Mountain West Racing
- Thread starter polarman
- Start date
Hard to draw a good attendance when you have 10k ft mountains surrounding you for miles. I'm sure cost is an overwhelming factor with it being sno-x. Hard enough to satisfy the long track needs these days, as well as be set up with shorties to go racing.
On the other hand, might be heading over with a buddy and the fam to let our boys race the 120 class this weekend.
On the other hand, might be heading over with a buddy and the fam to let our boys race the 120 class this weekend.
gone are the days of being sponsored by the factory, paying $5K for a race sled every year, getting free traction, and then $$ for placing.... we were never the top flight in racing but at least could afford to race...
but wow was the days of RMXCRC and OSRC and two to three flights of pro and semi pro racers... and the NATIONAL EVENT at Yellowstone... where the back East big dogs came to play...oh well those times are sadly gone
but wow was the days of RMXCRC and OSRC and two to three flights of pro and semi pro racers... and the NATIONAL EVENT at Yellowstone... where the back East big dogs came to play...oh well those times are sadly gone
Last edited:
B
Turn out this year has been low but the 2nd Alpine race there seemed to be a lot more at least in the 120 class's and that's where the future racers come from.
Yellowstone always brings a good turn out! My son absolutely loves racing! He also races motocross and loves the sleds more! I have told him this is his last year racing sleds and he is not having it
Racer220 did you end up going? Is your son by chance the one on the Grey and Black 120 that raced in Jackson last year?
Yellowstone always brings a good turn out! My son absolutely loves racing! He also races motocross and loves the sleds more! I have told him this is his last year racing sleds and he is not having it
Racer220 did you end up going? Is your son by chance the one on the Grey and Black 120 that raced in Jackson last year?
Yeah we went, but I didn't put him in Jackson last year. We had the 'mutt' sled that is basically a mix of speed limited and Champ lol. Had the black hood with the windshield part of it missing (cause he nailed the back of my truck with it last year). The 120 classes are definitely the biggest and should continue to grow. I wish I could put him in more this year, but we'll probably just finish at the Beaver Mt. hillclimb unless I can convince the wife to put him in Jackson. He is only 4 so he struggles to keep up but he loves it. In a year or two he'll be able to hold his own. Definitely wish there were more racers in the bigger classes. Still tough with the economy and this area being predominantly mountain riders.
B
Yes it's expensive to race and even more expensive to host a race and in my opinion that's why MWR has a dwindling schedule. If it wasn't for Woody holding the Alpine races we would not have had a season! My son started 4 years ago when he was 4 and just like all the other 120 kids and dads we were 100% hooked after our first race. My son is #4 on the orange champ and orange Doo 300.
From what I hear RMSHA is having it own set of struggles this year. All the racers make such a commitment of time and money and I just hate to see races canceled!!
If your able you should bring your kid to west. There has been as many as 50 120's racing and at that point it's anyone's race They are doing the big grand championship again this year and that is geared just for the kids!! Lots of 120/champ/outlaw racing sat and Sunday.
From what I hear RMSHA is having it own set of struggles this year. All the racers make such a commitment of time and money and I just hate to see races canceled!!
If your able you should bring your kid to west. There has been as many as 50 120's racing and at that point it's anyone's race
They are doing the big grand championship again this year and that is geared just for the kids!! Lots of 120/champ/outlaw racing sat and Sunday.
I
The snowmobile racing is a struggle out west. You have to have it in your blood to want to go pound the crap out of your body and your sled when your other option is to go pound the powder on your Mountain Sled. As Plumnuts said, the days of support is gone! Back in the day you could at least make enough money to cover the weekend costs. I have two kids into MX and SX. MX is a fraction of the cost and the number of racers and the level of compatition compaired to SX is much, much better!
The next hurdle is the cost to host a race. Unless the local community hosting the race comes together and supports it, it's cost prohibative. ISR Insurance to host a race = $3K, groomer, fuel, transport costs, awards, another $2K or more. This is a tough pill to swallow when you hope to get maybe 50 or 75 entries at a race. There was a time when there was 300 plus entries.
Changes will have to be made to keep our snocross racing alive - hopefully we can unite and pull this thing out of the toilet. Paul Woodie, Woodies Racing, has been the main pole in our little tent over the past couple years and has stepped up to make races happen. But the rest of us need to step up big time if we want a circuit for our kids to race. As for MWR, well, I can't speak for them, but there are a few of us dads that have hopes of getting this program off of life support - with or without MWR.
The next hurdle is the cost to host a race. Unless the local community hosting the race comes together and supports it, it's cost prohibative. ISR Insurance to host a race = $3K, groomer, fuel, transport costs, awards, another $2K or more. This is a tough pill to swallow when you hope to get maybe 50 or 75 entries at a race. There was a time when there was 300 plus entries.
Changes will have to be made to keep our snocross racing alive - hopefully we can unite and pull this thing out of the toilet. Paul Woodie, Woodies Racing, has been the main pole in our little tent over the past couple years and has stepped up to make races happen. But the rest of us need to step up big time if we want a circuit for our kids to race. As for MWR, well, I can't speak for them, but there are a few of us dads that have hopes of getting this program off of life support - with or without MWR.
It needs to be brought back to a "local" level where people can afford to do it. One of the last snowcrosses I raced (15 years ago, in Alaska), they had a "mountain man" class for longtracks. (And 15 years ago, the 136 sleds were nothing suspension wise to what we have now.) There were few actual 440 race sleds, most were ZR580 type rigs, run what you brung.
We used to have 500 mile ice grand prix races, the last one I did had about 5 entries in the 500 class, a few more than that in the open class. It was sad to see it go away, we used to have a full schedule of ice 500/150 mile and heat races, 400/150 mile cross country, ovals, and snocross. I was changing tracks and suspension weekly on my MXZX440, lol.
We used to have 500 mile ice grand prix races, the last one I did had about 5 entries in the 500 class, a few more than that in the open class. It was sad to see it go away, we used to have a full schedule of ice 500/150 mile and heat races, 400/150 mile cross country, ovals, and snocross. I was changing tracks and suspension weekly on my MXZX440, lol.
I would wager (and I hope I lose) that the remaining snocross and hill climb organizations will shrink to one to three races a year... much like WSSRA did (they do one drag race at West: they used to do a bunch, like 5-6 grass drags, 4-5 x-county races, and several snocross races)...
Anyone remember when there were THREE hillclimb circuits (BCA, MSSHA, and RMSHC)?
Part of it is takes a HUGE amount of time for people to put on the races and I know a lot of people just burned out (Props to those who still put on races)
It is all $$$ as it is too expensive to race at the professional level even as a semi-pro level and be competitive. The lack of support, insurance costs, and dwindling racers is killing it. However you see some success in the "outlaw" races like the drags at Bend, hillclimb and snocross at Sandpoint, and my favorite the hillclimb at Anthony Lakes to name a few.
Just the other day I heard of oval vintage racing here in the NW... YEA!!! Looking for a Yamaha ET250 :lol:
Anyone remember when there were THREE hillclimb circuits (BCA, MSSHA, and RMSHC)?
Part of it is takes a HUGE amount of time for people to put on the races and I know a lot of people just burned out (Props to those who still put on races)
It is all $$$ as it is too expensive to race at the professional level even as a semi-pro level and be competitive. The lack of support, insurance costs, and dwindling racers is killing it. However you see some success in the "outlaw" races like the drags at Bend, hillclimb and snocross at Sandpoint, and my favorite the hillclimb at Anthony Lakes to name a few.
Just the other day I heard of oval vintage racing here in the NW... YEA!!! Looking for a Yamaha ET250 :lol:
Last edited:
I would also bet that any sno-x or cc circuit will die off soon. RMSHA reported around 30 new members coming into this season which is a big boost compared to the last few years. It doesn't mean that everyone will stick around or race a full season, but it's definitely growth. Racing is not going to be less expensive which is tough to swallow, but it does help that organizations are still running non-sanctioned races like Anthony Lakes and others. Sandpoint (Sledfest) is actually combining with the last RMSHA race of the year and they are trying to make it a huge event for both organizations. I see that as a great avenue for a lot of NW riders to try different kinds of racing out. Hillclimbs, hillcross, 120 races, snow bike races. I don't want to start a rumor, but I've heard that MWR is looking at merging into RMSHA instead of folding up. I would guess that the new Mountain Cross class will accommodate some short track racers. MountainX will most likely only be done at ski hill races though since they move the course and probably need a snow cat to build features into it. I see RMSHA continuing to grow, but only to a specific demographic based mainly on cost and location. It's expanding, but unfortunately most of the American public isn't right now. Guess we'll see.
just like MSSHA was... long tracks and snocross sleds racing up the hill over jumps, racing the clock but still side by side it was a lot of fun! a couple of pics from days gone by... the first is me flyin at Lost Trail and the second is Janet either at Lost Trail, Lookout, or Polaris. A couple more of race action I think at Polaris
Last edited:
Similar threads
