The problem in superstock isn't the rulebook it's that no one is protesting to enforce the existing rulebook. (Partially I think that's because they're afraid of retaliatory protests for master cylinder infractions but I think that conversation has been had enough for this offseason) Y'all can try make more rules to bring costs down but if there's no accountability if there's no point.
And that's what I'm getting at. At some point are the racers the show or are they the customer? And and as far as "you gotta pay to play" to be competitive, I'm not talking about racers spending dumb money to have the best. What were talking about is the barrier to entry getting increasingly higher and higher. I just saw that the Jr Cup bikes are now $28,995.00. Thats a ton of money for just about anyone to throw down the road. I guess if we want motorcycle racing to be another exclusive rich mans sport, we're definitely heading in the right direction.
I think MotoAmerica will claim that there is no significant cheating due to their access to the ECU data from every bike. No matter what you do you have to get more fuel/air to make more power and they would know about it.
I think allowing just about anything OUTSIDE the motor in SS should be the new standard. Scotchbrite only for cleaning up the head, no machining for "maintenance"
I might be an outlier here, but part of the enjoyment I get out of following moto racing extends to the team supporting the "face". I think when you get an innovative genius (ironic side bar - I struggle to spell genius correctly, lol) that can take a production bike and optimize it in a way that makes it an extension of the rider, it's fascinating example of learning, comprehending, and execution. I despise outright cheating (such as Yosh alleging using TC when Bazzaz was at the helm), but I sure do enjoy the stories of how they work around the margins of the rule book for those last 10ths, even if it might technically be considered cheating.
Small creative changes are what makes motorsport what it is. But there's a line somewhere between: and a 150% HP advantage. Like racing against 64hp Ninja 400's in stock class.
I just learned yesterday that they can drink beer, wine, and cider at 16 in Switzerland. That's why there were so many kids in that horrific bar fire on New Year's Eve.
Getting slightly off topic, I chuckle at the early license thing. In 1983, in CA, u had to wait until 16 to get a car driver license but u could get a "daylight only" motorcycle license at 15 and 1/2 years old. I had mine on day one and the next day excitedly took my first streetbike off the lot, a Kawasaki 305. After almost 10 years of dirt bikes I rode that 305 to my first stoplight and thought... well this sucks! Thank God for roadracing. As for our sport, trackdays and race tracks need to be filled enough to make a small profit. I'm worried like others but hopeful the industry can respond to what comes
I speculate, Yosh were using Bazzaz, well before he was announced as officially being IN the team. And, I believe there were others using TC well before the scandal, as well. For example, Hodgson’s 999 would be popping, on throttle, every trip through the carrousel at Mid-O. I’ve always sat in the turn #4 grandstand, which is in the line of exhaust fire through that section. It was so obvious.
You’d be correct… I had some of Amaar’s first public systems before his retail launch end of 2007… another privateer buddy had one developed by another engineer… Amaar had been at Yosh for years at that point… I didn’t start hacking ECUs until 09 when the banned kit ones in SS through my car racing guys but I’m sure the big teams were doing that and more way before me…
It's been that way in professional motorsports since it began with the internal combustion engine....
