Hayden is showing improvement. But if he moves backward while Stoner,Spies move forward under the wing with Rossi could mean a not so bright future. Hayden maybe one of the best riders on the Duc. Remember though Rossi knows how to polish a turd. He did with the Yamaha in one year.

 

The next 2 years will be exciting... Riders on new teams & then a new bike in 2012. Rossi would get my VOTE as the best rider out there. But..... Lorenzo, Stoner, Pedrosa & a few more, Rossi won't be a given. I hope the last 2 races of this season, guys will take no prisoners.

 

I haven't heard anything, but I seriously doubt it will be anytime soon. You may see some priveteer rides here and there, but nothing with full factory support. I don't even think the Yamaha and Suzuki guys are getting the support they use to since the new owners took over.

The one thing I can't understand about the new rules is how they made everything so equal. Sure, it gives the priveteer guys a fighting chance, but it also makes that elusive factory ride less desirable. Afer all, there are plenty of other classes that have level playing fields to get the riders to the AMA level. There should be the full factory support for this level of the game. America needs a series like WSB where the best riders are on the best machines the factories can put out. I think they did a dis-service with their regulations. And the result was riders and factory support pulling out. I think the results are showing as most people don't even watch AMA anymore. I still watch it, but I only watch it on my dvr is nothing else is on. I certainly don't get pumped to watch it anymore. Most of the well known favorite riders left, and so did their fans. I get about as excited as watching a novice race. Not that their haven't been some awesome races, I just don't get into AMA as much.

I think Hayden will well. I don't think he will win any races though. I wish he would, ( still one of my favorite riders) but I haven't seen him be aggressive enough. Although, he did start to show some more aggression later this year.

Spies, I can see winning quite often this year. On a full factory support ride, I think he will be the next American champion for sure. I think at the very least, he will fighting for the championship all year. If he doesn't take it this year, he will next year.

I think the within the first two races, we will see if Rossi is going to be a threat or not. If he comes out just as fast on the Ducati as he is on the Yamaha, He will be unstopable. If a rider can get the Ducati turned and the power down, its probably the fastest bike out there. If he can put it all together, it will be an awesome year for him.

 

I disagree with one point, Squid. I think WSB is so exciting because you don't know who will win. All teams are on equal playing field. I think AMA will be better if it became a WSB feeder; get more Americans on the world stage would be a good thing for all of racing.

 

I agree, when everyone has a reasonable chance of winning makes it better. To me there doesn't have to be a factory specific team, but all manufactures equally support various teams with all parts avaiable to everyone, I'm all for it. And Yes, AMA should be a place where riders can improve to go to WSBK or MotoGP.

 

I agree there should be classes that are like this, and there are already many grassroots type races out there. But, my feelings are that AMA should be the big show, like wsb and motogp, like before, and it truly was a big show. If you raced AMA, you made it somewhere... now, its just another stepping stone for racers to go to a bigger event, its no longer the big event to make it too. Plus, I just don't think the world stage is big enough to house all of the talented riders. The AMA should still be a factory supported series.

Just my take on it. I do understand wanting the racing closer and more up to the rider than how much money the team has, but its just lost something for me with the change.

 

I totally agree with ya. I also hope AMA returns to what it use to be, one of the "Big Shows". After attending a MotoGP & WSBK events, compared to the more recent AMA events, it's like nite & day. I do think AMA has lost it's Star Power.. Maybe, Hayes, Pegram, Herrin, the Boz Bros & others can rekindle the excitement. But, with the economy as is its affecting everything, the various bike events (shows, races & rallies), I attended this year all were scaled down on venders, entertainment & etc...

 

AMA has gotten quite a bit more equal. But some privateers can't afford some of the parts that for instance Suzuki has released so others can purchase. Somehow Suzuki has still parts in there bikes that others cannot get but are legal. I guess Jordan team's have not even been able to get. The big thing in reality though is the budgets. Suzuki/yosh team even compared to say Jordans team...... huge difference in funds. You'd be amazed.

 

After watching MotoGP today, I can't seem to think of a reason why Hayden uses a soft front when everyone else uses a medium or hard. Every race that Hayden has used a soft compound, he runs well for the first half of the race, then his tires start to fail, and he fades fast. Everyone else gets better as the race goes on. His riding style abuses tires, so why on earth use a soft tire? Especially when other riders who don't abuse tires as much, are using harder compounds. You could see him loosing touch in ever corner and had to play catch up on the straights.

not really complaining.... just don't understand why. I would have to imagine the feeling you get from the soft would be completely gone by mid race, and the harder compound would be better in the long run.

 

BadS1, I hear you... I saw an interview where Jordan says he puts about $5 Million into his team, I am Sure Yosh/Suzuki probablly doubles that. Then the regular Joe Smoe, has a few $1K to use. So that won't change. But I do hope it improves. I would say most of the season, SuperSport has been more exciting.

As for MotoGP... Yeah, not sure what's up with Nicky. But as he said in his interview he has to do better to not get over looked. I mean to be in the top 5 is good, but people only remeber WINNERS. So he needs to get on top of the box, even though when he won the Championship he only won 3 times. So is it the tires, bike or him???