain, which puts me on the verge of becoming that jaded, know-it-all old guy who thinks he knows better than everyone else in the room.

I don’t do that. I still believe this sport is awesome, and the more I learn about other sports and the troubles they face, the more I want to stick to our strengths. No sport is perfect, but motocross and supercross in America have enjoyed a pretty steady run for nearly 50 years, and there are many motorsports that would kill for that kind of stability and consistency.

RacerX Supercross rider coming around a corner
This is bonkers, but open-facead helmets add personality and make the sport look as hard as it actually is. Dirt bike racing is a cardiovascular test, but since you can’t see the athletes sucking wind, you can’t see it.
So I don’t like to rock the boat with radical ideas and suggestions. However, since I’m paid to think about this sport 24/7, I’ll occasionally come up with some absolutely wild ideas, none of which should or could be tried but are fun to think about. So that’s it. Think about it.

My first insane idea is to require all bikes to have a big mud flap—enduro style—on the rear fender. It’s ugly, but it’s the linchpin of several of my ideas. A fender flap? Really? That’s revolutionary? Hear me out: With a big mud flap, you cut back on roost. I know, real men eat roost for breakfast, but if there’s a little less roost, it could make riders more willing to pressure and pass each other, and it would also lessen the disadvantage of getting a bad start, especially in mud. Making a race slightly less start-dependent would be nice, right?

My next insane idea is to require shallower knobs for tires, at least in the rear. Again, go enduro-style, like the ISDE’s shorter, street-legal knob height. Six Days riders absolutely hate running these tires because they know they could go faster on regular knobs, but that shouldn’t matter as long as the rule is the same for everyone. Shorter knobs reduce traction, and traction creates speed (which increases danger) and hammers racetracks. With less traction, maybe 450cc supercross riders would be reduced to triple-tripling sections they quad now. You also reduce the slot-car ruts on national tracks. Could a rider get wheelspin and crash? Yes, that’s possible, but two-strokes had far less grip than four-strokes, and few got hurt in crashes like that.

Less tire further reduces roost, which allows for my craziest idea of all: open-faced helmets with a football-style chin bar. This is bonkers, but open-faced helmets add personality and make the sport look as hard as it actually is. Dirt bike racing is a cardiovascular test, but since you can’t see the athletes sucking wind, you can’t see it. There are major marketing advantages when an athlete’s face is seen on TV. Imagine slow-motion footage of riders gritting their teeth while battling through berms or hammering over whoops.

Speed creates danger. I don’t believe the injury rate is actually higher than ever, but the severity of the injuries has increased. I know, going back to 125cc and 250cc two-strokes would reduce speed, but the manufacturers won’t do that. So what about restrictor plates? Reduce air flow, reduce power, reduce speed, reduce danger—especially with less drive (traction) from that rear tire.

Another safety initiative? Mandatory shoulder protection. I won’t get into the neck-brace debate here—that’s too polarizing—but shoulders aren’t controversial. Some say riders need freedom of movement to ride, but if a wide receiver can go full sprint and leap with his arms outstretched to catch a ball, it’s pretty clear that you can move your arms while wearing shoulder pads.

The real argument against any of these ideas is that they each make a rider and his machine slower and less cool. No one is going to voluntarily bolt on a dorky rear fender flap, a tire that provides less traction, a restrictor plate that reduces power, or shoulder pads that add bulk. But if the rules are the same for everyone, we all share in the sacrifice—all in the name of reducing big injuries and adding personality to the sport. Is that really that bad? Think about it.