Thanks YZ125 Evan - I did respond to Derek, and here is what I wrote. Not really drama, just a separation...
I don't really know what I should say and what I shouldn't...
But the entire idea from the get go was my idea...that, is a fact.
Well...the original idea was to build one of my two machines up extremely nice, pay entry fee for a license holding pro who wanted to race it...and say go have fun at freestone, and if they wished to ride it elsewhere...they could.
I ran this by John due to his site to see if he knew of any riders and to let him know what I planned, and a couple weeks later he came back with the "team" idea with goals for funding and more races etc...
The superhunky article should get some facts straight..but as with anything not properly reported, verification of facts is not required on the internet (say unlike a newspaper with at least some ethics)
I think the entire deal is a huge "propaganda" machine at this point...rather than a legitimate effort to produce meaningful results.
I had some issue with rider selection, and despite voicing this opinion, nothing was done to ease my doubts. Further more, funding that was "promised" for the team (not for me - I originally budgeted around 2k for this) never came - surprise surprise...
I feel I never was treated fairly, to quote an email, the word "unproven" was used, and from the get go in january I was never sent items I was told would be sent...
Here is to hoping to a two stroke does well, but this is me using my brain power and logic skills "knowing" what I know thinking it just wont succeed due to lack of prep and proper effort on items that matter...
IE "works" kyb suspension being in the budget...when it's no more than a bunch of coatings as opposed to spending that money on something like, say, training...
I'd love the rebuttal...but I am sure you wont hear it.
Derek,
Please feel free to say whatever you like. Although I would use caution, in a public setting you set yourself up to be judged by the way you react and respond
For those that do not know, I am the "John" of Two Stroke Motocross. As always there are two sides to every story.
Yes, the original idea to develop a YZ250 race machine for the Nationals began with Derek and a few posts on TT. Soon after I contacted Derek about the project. It appeared that none of the local pros showed any interest. So I introduced Derek to Mike. They spoke and agreed to work together.
When Mike came on board, he was all in... without him, no industry introductions would have been made. Someplace along the way I spoke to Derek to ask if I could help and we agreed to work together.
While I have over 20 years of management experience, I had never written a sponsorship proposal, nor did I ever seek sponsorship. So there was a steep learning curve and the process took much longer than we could have ever imagined.
As the news of the project grew, racers in Texas began to approach Derek, now showing a real interest in being a part of a project that was getting some media attention. Derek mentioned he was uncomfortable with Mike at that time.
Personally, I feel that integrity and loyalty out weigh race results. If Mike were not a part Project Two 50 it would never have grown to the point that it is now. Is it perfect? No. Are we moving forward? Yes.
"I think the entire deal is a huge "propaganda" machine at this point...rather than a legitimate effort to produce meaningful results."
This quote is very sad...
The only reason that I said nothing about our separation, was out of respect for Derek. I still feel he is a very talented tuner and can be very successful.
As far as I'm concerned, we have parted ways under respectful circumstances. Maybe I'm mistaken.
We made one schedule change since Derek left, we will not compete in the Texas round. Our first race will be at Mount Morris, which is one week later than our original start date.The only reason is we were not ready. We felt that if we were not ready we should not go.
In a strange turn of events, I will personally be attending the race in Texas.
I'm hoping that I'll see a machine built by Derek competing there. I wish nothing but the best for Derek.
As to whether Project Two 50 is propaganda or not, I will leave that up to you.
But I will say this, I make every attempt to update the fans of Project Two 50 in an open fashion. While doing my best not to reveal any "secrets". We are working with many people on this project at this point, some in and many outside the industry.
Yesterday we had the bike on the dyno. It is located at AHP Minis in Pennsylvania. One of the people in attendance was the former COO of Boyesen. We are reluctant to share the results, mainly because we are not sure they are correct. We are planning to dyno the bike again very soon.
Just so you know, we are not as interested in the horsepower figures as we are in the emissions produced by the bike. We currently have a company called Aerodyne involved who is working directly with the EPA. None of this would have been possible without the help of Craig at MicroBlue Bearings. He has certainly elevated this project to a level we would never have expected.
As a closing I'd like to share this video that was posted on Youtube yesterday. This was shot and edited by our good friend Paul Sanders.. if I may point out a few things to look at. First the way the bike tracks through the whoops.. this is the Kayaba A kit suspension at work.
Next, watch the very last shot of the video. Is that the coolest sound you have heard in quite some time?
Project Two 50_Test Day 1If you have additional questions, please feel free to post here or to contact me via PM or any of the contact forms on my site. I will do my best to answer as quickly as possible. It may take a little while to respond because tomorrow morning I set out for Texas via road trip with my family.
Thanks for reading.
