jaime you boys must be some old granpas that live in the past. that is like comparing your dial up phone to a smart phone. your phone was nothing complicated like a smart phone. same with bikes, the 125, 250, 500 are nothing to the 1000s. my donkey could have beat those 125s
Oh dear, what a disappointing weekend at Silverstone and what a farce the new rules are turning out to be for the second race in a row. From Superpole right through both Superbike races the rain spoilt what should have been a good weekend racing. With Supersprot also spoilt by another dangerous move by Sofuoglu on the last lap it was a weekend to forget really (take a close look at his overtake when he took Sam Lowes off - he was on the inside kerb!).
Dorna need to get a grip on the ridiculous one bike rule and flag to flag racing before somebody gets seriously hurt. Luckily Leon Haslam wasn't more seriously injured in his huge highside that brought out the red flag (eventually) in race two.
Giving trophies to the lucky riders who manage to stay upright on slick tyres in treacherous conditions isn't racing, it's a lottery.
With only 28,000 people attending on race day and TV showing acres of empty grandstands I really can't see Silverstone surviving as a WSBK round for much longer.
It wasn't exactly inspiring was it. Just the 2013 under-performers taking a chance in dodgy conditions. At least Eugene Laverty managed to get himself back in contention.
Is it just me or was there something a little more sinister about the Sofuoglu/Lowes incident. It was almost like he was playing with Sam and looking for an opportunity to claw back 25 instead of 5 points. I'm just glad he managed to pick the bike up and hang on to second.
Is it just me or was there something a little more sinister about the Sofuoglu/Lowes incident.
I could not agree more. if you look at Kenan when he first arrives in parc ferme his face does not look like he has just won a race. He looks very worried, like he expects to be disqualified at any moment. The move was harsh by any standards, but when you consider his history then it was worse than harsh. Given that he has been warned onnumerous occasions about his aggressive riding I can't imagine how he was not punished this weekend.
Riders were also specifically warned about riding 'off track' onto the green astroturf on the outside of the track last weekend, but obviously overtaking on the inside kerb is perfectly acceptable?
Somebody needs to bring Sofuoglu down a peg or two. Hopefully Sam is the boy to do it
Don't forget that he broke Julian Simon's leg with a similar move in 2011 and head butted Fabien Foret at high speed on the back straight at Aragon last year. He's made it clear that he is not interested in making friends on the track but he seems to cross the line too often for safety's sake.
WSB needs all the help it can get right now, with BMW pulling the plug at the end of this season and Aprilia strongly rumoured to be either pulling out or 'doing a Ducati' and farming out the WSb team to a private team such as Althea.
There are already more good riders than bikes for next year, with Melandri and Davies joing the unemployment line.
It sounds like Hayden did some decent times in testing (although they should always be taken with a huge pinch of salt at unofficial tests with no official timing present), but we have already seen that the Panigale isn't exactly a race winner yet even in the hands of experienced riders. I think Hayden may be tempted by Aprilia to ride in the Aspar MotoGP team for them, but Ducati do have a big cheque book and are keen to keep him.
Personally, I'd rather see some young American talent (Beach, Jacobsen,Gagne, Beaubier, Herrin to name just a few)get into a decent team in WSB rather than Nicky, but he is a good marketing tool and a low risk signing I suppose.
moto GP needs to use WSK as the link with all the domestic leagues and each league should have at least 2 riders every year go to WSBK and if it works then to moto GP
Until WSb, AMA, BSB etc can agree a standard set of rules that is never going to happen.
There is now such pressure from sponsors that even trying to guarantee a rider who wins a domestic championship a place in WSb/MotoGP is now impossible. Sponsors want to place their rider in decent teams, and that may not tally with the result of a domestic championship. Dorna also want to encourage riders from emerging markets, hence we get the current situation of barely talented riders from Asia and South American getting a leg up into the top classes before other more deserving riders (based on talent and results alone).
It has already proved problematic to place the winner of Moto2 in MotoGP at times, so trying to get the financial support for a relatively unknown domestic championship winner would be almost impossible. This year will be the first where the prospective winner of Moto2 (Scott Redding) has not been able to get a factory supported ride in MotoGP straight away, simply becaue he is not Spanish maybe?.
Also, just because someone wins a domestic championship doesn't necessarily mean he is good enough to compete in WSB/MotoGP. It is probable but not guaranteed.
WSB and MotoGP need to be kept completely separate and keep their distinct identities. if this measn 'dumbing down' WSB to Superstock levels to keep the relationship with street bikes then so be it. At least that would bring it more into line with the AMA and BSB Evo rule structure.
Who is to say that the winner of BSB/AMA wants to go to MotoGP or even WSB? Some such as Shakey Byrne has been there and done that already, and knows that he can do very well as a big fish in a smaller pond than in a middle ranking WSb team (or worse in MotoGP).
Lastly, there is already a very well established structure for advancement in MotoGP (Moto3/Moto2)and WSb (WSS/Domestic championships/Superstock). Why would anyone want to change that when it has worked well for many years? It is only recently that new money has started to influence rider choice from emerging nations that has kind of tilted this system unfortunately, but ultimately talent will shine through regardless of route taken to the top.
If WSB carries on as it is then the progression will be from Moto3/WSS/BSB into Moto2 and then on into MotoGP. I sincerely hope that Sam Lowes doesn't end up punting an undeveloped MV around a depleted WSB grid next year.
Presumably Paul Bird will be putting Alex Lowes on an Aprilia in MotoGP and I would love to see Sam Lowes at a top Moto2 team in 2014.
Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - 06:16 am:
I would love to see both Lowes twins in MotoGP too, but hopefully not with Paul Bird, unless or until he can get hold of competitive machinery.
Birdy has jumped from ART to PBM chassis and still can't decide what he wants to use next year. On top of that he has announced that he wants factory bikes in 2015 (where from?) so his strategy is a little confused to say the least.
The MV option doesn't look too competitive for Sam either (yet), so a good ride in a top Moto2 team for both him and Alex would probably be the best route into MotoGP in the future. Unfortunately unless they change their names to something more fashionably Spanish, and come bearing gifts, I can't see many doors being thrown open for them in the cash strapped Moto2 paddock despite their unquestionable talent and marketability.
Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - 02:08 pm:
Does anyone know what happened to the beIN Sports coverage of these races? My DVR didn't record anything over the past two rounds and I don't see anything scheduled for this weekend either...
Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - 06:12 pm:
i got up early and watched the last races on the Bein sports internet channel 2 sundays ago. our provider doesn't carry BeIn or the CBS sports channel. tim
Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - 06:38 pm:
You can watch it on the Bein sports internet channel if your provider doesn't carry BeIn or the CBS sports channel?
That's weird. I tried to log into the the Bein sports internet channel but since BeIn is a premium channel on Time Warner and I'm not paying extra for it, I'm denied access to watching races on the Bein sports internet channel - Double Bummer!
To make matters worse, it's been announced that there's no AMA Superbike TV coverage at the upcoming Laguna Seca round either. Whether that also includes the WSBK round there, that remains to be seen (oops, no pun intended).
Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 12:57 pm:
We don't get the BeInSports network. But this season there is a guy on YouTube that goes by the handle The666Sicco that has been posting all the WSBK races (and WSS, and BSB, and others) in HD. I'm not sure why someone hasn't shut him down, but I'm not complaining. The WSBK racing this season has been really good, with several top riders finishing on top, as well as a few different brands.
For those that are going to the WSBK/AMA event at Laguna Seca, the SCAB group scored the two best camping spots at the track for this event. We'll be in Corkscrew view premier camping, here:
I think we have extra space, so if any badwebbers want to camp on the spot, contact me.
It finally showed up on my schedule, but something must've changed because the DVR wasn't going to record it. Anyway, I have it now. Sunday is going to be SOME day. I'll be in Millville, NJ for the AMA races, and my DVR will be recording the MotoGP at Misano, and the WSBK from Istanbul. Great day for racing fans!!