Hmmm. Rhythm sections RUIN SX racing do they? Tell the 32 riders going for $100,000 that they aren't even racing, Ray..... Make it an un-Rhythm? Maybe promote your OWN event, Ray!
Ok and I'll see what I can get going here ...I doubt it'll make too many headlines ... Glad to see these young riders have a shot at a decent paycheck ..
From Red Bull: SANTA MONICA, CA – The final eight riders participating in the Open Class for Red Bull Straight Rhythm presented by Dodge Dart have just been announced. The 16 riders in the Open Class will go head-to-head in a best-of-three bracket format on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Auto Club Raceway at Fairplex in Pomona. Red Bull Straight Rhythm Open Class riders announced today include: Malcolm Stewart, Josh Grant, Justin Brayton, Grant Langston, Ryan Morais, Kyle Partridge, Jake Canada and Kyle Chisholm. They join the previously announced list of Travis Pastrana, Ryan Dungey, James Stewart, Josh Hansen, Josh Hill, Brett Metcalfe, and Dean Wilson. Cole Seely, who was previously announced for the Open Class, will now be replaced by Shane McElrath. The remaining eight 250cc Class riders will be announced next week. Tickets are available for $20 at www.redbull.com/straightrhythm. Red Bull Straight Rhythm will also air on NBC on Saturday, December 20 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT as part of the Red Bull Signature Series, a collection of the most progressive action sports events in the world. For more information, please visit www.redbullsignatureseries.com.
http://racerxonline.com/2014/09/25/red-bull-straight-rhythm-track-preview Here's a pretty cool track animated preview:
Alright this is funny. They are making a side competition called "MotorMouth" ! Lol. View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nziiu2j_RzM
my opinon and would not be surprised to see that TP199 chose the bike he chose (that CR500/RMZ custom)....because he plans to be in the air more than the others.....just a Travis thing. I think he is studying the run to scrub jump and trip-quad stuff while the others are doing their lower altitude double double rythym thing. This thing is fun, super low attention span needed, easy for non fans to watch. An MX drag race.
From Racerx: The concept of Red Bull Straight Rhythm is to cram the cool stuff from supercross—whoops and jumps, for example—into a short race without those pesky elements like turns, conditioning, bad starts, and the like. It’s just enough of a difference to become a real wild-card race. We seriously don’t know who will be the best rider in this format. It’s so wild that the wildest wild card to ever swing a leg over a dirt bike—Travis Pastrana—is going to give it a shot. And on a 500cc two-stroke to boot! We fired off some questions at Pastrana to get his take on the event, and his chances. It’s always good to chat with Travis. Racer X: Okay, first of all, what made you decide to compete in this?Travis Pastrana: The Straight Rhythm concept has been in the works for years, and it's something I've always been excited about. This Red Bull Straight Rhythm has all the elements of racing I love, plus it's short enough that even someone as crippled as me can be in good enough shape to ride hard for the entire race! Since no one has ever raced an event like this before, is there anyway to predict what might happen? I think you can. I would look at your riders that have the most flair and aggression to be out front. It won't be a lot different from a normal race, but the riders who set fastest time in practice and are regular front-runners at the beginning of the race will shine brighter than normal. In other words, this is a sprint. The riders who win by consistency and conditioning are going to struggle. How much differently can you ride a rhythm section when you're not as worried about getting tired? Will guys ride much harder than we're used to seeing in a twenty-lap race?I feel like twenty years ago it was possible to run half the race hard and then ease up and still be competitive. Since the Ricky Carmichael era, you pretty much have to run wide open for the entire race if you expect to win. The big difference is in the amount of risk you are willing to take when you only have one straight. If you have to go through a set of whoops twenty times in a race, you have to ride at a level where you know you won't crash. However, it's a lot easier to gamble when you are fresh and know the only way to win is to take a chance…or ten! That said, can you actually get tired on a run this short? Is it possible to pin it and push it that hard?Well, maybe not for Ryan Dungey, but I guarantee you that I will be running a heart rate of 200 by the finish of each run! Still, I think it would be almost impossible to get arm pump, so that's a plus! Can you revise bike setup without having to worry about corners?For the most part, in a regular race, you have to set your bike up for the whoops and deal with it in the turns anyway. So not a lot will change with suspension, but I'm sure some of the guys will experiment with a little more sag, which is normally not acceptable because of its negative effect in turns. Also, I'm running a 500cc two-stroke because I think it will be more of an advantage to put the power down. The extra weight would be a huge disadvantage in off-camber turns, or breaking bumps, but since this race takes out the need to turn and there isn't a lot of braking, it seems to be a less bad idea. How would you rate your scrubbing abilities? That came into fashion mostly after you were racing supercross full time.Yeah, the Bubba Scrub was after my time. Even though I made a career of flipping and spinning my bike, whips were always my kryptonite. Having said that, scrub all you want; I have a 500 and plan on using it to touch down as few times as possible! Dude, seriously? A 500? Tell us about the bike. Service Honda built the bike. It's an old school CR500 motor in a new RM-Z450 frame. It’s amazing how outdated the motor is. Lots of torque, but it vibrates the bolts out of the bike. Literally, I lost half the bolts on the bike in the first hour of riding and had to go through and loctite everything! It's amazing how close the factory 450s are to that 500, but I still feel it's got more power. And, really, it's just way better because it's a two-stroke of course! Also, the fact that I bleed yellow was only matched by my love for two-strokes, so it still rides like a Suzuki and has all the good modern geometry, but there’s also enough power to be competitive in this Straight Rhythm event against the new and more lightweight 450's. How excited are you to be back among your old peers as a racer again?Well, some of these guys I've had a chance to race but most of them I've only had the opportunity to watch ride from the stands or on TV. This is going to be so much fun for me. I feel like a little kid again going up against my heroes but this time they happen to be a lot younger then I am! What kind of prep have you done?I ride motorcycles almost every day of my life, but it's not to the same to trail ride with your friends as it is to blitz a set of whoops trying to compete with James Stewart. I don't think I'm any slower then I was in 2002, but unfortunately, everyone else is a lot faster! So, as far as preparation, I had my redneck buddy Hubert Rowland build a Straight Rhythm course on the longest straight area we have in the woods. And it's rained almost every day I've been home. So if it's a mud race, I think I have these guys covered! [Laughs] What can fans really expect to see—from both you and the event?Fans can expect to see a handle-bar-to-handle-bar, head-to-head, last-lap battle in every heat. There isn't going to be a lot of separation between most of the riders. Personally, I expect to have a lot of fun riding, and hopefully using my 500 to hit some jumps that the other guys aren't. Of course I'm coming out hoping to be a contender, but in the end, all my friends are coming out to watch and I'll probably be sitting in the stands with a beer in hand by the time the finals roll around. Either way, it's going to be an epic experience.
I expect to have a lot of fun riding, and hopefully using my 500 to hit some jumps that the other guys aren't. I figured we would hear that. after all those bolts falling out from vibes comments, imagine if you will a KX500 motor (KIPS) with counterbalancer shaft assy some how built in or attached.
Haven't heard that but I'd love to see it! Doubt it, though. They sure are getting mileage out of his appearance in this event! cool vid here! http://motocrossactionmag.com/news/see-travis-pastranas-500cc-two-stroke
Fever Pitch !!! Travis Pastrana There are so many questions that we could have devoted this entire column to Travis Pastrana and we still wouldn’t have had enough room to cover it all. How will he do in his return to dirt bike racing? Will he summon his stash of unreal talent and hold his own against active racers? Will he have a spectacular crash? How will his custom 500cc two-stroke handle the course? How long until the first back flip comes out? With Pastrana, the only thing you can count on is that you have absolutely no idea what’s coming next, which is probably why he’s so gosh darn thrilling to watch. -Hansel
I love the drag race mentality of the format... hell even I can pay attention for that long. I hope they run it like a single elimination shootout
It is single elimination. Here's the brackets. Practice concluded Friday at the inaugural Red Bull Straight Rhythm at Pomona Raceway. Timed practice yesterday determined today's seeds (1-16), with riders going head-to-head in a best two of three format with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The higher seed will have the choice of which side they want to run. In 250cc, Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin (1) will be the top seed and will square off against Jarryd McNeil (16). Musquin's new Red Bull KTM teammate, Justin Hill (2), finished second and will face Michael Leib (15). Lucas Oil/TLD KTM's Jessy Nelson (3) made it a clean sweep for KTM. He will face Keith Tucker (14). The GEICO Honda duo of Justin Bogle (4) and Jordon Smith (5) rounded out the top five. Bogle will take on amateur Ryan Surratt (13), while Smith will take on veteran Cody Gilmore (12). 250cc Bracket. In the Open Class, Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart (1) took the top spot. He will face Scott Champion (16). Red Bull KTM's newest recruit, Dean Wilson (2), was second fastest and he will take on current Lucas Oil Pro Motocross color analyst Grant Langston (15). Justin Brayton (3), who recently announced a new deal with BTOSports.com KTM, will be the third seed and face former factory rider Ryan Morais (14). Malcolm Stewart (4) will take on Brett Metcalfe (13), while Josh Hill (5) will face Vince Friese (12). The high profile matchup today, though, will see Travis Pastrana (8) take on Josh Hansen (9) with the winner possibly facing James Stewart in the next round. Open Bracket. Red Bull Straight Rhythm will be webcast live at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, October 4th via the Red Bull TV player on www.redbull.com/straightrhythm. Accessible via the web and its Android and iOS applications, Red Bull TV is also available as a pre-installed channel on Samsung Smart TVs and Apple TV and as a free, downloadable app on Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire and XBox 360 devices, so viewers can watch Red Bull Straight Rhythm on the go or from any screen in the house.
What happened to Pastrana in rd 1, 3rd race? My connection started buffering in the middle of the race!
