I have to agree with Brad about WA keeping to Pre75 for their club rides, I think its great. Preserving an era of motocross without faulter is very important to our sport.
I also think that what JC says about how the arguments/debates are both correct, but are all only speculations on how to keep the older classes alive. Both parties may never agree, but both are right.
I ride/race bikes in Pre75-78-Evo and used to race in Pre85. With that said, This is how I started racing; firstly on an Evo bike, and then I went to Pre85. I then started to race a pre78 bike and now have a Pre75 bike.
I believe that alot of riders have probably started racing this way, getting a bike, and then wanting to try other classes, so in my case I have slowly started to move back in the years rather than forwards and that is what is needed to keep older classes going. So maybe that is what WA is thinking, but, if I didnt have the pre78 bike as the 'middle ground' bike I wonder if I would have a pre75 bike now!!
As a 'club' WA has a great format from what I can see, but it is a 'club' format not an Australian National Titles format, there is a difference.
This isn't at all personal. I've made some good friends in the west and despite what's written elsewhere on this post, I genuinely support your steadfast devotion to the pre '75 ideal. However, I believe that by using your local experience as a guide to your submission, you're overlooking the needs of the sport in other parts of Australia.
This discussion is about one meeting per year, nothing more. It's not an attempt to overthrow your club charter and force you guys to include pre '78 at every meeting on your calendar. On the law of averages the WAVMX may, just maybe, promote a classic Nationals every four years or so, so what would be so disruptive of your system to include a pre '78 class at one meeting every four years?
I think Firko has summed it up here.
Where do you think Pre60-65-70 VMX riders come from? Because if we say that you ride the era you remember and grew up with, then we are looking at a diminishing number of people who can race these bikes.
You could argue that with the Nationals being at present Pre60 through to Pre85, the numbers for the older bikes is dropping, so adding pre78 to the older Nats wouldnt help, but I think we all know that that isnt the case of why the older bikes arent turning up to Nationals.
VMX riders don't grow on trees, they are a limited number and even moreso with the older bikes (and the bikes themselves), theirfore by allowing the Evo-Pre85 rider with a pre78 bike to race at the Classic Nationals (once a year) may incourage him to try racing older bikes.
But at the end of the day, where do these Pre60-70 riders come from?? That is the question everyone needs to look at and try to answer. Otherwise these classes are going to be lost at a National level.
Can I ask a question?
1/ How many WA club riders on Pre60-65-70 bikes have been to the last 3 or 5 VMX Australian National Titles?
2/ How many of those riders also raced Pre75?
Poll