Benefits of Being a Pro?

Deff was easier to be a pro back in the day still was costly and always will be,my two cents qualifying to get in is deff the best route,but if they r going to stick with the timed practice make the factory riders run the b session makes more sense,i mean they are the ones getting paid all the money and have all the tech,parts and stuff a rough track to them is nothing
 
Probably 5 or 6 years ago I remember a similar money discussion and i suggest the fans at the National races be willing to pay an extra $5 for their ticket. All that money would go to a fund to support race payouts or to support privateers. Figure 20,000-30,000 people per race and that adds up to a good pot of money. AMA and the NPG would have to agree to this also.The best guys will always have the best equipment, more money, etc., etc. It goes that way in any sport and also in any type of racing. And if you think hitting a golf ball to make a living is easy, give it a try and let me know how that works out for you...As for qualifying, I prefer the old way, not timed as they do today. And you do have to learn how to qualify and also how to go faster once you become a pro...at least for the average Pro.
 
Notorious t.o.d. said:
Probably 5 or 6 years ago I remember a similar money discussion and i suggest the fans at the National races be willing to pay an extra $5 for their ticket. All that money would go to a fund to support race payouts or to support privateers. Figure 20,000-30,000 people per race and that adds up to a good pot of money. AMA and the NPG would have to agree to this also.The best guys will always have the best equipment, more money, etc., etc. It goes that way in any sport and also in any type of racing. And if you think hitting a golf ball to make a living is easy, give it a try and let me know how that works out for you...As for qualifying, I prefer the old way, not timed as they do today. And you do have to learn how to qualify and also how to go faster once you become a pro...at least for the average Pro.
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He's back.
 
You get faster by riding with faster guys. That is why i disagree with guys that stay in C class. Even when Chris was on 85 and 105 he preferred to go and practice with the big bikes. With timed practice it is difficult to judge your own lap times. Chris would think he was putting in a fast lap because he was passing so many others on the track and like I said they were good race times but not good enough to qualify. It would never fail everytime he tried to get a real good hot lap in something would happen to interupt. Once you make it into a program then you get moved into A practice. I know once Tony Gallo finally made a program and was allowed into A practice he began qualifying on a regular basis.
 
I honestly could go on and on about this subject. Put it this way you pay 275 for an outdoor license 257.00 for sign up you have to pay a convienience fee if u dont sign up a month early. Sometimes im not sure if ill have the money to go so the 57.00 is my penalty. My first national this year i went 25-dns and made 490. I already spent more then that to go. I qualified 19th and just had a bad weekend/bike probs. The top 15 in lites class fly in ride out of a rig have houses etc. I finished 16th overall this weekend and have bettered my results every weekend and i can barely pay my phone bill insurance for my car and baby food and diapers. I have to wotk a job on top of that. I agree with george that you sgould get at least a 1000 a moto. Or even 750 a moto to cover your full weekend and travel etc. I think that the pay needs evened out more. They put the a practice riders on the track when the track is the best which im an a practice rider but its not fair to b practice. They pretty mych have no chance. They only care about the top 10 if that. Everyone else they just use as gate fillers and they use the addiction of motocross to take advantage of. I cant stop racing no matter what and i feel finishing 15th the 2nd moto i should have
Made decent money. But i didnt
 
That is exactly the problem with the sport, I'm sure McDade could have made way more money by going to a local $3000.00 pro purse race than he did by finishing 16th overall at the Pro National! That is a travesty and the injustice of the riders not getting paid squat when they are the show is what should drive them join together and force some change. This is why unions started in the first place (and I'm not pro union at all) was due to the unfair treatment of the workers.... riders in this case. Unions can get way too much power and leverage too eventually like the Auto workers' unions did and ruined our country of the economic power that we once were. But the Riders are being taken advantage of here, and their pay is not worth the effort it takes to be one of the country's fastest riders!
 
Georgie, I will try to keep it brief. TRY!!!

Mike, I am glad you are still out there racing and competing for the love of the Sport. I wish I could fix the money thing. I would love to see a pot of $50-100K at each National for the guys who are putting it on the line without the big contract or Factory rig and ride. I think it is possible but it would require those in control to change things and that probably will never happen, unfortunately.

I think the money thing is in part why my son, Fergymoto, has gone mostly to drag racing these days. Going 150-200 mph in a few seconds has its own thrills. It isnt so hard on the body and you can actually have a shot at winning some money to pay the bills. There is an old saying that if it puts money in your pocket it can be considered a business, but if it takes money out of your pocket it is just a hobby. Do it because you love it and have a passion for it! Hope to see you at the track sometime, if not then on TV!
 
All the privateers who make the main the gate need to sit on the line. I know it's worse that way to because then you really don't get any money but your spending more already so why not.

I wouldn't drive to redbud to spectate if 11 guys were racing. I screamed more for mcdade and Renner than I did any factory rider.
Wish someone would do something about it. Posting it here about being unfair is getting our local boys nowhere.
 
You get screwed once you quit also. Because Chris held a license last year and although he never made a program, this year at LL qualifiers he was only allowed to qualify in pro sport and the new 2 stroke class. At the regional he was taken out just past first corner which pretty much destroyed his chances of qualifying. So now we are qualified in 2 stroke but an alternate in pro sport. As a reg. A rider you can participate pro sport as well as 2 A classes. It would be a little bit better if they had a 250 and 450 pro sport. Increase your chances a little.
It would be great if you could not only get the riders to protest but also the fans. I am sure most of the fans do not realize how bad it is for the riders. Shoot many people in the sport who aspiring to become a pro don't understand how bad it is. I told you we were highly critisized for staying after a National and running in the pro-am events. We stayed because we just wanted the opportunity to race.
 
footlogicracing said:
You get screwed once you quit also. Because Chris held a license last year and although he never made a program, this year at LL qualifiers he was only allowed to qualify in pro sport and the new 2 stroke class.
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As I read the revised rule concerning riders that held a pro license last year, Chris was eligible for the A classes as well as 2 stroke.
ama comp bulletin 2012-3

From the bulletin:
Accordingly, the rule is revised as follows:

The following professional licensed riders are eligible to compete in the Open Pro Sport class only:

a. Riders earning 1-25 Pro Motocross points (250 or 450 class), or Supercross (Lites or SX class) in either the
current or previous year;

b. Riders qualifying for the final 40 in either Pro Motocross (250 or 450 class) or Supercross (Lites or SX class) in the
current or previous year; or

c. Riders qualifying for the final 40 in an FIM MX1, MX2, MX3 Grand Prix event in the previous year.

Professional licensed racers that have not qualified for the final 40 in either Pro Motocross or Supercross in the current or previous year, or who have not qualified for the final 40 in an FIM MX1, MX2, MX3 Grand Prix event in the previous year, are eligible for all classes as per AMA eligibility requirements.

Although MX Sports prefers not to make rule changes during the race season, in this case the clarification is necessary to avoid any confusion and to maintain the spirit and intent of the rule.
 
They would not let us qualify in A when we went to qualifiers. I wish I had known that then. They apparantly did not know the correct rules either.
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
All the privateers who make the main the gate need to sit on the line. I know it's worse that way to because then you really don't get any money but your spending more already so why not.

I wouldn't drive to redbud to spectate if 11 guys were racing. I screamed more for mcdade and Renner than I did any factory rider.
Wish someone would do something about it. Posting it here about being unfair is getting our local boys nowhere.
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The problem is with that type of protest there is no way to make it work. The riders would not likely stick together because in the end people tend to do what is in their own best interest. Besides there would be 25 other willing guys who would likely jump at the chance to run in a Mational Main Event. You would have to have something that totally shuts down the racing, which is hard to do. Replacements are too easy to find.

Now, I am all for the riders or other sports players becoming promotors and forming their own league or series. However, the players or riders in this case never seem to want to take that hard road either. Heck even NHRA, as big and powerful an organization as they are, pays ESPN to broadcast their drag races.

Notorious
 
footlogicracing said:
You get screwed once you quit also. Because Chris held a license last year and although he never made a program, this year at LL qualifiers he was only allowed to qualify in pro sport and the new 2 stroke class. At the regional he was taken out just past first corner which pretty much destroyed his chances of qualifying. So now we are qualified in 2 stroke but an alternate in pro sport. As a reg. A rider you can participate pro sport as well as 2 A classes. It would be a little bit better if they had a 250 and 450 pro sport. Increase your chances a little.
It would be great if you could not only get the riders to protest but also the fans. I am sure most of the fans do not realize how bad it is for the riders. Shoot many people in the sport who aspiring to become a pro don't understand how bad it is. I told you we were highly critisized for staying after a National and running in the pro-am events. We stayed because we just wanted the opportunity to race.
Click to expand...

Money, or a high cost of entry or participation, is an excellent method of controlling an enterprise and preventing others from competing against your enterprise. No one goes out and starts an airplane company today because the cost is too large, but 75 years ago there were many airplane companies started by individuals or small groups.

If it is so bad, why do so any want it so badly then? That is the interesting question.
 
footlogicracing said:
They would not let us qualify in A when we went to qualifiers. I wish I had known that then. They apparantly did not know the correct rules either.
Click to expand...

Don't you just love it when they don't even know or interpret their own rules the same. The rules should be written simply and clearly so anyone can understand them. Not in lawyer-eze that they even have a hard time getting correct.
 
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