Suzuki to possibly pull the plug on AMA racing

[gtrpimp76]

wow! I was gonna post the article from Suzuki's Mel Harris but BigolTool and CharlesBusa already did the deed. Good on ya fellas.  

Dark times for the AMA? I certainly think so. And from what the Mel Harris interview stated, DMG basically wants to put MotoST at the forefront b/c of the entertainment value. Entertainment? What about competition? What about moving forward technologicaly and being somewhat in-step with the rest of the world and MotoGP? What about the fun of watching an AMA event b/c you can personally witness for yourself, how capable the bike YOU BOUGHT FROM THE SHOWROOM, is on the racetrack with very talented riders.

Slashing 600 supersport!!! WTF!!! That's prolly THE MOST ENTERTAINING CLASS of the entire AMA structure. Many fans worldwide watch World Supersport b/c they can relate to that platform and enjoy watching world class riders ride the wheels off them. Superbike, although less entertaining, still has importance. Especially with Zuk's dominance=increased sales of the Gixxer1000's. But watching two riders head and shoulders above the competition is testament to not only the machine, but what a great rider could do with a great machine. The other OEM's are playing catch up, but they are definitely closing the gap. Yamaha and Jason DiSalvo are finally able to sort out their setup issues and they are the closest competitors to Yosh. Kawasaki and Honda are starting to step up their programs too.

How many of you are going to want to come to an AMA/DMG race to watch V-twins is 3 classes that barely push 100hp? And then a 600 "Superbike" class that will maybe push 150-160hp? I know one of the reasons I like watching the premier 1000cc class race is for the shear firepower and breathtaking speeds and agilitiy. It's still possible to have close racing and big bore machines. Just look at the WSBK structure or the former motogp 990 GP structure.

The AMA Barber Motorsports round is THIS WEEKEND. DMG will supposedely be making an annoucement to the future class structure, as well as the future of moto racing here in the US. I'd say this weekend is clearly going to make or break the future of the AMA.  

 

 

[gtrpimp76]

What these retards don't get is 2 things;

1)Would NASCAR be successful if the cars were 4 cylinder 3 liter engines??  HECK no!!!  No redneck is going to waste his time watching a 3 liter engine JUST like no motorcycle fan is going to show up for a 600 superbike as the top class.


2)Are any cars remotely like a NASCAR??  HECK no!! But today's motorcycles are VERY similiar to the race bikes compared to a NASCAR and a ford taurus...

Exactly. It's why I dont care for NASCAR. Entertainment value over technology?

The problem with entertainment lacking in the current superbike class has nothing to do with class structure. Honda, Kawi, and Yamaha didn't have riders with enough ballz to challenge Yosh/Zuk for the last decade and consistently got whipped. If the Big 3 just stepped up there programs in line with the new 2009 rules showcasing "production bikes" we'll have close racing next year.

But Spies is off to GP next year and Mladin may be retiring. If I were a rider from the other manufacturers, I'd be kicking myself b/c in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. And I'd feel like a loser if I were to win an AMA Superbike championship without racing Ben or Mat.

 

[bigoltool]

But Spies is off to GP next year and Mladin may be retiring. If I were a rider from the other manufacturers, I'd be kicking myself b/c in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. And I'd feel like a loser if I were to win an AMA Superbike championship without racing Ben or Mat.

Precisely man! If you want a glimpse of what this will be like look no further than the Daytona 200. How can you have the biggest roadrace in America, and expect to maintian any sense of integrity without any of its top riders allowed to participate? How many Daytona 200 wins would Mladin have if the 200 was still a superbike race? I know, I know the race has changed format before (F1->1025cc SBK->750cc SBK->1000cc twins->1000cc SBK)but now you are looking to supplant your elite class with tiddlers for crying outloud. Why? So you can continue to pretend to have a real racetrack (Daytona) instead of the outdated dangerous carnival of Danger and ineptitiude it has become. Cripes they wont even allow there own cars to run around this Sh1thole without a (restrictor plates)leash!

I hear Mladin has made a bid to buy and run the Aussie SBK series so he's set. Spies is off to MotoGP soon so he's done. Miguel and Neil Hodgson are both getting along in years so they will not be around long. So that leaves the likes of DiSalvo and Eric Bostrom and possibly the two Haydens as the premier riders in the series? PLEASE!

BTW there is a cute little pole going on at Soup that I found rather humorous.

Next!

 

[gtrpimp76]

Good points bigoltool. I can, however, see Hodgson make a bid for a slot in the WSBK series or even BSB. Duhamel? Maybe he'll stick around and race the 600 "Superbike

" series. I'm sure he'll still be super competitive on the 600RR and even win a championship. DiSalvo and Bostrom? Hard to say what they would do but I don't imagine them sticking around if DMG completely butchers the class structure.

Change is good. That's a given. But only if it's done in accord with the rest of the world. Heck, if BSB and WSBK decided to call their 600's superbikes, then America should follow suit. But it appears the Edmondson and the France family wanna change Moto racing to allow more twins, Harley/Buell back into the fray, and just be "different" from the rest of the world b/c we're just so "superior" to everyone else. It's all about entertainment and the OEM's can take their technology and shove it attitude. Bad times for American Roadracing indeed. Unless Spies or any of the other current American GP racers win a championship, this may be the last time for a long while before we'll see another American emerge onto the World GP or WSBK scene. I wonder if the OEM's may just take their investments elsewhere and run a series through NESBA, WERA, CCS, or even create their own sacntioning body? Almost looks like the IRL vs CART war of old.

 

[tourbus]

What these retards don't get is 2 things;

1)Would NASCAR be successful if the cars were 4 cylinder 3 liter engines??  HECK no!!!  No redneck is going to waste his time watching a 3 liter engine JUST like no motorcycle fan is going to show up for a 600 superbike as the top class.


2)Are any cars remotely like a NASCAR??  HECK no!! But today's motorcycles are VERY similiar to the race bikes compared to a NASCAR and a ford taurus...

amen!!!! a superbike is suppost to be just that, A SUPERBIKE. i like the 600cc machines alot but they are not the 1000cc machine's which is more or less the pennical of m/c technology. why can't these guy's do the 600 supersport class for new and upcoming talent (like wsbk) then when they are ready move into the superbike class. this crap of having a formula extreme, superstock, or whatever else is uninteresting to me. They could even include some sort of 250 challenge like the redbull series to get the pre 16 year olds into the sport. And last but not least why does it take so long for the pro roadracing to start in america? wsbk and moto-gp have been going for the last several weeks

 

[gtrpimp76]

What these retards don't get is 2 things;

1)Would NASCAR be successful if the cars were 4 cylinder 3 liter engines??  HECK no!!!  No redneck is going to waste his time watching a 3 liter engine JUST like no motorcycle fan is going to show up for a 600 superbike as the top class.


2)Are any cars remotely like a NASCAR??  HECK no!! But today's motorcycles are VERY similiar to the race bikes compared to a NASCAR and a ford taurus...

amen!!!! a superbike is suppost to be just that, A SUPERBIKE. i like the 600cc machines alot but they are not the 1000cc machine's which is more or less the pennical of m/c technology. why can't these guy's do the 600 supersport class for new and upcoming talent (like wsbk) then when they are ready move into the superbike class. this crap of having a formula extreme, superstock, or whatever else is uninteresting to me. They could even include some sort of 250 challenge like the redbull series to get the pre 16 year olds into the sport. And last but not least why does it take so long for the pro roadracing to start in america? wsbk and moto-gp have been going for the last several weeks

Yup! And they should really put some emphasis on the AMA Red Bull Rookies Cup. There are some incredible talent in there as well. Thats the future of roadracing period.

Yeah, the lag between Daytona and Barber does take a while. But....you'll start seeing races every week to every two weeks. Then a 3-4 week break between Miller and Laguna. Then racing every week all the way until the season finale. They actually call the Barber round the "2nd season opener" because it does mark the 1st of the true roadcourses. Other than Fontucky, we don't see rovals for the rest of the season.

 

[Charlesbusa]

Well its official now  

At least they're going to keep "liter-bikes" as long as the manufacturers put 4 of them on the grid.  I wonder what its going to be like.  The "liter-bike" class setting faster laps and attracting more fans...

And with 5 different classes and red bull's rookie cup.  When are these guys going to practice...

Spec tires and fuels for everyone...

Rolling starts?

<div class="iF-Passage"><div class="QUOTEHEAD">Quote:[/Quote]<div class="QUOTE clearfix"><span class="quoteBegin"> </span>
Essentially, their plans are as follows: 600 Supersport and Superstock are "thanked for their service" and go the way of the dodo bird. The premier class becomes "Daytona Superbikes" which will include a very wide array of machinery from different manufacturers, from a BMW 1200 to a Japanese four-cylinder 600. Daytona Superbike will be horsepower limited and power to weight ratio limited--with the bikes being weighed with rider. Daytona Superbike will be regulated to improve parity and competition, including regular ECU exchanges.

The 2009 Superbike class, which many OEMs were concerned about being disbanded, returns with a new name--LiterBike--and essentially the 2009 Superbike rules that the teams worked on this year to formulate will apply. With a single tire rule and spec fuel as well. Each manufacturer will have to enter four riders in the class to be eligible.

The MotoST series will join the AMA Superbike series with three classes, keeping its spec tire, spec fuel and twin-cylinder rules in place.

Other additions will be the (Red Bull) Rookies Cup, rolling starts "where appropriate", fan activities and pre-race ceremonies.

Plans for a two-day event seem to have been shelved, but Friday will be little more than a half-day of practice sessions.[/quote]

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080417a.htm

 

[Dweezel]

well, eventually they'll start to bend the rules once HD enters the race on a 600CC sportster. That way HD will win everything.

 

[bigoltool]

Well its official now

At least they're going to keep "liter-bikes" as long as the manufacturers put 4 of them on the grid. I wonder what its going to be like. The "liter-bike" class setting faster laps and attracting more fans...

And with 5 different classes and red bull's rookie cup. When are these guys going to practice...

Spec tires and fuels for everyone...

Rolling starts?

<div class="iF-Passage"><div class="QUOTEHEAD">Quote:

<div class="QUOTE clearfix"><span class="quoteBegin"> </span>
Essentially, their plans are as follows: 600 Supersport and Superstock are "thanked for their service" and go the way of the dodo bird. The premier class becomes "Daytona Superbikes" which will include a very wide array of machinery from different manufacturers, from a BMW 1200 to a Japanese four-cylinder 600. Daytona Superbike will be horsepower limited and power to weight ratio limited--with the bikes being weighed with rider. Daytona Superbike will be regulated to improve parity and competition, including regular ECU exchanges.

The 2009 Superbike class, which many OEMs were concerned about being disbanded, returns with a new name--LiterBike--and essentially the 2009 Superbike rules that the teams worked on this year to formulate will apply. With a single tire rule and spec fuel as well. Each manufacturer will have to enter four riders in the class to be eligible.

The MotoST series will join the AMA Superbike series with three classes, keeping its spec tire, spec fuel and twin-cylinder rules in place.

Other additions will be the (Red Bull) Rookies Cup, rolling starts "where appropriate", fan activities and pre-race ceremonies.

Plans for a two-day event seem to have been shelved, but Friday will be little more than a half-day of practice sessions.[/quote]

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080417a.htm[/quote]
Well at least they didn't kill Superbikes(now Literbikes)! Why do they have to reinvent the wheel? Everybody else on the planet will still be calling them Superbikes (a term we Americans invented BTW)and we have to swim against the current! Impotence! Do you really think any of the current AMA Superbike teams with the possible exceptions of Suzuki and maybe Yamaha can or will field 4 bike teams? This means that teams like Ferracci/MV Augusta and possibly Ducati will most assuredly look elsewhere for there investments! They will surely eliminate the teams like Jordan,KWS etc. who simply don't have the finances to continue at that level. Wish them well!

 

[gtrpimp76]

Here are the thoughts of the situation according to Ben Spies, from amasuperbike.com:

"There's obviously going to be some radical changes, but I think it will be better in the end -- whatever is going to happen to hopefully make the racing closer and better for the fans. A lot of people might not like it and lot of people might not be able to adapt to it, but I think it's going to be the better thing, hopefully, in the end."￾

It seems he's trying to protect himself in the event he doesn't reach a deal with a GP team for next year. So it looks like he'll treat the situation as if he'll be staying. But I'm sure he definitely wants out.