TMX says: Keeping it real at the Castle
By TMX Archives on 20th Sep 17
I think we should all be grateful that whoever it was that coughed up the funds to get James Dunns KTM engine measured at the French GP wasnt at Farleigh Castle as well because hed have had a frickin field day
Now I know it's not a super-serious event nor it ain't not nor nothing but surely the 'rules' should be adhered to in the 'spirit' of things.
I mean, if the Evo class is for bikes up to and including 1989 then why the hell were we watching bikes from the mid-'90s - and beyond - racing in the Evo MXdN class?
I suspect that some of the bikes being used might not have even been legit for the Super Evo division. Gasp. Shock horror. Etc etc...
Am I being too uptight?
Maybe, but I like things to be fair and while I accept that some post-'89 KX500s are knocking about in Evo circles, the technology of the build remained more or less unchanged from 1989 through the remainder of the production run so in my mind they're fully legit.
I just think it's a shame that while some bike builders go all-out to recreate historically accurate machines from whatever era they're into, some just seem to be happy with 'close enough', 'that'll do' or 'I wonder if this from a 2017-model will fit?'
Possibly the worst example of a rule-bending bike at Farleigh was Mike Brown's Evo *cough* legal *cough* 610 Husqvarna.
Husqvarna didn't even make a 610 in 1989 and it sure as hell didn't come with Ohlins TTX forks fitted to it. I guess I can get some comfort from the fact that Neville Bradshaw went 1-1-1-1 across the weekend in that class on a bona fide 1989 Honda CR500.
If it were me I'd feel very ashamed rocking up and racing something that wasn't fully legit.
And let's be honest here for a moment - most people that are into the scene know exactly what's what and if they don't then it wouldn't be too difficult to find a panel of experts in a paddock that's full of enthusiasts to agree what's right and what's not...
While I'm getting over that now, I can't quite believe what's happened over in the TrialGP series and I can only assume it's all new promoter Jake Miller's fault!
For the past 10 years things have been simple - Bou wins the title, Raga finishes second while Fujinami, Fajardo and Cabestany pull straws to see who gets the bronze medal. Simple.
Well that all went out of the window this year when young upstart Jaime Busto - who must have missed the production meeting or something - went buck-wild on his Factory Montesa and grabbed third in the final series standings from under the noses of the old guard. The bloody cheek of it!
I assume that also means that he'll represent Spain in the TdN which means he'll be the first new member to join the squad since 2006! How crazy is that?
Almost as crazy as a 250cc two-stroke rider winning a round of the EMX250 series perhaps? Yep, it's finally happened - James Dunn and the GL12 KTM crew beat the next generation of world beaters and their nasty-sounding four-strokes straight up at the final round of the series held at Villars sous Ecot in France.
The series regulars were so shocked they even protested his bike claiming it had to be a 300, right?
Apparently not. When the top was ripped off and the cylinder measured it was found to be fully within the rules at 249.23cc.
Good work team...
