The Jay Marmont Column No.1

The MX Nats’ sprint formats: good thing or bad?

So what happened to the conventional 30-minute motos for the Australian MX Championship? They still run them in Europe and America, and those series are both thriving. Isn’t motocross about guts and stamina and rewarding the guy who’s trained the hardest, rather than the guy who can sprint a few crazy laps? Do these new sprint formats detract from what we’ve come to know and love about motocross? Were they designed for racers or spectators or TV?

Yep, there are lots of questions being asked about the new, shorter-style race formats being used at the Rockstar MX Nationals this year. Sprint formats aren’t new to Aussie MX. The Mister Motocross Series ran similar back-to-back sprint-style motos in the ’80s, and even last year, the MX Nats’ promoter, Williams Event Management (WEM), introduced some shorter-style formats at selected rounds. But for 2010, not only are there more sprint races at more of the rounds; there are no 30-minute motos at all! So why is WEM heading down this path? Do the riders like it? Is it a good thing for spectators? Well, I’ve been around Aussie MX circles long enough to form an opinion on the issue, so here’s my take…

I can see WEM’s perspective on changing up our traditional two 30-minute motos to make for exciting racing, but it has definitely created mixed emotions among our more experienced riders. Adapting to these unfamiliar formats has suited me because I’m a consistent rider and I have the speed and fitness to finish on the podium week-in, week-out. But I think it has probably benefited the young guns
even more. Guys like Tye Simmonds and Todd Waters have recently come from doing these sorts of formats as Juniors, so there’s no real need for them to adapt their approach to training or racing. When I first turned 16, motocross was all about endurance, so my training consisted of doing long motos during the week and spending time training off the bike to build up my cardio fitness. Now I work on shorter, sprint sessions on my bike, but I still need to be physically fit enough to run that sprint pace during every race. So it’s a harder balance to strike with training these days.

On the flipside, the sprint formats have made the racing a lot closer. It’s harder
for any one rider to dominate because more races means more gate-drops and a greater chance of poor starts or mistakes. And with the intense pace of the sprint races, it’s tougher to post consistent results throughout race day. The other positive with the shorter formats is that they’ve given a wider range of riders the chance of posting a podium finish.

So is it a good thing or a bad thing? There’s no doubt that, for spectators and TV, it has created much more exciting racing, with rider battles going on all over the race track. But I’d like to see WEM retain at least a few rounds with the traditional 30-minute motos. Aside from the fact I miss them, I think it’s important the MX Nats chooses a champion who has the complete racing package. Not only that, if any Aussie rider is going to fulfill a dream to become an AMA or World MX Champion – and if Australia ever wants to win the Motocross of Nations — hardcore 30-minute motos have to be part of our preparation diet back home.

Ride with Pride!