ASK THE MXPERTS: (12/31/09)

The two-stroke.

Dear MXA,
    I read somewhere that 250cc two-strokes were going to be allowed to race the 2010 AMA 250 Nationals (against the 250 four-strokes). Is this true?

No. Although there are a lot of people who would like to see 250cc two-strokes in the AMA 250 National class, it isn’t going to happen. There are about ten people who don’t want it to happen (and those ten are team managers of teams that are heavily invested in four-stroke development).

Don’t confuse the AMA Nationals with most local and amateur races, where 250cc two-strokes are legal in the 250 four-stroke class. The amateur and local promoters have a much better understanding of the economics of racing and they believe that two-strokes are not only good for racing, but for the life of the sport.

AMA Pro Racing, at the National and Supercross level, is a series of little fiefdom’s controlled by race teams whose main interest is in getting as much advantage as possible out of the rules package for themselves. They see no benefit in reviving the two-stroke (especially not at the three manufacturers who have quit selling them in the USA).