Well I've been gone for almost 2 months and not a hell of a lot has changed since I left.

AMA?DMG is as bad a farce as I predicted. Not to mention renegging on the purse structure. They couldn't fool the good folks at Miller so now there's going to be a club race as the WSBK undercard instead of US Superbike!

The best racing in the world right now is WSBK and Spies is spanking the competition or crashing, he's now 60 points down on Haga, but it's still a far better show than AMA/DMG or MotoGP. It would have made perfect sense to adopt WSBK rules for 09 but the Emporor Edmundson wouldn't here of it.

Attendance is way down and the show is not worth the time, trouble or money for Speed. Don't blame Speed blame the Emporor! Mladin is still beating everybody in sight, so what changed or improved?

Nicky Hayden has been rocked with some truly bad luck and has not been able to do anything with the Ducati as yet, of course getting knocked off the bike at Motegi didn't help. Moto2 is coming and I hope that will improve the Moto show, that and about 10 more bikes on the GP grid.

So that is pretty much how I've seen things develop since March 2. Anybody see it different?

It's good to be back I'll read up on what I've missed over the next week or so (I already read all the racing stuff) talk to you all soon.

 

Yeah, if you're that far back on the grid, you end up with all the bunnies. I hope NH gets to grips with the Ducati soon.

Whilst I understand the demise of the 2-strokes, I fear that Moto GP and Moto 2 will end up as WSBK and S/Sports' expensive cousins, nothing more.

 

Hey Pete how you been. I'm not going to restart the AvsB rider thread but it's looking like the Kid has his work cut out to even get to B right now. Of course I don't know how much more of this "luck" he can take.

You may well be right about the Moto show, right now WSBK is far more fun to watch, what did they have 5 different makes in the top 5? Had Spies not thrown it away I'm sure Haga would have had a race on his hands.

Now that Spies kid is an A rider!

 

"A" vs. "B" racers?

 

Nah RK Like I said I don't want to start that thread again. This actually has more to do with Nick's crappy luck than anything else, and that the WSBK show is the best thing going right now!

 

Yeah, I know. I'm just trying to have some fun. My previous disagreement was never about the concept of "A" vs. "B", just about the cut off point for "A".

And no question about it, I enjoy watching WSB racing more than MotoGp.

 

Yeah, it is the cut-off that we were really discussing (and, I guess, when you assess it...I'm not really sure you can do it after only one season for every rider, though you could for some).

Anyway, we did the topic to death. It's an interesting thing about Moto GP, that in a way it mirrors the higher areas of endeavour for everything - it has become so technical that ordinary people get bored, and participants become fewer, too. Like postdoctoral study, whose aim is defined as "learning more and more about less and less until eventually you know everything about nothing."

I've been trying to keep my head above water in business this year, finding it pretty slow. "Head above water", as in holding my mouth facing upwards with water all around it and gently saying "Don't make waves, don't make waves..."

 

I just watched the Japanese GP. Boy did Nicky get screwed this time, getting rear ended by Takahashi, a 250 rider. But as much as I love cheering for him, it's getting hard. He's almost always in the last half of the finishers. Maybe it's time for a move to World Superbike.

 

VTR Surfer..you know I'm thinking the same thing. The Kid maybe should have done that instead of MotoGp, but that was his goal but after this season who knows. I also don't know how long his contract is for (probably 2 years but I don't recall). In any event I think he'd have way more success in WSBK.

PJAY I got those waves that's part of the reason I've been gone 2 months. It'll probably take me 2 years to get back to where I was assuming there is any kind of recovery under Brother Obama this year (doubtful).

 

I'm all for Nicky, but I don't know about the "luck" thing. Hayden himself says he thinks the bike is "trying to kill" him, so it must be a beast to control. Plus Rossi, Stoner & Pedrosa are real strong and there are some more "young guns" stepping up to the plate in a big way. I have no doubt Hayden is giving it all he's got. Same for Colin Edwards.

Watched AMA Prime Time Saturday night on SpeedTV. Are they joking? An hour long show a week after the actual race. And all they show is 1 Daytona Superbike race?! And they never even gave results from the other races. I'd just as soon they do a 10 min. segment on each race. But I realize they probably don't have an editing budget. And they probably only have cameras at 1 race, they gotta rush the equipment over to a NASCAR truck race or NASCAR lawn mower race, or something.

They did find time to do an interview with an Aprilia rider I never heard of - Ben Thompson, I think. Dear Ralph Shaheen - how about at least talking to someone who has finished somewhere near the podium in an AMA race!

Speaking of Ralph Shaheen - this is the voice of motorcycle roadracing in America? Nothing personal, but where is Dave Despain when we need him?

So thanks AMA/DMG for gutting roadracing in the US. You had some tv coverage. You had a gold mine with a very dedicated core of fans. But for years AMA failed to bring the sport to the prominence it has enjoyed in Europe & other parts of the world. DMG has managed to make the series weaker right off the bat with essentially no TV coverage of the sport.

 

L8RGYZ your probably right about the bike trying to kill him. I think there as many Ducati's in the field as Hondas but only Stoner has come to grips with it in a real way, the others are bringing up the rear.

As far as the AMA/DMG it's almost too pathetic to talk about anymore, nobody is watching when it is on, promoters like Miller don't see enough value to pay the ludicrous sanctioning fees the Emporor Edmondson demands, they'd rather run a club race as the undercard for next to nothing because the real show that'll bring in the fans, TV and money is WSBK. That's why their promoters and the Emporor is not.

I think in all likelyhood DMG will be a one or maybe 2 year gig before the France family figures it and the Emporor are losers and either sells it back to AMA or another management group.

I also don't know what's happening with the MIC US Superbike effort, I don't think it's completely dead if there is some economic recovery this year but we'll have to wait and see!