The Circus is in Town

I just watched the AMA Supersport race from Laguna Seca and boy was it hilarious! They can't make that stuff up. It was like watching a bad movie about motorcycle racing that most motorcycle fans would walk out on. Poor Josh Hayes would've been better off trying to ride a bull in the PBR tour without a rope. He took two nasty falls over the weekend, the second of which caused a red flag in the Supersport race. Jamie 'Hacker' Hacking or THE HACKER, as he should be called, took the brake lever off of Josh Herrin's Yamaha in the corkscrew. He then helped assist Hayes into turn six soon after to cause the red flag. He later decided to ridicule Josh Herrin, on camera, by calling him 'Rossi' due to his devotion to Rossi (since Herrin wears the same number as Rossi and rides the same brand and probably has Rossi posters all over his bedroom leaving no room for his 'Panic At The Disco' poster and he probably has a Rossi tattoo and Rossi's biography and a scale model of Rossi's bike and Rossi replica helmet, hey, I like this guy).

So, guess who won the race and took those points away from Hacking? Yes, it was Josh Herrin. That karma thing sure is kooky.

Speaking of karma. When is Laguna going to get their card punched? (We'll probably have to wait until 2010 when their contract is up with MotoGP.) Then we'll see the tumbleweeds roll across that track like a ghost town. The organizers did a great product placement for Mazda when the flimsy sign at the top of the hill blew directly into the path of the riders forcing them to ride right through it as well as ride over the top of a sandbag as well. Miraculously no one was killed or even went down. But come on Laguna folks! What are you planning for next year? How about one of those banners that football players run through at gametime? You can put it right at the top of the hill before the corkscrew to make the race, and that corner, even more infamous. Or the banner could be placed at the finish line to make it more dramatic. Maybe someone will die this time. It's seems as if this is what you're shooting for in the end.

No Turkey? I love Turkey!

The 2008 MotoGP schedule has two rounds in the U.S. Really it's 1.5 rounds, since Laguna Seca is not the real deal. Indy should be able to bring it up a notch or two from Laguna. First of all, they've hosted Formula 1, so they can handle the big show. Second, they are bringing the support classes and keeping out the AMA. This is the way it should be done. Not the half-assed version we see at Laguna where the AMA guys are relegated to sharing a pop-up tent on pit road and the 125s and 250s stay home. It's crucial for the MotoGP fan to see the support classes. Where do you think Rossi came from? Pedrosa? Stoner? Jorge Lorenzo will be yet another contender coming from the lower ranks and one to watch as Rossi's Yamaha teammate in '08.

Laguna is on life support. Sure they've got a contract until 2010. (That was a wise move on their part.) Because if their contract was any shorter it would not have been renewed due to their lack of a high quality event and a track suitable to go karts. The director at Laguna said the more the merrier, welcome to the party, and so on with regards to Indy. What that really means is that they better start talking to World Superbike before Miller Motorsports Park actually gets it's act together and gives the place the appearance of not actually looking like an abandoned airfield. Because Laguna will not be holding any world class events after 2010.

Now let's talk Turkey. This is one of the best tracks on the MotoGP circuit for viewing and for racing (according to the racers themselves). Unfortunately it's off the schedule for '08. Is this because Bernie Ecclestone (the Director of F1 Motorsports) purchased the place? Will MotoGP go back there? Hopefully.

Can Bernie purchase Road America and make it what it can be? Yet open it up to MotoGP?

AMA Suzuki Superbike Team Challenge

Who will win the AMA title? Who cares? It's not like America is rooting for one or the other. There's not a hugely passionate fan base for either rider (at least that I can detect). If Spies wins it, so what? He had the championship in the bag, but has been riding as of late like his testicles were made of glass. He was abruptly reminded that they weren't, at Road Atlanta, when he flipped off the bike while snaking through that silly section of curves that serve no real purpose but to make the bikes look like they're on a slalom run. You can't pass there, so the only hope is that you crash, I guess. Spies took a nice shot to the jewels in that crash which was good. Perhaps it'll wake him up in time for Laguna Seca.

Mladin rode like he wants the championship that he supposedly knows nothing about. His coy on camera antics are as tiresome as usual. Just quit being yourself Mat. Just for once. Then maybe someone will care that you've won the title again. Or maybe not.

Blue flag? What blue flag?!

The only closely contested championships in motorcycle racing these days are the support classes. The most interesting one out there is the AMA Supersport series which can and will come down to the last race of the season. The Road Atlanta race was sure fun to watch, what with all the lead changes, the upcoming Martin Cardenas, and the battling veterans all racing quite closely. It was too bad the backmarkers influenced the outcome of the race. They affected the leaders on the last two laps by not simply getting themselves out of the way. No I don't mean just holding your line and letting the leaders pass you, I mean get out of the way! Pull off the racing line and let the race happen. I know you're vying for that $50 cash payout or that 28th place position but it's just not that crucial. Both times the lapped riders got in the way on the final turn which has only one real line through twelve and both times they were not battling for position.

Just pull over and shut it down. That blue flag is not there for your viewing pleasure. It actually means something!

Just reread my last Moto GP post

Why not just read the previous Moto GP post. To sum it up it will just say Stoner kicks everyone's arse in a bad way. Again!

Stoner wins again, blah blah blah...

Let's face it, Stoner is kicking everyone's butt so bad in the premier class that the race is over before it starts. If he doesn't go down in a turn one melee in each race, it's game over. At least Hayden and Hopper at getting some airtime. Poor old Rossi doesn't look like his old self since the cavalry, i.e. the Michelin custom tyre truck doesn't bring his magic rubber anymore.

Speaking of World Superbike...

It's coming back to the U.S. at our finest desert racing facility at Miller Motorsports Park. Will anyone show up? Can we party like rock stars in Utah?
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Aug/070822mmp.htm

You snooze, you lose, or at least get some rest.

The AMA Superbike races at VIR gave me an excellent chance to catch up on my naptime. Watching Spies protect his championship lead while riding around the course like he was made of glass really inspired me to drift off to the land of nod. Mladin deserves the Suzuki cup championship hands down unless Spies can find his lost balls and actually put it on the line.

Hopefully someday the factories will actually put for the effort we see at the World Superbike Level where they actually care about winning. Although until AMA gets it together I can't imagine they will.

Not enough Subs!

It looks like the AMA Free Subway sandwich giveaway fell short. Although, we did get to enjoy the overanxious corner worker sprint across the track like a boy trying to save his dog. It was on turn one of the first lap when a rider went down and this guy timed his crosstrack dash to just mist the last place rider. It was no less than heroic.

Unfortunately he must have been all tuckered out and sitting at the wrong corner when Josh Herrin went straight across the grass and into the tire barrier. We got to sit at home and watch him pound on the bike while it burned his leg for the usual agonizingly painful eternity before anyone got there. Mercifully for us viewers they cut to commercial.

VIR claims to be world class on their logo. They should change it to "World Class My Ass". The backside of the track looks like it was laid out by a kid with a crayon. Are those turns or did the asphalt guy have one too many? The runoff areas are vast. Unfortunately they are also grass covered. Ever try to ride one out at 100mph on grass only to find a comfy and cozy tire barrier waiting to snap your spine in two. Bikes don't stop or turn so well while on slicks. Trust me!

I knew T-12 was bad news.

Miguel Duhamel got fairly messed up today at Road Atlanta. Not surprisingly it was in the infamous Turn 12. Have you ever watched a race there and thought "Man I sure hope nobody goes wide there...". Maybe you haven't, but I sure as heck have. Watching the bikes round that corner after the downhill and sprint for the checkered flag you can't help but notice the cement wall waiting for someone to make the smallest mistake. Sure they try to make it safe by putting up an airfence among other things, but it's just not enough. There's just no runoff and no time to slow down if you run it wide. It's a good think Duhamel is alive.

To paraphrase from Ronny Reagan "Road Atlanta, tear down that wall! Or at least move it."

AMA does it again, again...

I just watched race one at Mid-Ohio. Good thing: they repaved the track and it appears it was not done by someone from California.

Bad things: It's still a dangerous place to race. They don't race in the rain there because there would be lots of dead people. Speaking of dead people. I can't remember the racer who crashed in race one but did anyone notice him crawling off the track on his hands and knees after a serious highside? Anyone? Hey you guys trying to pick up that motorcycle! There's a rider crawling for his life to get out of harms way and not one of you morons came to help. I guess that's what happens when you've got two safety marshals per corner. At least they got to the bike in time to offer CPR. They're complete incompetence brought out the red flag as well, thus completely altering the race for no good reason except that they're incompetent.

Have you ever seen what happens when someone crashes outside of the U.S? An army of people come to assist the rider and clear the debris to make sure the race continues and that the downed rider is ok and off the track quickly and safely. Maybe the AMA can offer some people free tickets and a Subway sandwich with a large beverage of their choice to man the corners. If it rains they can throw in the umbrella while they wait for it to clear up.

How about Laguna Suca?

This year's round of MotoGP at the Laguna Seca circuit was nothing short of underwhelming. In fact, it sucked. The only things that were impressive being the performance of Casey Stoner who punished the field from start to finish. He flicked that Ducati through the corkscrew like he was on a bmx bike. Flawless.

Tough guy award goes to Marco Melandri who raced into a podium position with a broken ankle. The x-rays didn't show it immediately but follow up x-rays confirmed it after the race. Nice one Kurtis!

Did anyone notice the giant red, white, and blue bowling ball that wiped out nearly the entire field of American riders? I think there must have been twenty or so on the grid and the last man standing was Roger Lee Hayden (a wild card rider racing a very unfamiliar bike nonetheless). At least he got tenth. He went on to win his Supersport race too.

Nicky Hayden took care of himself and Hopkins on the first hairpin at turn two of the first lap. He first blew the turn trying to make up too many places off the start and then he abruptly hooked right back into Hopper who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'll bet Hayden's off Hopper's xmas card list this year. Cross them off the list of top finishers too.

Edwards had his usual backwards run through the field. Tires? Maybe. Whatever. See ya!

Miguel "My pussy hurts" Duhamel said his head just wasn't in the game. He took a tumble earlier in the weekend and he just wasn't into it. He said he'd like more time on the bike next time. Guess what? There isn't going to be a next time. If he would've just stuck it out he probably could've finished second in the American contingent. It wouldn't have been hard.

The fool me twice award goes to this years resurfacing of the track. They used every technology available to them and still managed to put plenty of bumps into a brand new surface. I guess the bikes didn't have enough chatter so they added some in. Did they have an army tank race earlier in the month?

I almost forgot to mention the ridiculous amount of advertising and continuous interruption to the racing courtesy of Speedvision. Thanks, dickheads!

LAGUNA SECA REWIND (Part 1)

So much to talk about, and all the time in the world in which to do it. First let me say how glad I was watching from home. No hassles to speak of. No endless lines, no water shortages during triple digit heat in a treeless landscape. Just some delicious snacks and a clear view of the race.

Now to the dark side. Having to watch this thing on American T.V. is a miserable experience. Sure, they aired qualifying, which is remarkable for Speedvision, but I'd have to say that we got to see about one third of qualifying action due to the absurd amount of commercials and the useless Greg White "insider" features. I've recorded it on my DVR and if I'm bored, I'm going to keep track of how much time was used up due to advertising. It was not pretty. Speaking of qualifying...
A major thumbs up the arse to Kurtis Roberts for his "I'm just going to ride around at about 30mph on the racing line and hope that nobody hits me". Oops! Marco Melandri, apparently not used to American unprofessionalism, caught his handle bar while attempting to avoid completely smashing into Roberts. Who was just cruising around the track during green flag qualifying. Luckily Melandri wasn't hurt too bad considering the runoff area is a big as a shoe box in most areas. He was able to do quite well in the race and was one of the fastest all weekend. Well done Marco.

Another notable event in qualifying was the Carlos Checa/John Hopkins incident on the uphill out of turn six. Checa was supposedly slowing for a waving yellow flag and Hopper came right up his tailpipe at full pace and decided that offering a karate kick, instead of trying to avoid him and continuing on, would be the best thing to do. Regardless it screwed Hopkins out of good hot lap during the waning seconds of qualifying. Who's fault? I'm not sure. Ultimately, it wouldn't matter.

Speaking of incidents...
This month's Dani Pedrosa award must go to Sylvain Guintoli for nearly killing Alex Hoffman in the first free practice. Guintoli forgot to look at his track map ahead of time and went straight at the corkscrew. Unfortunately Hoffman didn't and he paid a heavy price. His hand is messed up and he was completely knocked unconscious. Lucky to be walking around I hear.