On The Pegs P 40
On The Pegs P 40
SECTION 8
WE MIGHT BE CRAZY , BUT ...
A = A , B = B , C = C
By Erek Kudla – AMA Off-Road Racing Manager
Starting at the beginning of 2017 , I had been tasked with something core to the AMA ’ s role as a sanctioning body . While I was hoping the AMA International Six Days Enduro Qualifier Series would be my signature movement , it has been quickly overshadowed by something much bigger . Classification . This is something that has been a touchy and all together miss-managed subject for the last 50 year , but AMA congress ( made up of AMA delegates from all of the districts and clubs across the United States ) has made brought it to the forefront with the introduction of the “ AMA Advancement ” portion of the rulebook .
Classification , at least proper classification , refers to riders riding in the correct class across the board . Being from the West Coast , which is spanned by only three AMA districts , classification was always straightforward . “ I ’ m a B rider … so I race B .” and that was it . I ’ ve discovered that on the East Coast and into the Midwest , classification is a bit more complicated .
For example , there ’ s a common practice of riders competing at one level in local events ( say , the B class ) and at another level in national series ( say , the C class ), especially by riders who compete in non-AMA-sanctioned series between nationals . When asked , these riders will cite “ increased competition ” as the reason they bump down . My response : That ’ s what a national is ! It ’ s nationallevel competition . It ’ s supposed to be harder than the local series . It ’ s not supposed to be easy .
I ’ ll offer myself as an example . On the West Coast , I am normally a top 10 overall rider locally . I could be on the starting line , check out the competition and be able to say “ I ’ ll be 7th today ” and was usually right there . When I would go to a round of the AMA National Hare and Hound Championship Series , I would struggle to finish inside the overall top 50 . That ’ s how it ’ s supposed to work . The competition is tougher . Period .
Part of the confusion is probably rooted in the AA designation . AA and “ pro ” designated classes are added by the series promoter to identify the highest level of competition . In many