I totally agree Bartman, I am not saying the club/board needs to do any more than you are already doing. I just live two States away and I hear a lot of the grumblings, baseless accusations, and basic pissing and moaning about people cheating. This not only takes away from the sport, it also takes a LOT away from the riders who do well and arent cheating.Originally Posted by Bartman
All riders go through cycles or when things click and come together. Some riders have some amazing talent from day one, or talent that crosses over from another sport. Sometimes a rider may make a change to their equipment (bike, tires, suspension etc) and all of a sudden they go a lot faster than people are used to seeing from them. It sucks when people just decide they are 'cheating' as everyone puts a lot of time and money into this hobby, and it is like a kick in the guts when you do well and people are talking about 'cheating' but wont back it up. Yeah I know it happens in most sports but the MRA has a 'reputation' amoung other road racing clubs regardless of what may be the actual truth.
Sometimes the history of a club dictates this, when I came to the MRA in 2006 I was warned by a few people who were racing at the time, about the blatant cheating (illegal slipper clutches etc) that went on in the MRA. Maybe do a better job of educating the riders about how to protest and what the cost is and then they can either put up or shut up. Heck even a page in the program explaining how to go about it, RTFRB as a reply doesnt always work as not everyone actually reads it believe it or not, this was shown earlier in this thread.
I also totally agree with Chris about engine builders having a responsibilty to the club. If engine builder's want the club to grow and prosper, which will keep customers being able to afford to go into their store, they shouldnt really say publicaly they dont have a problem with building cheater bikes if the customer can pay for it. ALL engine builders can cheat, but along with the risk of their rider being busted, the shop's reutation is linked directly to it. Public perception has a lot of effect on the sport of motorcycle racing, and the people/businesses invloved.
At AMA level where it is a professional sport (well used to be) sure go for it, but this is a hobby for 99% or people and a builder publicly saying they have no problem cheating if the customer pays for it sort of brings into question the legallity of any other bike that builder has built.....
The MRA was good to me, and while a lot of people say I am full of shit (yeah sometimes I am ) I want to see the MRA around for a long time. If the general consensus is the "cheaters will always be cheaters" then obviously I am wasting my time and I should just keep working on my tan here in Vegas