AM to EX upgrades

[smoke]

 I can't say  if a new system should be put in place for new peeps like me cause i am still learning the sport.

Defan
there is a big dif in speed of the ams but some am are reckless.  I had a guy cut me off going into 5 a ffew times. but it all good. You passed( laped) me in going into the checkered flag.  I was not last by no means.

Wearing a shirt I know I am a target.  But I have gotten faster every time I hit the track.  But in race 8 turn 1 got me. I had another one of u no shirted riders in my sites to pass.  

Donny, hector, ned and u defan should have been bumped up by now. oh and # 125 I don't know his name.

[r6_philly]

You were there? I didnt know, should have came by and said hi. 125 is Ryan Patterson, another one of us Team Pro-Motion racers. He used to race motocross, and is getting more aggressive and faster by the race.

All of the names that you mentioned would have been bumped or moved by now if a new system was in place. Heck, if there was no more reward to be an AM this  year, I would have bumped to EX in the spring. Thats what I mean, I sandbagged because there was a damn good reason for me to. And no one made me move up. I did it because it was the best option and everyone comfirmed it.

So the system has to change, or the newbie is going to show up on the first weekend and get blitzed by a few guys going 3 seconds slower than top 5 expert times. And they may crash, may get hurt, may get discouraged and may not come back again. And the same 5-6 people from last year are taking all the purses, contigency and wood. Again not fair for the new guy. And the new guy is not going to know, or couldn't register way ahead in Feb. and end up starting from behind, finish in the lower order, and get discouraged...

Something needs to change, for the fast guys, for teh slower guys, for the new guys, for the safety of the guys out there, and for the growth of the sport.

[Bernie]

Amatuer championships are like kissing your sister.  Racers should aspire to better themselves and move to the next level, to higher competition.  Wanting to stick around and win an AM championship still does not make any sense to me.  The only thing I cared about my first season was scoring enough points to turn expert.  

Who really benefits from blazing fast amatuers riding around the track at a pace that would put them comfortably in the expert pack?  I don't think fast or slow amatuers benefit there.

The prize or goal given to a fast amatuer rider is trying to stay amatuer for an extra year to win a championship, when they really should ride as experts.  Again, who benefits here?

And yes, I am slow and never would have had a chance to win an amatuer championship. :P

[GAMEDIC]

I have a view on this as i am kinda in this situation i am getting close to winning my class championship as an AM however i'm by no means fast and at most tracks my lap times would not even be mid pack expert more like getting lapped on the 2nd lap ..lol with the exception of one track.. so i will not mind staying down one more year to work on my riding .. the only reason i am about to win is because i have ran a full season and sometimes there are only 3 or 4 people on my grid at some races so then i get alot of points even if i finish last so if you look at some of my races and where i finish you might think i was "fast" but however if you look at my lap times it may not be so..hell at some tracks you might even laugh ;D so if i were to be made move up next year i think it would be bad for me and some of the people i race with by getting in their way ...just my 2 cents :-)

[Steviebee]

I plan on staying AM next year!!

Yes i got enough points for a move to expert.  (that cause i went to 4 race weekends, with 1 being a double points and 1 being a twin sprint and CCS point system is the way it is.)

Am i fast enough to be expert,  yes and no  (at the two tracks i've raced at sometimes i can do top AM lap times,  sometimes im a few seconds off)  

Im still new (not raw out of the box like i was the first weekend) and got a lot more to learn.

[r6_philly]

see, it is precisely my point. It shouldn't be up to individual racers to classify themselves, the race org should put each racer in their rightful place. Once a rule is set, enforce it. Do not allow people to decide where they want to be. How about if I go tell CCS I would like to run slicks in SS because I would less likely to loose traction?

What is the point of the AM class? Is is a developmental stage or a lower level of competition? 3 tier seem to make sense, you have a faster level and a slower level, then a beginer level. A place to learn and grow shouldn't be a place for people to hang around because it is easier competition. The AM class shouldn't be designed to allow some people to be competitive because they are slower than the top experts.

We should have Expert A, Expert B and novice/amateur. Or Pro, Expert, and Amatuer. But Amatuer should be for true newbies with less classes and only points to upgrade to Expert B(the middle tier). Once you reach points to move up, it is absolute.

Maybe once you reach 500 points as an AM you automatically move to Expert B, whenver it may be (during the season too). And you get to carry all your points toward that championship. So people will have to get so much experience before eligible for prices and such. But still have a shot at a championship. And once you have so many points, you have the option to move to EXPERT A, but not required. So the multi-year AM's now can stay in lower competition, without lower rewards.

[MightyDuc Racing]

I will probably move to expert early at the last round this season.  I am running very close to the same lap times as the top guys, yet have no chance in hell of winning an AM championship.  If I stayed back next year, yes I'd probably win a championship or two.  But what fun is it to run up front all alone for at least half of theseason until the new guys learn to catch up?  I can't wait to have a shot at some prize money too! ;)

[Dawn]

While this all sounds great....

How will the classes be run?  Someone suggested to run less classes, but who is going to be willing to give up their favorite class?

Just a few questions.

Dawn   :)

[Steviebee]

hey,  what about the guy that was expert last year .  That is an AM this year and running every race/weekend he can to win all the championships ??

Just wanted to throw some Powermist into the mixture !!

The problem with the points is you can earn enough points to go EX but still be too slow and even unpredictable/unsafe.

How bout this !!!  maybe it should be done based on lap times ???

[Baltobuell]

OK heres a maybe dumb thought. How about 600's into 3 classes. Lightweight grids aren't usually full and AM and EX run together people get lapped there too but 600 classes are usually real full grids with seperate races AM and EX and 600's being the most hotly contested races that's where the safety issue is the most serious. Hold newbies out of 600superbike and/or MWGP till their 4th race. That could also promote newbies to start with a LW bike.
 And I agree championship points for AM, F40 and such should be canned. If your plates are yellow, your supposed to be learning.

[TreyBone]

Bernie said it all right there. I only raced 1/2 season as an amateur (2001) then I moved up to Expert the very next season. I wanted to get away from racing yellow plates as quickly as I could. Moving up to expert class right away helped me go faster because you have to. Hell, I won the expert championship my first expert year (SE LWSB). So it is not all that hard to do. Just set some goals and go for it.

[lil_thorny]

i've got some powermist for you.
don't get me started Steve!
we all know who is being talked about in the Midwest amateur ranks.....but will anything be done about it?
probably not, unless everyone complains to Kevin Elliott. It isn't fair to you or anyone else. say you get a 6th in a money race that pays thru 5th. Now guess
who finished in front of you? Yep you guessed it
the 6th year amateur...now you are out your purse.
and a piece of wood. Whether you are an amateur
or an expert, winning is winning, and we all have to start somewhere. But this is a disgrace to our racing community and to the spirit of competition. Whatever!  all i know is that i am going to be an expert next year regardless of how many tracks i've been on. the whole point of being an amateur is
to get into the sport, learn the basics and excel
from there. Some people just excel a little faster
than others. You will only get faster by racing with faster people. period. why would you want to stay amateur. money? i think the yellow plates are ugly anyway!
Benji #30 soon to be a top 5 expert!!!!
why settle?