Road Atlanta AMA race. ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz........

After watching the AMA "race" at Road Atlanta this weekend you now have
an uphill task of convincing me that this is an exciting series.....

Shame you guys are so down on WSB, *that* was a good race.

 

I agree 100%. AMA has been a snorefest for years. If you are really
lucky there will be one rider challenge Mladin, but it is usually never
the same rider. So the championship is usually all but mathematically
over by mid year. Actually this has been one of the better years.

 

[snip]

More statistics... ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz........

 

Right, 87.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot. I'm just amused
at the way you can dig out vast quantities of "facts" to prove that AMA
SBK really isn't that boring at all, at all. Or whatever else it is that
you need to "prove" this week.

 

I think his point was that he finds the RACING in AMA Superbike to be boring,
not the championship. I find the racing in MotoGP, usually, to be more
entertaining than in AMA Superbike despite the fact that the MotoGP title is
probably a lock for Rossi if he stays on two wheels. I certainly don't find
the AMA boring, though. Especially the Supersport races and the Superstock
races (if we could get the damn things on TV). Just frustrating from the
standpoint that the AMA races always have a red flag (or three), rain delay
(?!?), rider laying on the track, bumped TV schedule, etc. The AMA could
really take some lessons from MotoGP and WSB on conducting a race weekend in
a professional manner.

-Chris-

 

You mean as opposed to the shit that comes from your keyboard? Let's
throw in lots of deep "research", backed up by stats taylored to suit
your argument, and then sprinkle literally with crap that you randomly
made up. Tada.....a typical Mark N posting. Quite fitting don't you think?

 

I never said MotoGP wasn't a snorefest either. The only
good MotoGP years were the Criville and KRJR years.

 

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz........ Uh! What!? Did I miss something? Who won?

 

C'mon Julian, you know he's right. When I read the "over by mid-year" line I
knew what was coming. It was tantamount to waiving a red flag in pen of
bulls... Not to change the subject, I remember back in '98 or so when Mladin
was tagged with the "he qualifies well, but doesn't produce race results"
bullsh*t. The guy has as many poles as AT&T and only has to finish one of
the last two races for his fifth title. The general consensus in the pits at
R/A were, "Suzuki really needs to give him a MGP ride." Yeah, get his ass
outta here. (AMA) An "Oz" guy comes to backwoods Ga. and takes everyone to
school and not just this year either. However, this year he put an
exclamation point on it!!! It does sort of make the last two SBK races
redundant though. Miguel was correct in saying he needed to win at least two
of the four races left, just not the last two. The Stock and Sport classes
will make the trip worthwhile, they will be decided at VIR.
Looks like the rumors were half way correct this time, Jake signs with HRC,
it remains to be seen if BBoss stays here or ends up over your way. I
haven't heard whether Spies has been offered Yates's slot but It looks like
it will be. Though I doubt it will happen next year, I'd really like to see
EBoss change colors, swap red for green.
T3

 

And maybe I know Julian is right. T3 take off your star-spangled
blinkers, there's a whole world of other opinions out there!

 

I'm not down on SBK, I watch all of it I can. I've been to the races here
at Laguna. It is true that AMA racing is a class below.
Look at E.Bostrom who went away to SBK, and came back to AMA a different
rider.

What I have been saying is that SBK is done for in the USA. Why go to the
SBK races when we can see MotoGP now?

Hell I go to the local club races, and that is still fun, but most of our
stuff takes place at the Ghetto Track. http://www.pacificraceways.com
There was an event out there yesterday. http://2-fast.org/seattle-100.html

I talked with Josh Hayes about his wreck in the Esses at RA. He said it was
nothing, but that E.Boz crashed really really hard.
Jason Pridmore came within a second of the track record (at PR) on a stock
GSXR-1K, and Tony Meiring was out there having fun dicing with Greg White.

Tell me the SBK racers are as accessible as this? I had Haga talk with me
for a second a few years ago at Laguna.

No one (with any knowledge of the sport) thinks AMA is superior talent wise
to SBK.

I'm still rooting for Hopkins, Edwards and Hayden though!


Pics:

http://groups.msn.com/MCTripPics/nart.msnw

 

No, I'm talking about E.Boz. When he left for those few SBK races in 2002
prior to Laguna then came back and he looked like a totally different rider.

 

You like to quote facts, but you seem to conveniently forget that
Ben was finishing much worse than 4th-5th in WSB the year
before he came back to AMA.

The main thing I saw EB get from his WSB experience was
getting a good start and going well on the first lap.

I think Mladin could hang with anyone in WSB, but I am not so
sure about anyone else in AMA. I am a big fan of both of the Bostroms
but they just seem too sensitive to any and all factors (tire brand
change, losing confidence and taking an entire season to get
it back,etc). They are both very talented, but I would think
twice before signing one. The stars have to align for them
to be fast. I don't know that Miguel or Jake would be winning
in WSB, but I think they would be performing better than McCoy
but maybe not challenging for wins (if they had a good bike).
I think the only riders in WSB that are more talented than all/most
of the AMA riders would be Haga, Vermulen, Chili, and maybe
Corser. I think Toseland and Laconi would do well in AMA but are
no better than Zemke or Miguel.

 

How about the top 5? Compare and contrast the following based on points
position today.
WSB
J. Toseland
C. Vermeulen
R. Laconi
N. Haga
P. Chili

AMA
M. Mladin
J. Zemke
M. Duhamel
B. Bostrom
G. May (who he?)

BSB
J. Reynolds
M. Rutter
S. Smart
Y. Kagayama
S. Emmett

And for good measure
GP
V. Rossi
S. Gibernau
M. Biaggi
C. Edwards
A. Barros

 

Eric had lost a lot of confidence, running the few WSB races most
certainly picked his confidence up and increased the intensity of his
racing.

I talked with Eric quite a bit and defintely noticed the difference
in him after his running WSB. Unfortunately what he had to ride was
woefully inadequate.( the 750cc modified to 810?)

The problem he has now seems prevalent in American riders switching to
Michelin tires, they do not trust the feel they get. Look what
happened to Ben when he went to WSB.

The international riders grew up riding on tracks superior to what we
have in the U.S. , and rode what they got. Watching Bayliss at Daytona
before Ducati grabbed him back to WSB is all one needs to see the
difference between world riders and U.S. riders.

Nicky seems to have made the adjustment to Michelin tires, but still
has a ways to go with how hard he pushes the bike compared to the
other MotoGP riders.

 

What races were you watching when Zemke ran FX?? He pushed the 900's
as hard and ran as well as anyone out there.

 

Point well taken. I can see both sides of the issue.
I also view this through rose colored glasses, because I love watching
Americans running in international series.
E.Boz, J. Hopkins, C. Edwards are probably my favorite riders.
But I have yet to be convinced that AMA Superbike is a more talent laden
series than SBK.
Do we all agree that MotoGP is the top of the heap?

 

Bostorm might be merely an example for lack of motivation - coming back to
AMA after being in WSB must be tough. Coming back to race in several
blatantly unsafe AMA circuits would damp anyone's enthusiasm to crank it up.
It's one of the reasons I don't have the most remote interest in AMA,
watching several of those circuits gives me chills. And before you blast me
for being a safety Nazi, keep in mind that the AMA hero, Mladin, is very
vocal about his safety concerns in every interview he gives.

Incidentaly, I'd be very curious to see how Mladin does on a MotoGP ride
these days. He's a great rider, and even though he's one of those who's
found a highly comfy niche in AMA racing, hopefully he still aspires for
more glory.

I do not follow SBK these days, either, sadly. It's taken a huge step back
in how meaningful it is. Bummer.

Hell yeah. I don't think there was ever any doubt in the riders' minds,
other than a few of the World Superbike glory years, when Fogarty and such
were around and MotoGP had become boring. But any rider would always drop
whatever they were doing when MotoGP knocked at their door, and that tells
the whole story.

....pablo

 

ROTFLMAO

 

Well, I meant recently. Obviously before Doohan GP had
the best racing this planet has ever seen.