| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
ahaa, the small print strikes again  I remember he was blocked by Honda from testing the Paul Bird ART bike (which could have been a good thing!), which always stikes me as a bit churlish considering he had finished his job and won them the BSB title against the odds this year. He was never going to stay at BSB for another year so Honda blocking him testing a GP was pointless (yet they allowed him to test a Suzuki Superbike?) I think both Lowes brothers will surprise a few people this year, and so long as they curb theri enthusiasm and stay on baors they both have a decent chance of winning races, if not titles, in their first season at world level. Sam broke his collarbone and dislocated his shoulder this week in Moto2 testing, but at least he has a couple of months to rest now that the test ban is in place. | ||
| Simond |
Maybe there is some history between Havier Beltran and Paul Bird. I don't find it hard to believe that Birdy could put someone's back up! As for the Lowes brothers....... 2013 was the first year they haven't spent chucking their bikes at the scenery. Look what it got them! | ||
| Sparky |
2014 Dates Announced for World Superbike. From the Corkscrew Newsletter:
It going to be fun watching the EBR bikes mixing it up with the world's best. | ||
| Firstbuell |
ASBN Destination Ride!! | ||
| Firstbuell |
it's now official: Aaron Yates and Geoff May to Race in WSBK with EBR ".....World Superbike media front-man Michael Hill has released a list of confirmed entries for the 2014 World Superbike season, with Yate’s and May’s names listed for the Erik Buell Racing entry....." http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/wsbk/aaron-yates-g eoff-may-world-superbike-erik-buell-racing/?utm_so urce=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed3 A+AsphaltandRubber+28Asphalt+26+Rubber29 | ||
| Reepicheep |
Interesting that it is listed as an EBR team instead of a Hero team. I didn't expect that. | ||
| Blake |
Get Eslick back. | ||
| Classax |
Hmmm... there are other American pilots with no rides and more pace than the 40yr old Yates, but I rooting for them. He and May will bring the RX along well. | ||
| Ezblast |
Wow 40 years old - what was Erik thinking? EZ | ||
| Trojan |
Very strange decision, but maybe it just came down to money (or lack of) to hire a world class rider with experience in WSB, or maybe they approaced experienced riders who were put off by the propsect of riding for an inexperienced team on an unknown bike in WSB. If it is just because the team wanted an all American lineup they could have looked for a younger, hungrier and faster rider surely? Also, much as it is nice to wave the flag in racing, the days of 'one nation' teams are long gone now. Paul Bird found just how impossible it was to try and field an all British team in motoGp and has let that slip quietly away (and the UK has a huge pool of racing engineers and crews in all forms of motorsport). Teams need to hire the best available personnel regardless of passport if they want to win at world level these days. Maybe they just wanted an experienced development rider for their first year, although somebody with experience of the tracks would have been a better option surely? | ||
| Elvis |
It's important to note the progress Yates made through the season. Consider these results: http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/events/standings.cf m?class=sb&c=sb&year=2013 We know what May can do and we've seen the progress he made over the years, but Yates only had one year on the bike and, coming off a serious injury, showed steady progress through the year. I suspect pat of the decision was related to: "Is bike experience or track experience more important?" And I think it could be argued that the difference between this bike and other bikes is more of a factor than the difference between US tracks and world tracks. | ||
| M2typhoon |
I think it would be tough for another racer to just jump on the RX since the geometry and feel of the bike is so different.. or at least that's what everyone has said regarding the RS. Blake was one of them after he tested it. I would have to agree with Elvis on this one. The bike is a development piece so Erik needs someone with the experience. While Danny can ride the piss out the bike, he's not a development rider at all. Geoff was responsible for that bike's performance increases for the past year until Yates showed up. Yates adds as much to the information pool as Geoff does from what I've seen. Just because Yates is 40 doesn't mean a thing at this point until the bike gets ironed out. | ||
| M2typhoon |
I personally can't wait to see "Masterful May" race in the rain. When he did last year, he killed everyone on the RS until he destroyed the front tire. Hopefully the WSBK tires are better suited to the RX than the Dunlops they use in AMA. | ||
| Trojan |
I personally can't wait to see "Masterful May" race in the rain. When he did last year, he killed everyone on the RS until he destroyed the front tire. Hopefully the WSBK tires are better suited to the RX than the Dunlops they use in AMA. You have to remember that there is a big gulf in performance betweenmost AMA riders and WSB riders, especially in wet weather conditions (which a lot of northern European riders have a LOT of experience in!). I think it would be tough for another racer to just jump on the RX since the geometry and feel of the bike is so different.. But world class racers should be able to jump off one bike and onto another without too much of an issue. Chaz Davies got off the BMW and onto the Panigale and was immediately fast (and the Panigale is very different to almost every other WSb bike in terms of geometry and engine etc, just like the RX is). I would have taken WSB experience over bike experience any day. After all, sooner or later they are going to need a faster/younger rider, so why not now? | ||
| Court |
Smart | ||
| Crusty |
 | ||
| Blake |
>>> You have to remember that there is a big gulf in performance between most AMA riders and WSB riders... Complete baloney. See AMA champion Spies in WSBK (wins championship in rookie season on new bikes and at tracks new to him) vs WSBK champion Hodgeson in AMA (multiple seasons, never in contention). | ||
| Jdugger |
Spies was an outlier for AMA, honestly. Our very best will always complete with the world. But, our average AMA Superbike rider -- the guys not constantly on the podium -- are definitely a cut below WSBK grade. | ||
| Classax |
Yep, I think that there are guys with more pace (consistently quicker overall as opposed to "faster" on their personal ragged edge ala Lorenzo vs Marques) but they are looking to develop the bike. For that you need development riders who can race, as opposed to racers who happen suggest the occasional good improvement. I like the fact the team is flying the EBR name as the primary sponsor. Go gettum fellas. Beat MV and Ducati this year, take over the series next. | ||
| Jaimec |
Jeremy McWilliams wasn't available? | ||
| Trojan |
Complete baloney. See AMA champion Spies in WSBK (wins championship in rookie season on new bikes and at tracks new to him) vs WSBK champion Hodgeson in AMA (multiple seasons, never in contention). You can't use the exception to prove the rule I'm afraid. Also Hodgson was never on a bike that was capable of winning the AMA series. The Ducati was ham strung by the rules and Honda pulled the plug as soon as Hodgson joined, so ended riding for a poorly run and poorly supported Honda team that was a shadow of the team he had signed for  Add the fact that he was suffering from very much the same injury as Spies now has for the last couple of seasons and it is no wonder he never won the AMA title to gow ith his WSB trophies Hodgson didn't win a WSB title by being slow, as I'm sure you would point out if we were talking about Ben  if you remove Spies from the equation then US riders have actually had a very lean time in WSB over recent years (and I am not going back to the old days of Scott Russell etc), and I doubt if many of the current AMA riders with the exception of Hayes and couple of young guys (Beaubier and Beach maybe) would be very competitive in WSb right now. | ||
| Court |
While all the rhetoric is entertaining . . . .mildly . . . the GREAT THING is that we are going to see an AMERICAN team . . . no kidding . . .kids from Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas and California racing in World Superbike competition. While all the banter is fun . . . mildly . . . the racing is going to be incredible. I'm excited. | ||
| Court |
See ya at the races . . .  | ||
| Sparky |
I hope they get a better TV channel for WSBK than BEIN Sport, like Velocity or Fox Sport for US coverage. | ||
| Jaimec |
I LOVED BeIN Sports' coverage! I wish ALL of the channels covered the races the same way. NO Commercial interruptions during the race proper, and clear, high-definition broadcasts as well. What's NOT to like?? Fox Sports annoyed the SNOT out of me because it seemed EVERY time they came back from one of their COUNTLESS commercial interruptions, SOMETHING happened (a decisive pass, a spectacular crash, etc) which the announcers would TALK about but you only had a 50/50 chance of actually seeing a replay. It was SO bad during one race my friend hypothesized that the Pit Boards had messages like "Commercial break... make your pass NOW!!" In my area, the CBS broadcast of the AMA races (when they were actually televised) were in Standard Definition only. | ||
| Blake |
Nonsense. Yoshimura was the difference for Matt and Ben in AMA SBK. And Ben, a freaking rookie, never having raced a Yamaha Superbike, never having raced the WSBK tracks. won the championship. Any one of the top level pros in AMA SBK are perfectly capable of WSBK pace given a competitive WSBK team and bike. Ask Ben Spies, Collin Edwards, Nicky Hayden, Josh Hayes, Blake Young, Danny Eslick, Josh Herin, Roger Hayden. When a Euro rider does poorly, it's the machine's fault. Well. He was getting beaten by a BUNCH of other AMA racers, not just Ben and Matt. Your bias is showing. Go EBR! | ||
| Jaimec |
Another important distinction... before Ben came along, Yamaha had NEVER won the WSBK championship. After he left, they never won it again. | ||
| Trojan |
Your bias is showing. You cannot accuse me of bias when I have championed young US riders such as Josh Herrin, JD beach, PJ Jacobsen and Cameron Beaubier constantly over the last few years. I have no bias based on any nationalality I can assure you. If I think a rider is worthy of WSB/MotoGP then I will say so based on ability rather than passport or flag. If there is any bias here then is to base a whole argument about US riders ability on Ben Spies results, when no other US rider has bothered the top ten in WSB since he left (or for many years beforehand). I'm sure Josh Hayes would be good in WSb as would a very few of the top US riders, but there is simply no strength in depth in the AMA Superbike series, and to suggest that there are plenty of riders capable of running in WSb flies in the face of the current evidence (other wise they would have team bosss lining up to sign them). Another important distinction... before Ben came along, Yamaha had NEVER won the WSBK championship. After he left, they never won it again. There are some reason behind that though. For years yamaha campigned a 750 against 1 litre twins, so stood very little chance of winning. Nori would have won for Yamaha if he hadn't been stripped of points for 'drug abuse', handing Fogarty the crown. The year that Ben won WSB Yamaha won pretty much every series they entered with the R1, including BSB with Leon Camier and various other national championships, so it was undoubtedly a world beating bike. If you have read anything about the team structure when Spies was there you will know that he got far better equipment and support than his team mate at the time Tom Sykes, so was unarguably the number one rider for Ymaha at that time. Pretty much as soon as Spies left, Yamaha pulled most of their resources and only carried on for one or two more seasons before pulling the plug completely on their superbike effort. That is not to diminish Spies achievement, but he did have the best bike in the best team at that particular time, and was pushed to the title by Haga. I am more than stoked to see EBR race in WSb next year and I hope they really do well. However, I really think they could have done with better riders, regardless of nationality. There are no prizes for the 'best national team' in racing that I know of. (Message edited by trojan on December 07, 2013) | ||
| Firstbuell |
RE: team riders other than 20 & 99 - I dunno, while an experienced SBK rider would be great....who's available, especially with decent results + development experience? McWilliams is likely tied up with KTM at present - it seems as tho' he'd be a great development rider for EBR.......oh, well who? | ||
| Blake |
American racers don't just don't have a burning desire to leave home and move to Europe to race WSBK, and honestly, the Euros don't much want AMA racers either. Nothing could be more clear. When an American does decide to make the jump, typically he wins the championship or at least a bunch of races. The facts flatly contradict your view Matt. But hey, show us otherwise, which of the following AMA SBK racers would not measure up to the WSBK field of riders? Geoff May Josh Herin Blake Young Josh Hayes Roger Hayden Martin Cardenas Danny Eslick Larry Pegram Taylor Knapp Cory West Chris Filmore Tommy Hayden Hodgeson was planted firmly amongst the pack due to his inferior team/bike as you say. Okay, well then the same is true for the majority of the rest of the field. There have been only two teams really competing for the championship in recent years, before that, just one. Motorcycle racing in Europe is wildly more popular in Europe than in American in general, so there are more teams with more sponsorship thus more teams on par. It's not the quality or capability of the riders! It requires a really biased view to imagine otherwise. |
