Newsletter for all King of the Motos Presented by Trail Tech Riders

From Jimmy Lewis:
2014 King Of The Motos Presented by Trail Tech Rider Newsletter
Here is an update with general information and some explanation on changes for entered riders in The King Of The Motos presented by Trail Tech
The Format
The format for 2014 is a bit different than in the past. We are making the race better for spectators with easier access to more viewing as well as the course getting progressively more difficult–while still allowing us the ability to have a safe and fun event. It is pretty simple. Riders will have a qualifying run on Saturday afternoon to determine starting position for the Sunday morning start. If you do not complete (or miss or DNF) the qualifying run you will still be able to start on Sunday, just after riders who posted a qualifying time. Additionally the fastest qualifying riders will be guaranteed a spot on the Sunday afternoon start line as long as they finish the morning race by the cut-off time to make the afternoon start. Finishing the morning course should not be that difficult (by comparison) and if it is you would not have fun on the afternoon course. We will not be breaking up the morning starting order based on. Fastest qualifiers from Saturday start first on Sunday. Team riders will ride the qualifier together, they must cross the finish together, as well as pass through all checks on the course together.
The winner of King Of The Motos is the rider with the lowest elapsed time of BOTH morning and afternoon races on Sunday. We are combining times from the morning race and the afternoon race for the overall.
The morning race will start two riders at a time every minute (or possibly every 30 seconds depending on the total number of entrants.) The morning course is roughly 40-miles and the top riders should be finished in about 1.5 hours. It is very fast with a few technical sections in it, similar to the last half of the KOM race course last year. We will determine how many riders will pass onto the Sunday afternoon race and let you know at the riders meeting, but it is our intention to have as many riders as we can in the afternoon race. Your finish position across the line in the morning race (not your elapsed time) will determine your start position choice in the afternoon race. That puts even more pressure on a good qualifying run. If a rider is pre-qualified from ether a win at another hard enduro or earned from a high qualifying position on Saturday qualifying, he or she must still complete the Sunday morning race within 45-minutes of the afternoon start. All classes are on the same course with no deviations.
Only riders will be allowed to work on their bikes between races on Sunday in an observed “Hot Pit” area between the races. Riders are free to change anything on the bike but the frame and engine (center cases). Your helpers can’t help so they DO NOT need to purchase Crew wristbands, normal spectator bands will surfice.
The afternoon race is a mass start in a new location that will be revealed at a later time. We will begin lining up 30-minutes prior to the afternoon race’s start time and it is the rider’s responsibility to be ready to pick a start spot when called or they will lose their spot and have to wait till everyone else is placed.
The Sunday afternoon course is approximately 40-miles and is much more difficult than the morning and more difficult than last year. There will be a remote pit were riders may have a gas can and some small supplies (attached to gas can) to be transported to the location by KOM staff. The mileage will not determine the gas usage, it will be the time, different than what you are use to. Riders will pass through this gas pit twice on the afternoon loop. Only riders will be allowed in the gas pit, no outside assistance. We will have cut-off times for each Check Point on the afternoon course for safety and to allow us enough time to get the rider back to camp before dark. We will assist on bike retrieval on Monday (if needed). The final cut-off time to be considered a finisher is 5 PM, no exceptions.  All classes are on the same course. Pro riders must make it to the finish line to be considered a finisher and receive any purse payout. For the Amateur and Team classes (and maybe Girls) we will look back to the furthest check achieved and then time at that check to determine placing.
The course will be followed by use of a track log on a GPS. There will be some additional markings with arrows to aid riders but a GPS is the only real way to follow the course. The track log was built from on the ground running using a Trail Tech Voyager GPS and the files will be available in .GPX  and .GBD (Garmin) format on Friday morning at 9 AM. If you have any other unit than a Trail Tech Voyager you must bring the proper USB cable for us to attempt to download the files to your GPS. Riders may sight the course at any time between 9 AM Friday and the start of the race on Sunday morning. We will not be using typical District 37 style marking and will not be marking dangers as many riders may be accustomed to. The entire course is dangerous and it is the responsibility of the rider to read the terrain and determine what a safe speed is, as well as be able to follow the course using the track log. We will use some Arrows. You will need a GPS.
Pro Purse:
The top three pro positions will split the majority of the $10,000 pro purse. Any rider in the top ten in guaranteed to get his entry fee back if he/she finished the course. At this time we are actively seeking sponsorship for a girls or “Queen Of The Motos” class to award a payback for the ladies. If you know of anyone that is interested, please put them in touch with Jimmy Lewis or Melanie Hoit.
Sign Up:
As we get closer we will have more information on Sign-up times and instructions. Registration will be open on Friday January 31, times TBD.
Tech Inspection:
We will have Tech Inspection in the Moto Pit Area on Friday afternoon from 3-7 PM and then again on Saturday from 10-2. We will be checking for Spark Arrestors, 96 dB muffler and making sure the bike is generally safe. We will have a last-minute tech on Sunday morning 30-minutes prior to the start for any late arrivals at the start staging area.
IRC TRACKERS
We will have the pros running IRC trackers and some Amateur and Team riders may also be able to run them as we have a limited number available. There is no fee for the tracker to Moto riders but you will have to leave collateral to make sure you return it.
Moto Pits/Camping:
We will have a common Moto Pit area for all motorcycle entrants in Hammertown without designated addresses. Please be considerate to other moto entrants so we can squeeze into the area as Hammertown is basically full with car entrants that will be arriving before and during the Motos event. The Hot Pit area will be in a different location and explained at the rider’s meeting. It will serve as a Parc Ferme between Sunday morning and afternoon races only.
All spectators and helpers of Moto riders will need wristbands to get into Hammertown.
GPS:
Trail Tech is the presenting sponsor of King Of The Motos and has a special offer for KOM entrants on the purchase of the Voyager GPS and a protector through the use of a special promotional code. The Voyager is the easiest GPS to follow the course with especially due to the dual-zoom map screen function which makes it easy to have the track displayed in the correct scale depending on your speed. The Voyager at discount is $100 and the protector is $50.
The codes are: KOMVO14 for Voyager GPS and KOMPR14 for the protector.
See www.trailtech.net for purchase.
We recommend that you use the Voyager. Any protests involving course cutting will be reviewed by the track log in the riders GPS unit and we are confident the Trail Tech unit can accurately log the data needed to verify exactly where a rider went and compare it to the actual course. Other units may not be satisfactory for proving your case. Trail Tech will be on hand to help you with set-up and doing some teaching courses should you need it.
In the MOTO area in Hammertown we will have a GPS station to download the course tracks to your unit and be scheduling times for classes as we get closer to the event. If you’d like to practice with the GPS prior to the event in the race area, we can get you some practice loops to try out. Contact Jimmy Lewis directly for this at jimmy@jimmylewisoffroad.com. Practice loops will be available Monday January 13th and they will be safe to practice any time leading up to the event as they will not use actual course.
 
SPECTATORS AND SPECTATOR ZONES/PITS
We will have maps with the course printed for the entered riders and will have a spectator map available for crew. Additionally at the riders meeting we will explain how a crew can best spectate the race as no outside assistance is allowed for the riders, even at the gas stop. Right now there is great spectating right off the start of the Sunday AM race, then the course is a long ways away with no real spectator access until the finish, where the HOT PIT will be.
On the Afternoon course the start and a difficult section after the start are very easy to see and get to ahead of the riders. Then it is possible to make another spectator spot, then the gas (where riders will pass twice) then return to the finish where there is also great spectating. We will clearly line this out at the rider’s meeting. It would be best to be on a bike to reach these destinations but a truck could drive to the start and the gas only but would not likely make it back to the finish in time.
Moto Crew does not need to purchase CREW wristbands since they will not be allowed to work on the bike during the race. Only the riders are allowed to work on the bikes between the start on Sunday morning and the finish of the Sunday afternoon race. Outside assistance is grounds for disqualification.
If you have any questions about the course or the rules, please contact Jimmy@jimmylewisoffroad.com.