| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
Hodgson was a WSB Champion, right? He was also riding much better equipment than he has ever had in AMA. Hodgson had a year out in 2007 and a severely disrupted season on inferior equipment in 2008, so coming second to Mladin at Daytona on what is ostensibly a new bike for a new team is quite an accomplishment. I'm not bagging the AMA guys, just Mladin. If he is as good as he says he is why has he stayed in the AMA when he has nothing left to win or to prove? It wasn't his salary demands that kept him out of WSB, but his attitude and the fact that he never wnated to race there. He has even stated that he was happy to stay in AMA where the money is (or should that be was, now?). Either way, he got stuffed when he rode in 500GP's and has never wanted to put himself in the firing line again at world level. Winning at Laguna for an AMA specialist should be a given, just like winning at Brands Hatch has become a routine for BSB leaders when they had wild card rides in WSB. I would like to see Mladin do a full WSB season before he passes judgement on guys he hasn't raced against. I certainly take my hat off to Ben Spies, because it would have been much easier for him to have stayed in AMA with Mladin for another 5 years if he wanted to. He has proven thathe has what it takes to run at the front of WSB, but that isn't the same thing as winning a series with rounds to spare. Not even Bayliss managed that very often. | ||
| Aeholton |
Either way, he got stuffed when he rode in 500GP's and has never wanted to put himself in the firing line again at world level. I agree. Mladin enjoys being a big fish in a small pond. He's likes dominating lesser riders on inferior equipment. | ||
| Jaimec |
Rubbing more salt into Rizla Suzuki's wounds. GO BEN!! | ||
| Jaimec |
Are our European friends ready yet to admit Ben Spies is the real deal? | ||
| Svh |
Rizla has to be secretly disappointed. Oh well I can't wait to watch the races this weekend. Need more races on SPEED right now even some vintage TT stuff or something would be great instead of Pimp My Ride | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Spies is definately good. I would pick a Suzuki for winning at least one race, since they have the maximum top speed. | ||
| Jaimec |
I actually think Ben is better off in WSBK. It's not like Edwards and Hayden have set the world on fire with the new 800s. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
It is great to have Spies in WSBK, for all racing fans. Yamaha has 2 of the most popular riders in the world. Rossi and Spies. Also the new R1 wins all the 1000cc comparisons in the mags. Sales should be good for Yamaha in 09'. I am really surprised by Aprilia for being so fast so early. Bravo to Aprilia ! They really can build racing bikes. | ||
| Jaimec |
A lot of Aprilia's success can go to Max's dogged determination, I think. It's not like Nakano has been all that impressive on it... | ||
| Amafan |
Nakano was faster than Biaggi in both sessions today until Max put on a Qualifier on for a flyer at the end of qualifying , maybe you should look at all the lap times instead of just the final times . (Message edited by amafan on March 12, 2009) | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I do not like Biaggi either.... | ||
| Jaimec |
Amafan, I wasn't talking about the practices. I was talking about the last race. I'm not a fan of Biaggi either, but you can't deny his talent. | ||
| Jaimec |
Elbowz on the pole!! GO BEN!! | ||
| Benm2 |
That new BMW must be pretty far off the curve. Biaggi seems to be doing okay on the new Aprilia though! Congrats to Ben, seems he could be this year's Bayliss.. Looking forward to seeing him battle it out with Haga. | ||
| Jaimec |
SpeedTV has a great analysis of Ben and his chances in WSBK. Enjoy! http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/martin-we-t ried-to-warn-them/ | ||
| Rubberdown |
Thanks. | ||
| Jaimec |
I can't help but wonder... if we wasn't run off the track in Race 1 on Philip Island... would Ben be 4 - 0 in WSBK right now? | ||
| Diablo1 |
I can't help but wonder, if DMG hadn't taken over AMA Superbike Racing with their own set of goofy rules, would Ben Spies have ever left the US for WSBK? | ||
| Jaimec |
Yes, I believe he would've. He wanted greener pastures and new challenges. What surprises me is that Mat Mladin stuck around. I figured he would've retired but maybe he thinks the new rules create a new challenge for him. I think if DMG hadn't taken over and created their goofy rules, then maybe Colin Edwards would've retired from MotoGP to finish out his career in AMA Superbike, leaving the door open for Ben to join the Tech3 team in MotoGP instead of the factory team in WSBK. As I stated earlier, I suspect the WSBK paddock will suit Ben better. Superbike riders haven't been making the transition to MotoGP as well in the 800 era as in the 990 era. The 800s seem to favor riders coming up from the 250s. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Both Philip Island and Qatar are tracks suited to 4-cylinder engines with good top end power. It was easy for Spies to overtake Haga down the straight in Qatar. Spies is a great rider and also this year's R1 is a great bike, so he is definately going for the title. The new 'long bang' engine seems to keep the tires in good condition until the end of the race, which was the major problem of last year's R1. If Spies does better than Haga in Valencia, then it will very difficult for Haga to win the title. So far Hga is very impressive and it seems that the Ducati Corse managers have changed his mentality and persuaded him to settle for 2nd, instead of crashing trying for 1st place. Last year's Haga would have crashed trying to keep up with Spies. So Haga is serious this year. Lets wait for the track that 2-cylinder engines have no disadvantage against 4-cylinders. Test riders that have tested the new 'long bang' R1 say that are 3 engines in 1 : 1. mid range and engine life like a V-2 or V-4 2. Top end like a 'screaming' IL-4 3. Close the throtle and there is no engine braking, like a 2-stroke Well done Yamaha !!!! More to follow ??? | ||
| Jaimec |
I should point out that top speeds indicate the Yamaha is actually DOWN on power compared to the competition. Not too unusual as Rossi has been winning regularly with a bike that doesn't have the same top end as the competition in MotoGP. I think a couple of years ago Jeremy Burgess had stated most tracks only had one long straight, but they have more than a dozen turns... so where do you want to concentrate your tuning efforts? | ||
| Jaimec |
PS: Enough of the Mat bashing. | ||
| Jaimec |
Another great article on "Big Ben" at SpeedTV: http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/wsbk-spies- entering-uncharted-territory/ | ||
| Firstbuell |
me, I'm diggin' the Aprilia surge toward the front; hoping the BMWs get it together;   & wondering why all the Kaws & Suzukis [only 2 entered!] are lagging so..... | ||
| Jaimec |
The Suzukis are especially surprising considering how dominant they were not too long ago. Still, Neukirchner seems to be doing pretty well on the GSXR. | ||
| 186bigtwin |
I like that new Aprilia V4, It sounds pretty good too................ | ||
| Buell2001b |
I think spies is palying it very well he goes to yami instead of ducati becuase for GP rossi will soon retire meanwhile Stoner has a good 7 years still. I am surprised not to see buells in WSB considering the Germans and frech have been succesful with the 1125r | ||
| Buell2001b |
the Aprilla should have won that race. the rider made a mistake and looked back. its the same way rossi has beaten Stoner in the past. they play the mental game | ||
| Jaimec |
Max was paying too much attention to Haga, and that's how Ben slipped by in the second race. Ben apparently is also much better on worn tires than either Biaggi or Haga, and mastery of handling a bike on worn tires is how Rossi wins time after time as well. | ||
| Gregtonn |
"Ben apparently is also much better on worn tires than either Biaggi or Haga..." Spies started with a harder tire, at least the front one. Slower at first but less worn toward the end. |
