2017 King of The Motos Rider Letter 1

Riders,
We are getting excited for 2017 King of The Motos. What started as an invite-only motorcycle experiment at King of The Hammers has turned out to be America’s longest and toughest off-road extreme enduro. This year it is going to get longer and harder, as it should with some new elements to make the competition even better.
2017 KOM will be a “Three Moto” or race format. There will be a night race, run on Saturday evening, February 4th, and two separate races run on Sunday February 5th: one,  a fast desert race reminiscent of the first KOM and the second the toughest KOM course you have ever seen. Scoring will be moto scores combined, lowest total wins. In the event of a tie score the third race finish position or distance made breaks the tie. If you DNF a moto you can still start the next moto. DNF scores will be based on last CP and time of arrival. Your overall score will be the combination of each individual moto score. Penalties for missing CPs will be detailed later but will be severe.
The tentative schedule for KOM is as follows:
  Friday February 3rd, 2017
o    9:00 AM Registration Opens – Means Dry Lake Bed
  Saturday February 4th, 2017
o    9 AM- 3 PM  KOM Tech
o    3:30 PM  Registration Closes
o    4:00 PM Mandatory King of the Motos Riders Meeting
o    6:00 PM King of the Motos Race 1
 Sunday February 5th, 2017
o   9:00 AM – King of the Motos Race 2
o   12:00PM – King of the Motos Race 3
o   5:00 PM Event Kickoff/Party – KOM Awards Ceremony
This year we will also be requiring trackers on each rider. We will be using handheld sized “Yellow Bricks” that will track the rider, update the riders position every two minutes, utilize “geo fences” to show that riders do not deviate from the course or miss checkpoints and have a push-button emergency feature with communication in case of emergency. This is for rider safety and scoring efficiency. There will be an added cost because of it but before you complain, keep reading.
As always the course will be made available to riders with GPS Track logs. There will be very minimal physical course markings so a rider will need a GPS to be able to follow and navigate the course. We will have the course files available in .GPX and .GDB only and we will elaborate more on that as we get closer to the event. The organizers strongly suggest that you practice riding track logs and especially make sure you know how to hit a waypoint so you do not miss checkpoints during the race because the tracker will show it.  We will have some back-up measures in place as well but after testing the Yellow Bricks in other events we are certain they will make KOM safer and even more fair.
Some additional improvements based on rider feedback is that we will have an after-race party going on at the finish line on Sunday afternoon. We will have an awards presentation for the top three overall since we hope they should be finished even if a lot of others are still on course (no matter the weather, just like the whole race.) Don’t worry Sportsman/Amateur riders, the party will still be going for you too. We are working on getting a finisher item for those that feel they have finished.
Some other important things to be noted:
All riders will start all of the races at the same time, there will be no splitting of classes on the start line. For the first race the start position (as has been the procedure in the past) will be determined by sign up order. So if you are already signed up, great. Pro riders who sign up the day of the race might not be so thrilled with where they might be lining up. Once a rider takes a spot on the start line, they can not “give it up” to another rider. The second and third start line picks will be determined by the previous race’s finish order. 1st place gets first pick and so on.
The bikes will not be impounded or put in a Parc Ferme between Moto 1 and the start on Sunday morning. You can do whatever work on them you feel necessary but it has to be the same bike (we’ll mark engine and frame). But between the finish of race 2 and race 3 only the riders will be able to touch the bikes as has been the procedure in the past. A specific time schedule for the races will be released soon.
Yes, your bike will need lights, at least for the first race. Yes you can take them off after that race. We will be issuing a front and side number plate sticker for identification to aid in scoring but in reality the tracker will be doing most of the scoring work. 
For fuel range you bike should go at least 40 miles on a tank. A stock 2005 KTM 200 EXC makes all the race courses without going onto reserve. It is more of a run time issue than mileage.
Riders will be required to carry a couple of small flashlights and have a red blinky light attached to the rear of the rider (helmet, backpack, chest protector). We will check this at TECH and at the finish of the night race. 
Jimmy Lewis will personally pay your tracker fee if you bring KOM a quality volunteer to work our event for the duration of the KOM races. That means a person who will be out on course an hour before you start and be out for an hour or more after the last rider finishes. They may have to work in a very boring portion of the course telling unhappy spectators that they can’t drive backwards on the course or park in the middle of it. Sometimes they even have to get lip service from disgruntled racers or pit crews who are mad for one reason or another. This person should be ready for cold,rain, sleet, snow, excessive heat or likely high winds, be able to think on their feet if an emergency arises, ready to help out for circumstances that come out of nowhere. It helps if they are willing to beat up their own truck, quad or bike to get to the location we must assign them. They have to be dependable because we depend on volunteers to make this event comply with all the regulation it must for everyone’s safety and fairness. We really need volunteers– the trackers are freeing up our core group to address the more important safety concerns. We hate to increase costs, so this is Jimmy’s offer to the racers.
Looking forward to an awesome event in 2017 and we are hoping for the largest rider turnout to see if you can finish the King Of The Motos!
If you have any specific questions related to the course, MOTOS rules and regulations or volunteering contact: Jimmy@jimmylewisodffroad.com
For questions about registration see: https://ultra4racing.com/ 
Go To SCHEDULE, Click 2017 KOH WEEK, Scroll down and choose RACER.
If you would like information about sponsoring or vending/displaying at King of The Motos please contact Jeremy Dickenson at Jeremy@ultra4racing.com