| Author | Message | ||
     Missin44 |
Start winning MotoGP on the world stage, get a solid knowledgeable dealer network and you'll see Buell sales really take off. | ||
| Trojan |
Whilst the team have done a brilliant job to win the DMG Sportbike series, there is a huge world of difference betwen that and MotoGP or even World Superbikes. One step at a time eh? However, how about a Buell Moto2 bike? That would make huge sense as the factory just need to develop a chassis to sell to race teams that will fit the Honda 600 Spec engine. Moto2 should be huge next year and will encourage chassis manufacturers from around the world to get involved in a race series that was previously the preserve of factory teams and factory leased bikes. It would give Buell a presence in the MotoGP paddock and world wide TV coverage without the need to spend billions developing an engine for MotoGP. Even Yamaha are rumoured to be developing a Moto2 bike even though it is powered by Honda! | ||
| Simond |
Bet they won't call it a Yamaha if they have to call the engine a Honda though. | ||
| Blake |
>>>One step at a time. Really! Geez. Next is ASBK. That won't be so easy. (Message edited by blake on September 08, 2009) | ||
| Blake |
>>>One step at a time. Really! Geez. Next is ASBK. That won't be so easy. | ||
| Trojan |
Bet they won't call it a Yamaha if they have to call the engine a Honda though. Maybe they will, as it will mean they can put a Yamaha badge on the bike regardless of engine, and can supply their satellite teams with an 'in house' package rather than rely on outside frame builders. Really! Geez. Next is American Sport BikeK. That won't be so easy. I thought they had done that already? Moto2 is the future of mid capacity racing at world level. Manufacturers and particularly race organisers need to grasp this concept and get national Moto2 championships organised as soon as possible, or they will once again be left in a backwater with no relation to or logical step up to world class events. It is no accident that a large proportion of GP riders are either Spanish or come through the Spanish system, because it is very closely related and affiliated to the GP system. With the introduction of Moto2 the Spanish have already introduced Moto2 into their Formula Extreme series and already have bikes competing. If the British and US organisers really want to breed the next generation of GP riders/winners then we both need a domestic Moto2 series instead of more production based race formats (especially artificially restricted ones such as DMG Superbike). Just hoping that another Ben Spies will come along to race at world level isn't really a plan for the future (The UK doesn't even have that, but we do have some exciting prospects for Moto2). | ||
| Blake |
How is ASBK "artificially restricted"? All racing classes are restricted by their rules. Nothing artificial about it, it is just the rules. We like our rules better. They make for less expensive racing machines and help level the field among all competitors, not just those favored or directly supported by or run by the factories. We don't really care to assimilate either. We thing spec racing is stupid for motorcycles. We'll let our best talent find their own home. Doesn't seem like the "World Stage" is very keen on having a third of the grid occupied by Americans anyway. Given that, two or three is enough at any one time. We now have two, with Hopkins prior to Kawasaki abandoning their racing, it was three. We don't like having our racing formats dictated by FIM. Ben Spies will do fine in MotoGP. | ||
| Blake |
We don't need to hope. The history of Americans racing in MotoGP and WSBK is long and rich. That isn't going to change just because of Moto2. In fact if anything, the Moto2 class is a LOT closer to the Supersport and Sport Bike classes than the 250cc two strokes, so it seems as though FIM is actually bending our way, not the other way around. | ||
| Trojan |
We don't like having our racing formats dictated by FIM. Then you are destined to have a long time in the International wilderness in racing terms. Why will WSB and MotoGP continue to come to the US in future? Especially as there will be less and less US involvement in international sport with this isolationist point of view. Outside of Buell forums the DMG/AMA format seems pretty universally disliked at present by manufacturers, teams and fans alike. Read RRW letters to see how many long time fans are giving up on the AMA because of the issues just this season. Whilst I congratulate Buell on their title it doesn't mean anything outside the US (where most Buell sales are) because the Daytona Sportbike series means nothing outside the USA. I am not taking anything away from Buell in this remark. You have to race in what you have and Buell have made a great job this season in that series. However, the fact remains that most people outside the USA don't even know the DMG SPortbike series exists, and those who do know about it (which isn't many) can't understand the rules or why an 1125 should race a 600 in the first place. Any coverage the series has got so far internationally has been negative unfortunately, so there is little advertising mileage for Buell outside the US for this win. Likewise AMA Superbike (which has much more relevance for the 1125 surely), is seen as just a glorified Superstock series compared to other Superbike championships and is pretty much vilified by the world press. Saying you are happy with the US race situation is fine, but in 10 years time will you wonder why there are no upcoming US racers on the world scene? (Other than those who move to Spain like PJ Jacobsen of course). DMG has a very short term vision for US motorcycle sport that as far as I can see is at odds with the rest of the world. That's fine so long as you don't expect the world to come and play in your 'world series' I suppose. In fact if anything, the Moto2 class is a LOT closer to the Supersport and Sport Bike classes than the 250cc two strokes, so it seems as though FIM is actually bending our way, not the other way around. How is the FIM bending your way? Do you have a Moto2 style class in operation now? Moto2 shares a basic engine configuration with Supersports bikes (although much more heavily tuned), and that is it. Chassis wise it will be much closer to current 250 racing than any Supersport/Superstock class in existence either here or in the USA. The AMA doesn't even have a viable Supersport class now (and moving to 450Moto will make it even further away) let alone anything resembling a support class for MotoGP. (Message edited by trojan on September 08, 2009) | ||
| Court |
>>>Read RRW letters to see how many long time fans are giving up on the AMA because of the issues just this season. And to show their disdain they showed up in RECORD NUMBERS this last Saturday and Sunday . . . .that'll show the AMA! | ||
| Trojan |
And to show their disdain they showed up in RECORD NUMBERS this last Saturday and Sunday . . . .that'll show the AMA! Maybe something to do with a new circuit and the last race of the year? out of interest, what were the record numebrs last weekend? | ||
| Jaimec |
That was probably more to say "Farewell" to Mat Mladin than anything else... And yes, I suspect there were more than a few to say "Good riddance" too. I would NOT have been one of them. AMA Superbike will be much poorer for not having him pushing the younger riders to their limit. | ||
| Ebear |
"International Wilderness"? .........The USA?......... You guys crack me up!...after an all day and night trip back to the "Left Coast" and getting to bed 'bout 1:00 ish and being stuck on eastern seaboard time....I needed the laugh....Thanks! Just repeat after me....Different in Every Sense....Different in Every Sense....Difffff.....snoozing , snoozing , snoozing... | ||
| Trojan |
Just repeat after me....Different in Every Sense....Different in Every Sense....Difffff.....snoozing , snoozing , snoozing... Like I said, it is only on Buell forums that you get this enthusiasm for the AMA at the moment. Go to any of the other boards and quite a few websites and you get a far less attractive opinion of both the AMA/DMG and Buells part in it I'm afraid. Also like I said, outside the USA this series means much less than it does over there, and if Buell want to advertise and sell internationally then DMG Sportbike success won't mean much to a buyer in France/UK/Timbuctoo. How much coverage has the Sportbike title got Buell outside of the US so far? I have read pretty much every major road racing web site and the non US ones don't even give it a mention. I'm glad you had a great weekend, but that doesn't change my argument regarding the direction of AMA/DMG. | ||
| Dbird29 |
Doesn't "International Wilderness" mean Frontier? Sounds very American to me. | ||
| Davegess |
DMG has a very short term vision Matt, I think the oppisite it is true. MC racing in the USA is incredibly UNPOPULAR. A second dtrin NASCAR truck event here in Milwaukee drew damn near as many fans as did the MotoGP race at Indy. Basically in the realm of motorsport in the USA MC is a non-entity. DMG has the vision to move up to something with significant attendance. Matt if you ever attended a top level AMA National prior to this year you would have been shocked by the tiny crowd. What we have been doing for th elast 20 years has not been working, sure we have had our share of top notch racers who go to the world stage but the races themselves are weak. Any Supercross race outdraws the best roadrace over here, or at least come damn close. MC racing was dying before this, DMG will either fix it or kill it faster but the way it used to be death was inevitable. As far as beign a non-entity on a world stage, Matt you should certainly realise that this is the USA, we don't give a rat's ass about the rest of the world. You all don't play real sports, you play that funny thing you call football where nobody gets hit.  You don't have real races, nobody gets slammed into the wall, nobody gets upside down, what kind of namby-pamby racing is that? | ||
| Trojan |
You all don't play real sports, you play that funny thing you call football where nobody gets hit. We don't wear padding - it's called Rugby You don't have real races, nobody gets slammed into the wall, nobody gets upside down, what kind of namby-pamby racing is that? Ask Nori Haga about that We also have the IOM remember  | ||
| Buell2001b |
I AMA is doing great job. I have seen the crowds get bigger race by race. I think they should stick to the format DMG has started. the last race of the season was packed. all the beachers were packed no wer to seat. the whole perimeter of the track was covered with people. I have to say I had more fun here then MotoGP at INDY. The track itself needs to improve they need the giant monitors so you can follow the race no matter where you are. It was kinda sad driving back and see how some of the local economy business are struggling thru this economy. a lot of closed stores ;( | ||
| Blake |
>>>Then you are destined to have a long time in the International wilderness in racing terms. I doubt that will stop American racers from entering and winning world championships. Motorcycle racing is motorcycle racing, and the truly great riders will have no trouble rising to the top no matter their roots. American Superbikes aren't that different. The spec tires are different, so that kills any inter-series racing anyway. Recall that the old AMA was opposed to spec tires. That was a DMG implementation. Credit where credit is due. I don't see less and less involvement just because we see fit to run our racing series differently. That makes no sense. Truth is, back before spec tires, I don't think the WSBK folks much enoyed seeing their top pros get repeatedly spanked by the wild card American series racers here. American racing is simply independent from FIM. It's not "isolationist." "Isolationist" racing would mean that we forbade any foreign class racing here or any mixture of the events, which is not the case, nor will be. MotoGP and WSBK will continue to visit America because they cannot call themselves a world class series and not do so, and they make money doing so, and the manufacturers probably like the market exposure. And, who knows what might happen. Revising the rules is a simple matter. Once the series is on firm footing here, with the desired influx of MAJOR sponsors for a majority of teams, then with that money backing them, DMG may decide to adopt FIM tech rules for ASBK. You see, the long term plan is to first increase fan base and sponsor interest; that is goal #1. You cannot do that if you only have one or two factory teams fighting for race wins. They need more and better competition. They are already getting it. We see lots of angst written on the internet about DMG and the new AMA Pro Racing. Does that really the series? That is doubtful as it has generated a BUNCH of press and a BUNCH of interest. Did we not see plenty of angnst and griping before the new rules were put into place? Things really haven't changed in that regard very much. The 600cc spec racer fanboys are all in a hissy over the Buell 1125R in DSB. I can see their point. They have a point. I don't care. When they do win a race, it makes it that much sweeter for them. They are still watching. The Japanese had some payback due for the way they have bullied and exploited racing in America. Recall that the Japanese factories have already learned their hard lesson with WSBK when they tried bullying with their ultimatum there. The Ducati racing series was just as entertaining and now as a result of that brave move, the series has improved by leaps and bounds. The competition is fantastic there this year. >>>Whilst I congratulate Buell on their title it doesn't mean anything outside the US (where most Buell sales are) because the Daytona Sportbike series means nothing outside the USA. "Nothing" you say? I bet it means something to the fans ofChas Davies, Robertino Pietri, Martin Cardenas, Aaron Gobert, and all the other non-American competitors. I doubt it means nothing anywhere it is televised. I bet folks watch it with interest, especially after the splash that Ben Spies has made this year in WSBK. Surely they are curious about his racing roots in America. If folks like watching incredibly close racing with lots of lead changes, they'll be interested in DSB, so I doubt very much that it means "nothing". I don't get where a venue for entertainment, a racing series has to mean anything. It is sporting entertainment. I know you think that 125GP and 250GP "mean" a lot wrt MotoGP. I don't watch either of them. >>>However, the fact remains that most people outside the USA don't even know the DMG SPortbike series exists, and those who do know about it (which isn't many) can't understand the rules or why an 1125 should race a 600 in the first place. Any coverage the series has got so far internationally has been negative unfortunately, so there is little advertising mileage for Buell outside the US for this win. So what? What does any of that have to do with making motorcycle road racing in America more popular in America? And again, surely the fans of Chas Davies, Robertino Pietri, Martin Cardenas, Aaron Gobert, and all the other non-American racers are interested in the series. >>>Likewise AMA Superbike (which has much more relevance for the 1125 surely), is seen as just a glorified Superstock series compared to other Superbike championships and is pretty much vilified by the world press. So what? Ignorance is bliss and petty critics who vilify others are miserable scum. >>>Saying you are happy with the US race situation is fine, but in 10 years time will you wonder why there are no upcoming US racers on the world scene? (Other than those who move to Spain like PJ Jacobsen of course). Who is PJ Jacobsen? No I doubt we will wonder as you say, since I doubt that will happen. Tommy Aquino (17) and Josh Herrin (19) will likely be putting on a good show there if they so choose, and there are always these racers. If not, then I'll be just as happy to see them stay with the AMA and raise the level of competition here. We'll happily continue to welcome top racers from Europe, and Australia into our series. If FIM isn't careful they could end up with road racing being in the same boat as motocross, where it is the American series that is the elite series of the world. >>>DMG has a very short term vision for US motorcycle sport that as far as I can see is at odds with the rest of the world. That's fine so long as you don't expect the world to come and play in your 'world series' I suppose. DMG, short term vision? Whoa! I see the exact opposite. They are laying the ground work for a huge expansion of fan base here. Expect a track in Texas to come on line before too long, the sooner the better. >>>How is the FIM bending your way? Do you have a Moto2 style class in operation now? Ditching the annoying 2-strokes in favor of four stroke machines is moving closer to what folks here are used to in the AMA. Regardless of chassis, the new Moto2 are light years closer to a 600cc supersport than were the 250GP machines. >>>The AMA doesn't even have a viable Supersport class now (and moving to 450Moto will make it even further away) let alone anything resembling a support class for MotoGP. What do you call DSB?  Why would we want to have a "support class" for MotoGP? Racers go from Superbike to MotoGP, not from Supersport to MotoGP. The same is true in Europe. | ||
| Davegess |
Just 'cause guys get ears chewed off you think rugby is tough? You really can't hit a guy all that hard if you don't have a helmet and pads on; it hurts too much | ||
| Reepicheep |
I could care less about international opinion, all I know is that watching motogp is fun for about 10 minutes, then feels like watching paint dry. But watching daytona sportbike is great fun from beginning to end... | ||
| Trojan |
OK maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe the AMA/DMG are doing great and I just don't see it. What I see is a general 'dumbing down' of motorcycle racing in the USA so that it becomes a two wheeled Nascar. New 'fans' won't care what the bike is or who the rider is, just so long as somebody hits the wall every now and then. In a few years the entire field will be made up of US manufactured bikes from Victory, H-D and Buell that look nothing like bikes from otehr race series around the world, but will all be heavily sponsored by Tampax or M&M's. Races will have obligatory stops for sponsor messages every ten minutes so that sponsor messages can be given to the TV public. Or maybe you would prefer to see racing on a smaller scale but run by and for enthusiasts who know something about what they are watching? I know what I'd take any day As for the fans of Chaz Davies, Neil Hodgson etc over here, nobody knows what they are doing as it is never reported. They may as well have gone to space as far as UK fans are concerned. I know one thing though. If either of them were offered a competitive ride in WSB they would be back like a shot! Pietri has already signed to ride Moto2 next year and I think that AMA fans will be in for a shock when they see how many of the top riders find other series to race in next year. By the way, P J Jacobsen is the hottest young talent from the US for a long time, and at 16 years of age is definitely one to watch. I just hope that he and Josh Herrin (who I have been raving about for a long time) don't waste to much time getting into a decent world championship. | ||
| Ceejay |
If you don't get people to watch, how are they going to get into racing? I've been going to the Mid-Ohio races for a few years now and previous to this year, the guys I would go with were usually sleeping under the tree. I'm somewhat of a bike nut so I'd watch, but there weren't a lot of us doing such. This year has DMG has shown they can put more people in the stands and in front of their tellies. More people watching, more people getting their kids into it, because the youngsters get exposed to it. More youngsters exposed to it, more kids getting hooked on it, and it can carry forth. How else is is supposed to work? The racers will learn how to ride different bikes, be it more or less cc, traction control, or tires. Riders ride. Hell my kids stick thier knee out going round corners on thier bicycles, think they'd do that if they haven't seen it before? I agree that going from a Daytona Superbike to a world superbike is probably a big jump, and in turn from WSB to MotoGP as well, but isn't that what they get paid to do? If they can't handle it then there will be someone else who can, but I'd fashion to guess that if DMG keeps building a fan base more parents won't see bikes as some crappy sport making a bunch of noise and start getting their youngens on it. More kids in it= more kids to compete against each other=better riders=better competition. That's how I see it working and building for the future. To carry forth as it was which in essence is how much of the rest of the world does it-where sportbikes have a much higher popularity, was killing the sport, and didn't look to the future much at all, other than keeping the big dogs big, and the little guys little. On another note, I played Rugby for year and I'da much rather continued playing college football. One sport always moved sideways Those rugby guys sure knew how to tie one on though. | ||
| Trojan |
Maybe I just had a rose tinted view of US racing, based on the 'old' Daytona 200 when it was a world class event instead of a club race at a large stadium. AMA Superbike should be one of the most important motorcycle series in the world if you judge by population and motorcycle sales, but that has slipped and is continuing to do so with the DMG approach. By all means make the sport more approachable and amenable, but keep the blue riband class so that people can see what a Superbike can do and also have something to aspire to. If AMA Superbike ran the same rules as the FIM then yes you may get less privateers and more factory bikes, you may sometimes get racing that isn't as close (although often you will), but you will getthe cream rising to the top and they will be on a bike that they could race in WSB as a wild card or as a regular entry no problem. Moto2 could be a brilliant concept and dfeeder class worldwide. It could bring on engineers in the mould of Erik Buell who can build a world beating chassis. It promises innovation and racing that will be very close because of the spec engines. National championship organisers should grab this series and make a national championship as soon as possible, but they won't because it is an untried and new formula and race organisers/sanctioning bodies are a conservative bunch. I will give this to DMG. They have been willing to try and change. So why not go with Moto2 and make a change that will be not only relevant to the rest of the world but would make them a leading player in what is to become the second most important motorcycle race series in the world from 2010. The ACU (The UK organising body) is as guilty as anyone in this respect and needs to look where the next generation of GP riders are going to get a chance to ride a bike with a fully adjustable chassis like the old 250's were. DSB and Supersport offer little or no chassis adjustment, and this is a crucial factor in the jump from 'production' racing to GP racing. Only the Spanish (and maybe the Italians) will do it, and then we'll all continue to moan about Spanish domination of MotoGP without doing anything to change it  Spain already has Moto2 and I will bet that most of the money, riders and technology for next years series will come from there. | ||
| Liquorwhere |
OK maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe the AMA/DMG are doing great and I just don't see it. What I see is a general 'dumbing down' of motorcycle racing in the USA so that it becomes a two wheeled Nascar. New 'fans' won't care what the bike is or who the rider is, just so long as somebody hits the wall every now and then. In a few years the entire field will be made up of US manufactured bikes from Victory, H-D and Buell that look nothing like bikes from otehr race series around the world, but will all be heavily sponsored by Tampax or M&M's. Races will have obligatory stops for sponsor messages every ten minutes so that sponsor messages can be given to the TV public. Dammit man!! That is harsh, but maybe not far off the mark. Look DMG comes from NASCAR and they are implementing a few things from that series to motorcycle racing here, they are not using rolling starts next year from the press release as well as the safety car/bike/baby carriage whatever..gone.That is a move to the positive in my humble opinion. The two way communication with the racer is coming, not sure what to think of that, seems like it will go more NASCAR with spotters and such then, the mystery yellow flags, similar to what happened in Daytona may or may not continue, don't know after that race if there were more because I didn't watch any DMG/AMA racing this year, so maybe that won't happen. Having the number belong to the team emphasizes the team and a sponsor identification with that bike and number, if you ever watch a speed broadcast or ESPN they talk about the car as if it were the driver...ie "the number 8 car was really rolling today" as opposed to "driver X was really rolling today" I don't know why that is the case but it is. As far as dumbing down the racing, maybe so, slow it down and make the racing closer is the goal I think, but, not that I am defending DMG/AMA because I cannot stand DMG, European racing has also been trying to slow the bikes down to promote that very thing, starting with 990cc bikes in GP to 800cc bikes, engine replacement restrictions so the engines will have to be tuned to be more stable so as not to go over their allocation, removal of the carbon fiber brakes(also cost saving) and the spec tire rule. I don't see a huge difference between the two international series and DMG on this one.... I saw two racers from Australia in the AMA flattrack series this weekend at Peoria racing the 450 singles class TT there, and that is where you will also see alot of loyal fans showing up, the INDY mile, Springfield, the Old time newsy's and such... For sure I am not a fan of DMG, just not, and that is ok, because many of the people on this thread may not have followed racing at all before the 1125R was homologated to race in DSB, so what they lose they may replace with either NASCAR fans that are looking for a place to call their own or from brand loyal individual's looking to see their brand race and win. Alienating the other manufacturers may come back to haunt them, and it may not, Roger Edmondson said and I quote from his interview on RRW, "we are only running a national championship series here" so maybe he doesn't see it as more than just the good ole USA to market to....so there ya go.... As far as riders being developed here and moving on to international competition, I think the stream of riders to the WSBK and MotoGP is slowing rapidly, there used to be many american's racing both series and now it is slim pickings, that could be a number of factors but for sure the lack of popularity in this sport, and the larger money and bigger image of other sports doesn't lend itself to development. I think Motocross and Supercross are the only growing two wheeled competition still going on in the US. And to be fair, allisports put on a great outdoor competition and THREE former or current world champions competed in the US outdoors this year with NONE of them winning the title (although Christoph Pourcel came damn close had it not been for an engine problem before steel city). I think it depends on what you view your series as, the Daytona 200 used to be a HUGE international affair, not so much lately, in fact 600,000 bikers will show up in Daytona and not know the week was based on a MOTORCYCLE race as opposed to tit flashing at the cabbage patch.... I wish DMG well, and those that follow the series well, of course I won't be following it like I used to, but it seems they will get along just fine without me | ||
| Blake |
>>>What I see is a general 'dumbing down' of motorcycle racing in the USA so that it becomes a two wheeled Nascar. New 'fans' won't care what the bike is or who the rider is, just so long as somebody hits the wall every now and then. That is so far off base, so wrong in perception of NASCAR that I don't know what to say. Matt, NASCAR fans are first and foremost RABID fans of the drivers. That is exactly what NASCAR has learned to promotes so well, the drivers. The crew chiefs of a NASCAR Cup team get more coverage than the winners of AMA motorcycle races. The old moto formula of just a brief pre-race interview and post race interview of the podium finishers is terrible. Take a look at what www.OnTheThrottle.tv is doing. Did you see their four part series with Ben Spies taking questions from amateur racers? WOW! They are doing now for moto racing what NASCAR did for stock car racing in America. If I could buy stock in OTT, I'd do it in a second. Those guys are killer! They get it! Because of just that type of promoting of the drivers over the past decades, the NASCAR drivers are now so popular and attract such a loyal following that they are in high demand for very top shelf television commercials. So is Danica Patrick and she's mused about going to NASCAR. You obviously have no idea of the success and have little appreciation for the NASSCAR racing series. It is without a doubt one of the most grueling forms of road racing there is. It blows my mind that people disparage it so much. Are you #$!%ing kidding me??? 200 mph into turn one going three wide inches apart with another car stuck to your bumper and bumping you to go faster? It may not be my cup of tea to watch an entire 500 mile race, but I sure do get the appeal of the racing for its intense level of competition. Just try putting yourself into the driver's seat. In America right now, there cannot be good racing (exciting competition between multiple contenders) with top end WSBK type machinery without the sponsorship funding to pay for that really trick top end machinery. We need more money for more teams to be able to get to that level. To get more money, we need better competition and broader market appeal. More than just moto-related stuff. Recall, the sport bike market here is the minority market. If we want more than one or two teams contending for race wins, we need first to make the bikes affordable for more of the teams. Okay, so we try to do that first via rules limitations and factory racing machines available to racers. Then we get better/closer, more popular competition. Once that happens, then we can attract more and higher paying sponsors. Once that happens, the teams will have more money and then and only then, if desired, we can change the rules and up the tech on the machinery while keeping the racing highly entertaining. All this while we improve safety at the tracks that need it and expand the number of tracks. To summarize: 1. Currently not enough big sponsors willing to fund enough championship contending caliber teams for really entertaining racing. 2. Need more fans for that. Get more fans by making better racing with more brands and more teams contending. 3. Big sponsors then become more interested, more money comes. 4. Then and only then, update rules when teams can afford the extra stuff. That's a great long range plan it seems to me. | ||
| Trojan |
Maybe we have to agree to disagree, and maybe I am wrong I am just a passionate supporter of motorcycle racing and hate to see it 'watered down' by cost and so called 'safety' proposals that are really just thinly disguised plans by promoters with other agendas. Maybe it is just me. I have been to Daytona, watched some NASCAR and other oval racing including Indy cars etc, and can't see the attraction. I find US TV coverage of Nascar terrible and can't watch (or listen!) to it for more than a few minutes, and believe me I'm so obsessed with racing that I'd watch two snails racing in the back yard! After 2 or 3 laps I am wanting to know 'what next?, is this it?' It is so far removed from the sport I love that all the excitement has been bled out of it. The TV commentators try to make it more exciting, but unfortunately it don't work for me. How anyone can sit through a 500 mile race of cars turning left (half of it run under caution flags) amazes me, but then F1 is no better these days so who is right? Never mind, we still have the Isle of Man TT thankfully (And the Manx GP this week too!) | ||
| Davegess |
Time will tell, check back in two years. As far as NASCAR goes I love the quote that Nigel Robeson (sp?)_I think that was his name , used to cover F1 for CAR, got from a NASCAR crew cheif who was not only a big fan of F1 but also very knowledgable said aobut F1, something like "those are the coolest cars and neat tracks but when are you boys gonna start racin'!" Actually sort like watching a MC road race after watching an AMA Mile event; I am amazed by the bikes and riders but the racing is kinda low key. A couple of passes each lap for a couple of laps? That would not be a decent quailifier at Springfield! And MotoGP...neat stuff and I love to watch it but give me a Mile for some real racin | ||
| Eboos |
That is a fact of life in every racing organization. If they didn't 'water' things down, they would simply stop existing due to lack of partisipation. | ||
| Jaimec |
I watched the Indy Mile two weekends back. They talk too damned much, and the camera man really needed to go back to high school to figure out how to tape an interview (here's a hint... you don't focus on the interviewer's SHOULDER BLADES for the entire interview). I'll stick to the professionalism in the MotoGP presentation, thanks. |
