UPDATED! 11/23/13 2014 Rule and Class Structure changes

[Ted Phillips]

Ahhhh....okay...gotcha.

Well don't quote me yet, Walter may have what you suggested in mind

[Christopher Corder]

If it were a dream world the grids would be filled with tiny minis built by hand with loving care, the 125 GP glass would be 25 strong with nothing but smokers, and the air each race weekend would be tinged with blue smoke and the scent of Castrol 747.

However, due to economics and something called progress, we are instead discussing how much lipstick you gotta put on the ugliest girls at the dance to make them worth riding.

I am Christopher's sad face.

[John Black]

^ true story

[Walter Walker]

I understood it to mean the goal is to prevent teams from starting from behind the pit wall or elsewhere. Even if the start/finish at MSR is way off yonder, all teams still start their warm-up lap from hot pit. This rule just requires everyone's bike to be present in hot pit 10 minutes before the start.

I think we're a few years off from full on MotoGP style grid starts with umbrella girls, starting carts, and velvet ropes keeping reporters at bay, but I hope I'm wrong.

Correct, at MSR, ECR, and MSRH we will likely use a false grid (actual marked grid) on pit road. We'll also be adjusting the 5 min board procedure a bit. Instead of opening the track at the 5 board and closing at the 3 board we'll open at the 3 board. Since all machines will already be staged on the grid or false grid no one should miss their warm up lap and the first rider to the grid will not have to wait 3 to 5 mins while other riders trickle in. Also all starting riders will have seen their starting position so gridding for the actual start should be quicker.

[Heinz Roy]

Thanks Walter for the explanation. And Ted too.

[Ted Phillips]

*runs off to price shop velvet ropes

[Walter Walker]

*runs off to price shop velvet ropes

LOL!!

[Heinz Roy]

*runs off to price shop velvet ropes

http://www.crowdcontrolwarehouse.com

Yes, it is a real web store.

[John Redford]

375lbs vs 425lbs
39hp vs 54hp

Not even 'roughly' the same by any reasonable standard.

As far as putting the 250 on the same grid as the NSR/NSF/KLX/XR F7 bikes, I bet if those bikes showed up in nearly the numbers the 250s did they'd be on a grid by themselves. Last round at TWS I counted 25 bikes on the ESS/F4 grid. The reality is that these are not profitable races for the CMRA. No one turns up to race them. They've been given chance after chance and the base is just not there. This is not gonna make me popular among true mini guys but maybe that's why the TMGP is around? The only flaw in my logic is the fact that the 250s show up to the grid by the dozens and we are still going to have to battle with the 500s. Again, I applaud the embracing of the new bikes, just don't agree with some of the proposed class groupings.

Brian - kindly direct me to all the 250's that have 39 horsepower ... I'll take a dozen.

[Michael De Simone]

Brian - kindly direct me to all the 250's that have 39 horsepower ... I'll take a dozen.

I think he means the 300s have 39hp.