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Hey Ping,

Thanks for putting out all the bad ass content on the Whiskey Throttle show. I am a fellow Arizonian and my dad always told me that he'd see you warming up at Thrasherland or canyon on a pogo stick. Is this True? I don't know why we don't see more kids doing that before a moto. Pretty cool way to get the body moving. 

My second question is, would it be worthwhile to make the 250 class run stock motors? They can run after-market suspension, pipe, silencer, EFI, etc. but just keep the motor stock. The motor seems to be what makes this class so expensive for the privateers. To me the 250 class is the entry level class and this would make it a little more of an even playing field instead of everyone complaining that they aren't on a Star bike. I know it's a long shot to see 250 2 smokes in the 250 class but could this resolve the entry level class? Would PC, Star, and the other teams just turn it down? Let me know what you think. Keep up the good work.

Diljones214

Diljones,

Thanks for supporting the show! I spent a lot of days at Canyon and Thrasherland, but I don’t remember jumping on a pogo stick. However, I never let the facts get in the way of a good story, so I’m going to roll with it. Yep, I pogo’d my ass off. It’s actually a great idea to get warmed up; gets your cardio going, balance, proprioceptive… and it’s fun! 

I like your idea on a stock class, and I think there are multiple benefits to it. First, it would lower the cost to be competitive in the 250 division. You have to be a factory rider or a very rich kid to have a competitive bike in that class at the moment. In theory, it would also slow the pace down a little bit, which might help prevent injury. It would push production development because each manufacturer would want to have the best stock platform possible. It would lead to tighter racing because there would be less advantage from factory guy to privateer. If they put this into effect next year, you’d see a lot of Yamahas on the gate. I don’t know if the manufacturers would object, but it would be a bummer for aftermarket companies that make a living selling engines and engine parts. Still, I think it’s a good idea to discuss. 

Cheers
- PING

Hey Ping, 

Love this column and the whiskey throttle show which has been on fire lately! That Brian Deegen episode was unreal! Still waiting on you getting James Stewart on that thing though. Anyway, I just wanted to know why there are no races in Japan? I believe last year they was going to hold a supercross race that ended up getting canceled, but even the MXGP series doesn’t visit here. I would think the Japanese manufacturers would want the teams to visit. I know it’s an island that's a little out of the way but they hold rounds in China, Indonesia, etc. Seems a little strange how the majority of manufacturers are from here yet there seems to be little interest in holding events over here. Just wondering if you have any ideas?

All the best, I’ll be over here listening and reading! 
Peter 

Peter,

James Stewart? I’d love to have him on the show but I think I have a better chance of finding the lost city of Atlantis in my toilet than getting James to California for an interview. He seems content to stay locked down in Florida. 

I’m not sure why they stopped racing in Japan. There used to be multiple supercross races there in the post-season: Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. Add to that the GP rounds that used to visit and you had a pretty solid group of races to attend if you were a Japanese fan. My guess is that budgets have tightened and Japanese promoters don’t want to foot that bill. And maybe they just don’t want us there? For years, Japan brought over one or two American riders and they won the national championship there many times. Kyle Lewis, Jeff Matiasevich and Ron Tichenor come to mind. Eventually, they stopped hiring American riders so that Japanese riders would win. I’m speculating, but perhaps that has something to do with why they haven’t been hosting international events. The great news is that if you’re looking for food with fish heads, fish eggs, seaweed, and other questionable food items, you’re in the right place. Ichi Ban! Thanks for the support!

- PING 

Hey ping!

Great column you have here with lots of interesting and fun questions! I've been following the US nationals and some of the GP's and it's always the nagging question of who is better than whom! But what I'm really curious about is the bikes during the MXoN… Is there a production rule at this event like in the US, or do they have all out GP-style bikes?

I find it interesting since GP guys and gals all ride on their type of bikes and vice versa, with the US production rule. Either way, the type of bike would sway in someone's favor I would presume during MXoN.

Cheers 
Robin from Sweden. 

Robin,

The “which riders are better” argument gets beaten to death, especially around the MXoN. I don’t really think it’s much of an argument anymore: The top GP riders are better in motocross than US riders at the moment, and US riders are better in supercross. There is no production rule at the MXdN; it’s basically the same rules as the GP’s. The start gate, start procedure, qualifying procedure and the staff are all from the Grand Prix series. In the past, the US teams have had to make adjustments to our mufflers and mapping to meet their sound and fuel requirements, which are different than ours. I’m not certain if they are still different, but we always have to play by their rules, not the other way around, since Luongo is the promoter for GP racing and the MXoN. I don’t say any of this as an excuse for our riders not winning, because we have simply been beaten in recent years, I’m just pointing out facts. Thanks for listening and reading over in Sweden!

- PING

Do you have burning questions that need answering? E-mail Ping at ping@vitalmx.com. Want more? Click the @PING tag below to quickly find all the previous columns.