Ok Honda, no more excuses.

Watching the AMA Superbike races this past weekend revealed how superior the Suzukis are. We've all known that for a while. Of course their super secret, advanced use of traction control surely helped. (How nice for them to be able to develop something during actual race situations for years.) What matters now is how others respond. American Honda has been on it's own since HRC cut them loose a couple of years ago. It's a tough climb but it must be done. An indicator (aside from how fast the Suzukis leave them) is how the other teams entering the fray are doing. Yamaha, for instance, seems to be doing quite well. Eric Bostrom is excellent at the start and was actually able to hang with the Suzukis for a while. All this in their first few races in the Superbike class. It does show how important to development the Superstock class is (was). Suzuki used it to get Spies, et al some practice laps at each venue. Yamaha used Superstock to develop their bike for the future Superbike entry. Honda didn't, and it shows. Miguel has been riding the wheels off that Honda but as you watch each competitor (including the Hondas) get passed by the Suzukis you see their lap times fall away instantly. No use trying to catch what you can't, just hold your position. Kawasaki seems to be a few steps behind as well, but they too are new to this game of Superbikes (At least in it's current form.) Hopefully they'll get a podium or two this year. Maybe then AMA Superbike will be as competitive and interesting as World Superbike. Because right now it's not.

Let's also not forget MV Agusta. How cool is it that they are developing their bikes in AMA? They've had some problems, yes, but it's nice to see them cracking the top ten now and then.

Speaking of Superstock... Good riddance. It was a class that was nothing but cancerous to the whole series. These bikes were not stock! They were heavily modified and I really had no use for their existence. It was like a hiding place for manufacturers whilst Suzuki dominated Superbike for years. Was it all done so Mladin could feel good about winning even though no other true works bikes were on the grid for several years? It was like the AMA made a class for each manufacturer to win at. Just like Formula Extreme (which should also be tossed into the toilet). Honda owned that. Suzuki gets Superbike. Kawasaki Supersport and Yamaha gets Superstock. That way everyone can stand on the top box and be a winner, everybody except the fans.

Hey SPEED! What are you thinking?

I really enjoy SPEED Channel's new interview team. They have added a new dimension to Greg White's inane question and answer schtick. When interviewing the riders they now bring in a four color light reflector that virtually blinds the rider by reflecting sunlight directly into their eyes. I've seen these devices in studios and they're used effectively to add a warm glowing light to the subject. But when you seem them being used in broad daylight on people who are seconds away from a competitive event it strikes me as being completely moronic!

Next time just bring a huge convex mirror and see if you can burn the retinas right out of each riders head. It would make for great t.v. If you don't succeed, at least turn one will please the crash vultures since the front row will go in completely blind.

Rossi get his comeuppance.

My pal Angry Jim mentioned that Valentino Rossi caused the crash at Istanbul this past weekend. Queue the tape...

After further review, Rossi, after going off the track on the fastest corner in Moto GP, came back into the middle of the pack and stuffed it into the next turn causing a couple riders to brake extremely hard, go wide, and create a chain reaction crash that took out four other riders (including Rossi's teammate Colin Edwards III). In NASCAR it would've been one of those times when the guys who got crashed out would've gone on to the track and tossed their helmet at Rossi's windshield. As Karma would have it, Rossi was paid back by getting passed by half the field and ending up tenth! Ha! It was awesome seeing Alex Hoffman blow past him on the Pramac Ducati. As well as Randy DePuniet on that funky green Kawasaki.

CHEATER PROSPERS!!!

I just got done reviewing AMA Superbike Race 1 from Barber Motorsports Park 2007. And just as I suspected, Mat Mladin had made the most blatent jump start I've seen since when he did it last year during the season. If you've got the tape or DVR image at home I suggest you take a look at the rider in the second position on the grid. Yes, it's Mr. Mladin. Yes, he's so far out of the box that my dead cat would've waved the meatball flag. Does he have a special agreement with the AMA? How about with SPEED? Neither one of the announcers said anything about the start unlike when Michael Barnes jumped the start in his Supersport race and was brought in for a drive through penalty. I've seen that bastard Mladin get away with this before, but really the blame lies with the AMA Officials (if you want to call them that). Cheaters win again. Of course Mladin's been cheating for years with traction control. But hey, who cares, right? It's all about winning.

Bridgestone got it right!

It was a phenomenal race at Istanbul this past weekend. Those pesky Ducatis flexed their muscle once again and the Bridgestone shod riders took 1st through 6th. The battle for third was all race long and a real nail biter but the real subplot was the new tyre regulations, which I have to learn more about, which seem to limit the choices for tyre compounds. It seems as if Michelin had guessed wrong and anyone with their rubber was in big trouble. It reminds me of the F1 USGP a couple years back when Michelin didn't have a tyre that could handle that dangerously silly track at Indy. All the Michelin teams pulled out in protest and the race was run by the hand full of teams on Bridgestones (Ferrari being one of them). That race was a total joke and now Bridgestone is the Spec tyre for F1.

Will MotoGP go this way? We'll have to see. World Superbike does it. F1 does it. I'd suggest Dunlop start making an offer to AMA Pro Racing. I can't really say if a spec tyre program is the best for tyre technology in general. It might even out the field and make for better racing at times. But will manufacturers improve their product without competition?