Finally…Official Pocket Bike Racing comes to Washington State!
Starting April 24th the Northwest MiniMoto Racing League (NWMRL). If you own a pocket bike but haven’t had a place to ride it, or want to try your hand at racing, this is the venue for you. The race track is 0.8 mile, 25 turn track with transponders for monitoring your lap times, which will be posted on mylaps.com within 24 hours of racing. We are sharing the track for these sessions with racing karts, so our class racing will be run back to back with kart racing (we are never on the track at the same time as the karts). For everyone’s safety, new riders will be placed in the novice junior (14 and under) or senior (14 and over) classes. The race day itself will include a morning practice session, qualifying races and a final race for each class. Grid positions for the final race will be determined by finishing position in the qualifying race. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each class will receive a trophy. Pre-registration should be up within a day or 2 (can't post the link since it isn't authorized by the moderator). The Friday before the Sunday race day is a full day of practice. Costs are: $50 per rider for the Friday practice day with riding from 10AM to 6PM. Pit passes for non-racers is $10 per day. For the Sunday races it costs $65 which includes transponder rental, a pit pass for a rider and track fees. Spectators in the stands are admitted free. There is a one-time per year licensing fee for new riders of $25 that goes to X-Plex for maintenance. The rules for racing are already posted on the site and cover rider protective gear requirements and class structures. If you have any questions you can email nwminimoto@yahoo.com or PM me. I hope to see you all there!
Glad to see this Chris! However, the Sept11 date conflicts with the USMGP National at McMinnville, OR. Is there any way that you guys can re-schedule this. I would hate for you guys to miss out on the largest event in the West Coast. We have folks coming in from all over the states for this event. In any case, good luck and we hope to make some of the races.
Glad to see this Chris! However, the Sept11 date conflicts with the USMGP National at McMinnville, OR. Is there any way that you guys can re-schedule this. I would hate for you guys to miss out on the largest event in the West Coast. We have folks coming in from all over the states for this event. In any case, good luck and we hope to make some of the races.
MARIO-it is not possible to reschedule this or any of the Monroe dates. Track time here is very hard to get. Yes, the USMGP dates are good dates, but if we cut that date out we would not have enough dates for the year. We already cut out the mid year dates because they conflicted with OMRRA. I guess Mario will have to do that much better to finish on top in points--if he is going to miss a date...
HACKER- we are splitting the track time with karts, and don't know how many classes we will be able to run. If enough X-bikes show up we will try to fit them in somewhere. After we run our first day of racing with the karts on April 24th we will know more about how much time we have to run extra classes...
MARIO-it is not possible to reschedule this or any of the Monroe dates. Track time here is very hard to get. Yes, the USMGP dates are good dates, but if we cut that date out we would not have enough dates for the year. We already cut out the mid year dates because they conflicted with OMRRA. I guess Mario will have to do that much better to finish on top in points--if he is going to miss a date...
HACKER- we are splitting the track time with karts, and don't know how many classes we will be able to run. If enough X-bikes show up we will try to fit them in somewhere. After we run our first day of racing with the karts on April 24th we will know more about how much time we have to run extra classes...
Chris,
I think that you are missing my point. I'm not worried about Mario missing any of the local races as we are NOT going after the regional championships. My point was that I know of quite a few people that have the mentality of atteding a National event over a Regional event is much better especially with the amount of exposure that we are going to get.
Also, here are a few of my concerns that I see with what you guys are doing? First of all, who chose the entry/practice fees? Was it the track or you guys? You may want to reconcider lowering the cost since it is now even higher than what OMMRA charges. For example, if we come out, we are looking at the following costs for us...
Friday Track Day - $50 (BTW, we have to share with Go-Karts)
Saturday Practice - $50 (BTW, we have to share with Go-Karts)
Sunday Races - $65 Junior Production, $20 Junior GP, $20 Junior Open GP
Total weekend costs - $205 (thats IF we do all three days)
Maybe its just me, but that seems wayyyyyy too expensive for pocket bike racing. Especially when we were all complaining about how much OMRRA is charging! I don't mind having to share the track with go-karts, but charging $50 for practice and $65 for races is a little steep IMO. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is great that we finally have a place to race here in WA, but this may hinder the amount of people that would like to come out and start racing due to the high costs. Again, just MHO.
Are you going to compete or attend in any regional OMRRA races as it looks as if you have already paid your $75 for 2005.
The costs are mandated by (the track) and not us. As you know there are NO places to ride pocket bikes legally in WA let alone any to let us race at. The diff with this new league and track is simple. 25 turns .8 mile track per lap. Same owners as the Xplex in Vegas. And the biggest bang for the buck is lap timers included in the cost of the race.
Here are the fees in comparison:
OMRRA:
$75 Per season (NO Transponders or lap timing devise at either track)
PIR (parking lot, cone track, poor pavement conditions) (track all to PB riders) (one time fee per season)
$40 first class
$20 each additional class
$10 per person or $20 per car per day your at PIR (track fee)
$35 for both Fri and Sat practice
McMinville great track, severe issues with flooding when it rains (share with karts)
$55 first race
$20 each additional race
$20 per rider and $10 per person Practice fee
Northwest MiniMoto Racing League (NWMRL) 0.8 mile track, 25 turns per lap
(share with Karts)
$25 Per season to cover transponders (one time fee per season)
****Transponders for every racer**** with lap times posted online with 24 hours
$65 First race
$20 each additional race
$50 (Friday practice only, Race Sunday)
So you see prices on race day are very comparable especially when you compare the $25 versus $75 season fee.
We will work to see if they will lower the Fri practice fee but for now that is what it is for a track that is fantastic not to mention it’s in WASHINGTON!!!!
I HOPE you will be spending your energy promoting this new league.
Thanks
Mitch
Team NWminiMoto
Quote:
Originally Posted by kneedragger
Chris,
I think that you are missing my point. I'm not worried about Mario missing any of the local races as we are NOT going after the regional championships. My point was that I know of quite a few people that have the mentality of atteding a National event over a Regional event is much better especially with the amount of exposure that we are going to get.
Also, here are a few of my concerns that I see with what you guys are doing? First of all, who chose the entry/practice fees? Was it the track or you guys? You may want to reconcider lowering the cost since it is now even higher than what OMMRA charges. For example, if we come out, we are looking at the following costs for us...
Friday Track Day - $50 (BTW, we have to share with Go-Karts)
Saturday Practice - $50 (BTW, we have to share with Go-Karts)
Sunday Races - $65 Junior Production, $20 Junior GP, $20 Junior Open GP
Total weekend costs - $205 (thats IF we do all three days)
Maybe its just me, but that seems wayyyyyy too expensive for pocket bike racing. Especially when we were all complaining about how much OMRRA is charging! I don't mind having to share the track with go-karts, but charging $50 for practice and $65 for races is a little steep IMO. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is great that we finally have a place to race here in WA, but this may hinder the amount of people that would like to come out and start racing due to the high costs. Again, just MHO.
Once again, let me begin by commending you both for your effort in getting this "new" league going here in WA! Way to go! Here are some of my responses to Mitch's post...
Not that it really matters, but yes, we do plan to come out and race a few OMRRA races this year. As long as our schedule permits, we will be there. As far as the costs that you mention, I still think that what "the track" is asking for is still too steep. However, I think that this is something that can be remedied by approaching the organization and negotiate. I know that it can be done, especially when I do this each and every year with multiple Large scale tracks up and down the West Coast as well as being the NorthWest Rep with USMGP, I have negotiated with McMinnville, and the other tracks where we will hold USMGP Nationals this year to get them to come down on the prices.
Also, who runs this new club? Is it run by you guys or is it run by the X-Plex? These are things that you guys need to address to make things more clear to everyone.
Also, here's another point...Why is there no practice on Saturday? I know that many parents don't have the ability of being able to take Fridays off like a few of us, but now those that are traveling from Oregon, have to not only stay Friday, but also stay Saturday with no practice. If there is go-kart racing on Saturday, why not continue to share the track with them and hold a practice on Saturday?
Going back to the pricing structure, I still don't see the bigger advantage except that its local to us (yeah baby ) Lets take a 5 race schedule and compare $$ with OMRRA and NWMRL. Here's what I see...
I'll use our family as an example of the costs for each...
OMRRA
Race Weekend = Practice Day & Race Day
OMRRA Membership: $75/year
Practice Day Cost: $20
First Race Cost: $55
Second Race Cost: $20
Third Race Cost: $20
Total Race Week End Cost: $115
Total Race Week Ends x 5: $575 Total OMRRA Costs for 5 race weekends and membership: $650
NWMRL
Race Weekend = Practice Day & Race Day
NWMRL Membership: $25/year
Practice Day Cost: $50
First Race Cost: $65
Second Race Cost: $20
Third Race Cost: $20
Total Race Week End Cost: $150
Total Race Week Ends x 5: $750 Total NWMRL Costs for 5 race weekends and membership: $775
Total difference is $125 more to race in WA
I didn't post any gate fee costs because I didn't see anything posted on your site in regards to this. I guess I'm being devil's advocate here and just pointing out some things that are very important to many of us. I think that it is great that we FINALLY have some sort of racing venue available to pocket bikes here in WA, but so far, for the price of the NWRL, folks can race one more race weekend at OMRRA. I just want to see as many people come out and race as possible. I know that when we started a year ago, cost was everything, not that its not now, but the sponsors that we have now definately help out a ton. You can count on us being there if our schedule permits it. As of right now, we will not be able to make the April 24th race as we will be in FL, but we will do our best to make the rest of them.
If there is anything that I and the USMGP can do to assist you guys, please, don't hesitate to ask. I look forward to your response. Remember, ride safe, ride smart, and ride on....
Are you going to compete or attend in any regional OMRRA races as it looks as if you have already paid your $75 for 2005.
The costs are mandated by (the track) and not us. As you know there are NO places to ride pocket bikes legally in WA let alone any to let us race at. The diff with this new league and track is simple. 25 turns .8 mile track per lap. Same owners as the Xplex in Vegas. And the biggest bang for the buck is lap timers included in the cost of the race.
Here are the fees in comparison:
OMRRA:
$75 Per season (NO Transponders or lap timing devise at either track)
PIR (parking lot, cone track, poor pavement conditions) (track all to PB riders) (one time fee per season)
$40 first class
$20 each additional class
$10 per person or $20 per car per day your at PIR (track fee)
$35 for both Fri and Sat practice
McMinville great track, severe issues with flooding when it rains (share with karts)
$55 first race
$20 each additional race
$20 per rider and $10 per person Practice fee
Northwest MiniMoto Racing League (NWMRL) 0.8 mile track, 25 turns per lap (share with Karts)
$25 Per season to cover transponders (one time fee per season)
****Transponders for every racer**** with lap times posted online with 24 hours
$65 First race
$20 each additional race
$50 (Friday practice only, Race Sunday)
So you see prices on race day are very comparable especially when you compare the $25 versus $75 season fee.
We will work to see if they will lower the Fri practice fee but for now that is what it is for a track that is fantastic not to mention it’s in WASHINGTON!!!!
I HOPE you will be spending your energy promoting this new league.
Thanks
Mitch
Team NWminiMoto
Last edited by kneedragger; 04-14-2005 at 06:14 PM..
Thanks for the props Mario. Tell Little Mario we miss him. Also tell him Nico is now officially #71 with OMRRA, part of the NWminiMoto team and sporting a BMS red 4.2
I went through all the numbers again and again. Here they are:
OMRRA
Race Weekend = Practice Day & Race Day
OMRRA Membership: $75/year
Since there are roughly 10 races split between the 2 tracks
PIR (bumpy cone track)
Practice Day Cost: $35
First Race Cost: $40
Second Race Cost: $20
Third Race Cost: $20
PIR Gate fee per day per car: $20 x 2=$40
Total Race Week End Cost (2 Days): $155
Total Race Week Ends x 5: $775 OMRRA Costs for 5 race weekends at PIR: $775
McMinville (great track) 14 turns 7/10th Mile per lap
Practice Day Cost: $20
First Race Cost: $55
Second Race Cost: $20
Third Race Cost: $20
Total Race Week End Cost: $115
Total Race Week Ends x 5: $575 OMRRA Costs for 5 race weekends at McMinville: $575
“Average the 2 above OMRRA track costs and you have $675 for a 5 race scenario plus $75 for a cost of $750”
NWMRL (great track) 25 turns 8/10th Mile per lap
Race Weekend = Practice Day & Race Day
NWMRL Membership: $25/year
NWMRL
Race Weekend = Practice Day & Race Day (no additional racer gate fee)
Practice Day Cost: $50
First Race Cost: $65
Second Race Cost: $20
Third Race Cost: $20
Total Race Week End Cost: $155
Total Race Week Ends x 5: $775 Total NWMRL Costs for 5 race weekends: $775 plus $25 for membership = $800
Total difference is $50 more to race in WA. If we get the cost of practices down then it will be the same if not less to race in WA on a much better track.
A downfall is that since the track is not available on Sat the only practice day is Fri. Most will be working on Fri.so Sunday will be the only practice and racing they will do. That eliminates a good amount of costs.
The track is running the corner workers, medical staff etc. Everything is very professional. Christopher and Myself are the race directors for the league.
That would be great if we can get a USMGP race at Xplex next season. We hope to see you guys soon at the track.
Thanks
Mitch
Schedule for the race day:
Club Race #1 X-plex Seattle Monroe Sunday April 24th.
Gates Open: 7:30 AM
Registration begins at 7:30 AM
Novice School Begins at 8:00AM (non-novices encouraged to attend as well)
Bike and Gear Tech: 8:30 AM
Registration and Pre-Tech: 7:30-9:30am
All Drivers/Riders Meeting: 9:35am
10:00am Break in (karts)
Practice Session #1
10:15 JR 1
10:21 Novice Jr Bikes
10:26 Jr Rotax/Jr Tag
10:32 Novice Senior Bikes
10:38 Rotax/Tag Senior 125
10:44 Expert Jr Bikes
10:50 Shifters
10:56 Expert Seniors Bikes
Practice Session #2
11:02 Jr 1
11:08 Novice Jr Bikes
11:14 Jr Rotax/ Jr Tag
11:20 Novice Senior Bikes
11:26 Rotax/ Tag Senior 125
11:32 Expert Jr Bikes
11:38 Shifters
11:44 Expert Seniors Bikes
Qualifying
11:50 Jr 1
11:56 Novice Jr Bikes
12:02 Jr Rotax/ Jr Tag/ Honda 200
12:08 Jr 4.2 Production Bikes
12:14 Rotax International 125/ Tag Senior
12:20 Senior Super Production Bikes
12:26 Rotax Masters 125
12:32 Jr Super Production Bikes
12:38 Shifters
12:44 Novice Senior Bikes
12:50 Senior Open GP
12:55 Lunch ( Bambino Demonstration Race)
1:15 Jr 1 Heat race 4 laps
1:25 Novice Jr Bikes Main 8 laps
1:45 Jr Rotax/Jr Tag Heat Race 8 laps
2:00 Jr 4.2 Bikes Main 8 laps
2:20 Rotax Masters 125 Heat 8 laps
2:15 Sr Super Production Bikes 8 laps
2:35 Rotax Int 125 Heat 8 laps
2:50 Jr Super Production Bikes 8 laps
3:10 Tag 125 Senior Heat 8 laps
3:25 Novice Sr Bikes Main 8 laps
3:45 Shifters Heat Race 8 laps
4:00 Sr Open GP Main Bikes 8 laps
4:15 Jr 1 Main 6 laps
4:15 Jr Rotax/Jr Tag 10 laps
4:30 Rotax Masters 125 Main 10 Laps
4:45 Rotax Int 125 Main 10 Laps
5:00 Shifters Main 10 laps
5:15 Tag 125 Senior Main 10 Laps
5:30 Awards Ceremony
A friend and I were thinking about coming out to see the racing. Are any of the local vendors going to be out there with possible loaners to take a few laps on? Not sure if that would cause any insurance questions or not. I'm thinking about getting into pocket bike racing but I'd like to try a few laps on a real track first.
thanks
--Michael
How did practice go today? I wish I could have been there, it was an excelent day for riding!
See you all on race day bright and early!
We can't wait
The practice went incredibly well. this is the best track that any of us has ever been on. It is absolutely HUGE! The track runs anywhere from 30 to 60 feet wide! I hit 51.8 mph by GPS in my first run. The track is top notch - very few bumps, lots of switchbacks and straights, some technical some wide open. We had to jet up 4 sizes and gearing runs from 7/66 to 8/72. Make sure everything is tight on your bike and that you aren't running lean or this is a track that you can blow a motor on! The riders at the practice had a blast. We have a bunch of pictures, but haven't uploaded them yet. attached are a couple of samples though.
The schedule will be very tight...arrive at 7:30 promptly...
Better directions: Go I-405 North or South to highway 522 / Woodinville / Monroe exit heading east. Follow until it ends and loops around onto Highway 2 (3rd stoplight). Take a right at the light and the first right turn under the "Evergreen Motor Speedway" sign. Follow all the way up and around to the back of the race track. Keep an eye for a left turn to enter through the gate to the pits. If you get lost, call 206 619 4704 for directions.
thank you. we hope that your girls can get out there next time. let me know if I/we can do anything to help.
For the next event:
Pre-registration by credit card through the website will be STRONGLY encouraged so that we can configure the racing classes in advance.
The rules for the Junior classes are going to be thoroughly clarified before the next race, as soon as possible, and any future contest to them will be done in writing so that no arguing about rules will take place at the track.
What city is this going to be in. Do you have to race or can you just ride for a fee. I would like to race but wont be able to spend that kind of money.
What about the Midi and X-Bikes?
) Lets take a 5 race schedule and compare $$ with OMRRA and NWMRL. Here's what I see...
I am waaaaaaay looking forward to dicing it up with you guys again 
