Wasted Potential
by Robert Beaupre
Photo courtesy of Mike Torres at www.tagnmx.com

Ours is an area rich with motocross potential. Too bad we are wasting so much of it.

By that I mean that northern Nevada, with its depth of riders, tracks and shops, deserves a better race scene than what it’s had in recent months. Because of politics and personal conflicts, our turnouts are down, our tracks are struggling and our climate is filled with contempt, division and confusion.

I will not name any names here. There's been enough of that already. Let it suffice to say that it has taken only a few petty conflicts to undermine the entire scene, and many of those complicit in the conflicts claim to be motivated by “the good of the sport.”

I cannot speak for anyone’s true motivations. But I think it’s clear that little has been done for the good of the sport in recent months, no matter what the stated intentions were.

Today we have droves of riders who, unconcerned with the conflicts, just want plentiful and decent opportunities to race. Instead we have 200-rider turnouts in which the majority of riders will have fewer than 10 competitors. We have conflicted race weekends in which riders must guess where the other riders will be. We have considerable blank space on the calendar in which riders must travel or not race at all.

What’s absurd about these conditions is that they are so unnecessary. With a greater spirit of cooperation, it would be easy to return to the days of 500-rider turnouts and a sensible race calendar. But with few signs of a friendlier atmosphere on the horizon, I cannot say whether those days will return anytime soon.

What am I going to do? I hope to play some part in reuniting the race scene. I want to remind those who've lost touch that the riders, the vast majority of whom have no interest in the nonsense that occurs on the organizational level, are the ones who pay the price for the conflicts. And, in case they hadn't noticed, that's unconscionable.

But what of the people who prefer having miniscule turnouts for the sake of their grudges? I am content to let them have them--so long as those of us who want the pits to be dense and healthy have our alternative.

What should you do? Watch and listen. Look for those who work to restore health to the scene, and give your entry money to them.

I will be doing that too.

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