| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
I'm not sure I understand the point of this race anymore. It is not part of the MotoAmerica series (and I think that's the fault of ego on the part of the Daytona Motorsports Group who almost single-handedly destroyed motorcycle road racing in America when they were in charge) so basically other than "Bragging Rights" and (I assume) some kind of cash prize, I don't understand why any of the MotoAmerica regulars would risk their season by getting injured in this race*. The Daytona 200 used to be a "Big Deal" when big name racers from all over the world would come to compete but now? What's the point? *Note: Yes, I know Danny Eslick is competing. | ||
| Crusty |
You could say the same things about the Isle of Man TT, yet it still draws a huge crowd every year. And DMG didn't destroy motorcycle racing in America; just road racing, which the Japanese factories had almost entirely under their control. When DMG tried to make the racing more equitable for all the racers, the factories got all pissy and left. Then Rainey and company decided to create their own series. DMG has done really good things for Flat Track, including more money for the teams and more manufacturers participating. Maybe it wasn't DMGs egos that kept Moto America away. Maybe it was the elitist attitude that Moto America seems to project. I know that I've lost most of my interest in Road racing since just before Moto America took over the series. The incident that caused me to turn away was when Suzuki got caught using a trick crankshaft in Matt Mladin's bike, and they lied about it and accused the AMA of prejudice. They even went to the extreme of pulling a crankshaft off the assembly line and sending it to be inspected. The series was being run by liars and scumbags who couldn't even be honest when they got caught. They made the AMA look like the bad guys when they were the real sleezeballs. A tactic Suzuki learned from when Honda got caught with under weight bikes in Flat Track back in 1988. Still, I'll watch the 200 since I'll be in Daytona anyhow. Now that it isn't such a big deal for the factories, maybe it'll be fair to more competitors. | ||
| Jaimec |
Crusty, I didn't say they destroyed motorcycle racing in general. Go back and look at what I wrote. I SPECIFICALLY said "motorcycle road racing." And I see you have the opposite opinion of the Mladin incident than I do. Reports said that Ben Spies had the exact same equipment, but he got a pass. Roger Edmondson had a real hard-on against Mladin in my opinion. They also would change the rules from race to race, and had inconsistent enforcement of those rules. The kicker for me was the giant clusterf**k in front of the whole world when they ran as the support class in the US Grand Prix. No, Rainey and company restored sanity to the series. They also made it easier for an American road racer to go to Europe by aligning American road racing rules more closely with International road racing rules. I'm excited to see if Jake Gagne can do us proud in World Superbike. It is DEFINITELY an "Ego Thing." The France family couldn't make it work, and they decided NOBODY could make it work so they weren't going to cooperate with Rainey and company no way no how. Flat Track is a more "American Style" of racing so I can understand how DMG can make that work. It's basically two-wheeled NASCAR on dirt. | ||
| Smoke |
we are heading to Daytona for the 200 Wednesday. we have Max's R6 with a fresh engine ready to compete with the #88 on a yellow bike! $25,000 to win,$20,000 for 2nd, $5000 for 10th, and pays to 40th place, $1300 STILL THE 200! 60ISH PRE-ENTRIES let's go racing tim | ||
| Crusty |
I'll be there watching from the stands! | ||
| Jaimec |
Good luck to you and Max, Tim!! | ||
| Crusty |
Danny Eslick won, Corey West was second. It was a real dogfight until the first round of pit stops. It was almost a former Buell racers event. Michael Barnes and Geoff May were also in the mix. It turned into a snoozer after the first pit stops. Eslick won by something like 26 seconds. Unfortunately, Max crashed in the chicane early on and finished out of the money. I managed to get a sunburn! In March! I enjoyed the race. | ||
| Crusty |
Just for kicks, I went online and looked at purses for both the Daytona 200 and Moto America Superbike. Moto America pays $3,000 if you win both races on a weekend, while Daytona pays $25,000 if you win. This is strictly the purse without any contingencies. Yet, people complain about how the Daytona 200 is no longer a prestigious race and isn't what it once was. The factories may have hard ons toward the France family, but I think the people who are suffering are the racers and the fans. Of course, if the racers got used to getting a decent paycheck from racing, they might not grovel quite so much for the factories. Back in the '80s, Kenny Roberts started a revolution in Formula 1 (Moto GP) because the racers were so underpaid. I remember a quote to the effect that the Factory racers would give the entire purse to the mechanics because it was so pathetically small. The line that jumps out to me is, The more things change, the more they remain the same. Then again, Sport bikes aren't really selling like they were even a decade ago. Maybe the factories can't afford to do a decent job and push to get the riders what they should be earning. Or somethin'. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Road racing is suffering a slow death here in the States....not sure about world wide, but I saw a weekend attendance of 25,000 fans for the entire WEEKEND at the last WSBK race in Aragon. Are you kidding? Spain is supposed to be a motorcycle hotbed and no one shows up to a WSBK weekend. Shocked me. | ||
| Smoke |
just checked the entry list for this year's 200- 69 entries with a month left to deadline. We are there again with Max Flinders 88 and there are a lot of familiar names entered: Eslick, Hayes, DiSalvo, West, Mooney, Ohara, James, Paasch, Wyman, Fong and more! $175,000 purse See ya there! tim | ||
| Bsanorton |
I'll be there. Hoping Geoff May gives it another shot! | ||
| Bsanorton |
& where can you find the entry list? I searched all over and can't find a link | ||
| Jaimec |
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/daytona-200-e ntry-list-stands-at-46-for-march-14-race/ | ||
| Fresnobuell |
How does Danny Eslick not have a ride? Incredible. Johnny Rock Page has crawled out from his rock and is going to ride. Hopefully they have a time cutoff for making the race. That guy is hazardous. | ||
| Jaimec |
He does have a ride in the 200. https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/daytona-200-e slick-entry-makes-it-68-riders-so-far-for-march-14 -race/ And I see so does Johnny Rock Page... | ||
| Court |
Nice to see both Danny and Geoff in the grid. I’m looking forward to watching how they do. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Glad Slick got a ride. Kinda sad tho to see him slipping away as a mainstream rider. Wonder if he burnt bridges in the paddock? | ||
| Jaimec |
WTF?? https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/daytona-200-a nd-daytona-tt-races-will-run-without-spectators-in -grandstands-updated/ | ||
| Fresnobuell |
It's under control in China for about the last two weeks...but you wouldn't know it because the media wants to destroy Trump by destroying the economy. No matter what the collateral damage...•••• the media. | ||
| Bsanorton |
So I was planning to see the race live. Does this mean you can't see the race at all from the track neither from the inside or in the grand stands? What a crock!!! I was demoing bikes all day yesterday. People were all about having fun. This will do nothing to prevent the inevitable. (Message edited by bsanorton on March 13, 2020) | ||
| Crusty |
The Daytona 200 has been postponed until Biketoberfest, next fall. The TT has not been rescheduled yet. Oh, Well... http://www.americanflattrack.com/news/view/daytona -200daytona-tt-postponed | ||
| Jaimec |
Wow. Considering that MotoAmerica will still be racing in November I wonder how many of the MotoAmerica regulars would want to compete in the 200?? They sure waited till the very last minute to pull the plug, didn't they? |
