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!