Needle matches, grudges, enmity, vendettas, revenge: MotoGP looks classic this year
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From: Mark N on 15 Jan 2010 19:06 Julian Bond wrote: > Bring it on WSB. Actually bring it all on (except AMA). It is of course > going to be the best year ever. > > Who's left standing at the end of the musical chairs? There's a few > people who've been hung out to dry in minor championships, but who's got > no ride at all and really should be out there somewhere? James Ellison. > Any others? Jamie Hacking, Jake Zemke, Ben Bostrom, Eric Bostrom, Mat Mladin... From my view 2010 looks like the worst year ever, I have never been so pessimistic about big-time racing. Obviously there's the DMG situation, which at this point has left America without a professional championship to speak of. But that's only the "highlight". Beyond that, MotoGP will still feature boring-as-hell, electronically- controlled 800s, and the 17 riders in the field hardly excite - midgetry still runs rampant, of the 17 confirmed riders 10 are Spaniards or Italians (and 6 of the 8 factory riders) and the field is otherwise the most ingrown it has ever been - 14 of 17 come from 125/250 and have never raced regularly outside of GP as adults (I think; not certain about Aoyama and Kallio). Last year was dominated by the four aliens, which seems likely to only partially be about talent, and there is almost nothing that suggests this year won't be more of the same - Snow White and the Three Dwarves. WSB has lost the best racer they've had in 8, 10 years and maybe ever, and now it's a combination of aging 2nd-raters and a bunch of young Brits who couldn't beat the likes of Lavilla, Kiyonari and Byrne at home. Given the machines, the rules and last year's results it seems likely Ducati Corse will dominate the championship. It's very likely that this will be the first year in a couple decades that I will not attend a single AMA-only event (I'm not even planning on taking the short ride to Sears), and likely that the WSB round at Miller will be the first world championship round in America I don't attend since the WSB races at Brainerd in 1991. Kinda looks like Laguna and Indy will be it for me, and even they aren't at all certain. Really the only rooting interest I'll have this year is Spies, of course, although he's been relegated to a satellite bike, and Hayden in his continuing battle with that Ducati. I guess I'll probably be pulling for Rea and Toseland in WSB, but without real gut- level fire, and ultimately it may be reduced to an "anybody but Ducati" deal... But I can see where commercial manipulation in the "world" championships will make fans in Spain, Italy and the UK very happy this year. But perhaps with a mysterious, lingering empty feeling...
From: Mark N on 16 Jan 2010 14:29 Julian Bond wrote: > Mark N >> Jamie Hacking, Jake Zemke, Ben Bostrom, Eric Bostrom, Mat Mladin... > > Ben has a ride. Eric has effectively retired. Mat has retired. Does Ben have a ride? I've only seen rumors about that, reported MCN-style. Would Eric be racing if there was a good reason to, if the series here hadn't been deconstructed, if there was any money at all available to race? Mat's kind of the same thing, from what he says he lost interest because of how the series was being run, although I also suspect it had to do with what Suzuki was telling him about his salary for this year. So I don't think a dismissive "he's retired" really tells the story. >> But I can see where commercial manipulation in the "world" >> championships will make fans in Spain, Italy and the UK very happy >> this year. But perhaps with a mysterious, lingering empty feeling... > > Still plenty of stories to follow. And the racing at the front of > MotoGP, WSB, WSS, BSB all promises to be entertaining. And then there's > the Moto2 experiment. Maybe your glass is half empty again. Moto2 is really the only positive development I can see on the landscape this year, beyond Spies' entry into MotoGP (and while I think he will do very well, I still believe there's a glass ceiling in GP for a 5'11", 160-lb American, especially until 2012), and it is a very big development. But the fact that there is no American presence and it's pretty much dominated by existing GP players is a little discouraging, although fully expected in this first year. One good thing is there there are a few ex-MotoGP guys there, which just wasn't the case with 250, a one-way career path. But I have the feeling that as the year goes on it will be the one thing that really interests me; alien dominance in MotoGP and Ducati dominance in WSB will be a wet blanket over the the more detailed stories under that. > In the US, it feels like Laguna and Miller may well struggle. Indy > should still pack them in, let's hope for good weather this time. I think Miller is the race that will really be impacted, it's not like the crowds have been huge so far and without Spies and an American championship I see attendance falling even further. RL Hayden on a 3rd-level bike isn't going to pack 'em in, and neither is a shadow BSB championship. Laguna, I don't know, I'm not sure if the fading DMG series being there does more than Moto2 would or not (I'd favor the latter, as do a lot of others, it seems). Spies will help, of course, especially if he's doing well enough early in the season to justify hope that he'd factor there; continued improvement in results by Hayden would help as well. But I think the overall nature of 800 racing hurts, and Indy continues to bleed off attendance to some degree. Indy gets big crowds and will likely continue to do that, but I don't know how big they really have to be in order to satisfy IMS. No matter how you slice it, the place is mostly empty for GP, although they have to be making money at the current crowd level. Still, they're shipping in all three classes, so it's more costly that it is for Laguna. I still don't think a world championship race can be truly successful in the US if the perception is that it's really a European championship and capable Americans are largely excluded. That's what makes WSB the most tenuous event right now. > As for riders with no ride, pretty much everyone in the world > championships has found their place. In BSB, there's really only Ellison > and Lowry stuck out in the cold. From AMA, Chaz Davies and Laverty found > places. I don't know about the others apart from Hacking and Zemke both > of whom are getting on a bit now. Is Hayes racing next year? Hayes is the one "factory" rider for Graves Yamaha, it seems. Right now it appears ASB will be Hayes vs. Hayden and Young at Yosh, with Jordan's guys following, probably Yates again and maybe Zemke, but I haven't seen anything on that team. In DSB, it's Herrin and Aquino for Graves vs. Cardenas at M4 Suzuki, not sure who their 2nd rider is but I think DiSalvo is gone. With Kawasaki and Honda withdrawing support from Attack and Erion and Buell gone that's kind of it, everyone else is in true privateer circumstances, which isn't professional racing. And then there's Hopper, who is now expected to race an M4 Suzuki in ASB. Which shows how things have fallen in the last few years - he goes from a factory ride in MotoGP and perhaps the 2nd-highest salary there to having to ride a support bike in the dying AMA series in America, due to some extent to his mistakes but much more to the economy, his passport and bad luck. Guys like Hopkins and Hacking (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Jan/100108-92-interview.htm) are the posterchildren of these times to me.
From: z on 16 Jan 2010 18:43 Julian Bond wrote: > Mark N <menusbaumNYETSPAM(a)earthlink.net> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:29:11 >> Does Ben have a ride? I've only seen rumors about that, reported >> MCN-style. > > http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39127 > >> Moto2 is really the only positive development > >> But the fact that there is no American presence > > Confirmed > Promoracing Kenny Noyes Harris Noyes has to be at least 30 years old, no? > >> Ducati dominance in WSB will be a wet blanket over the the more >> detailed stories under that. > > You think Haga and Fabrizio are going to dominate WSB this year? I > don't. I'm sure they'll both be in the front group but "dominate"? The > Ducati was starting to look slow on top speed last year and I think this > will get worse as Yamaha and Honda match Aprilia's top speed. > >> IndyStill, they're shipping in all three classes, so it's more costly >> that it is for Laguna. > > Who do you think pays the extra? Is the cost to the circuit greater than > say, Jerez or Sepang? > >> I still don't think a world championship race can be truly successful >> in the US if the perception is that it's really a European >> championship and capable Americans are largely excluded. > > Who are these capable Americans? I have trouble thinking of anyone who > deserves a ride in 125, Moto2 or MotoGP who isn't already there. > >> And then there's Hopper >> perhaps the 2nd-highest salary there > > Citation required. > >> to having to ride a support bike in the dying AMA series in America, >> due to some extent to his mistakes but much more to the economy, his >> passport and bad luck. Guys like Hopkins and Hacking >> (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2010/Jan/100108-92-interview.htm) are >> the posterchildren of these times to me. > > Hopkins probably peaked in his last year at Suzuki. He's made some *bad* > mistakes and been seriously injured since then. I really don't think > it's got anything to do with his passport. >
From: Mark N on 17 Jan 2010 22:31 Julian Bond wrote: > Mark N >> I don't think that's true at all, and it betrays your pro-European, >> anti-American bias, whether conscious or not. Dorna moved in and saved >> one Kawasaki ride last year and that was Melandri's, which I think was >> quite intentional and based on his nationality more than anything else. > > And I think you're forgetting the repeated injuries and the failure to > turn up one Friday. Damaged goods, and not just through falling off > badly and repeatedly. I'm not forgetting anything, it's you who has suddenly turned forgetful. Hopkins' injuries have mostly been the result of pushing bad bikes farther than where they are meant to go. In fact, as I recall, you have lauded that attribute many times in riders, and you specifically condemned Roberts by comparing him to Hopkins and that sort of effort. So he didn't show up one morning, I have never seen what was behind that episode, just a lot of what looks like baseless rumors and stories. At that juncture it was very clear the Kawi had gone in a bad direction and they weren't doing what the riders wanted to fix it, so Hopkins and West were left riding probably the worst bike on the grid overall (and yet Hopper finished ahead of Melandri on the factory Ducati). There may have been a frustration/protest angle to that, Hopkins is hardly a guy with a reputation for not caring or not trying. In any case, Kawasaki didn't fire him or buy out his contract, they fully intended to have him back in '09, up to their withdrawal from the series. Which makes him different than Melandri; Ducati wanted to be rid of him even before the season was over. > Then when he goes to WSB he doesn't impress with > his speed and then falls off again. Why should anyone think he can be > fast again, and why shouldn't they think that he might just screw up > again. Smacks of Gobert or Russell and there's no place for that stuff > at the highest level any more, if there ever was. And that's pretty much all bullshit, of course. Hopkins has never ridden a superbike, never ridden on Pirelli tires, he got one half-assed test (his first on a racebike in 2009) before showing up to race it, did that one weekend, and at the next weekend he got seriously hurt in practice. Did he absolutely light it up the moment he hopped on the bike? No, but it was a rather ridiculous expectation to expect him to. Of course you'd love to set that sort of expectation, because you could then dismiss him as quickly as possible. To say he's lost it for good at age 26 just because he had a lousy year on the lousy Kawi and then went through what he did last year is to betray a certain premeditated intent, I think. And to compare Hopkins to Gobert is just absurd.
From: Mark N on 18 Jan 2010 14:08
Julian Bond wrote: > Mark N >> Overall, I just don't see a Ducati-beater in the field. > > Really. And there was me looking forwards to a Haga, Fabrizio, Toseland, > Crutchlow, Rea, Haslam[1], Biaggi slugfest. Last year Rea beat both Haga and Fabrizio 4 times in 28 races, and DNF/DNSs contributed 3 times. Biaggi beat both of them 5 times, also with non-finishes contributing 3 times. Haslam did it twice, with non-finishes contributing both times (although he certainly should be on a better bike this year). Crutchlow has never raced regularly in WSB, right? Sounds like typical offseason blue sky thinking to me. Not that there's anything wrong with that... > With Camier, Vermeulen, > Corser, Checa, Byrne one step behind them. Or two, or three... > Maybe none of them will be as > fast as Spies was last year, but the racing will be better for it. I don't see how you can say that, numerous times Spies was the only guy on fours who could run with them, but he wasn't crushing them with regularity by my recall. > Hmmm. Crutchlow, Rea, Haslam, Byrne all trying to prove they're better > than Toseland. That should be fun. In the UK, that is. As I said, more target-marketing by the moneymen in charge... |