OTHG Information

[Sean357]

Originally Posted by Larry63r

It is a great for the riders and riders spouces to get together without motorcycles and have a good time.

A good time without motorcycles.... sounds fishy to me.

haha - sounds fun I will try and make it.

[tractionaction]

We just confirmed our dates at the Hollister GP track as Sept 1st and 2nd 2007, Labor day weekend. As a bonus we may get Friday open practice, this still needs to be confirmed.

Visit the Bay Chapter web site for more details as we get closer to the date.

Bay Chapter OTHG The Premier Motocross Vet Racing Club

[Larry63r]

There is sad news in the OTHG club. Jim Henn (+38 PRO, 205G) passed away on 7/5/07.

Published Friday, July 6th, 2007

By Herald staff

A 44-year-old Kennewick man died late Thursday when he and a friend were thrown from a Jeep as they were fourwheeling in Hover Park, about 12 miles from downtown Kennewick.

Christopher James Henn, who was a passenger in the Jeep, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, John R. Elliott, 42, was flown to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, where he remains in stable condition.

The two had been fourwheeling in a 1975 silver Jeep CJ5 with friends when Elliott attempted at 9:20 p.m. Thursday to go down a steep hill.

According to witnesses, the Jeep had gone only a short distance before Elliott lost control.

The Jeep rolled eight to 10 times and about 100 yards down hill before coming to a stop. Both men were thrown from the Jeep.

Jim will be missed greatly.

[MX_563]

Godspeed to #205G. That is a terrible story.

Sorry to bring this up on the heels of such a post, especially if it's already been discussed (didn't want to read all seven pages of the topic)...
...how does class advancement work with OTHG? How many points are required before you get bumped to the next skill level? I checked the Bay OTHG website but couldn't find an answer.

I only scored 125 points in 07' so I doubt I'm in any danger of getting bumped. Just curious if attending all the races will do it, or if you really gotta show some speed too.

[wtrskinut]

Chris, I was a race director a few years back for the Sierra chapter. Its more of a speed issue and not points. Since some one who is winning all the time could "sandbag" and skip a few races, points aren't real practical, unless they were weighted on a percentage of races attended but thats too much math. The way we bumped was how you finished in the races you raced.......We would try to time you and see were you would finish in the next class. If it was around mid pack and you were doing real well in your class, you got bumped....Hope this makes it clear as mud....

[MX_563]

Got it! Thanks!

[ericwatt]

The bump process is one of most difficult things we do with the gang. The bump process is based on your results against your competition and your speed and skill set. The beginners get bumped pretty soon after being competitive in their class, if their skill set makes them safe in the next class. The length of time it takes to bump up usually takes longer in the higher speed classes, but may not, it all depends on a number of factors that are happening at the time, series, type of tracks, national coming up, time of year, etc. But the bottom line is if you are killing your competition you are going to get bumped, it is just a matter of time. If you are just barely beating your competition it will take a while to get bumped or a few guys may get bumped together if they would be safe in the next class. We strive to keep a safe and friendly race environment with competitive classes. Hope this answers your questions.
Eric Watt
Bay OTHG President
bayothg.com

[MX_563]

Sounds good to me. Thanks, Eric.
(something tells me I won't be getting "bumped" until I turn 38 and move to the +38 class....)

[hrlyman]

Theres another 'factor' in the bump process.... and this is just my opinion and I hope that it is the same as others.

For competition sake... (and thats what we are all out there for) it should be also a decision of the individual to make the step to move forward and progress within the competition process. As a rider and competitor you will only get better when riding among competition that exceeds your own ability. If you are consistently winning or finishing in the top 3 of your race class then you are NOT in the right group of people for your ability.

(as Randy explained) Being mid pack and working on trying to progress up into that top three is going to make you ride TOWARDS an ability that you may possibly already possess but havent made use of because youve been riding with lesser riders. If you find you still move through the pack quickly then you are still in the wrong class of riders. Move up again.

Just remember in racing if you are following someone that is running slower or runs bad lines or has bad overall techniques, you will tend to copy those techniques and ride just like them. Lesser riders = bad lines and bad lap times when you follow them. Faster riders will give you an education as you try to keep up and learn from their abilities. But always know your limits...

thats the caveat to becoming a better, faster rider or becoming a quadrapalegic....

[Larry63r]

http://www.othg105.citymax.com/f/OTHG_Bump_criteria.pdf
This is from the South chapters web site. They are the parent chapter and have the final word on anything that goes on in the OTHG.