Team Pro Circuit

Ramrod
Profile picture for user Ramrod
Posts
4998
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ontario, CA
Ramrod
Edited Date/Time 5/28/2014 11:06am
Tough luck this year again with injuries.

This team has been so dominant in the past and riders wanted to ride for them first. It seems like that trend has been broken as other teams have closed the gap. They still have some great riders in their fold but bad luck and injuries have decimated the team.

I think that Geico Honda having Barcia and Tomac broke their stranglehold on the class. Martin and Webb will be great competition outdoors once Baggett gets going. Anderson even turned down a PC ride to stay where he is, which looks to be a fine choice for sure.
|
IWreckALot
Profile picture for user IWreckALot
Posts
8677
Joined
3/12/2011
Location
Fort Worth, TX, USA
IWreckALot 5/28/2014 6:02am
5/28/2014 6:02am
I know Mitch Payton is a fan of making riders earn their win bonus and giving them a low salary. I just wonder if that strategy is running off top talent. It worked when the class was slightly less talented and it was more of a feeder class. But it seems like over the last few years, that class has grown to a pretty intense competition and the riders have more contract option$.

All of that is aside from the bike gremlins they seem to be facing.
newmann
Profile picture for user newmann
Posts
24437
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
USA
newmann 5/28/2014 6:33am
5/28/2014 6:33am
A PC bike used to be a boost to the money class. Now that there is no money......
Ramrod
Profile picture for user Ramrod
Posts
4998
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ontario, CA
Ramrod 5/28/2014 7:09am
5/28/2014 7:09am
newmann wrote:
A PC bike used to be a boost to the money class. Now that there is no money......
This is true, unless you come out of the 250 class with a bigtime 450 ride, you need to make the most $$ while you can.

There were some rumours that Justin Hill may be moving on to a different team. Maybe he will get more cash.

Must be the bike parity now. It used to be by far the best but now it is par with the rest. Hard to get more power out of a 250 than they already do.
Titan1
Profile picture for user Titan1
Posts
9477
Joined
2/3/2010
Location
Lehi, UT, USA
Titan1 5/28/2014 7:12am
5/28/2014 7:12am
Mitch is going to have to pay his riders more, and less performance based.

As soon as the other teams (geico and TLD Honda) stopped having PC do their motors, the PC bikes stopped looking so invincible...and then Some top riders (Barcia and Tomac) went to another team and the reputation has been broken.

The Shop

See All »
Ramrod
Profile picture for user Ramrod
Posts
4998
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ontario, CA
Ramrod 5/28/2014 7:26am
5/28/2014 7:26am
Titan1 wrote:
Mitch is going to have to pay his riders more, and less performance based. As soon as the other teams (geico and TLD Honda) stopped having...
Mitch is going to have to pay his riders more, and less performance based.

As soon as the other teams (geico and TLD Honda) stopped having PC do their motors, the PC bikes stopped looking so invincible...and then Some top riders (Barcia and Tomac) went to another team and the reputation has been broken.
This is true.

These teams are also very strong in 250 now:
TLD Honda
Geico Honda
Star Racing
KTM
Rockstar KTM

Lots of depth in competition now.
IceMan446
Profile picture for user IceMan446
Posts
4676
Joined
1/10/2010
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
IceMan446 5/28/2014 7:36am
5/28/2014 7:36am
Not to mention the bike problems they have had recently.

Very surprising and if Deano's bike caused his crash this weekend, that's just another bad look for the team.
Ramrod
Profile picture for user Ramrod
Posts
4998
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ontario, CA
Ramrod 5/28/2014 7:59am
5/28/2014 7:59am
I don't want to bash PC, they are first class all the way and every team has it's share of dnf's and such.

Dean has had some bad luck with weird bike problems in the past year. His 450 last outdoors broke and spit him off, the electrical problem cost him a SX win this winter and now if possibly his GH crash. Yikes.

Maybe it's not the bike. With 5-6 guys on your team racing you should be able to pinpoint problems and solve them quick, that's a lot of racebikes.

Hopefully Baggett regains his form and their is a good battle with all the big teams at the front this year.
IceMan446
Profile picture for user IceMan446
Posts
4676
Joined
1/10/2010
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
IceMan446 5/28/2014 8:04am
5/28/2014 8:04am
Ramrod wrote:
I don't want to bash PC, they are first class all the way and every team has it's share of dnf's and such. Dean has had...
I don't want to bash PC, they are first class all the way and every team has it's share of dnf's and such.

Dean has had some bad luck with weird bike problems in the past year. His 450 last outdoors broke and spit him off, the electrical problem cost him a SX win this winter and now if possibly his GH crash. Yikes.

Maybe it's not the bike. With 5-6 guys on your team racing you should be able to pinpoint problems and solve them quick, that's a lot of racebikes.

Hopefully Baggett regains his form and their is a good battle with all the big teams at the front this year.
I wasnt trying to bash them either, just seems odd to have that many bike issues and electrical issues at that.

The team was known for having the best equipment out there and maybe the pressure to stay at the top is causing some oversights some where. But like you said, with that many riders you would think the bugs would be worked out.

I think its just the case of the other teams finally catching up to the PC team and they are trying to push the envelope for an advantage.

Bagget is the lone hope for Mitch, I hope his eye is ok and he is able to regain his previous form.
MMCDan
Profile picture for user MMCDan
Posts
110
Joined
12/7/2009
Location
Beaumont, CA, USA
MMCDan 5/28/2014 8:33am
5/28/2014 8:33am
Probably an apples-to-oranges comparison, but I've had very poor experiences with PC products and services lately, to the point that I will no longer use them. I had them rebuild a motor on a 450 and the wrist pin broke within 15 hours of the overhaul. Very strange and can't say I have ever had that problem in the past. Also, my last three exhaust systems have been junk.

Like I said, probably meaningless to compare the work they perform for some chump like me to issues with their team bikes but the timing of my experiences and their problems on the track do appear to be related.
Ramrod
Profile picture for user Ramrod
Posts
4998
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Ontario, CA
Ramrod 5/28/2014 8:39am
5/28/2014 8:39am
I wonder where Cianciarulo would have finished had he been healthy last weekend?

Martin and Webb were unreal. Can't wait to see if they can back that up.
TripleFive 5/28/2014 8:44am
5/28/2014 8:44am
They need to pay their riders more?

You guys are nuts. But for injuries PC would have swept the podium on the East Coast, and they had two riders in the top four in the West.

Currently they are just decimated by injuries.
twosmoke30 5/28/2014 8:45am
5/28/2014 8:45am
they need to go back to their roots and break out the PC huskys
peelout
Profile picture for user peelout
Posts
18423
Joined
1/6/2011
Location
Ogden, UT, USA
peelout 5/28/2014 9:25am
5/28/2014 9:25am
that team sure seems to have a black cloud hovering over them the last few years
UpTiTe 5/28/2014 10:27am
5/28/2014 10:27am
Its not that Mitch and the boys have had bad luck or that they don't build a good bike anymore, its more like other teams have caught up. Mitch use to have the best amatuer program in the business, Team Green, to pick and choose from which resulted in great results. Also, another misconception is that Mitch doesn't pay good, he pays the guys that Kawasaki wants good, guys like AC make good money, guys like Davalos make good bonus money.

Gieco started their amatuer program with Canard and grew it from there and the results from their program have payed off now. Star picked up both Martin and Cooper as amatuers. The biggest reason Mitch hired AC and signed him to long years was because Kawasaki made him, Gieco offered him a huge deal and Team Green didn't want him getting away.

You wont see any one team dominating like PC use to, too many good teams with good solid programs running now.
davistld01
Profile picture for user davistld01
Posts
9362
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Springfield, MO, USA
davistld01 5/28/2014 10:56am
5/28/2014 10:56am
Related to the topic or not...I've noticed both on the tube and in person how the PC Kawasakis run compared to the TLD & Geico Hondas, and the PC bikes are just not the rocketships that they once were...at least when you compare them with the Hondas and even the Rockstar KTMs. Not saying PC is losing ground...like UpTite says, they simply have let the other guys catch up with them performance wise.
ehr400
Profile picture for user ehr400
Posts
2630
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Britton, MI, USA
ehr400 5/28/2014 11:04am
5/28/2014 11:04am
Lol
IWreckALot
Profile picture for user IWreckALot
Posts
8677
Joined
3/12/2011
Location
Fort Worth, TX, USA
IWreckALot 5/28/2014 11:06am
5/28/2014 11:06am
UpTiTe wrote:
Its not that Mitch and the boys have had bad luck or that they don't build a good bike anymore, its more like other teams have...
Its not that Mitch and the boys have had bad luck or that they don't build a good bike anymore, its more like other teams have caught up. Mitch use to have the best amatuer program in the business, Team Green, to pick and choose from which resulted in great results. Also, another misconception is that Mitch doesn't pay good, he pays the guys that Kawasaki wants good, guys like AC make good money, guys like Davalos make good bonus money.

Gieco started their amatuer program with Canard and grew it from there and the results from their program have payed off now. Star picked up both Martin and Cooper as amatuers. The biggest reason Mitch hired AC and signed him to long years was because Kawasaki made him, Gieco offered him a huge deal and Team Green didn't want him getting away.

You wont see any one team dominating like PC use to, too many good teams with good solid programs running now.
It's funny you mention AC. I have a very sneaking suspicion that his contract looks very different from a guy like Hill or Martin Davalos. He rarely mentions the big 20 sponsors and carries himself more worry free.

I still believe that a guy like Eli Tomac (especially with John Tomac as his father) would not sign one of Mitch's typical contracts. And I know there are other very talented riders with that mindset. So I do believe a little variety in Mitch's pay structure might do him some good.

But your point about the amateur programs are good points also.

Post a reply to: Team Pro Circuit