Ya know, I have heard lately of so many riders sandbagging for topgun. Why is there not a better watch on this? If a rider gets a top 10 finish at a major amateur national, he needs to move up a class. Lorrettas are OVER!!! Its time to move up sandbaggers.
Ted are you going to step up or just look the other way???

Top Gun has always been a sandbaggers paradise, however I blame the team managers more than the promoters. The team manager should know the rules and who has run what classes. The problem is, who wants to be the racer that says someting then gets labled as the whiner who is afraid of competition.

I heard Ted explain that a rider gets one year as a beginner, second and third as a juinor and then intermediate? Sounded rather simple to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Rays Dad:
I heard Ted explain that a rider gets one year as a beginner, second and third as a juinor and then intermediate? Sounded rather simple to me.

I dont agree with this formula.If your only a mid-pak beggineer in racing skill then thats what you are.Or like my son he raced a xr70 his 1st year,a 65 in the beg. class his 2nd year.Then moved up to a 85.Again in beg class.He was getting his but kicked at 1st but is now usally a top 5 or so.So because he has raced 3 years now next year he should be in the intermediate or super-mini???? He would become a speed bump in those classes!!!! You are what you are.Some people will be life time beg. level riders.Some wont. As long as you dont go down in class for top gun i dont have a problem with it.I know in my 40+ sportmans class there are 30 guys signed up now.Most of wich ive never heard of or seen ride.So i have no idea where they come from or what level they ride at.I have no idea then if they are sandbaggibg or not.....

I think Garrett does a pretty good job weeding through the sign-ups for inappropriate classes. There are always going to be those who get missed. And yes, if you protest you can get labled a complainer...been there, done that, not afraid to do it again. I too believe it should be up to the team managers (and parents if the racer is a minor) to have the integrity to place riders in the correct class.
If you go down a class and get caught you've wasted your money and hurt your team because you won't get any points. Not a good plan.
The idea here is to have a fun, friendly, competitive event that people look forward to all year, so if you know you're a "sand bagger"...give it up and move along because there is no pleasure in having to protest somebody else's kid and knowing you just ruined their weekend.

Maybe This should be placed at the starting line or sign up shack as a subtle hint???

Sandbagging is the practice of purposely placing oneself in a weaker position so as to give the deceptive impression that one is less skilled than one truly is. In Grappling sandbagging refers to a competitor who misrepresents his skill level in order to gain easy victories over less-skilled opponents.

I dont like sandbaggers either but take for example my class....30+ Pro. I'm now blessed to be racing the likes of the fastest guys anywhere simply because they are now 30! I however am not as fast as they are but I'm not going to "sandbag" and move down a class to avoid them. It sucks to not win every race but atleast I can say I saw them for a few laps before they checked out!

hate to get off topic,but why does it cost so to much to run the topgun?80 to 100 a class seems a bit high to me.

everyone i spoke said the same thing. it went up $20 a class i think

quote:

Originally posted by miniman265:
hate to get off topic,but why does it cost so to much to run the topgun?80 to 100 a class seems a bit high to me.

Look at Craters post about the pro payout...Ted needs money to live on

quote:

Originally posted by B Sharkey:
everyone i spoke said the same thing. it went up $20 a class i think

I think it only went up $5..if I'm not mistaken, last year it was $75 a class

Hey guys,

We try and do the best we can to catch "SANDBAGGERS". This is a sore spot for us as well. If you see someone sandbagging a class and have proof, please bring it to my attention, so I can take action.

We don't have the ability to police riders that do not ride our events, so it's up to you to let us know. Managers should be checking on their riders to make sure they do not sandbag, because it can cost them team points.

All protests are kept confidential, but the protest has to be legit and present proof of riding in a higher class.

Top Gun rider entry fees went up $5.00 from last year. We try not to raise it at all, but the fact is our costs go up like with everything else. We haven't raised the gate admission or camping costs in 6 years, so we try and make it an affordable weekend for each family.

Forgot EW. For the riders that have done Loretta's already and did place top 10, in my opinion should move up.

But with some of the amatuer nationals still left we can't make them move up until the next year, because it will ruin their current class status.

My other opinion is they have worked hard and are following their goals for the year.

When is the end of the year? Next month there will be another amatuer national.... the next month there will be an amatuer national....THE NEXT MONTH THERE WILL BE AN AMATUER NATIONAL...........ect...
Are you going to get a factory ride from titles in the 125 JR class, after your 3rd year riding the class? I really doubt it.
:-)

quote:

Originally posted by ..::MOTOX155::..:
Forgot EW. For the riders that have done Loretta's already and did place top 10, in my opinion should move up.

But with some of the amatuer nationals still left we can't make them move up until the next year, because it will ruin their current class status.

My other opinion is they have worked hard and are following their goals for the year.

E.W. that is toooo funny! I actually didnt get a bike deal this year. Hmmmm...2 chamionships??? Buttttt... the 16 year old Junior got a free one...cause why?? maybe because he'll have a factory ride before he's an intermediate!! Something is wrong here!! Oh well,, I'm going to continue to mop him and is free bike. I not upset or anything..

I know. I know. I agree with you. End of the year is always Dec. 31st.

Your only as fast as the guys you ride with!!!

In the Top Gun Team packet page 4 it states if a rider has placed top 3 in a previous Top Gun event in the Beg or Jr class they have to move up. The exception being they won't move anyone from Int to Pro. Also states if a rider has placed in the top 10 at Lorettas or Ponca they will have to move up. Those are in the rules, black and white. If a team manager or parent did not read them and they are in that situation, they probably should have.

Come on guys. Garrett and I pay more attention to this subject than most promoters. Ask Boughton a few years ago. He just got off minis and at the opening round he won the first moto by 40 seconds. We strongly encouraged him move up and he did after Vegas.
I agree that to many guys ride a class way to long claiming to be riding another national. These guys that do this will only hurt their own racing effort learning curve. I could name several but won't.

Like I said. P.R.O. does more face to face encouragement to move riders up than anyone. ANYONE! We do however have rules that we must follow. And we do all we can to keep our rules logical and fair for all of our customers.

If anyone out there sees a rider in a class they know has run a higher class and can produce documents to back up a sandbagger claim please do.

We also have little respect for intentional sandbaggers.

quote:

Topgun team sandbagger national

Maybe maybe not. Maybe this year it'll be diff.

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...These guys that do this will only hurt their own racing effort..

Sure enough. Peeps are watching

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..encouragement to move riders up than anyone. ANYONE! We do however have rules..

RULES rule. Many thanks.