Anyone else talking RACING?! <--- of the motorcycle type

Nobody talking about Toni Elias' double MotoAmerica win in Austin....Claudio Corti either.

 

I'm glad to see Elias show up and throw a wrench in the works at MotoAmerica. Anything that might help to get more teams, riders, and manufacturers involved in the series should be welcomed. I would like to see enough participation that the classes could be split and run their own races again.

 

Yes I did....

 

Way more talent then the whole field........
Gosh dang foreigners..
MOTOAMERICA....

 

Lordamercy... winglets will be the death of them all!

Never did dream I'd see the day where racers would be discussing the size of their winglets- "Luckily [Dovizioso] is fine, because the impact was very hard, and luckily my winglets are not too big,” said Pedrosa.

I have no real opinion in the matter, good for a chuckle tho!

 

Honda and other riders are complaining the the turbulence behind the Ducs make it very difficult to pass.

 

If they work, let em be. That being said, I'd hate to see MotoGP bikes turn into the multi-winged monstrosities that F1 cars have become. Realistically though, how much further development could we possibly see in racing bikes? It's hard to imagine that the bikes could ever get significantly better than they are now.

 

I totally agree, Yamaha has benefitted from being the only factory team. It will be interesting if enough support for the series is generated to support the return of other factories. One would think that Mr. Rainey would have a better shot of getting them to return than DMG ever would.

A new GSXR is coming very soon and Honda is blowing smoke that they will be releasing a new CBR as well. A few Expats with name recognition from the rest of the world would go a long way to making it easier. It would also help up and coming US riders to compete with these established riders and increase their chances of going to Europe. Josh Herrin didn't exaclty do the series any favors....Although, P.J. has done a decent job of recovering some of the lost ground.

I can still remember Mat Mladins pit scooter at Miller Motorsports Park in 2008 with a hand written sign taped on the windscreen saying 2009 DMG Superbike....it turned out to be quite prophetic. It was all downhill from there.

 

No doubt. DMG wanted to build a 2 wheeled NASCAR model with nearly identical bikes and profits generated by the stickers on the fairings. I would like to see MotoAmerica running a similar rules package as WSBK, and maybe even something like Moto3 to get some young talent started out to bigger and better racing. Hopefully, Honda, Ducati and Kawi will come back to American racing. They're all looking pretty good in WSBK right now.

I'll do my part by spending the weekend at Barber this June.

 

My understanding is that they are still trying to get the BSB guys to come back over here to start up the Trans Atlantic Match Races again. With Stuart Higgs who is the BSB Championship Director, as well as, being the MotoAmerica Race Director, my hopes would be that they at least get the AMA spec superbikes on the same track with BSB spec machines and they would start that racing back up again. It would be great to see the BSB guys racing in the US again. The series will get going again, it's just a matter of how long it takes to get the factories back in the series and building a little respectability. With John Hopkins and James Rispoli currently riding full time in BSB....it would certainly be worth seeing it live and Barber has been mentioned as a possible first track.....

 

Thank God for Rainey

 

A couple people mentioned Elias, a couple pages back. The rest of this, is purely some opininated crap I'm spewing late a night, or early in the morning actually...

I think having those two in MotoAmerica is interesting, as a barometer for where our American racers are. No more talk about not liking the culture and food "over there", not having family/support, not knowing the language(s) or having to learn new and completely different style tracks as excuses for why American's haven't been doing very well (with a few exceptions) in Europe. Now these journeymen riders from Europe are coming over here, and having to learn our tracks, yet so far, doing very well. Though I'm very interested to see how they do on our "natural roadcourse" like Road Atlanta...

Overall, I've been saying it for a couple years now; I like Josh, and Roger Lee, and some of the others, but lord almighty, it's time to make some room for the younger guys to move up, and have a shot at the good bikes/teams (besides just Cam, and I mean younger than him anyway - see below). If these old guys want to keep racing, let them do it from a satellite/privateer team, so some of our younger riders can get some experience with the good stuff and see what they can do. Guys like Bobby Fong come to mind... A couple years ago, if he'd had a shot on one of the big teams, I think he might have got some notice to go overseas. Because there is an age component to go with moving over, the older you are, the less likely anyone is going to want you on their team, unless it's a gimmick to get American viewers/market for their sponsors. The world teams like to develop a rider, and like long-term commitment, so if you're getting into your mid-20's, it's highly unlikely a top team would want to pick you up to develop you through Moto3, Moto2 and eventually to MotoGP.

As for the Moto3'esque type of farm/feeder class, that's theoretically what the KTM RC 390 Cup is for. Now, that being said, one of the early goals stated by the MotoAmerica team when they took over, was to move "over a couple years" either completely or very closely to the same class rules as the FIM classes (Moto 3 for the farm/feeder class, and Would Supersport for 600's, and WSBK for liter bikes); however, I have heard less and less about this recently, and I know there was a lot of crying by the American teams last year, not wanting any rule changes, cause they didn't have time to adjust; which I accept, but since then, there has been less to no talk about this early stated goal to move to the world rules. I hope that comes back at some point soon.

Overall, I think MotoAmerica is great. DMG almost destroyed AMA roadracing, and completely killed Michael Jordan's team. I am trying to have patience, because I know this is not something you change overnight; however, I hope I see more direct "guidance" on the part of MotoAmerica to help move us to a series designed to develop American racing talent, to compete on the world stage, and not just hope that's what happens.

 

Why worry about winglets? I would worry more about handle bars and rear sets! They don't break off so easy. And if they do disrupt the slipstream I think that might be cool, seen to many guys sneak in a last moment pass out of the stream. As Nicky Haden. lol Thought he was on the podium last race until the last second. lol

 

One of the main reasons there haven't been many changes is the cost. The last thing they wanted to do was blow everybody out right at the beginning. Just as an example a basic NSF250 is $25,000. Without sponsorship and support, that's kinda hard to pull off for the average Mom and Dad. The KTM series is a good common sense way to at least get younger riders on the track. The ultimate goal is still to get to a Moto3 class, but the economics don't support that at the moment. The current formula is a good common sense approach. The MA leadership are some pretty sharp guys who realize that the steps must be economically viable.

As far as Superbike rules go, American Superbikes are actually more technically advanced than BSB machines. Just as an example, compare the electronics packages. It is certainly better than a superstock 1000 class and there are European riders going directly to WSBK from Euro Superstock series.....

I would have to disagree with your assessment of Bobby Fong. A good rider, yes. As quick as Josh Herrin, no, and we were able to witness what happened to Herrin. Granted the Caterham might not have been the best bike, but Johan Zarco consistently outclassed Herrin on identical machinery. Joe Roberts would be my choice. The passing of Peter Lentz was horrible in more ways than just the loss of a great young rider.

 

BeIN schedule this weekend:

April 16 (all times Eastern Time):

6:55 a.m. FIM World Superbike Race One at Assen (LIVE)

5:30 p.m. MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000 Superpole and Supersport/Superstock 600 Race One at Road Atlanta (DELAYED)

April 17 (all times Eastern Time):

5:55 a.m. FIM World Supersport Race at Assen (DELAYED)

6:55 a.m. FIM World Superbike Race Two at Assen (LIVE)

12:25 p.m. MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000 Race One at Road Atlanta

4:30 p.m. MotoAmerica Supersport/Superstock 600 Race Two and Superbike/Superstock 1000 Race Two (DELAYED)

 

I understand the economics, and said so in my diatribe. As for Fong, the idea that he's no Herrin is debatable, as Herrin was on a factory supported bike, while Fong has always been on a satellite. Additionally, I was using him as an example really, not specific, and saying that if the "old guard" would move out that would make the way for some of the younger guys to move up to the factory teams here in the states for a couple years, and potentially have a chance.

In the end, I'm not disagreeing with you at all, just saying I hope MA is as successful as they hope to be, and that I hope they do more in the way of direct "guidance" in the series and not just "build it and they will come" hope.

 

Thanks Echo, their program listing is horrible. They still might change it at the last second. Lol

 

It's all good. I appreciate your opinion. I too hope for the same things you do and believe the MA group is going to get things rolling, it just takes time.

 

Holy cow, what a great weekend of racing. ...
WSB and MotoAmerica.
No spoiler

 

No spoiler here either; but you are right! Great weekend of crazy racing!

I will say, Garrett Gerloff is impressing me. Finally, a young American taking racing seriously; got a trainer, nutritionist, etc. He's in better shape, and has dropped some weight, all important, and it's sure showing...

Looks like the Europeans in all three MotoAmerica classes they are in also showed that it's not just a fluke; even though Road Atlanta "isn't like world courses", they still did very well. It's gonna be a good season finally in MotoAmerica, and I'm happy to be saying that.

I also get the sense that Nicky is about done. I think he'll help develop the new Honda sportbike next year (if they really make it), but he isn't riding with the aggression of the younger riders, and I get the sense he'll continue to get top 5-10 finishes (with a podium here and there), but don't get the sense he'll make the moves for #1...

Just my thoughts.