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Edited Date/Time
1/31/2018 3:35pm
It was mentioned in a thread below about Justin Barcia's transformation lately aboard the factory Yamaha YZ450F that it probably messed with JB51's head that JGR was a "B-level" team. Is it? I mean, the team now is officially the home of the Yoshimura Factory Suzuki racing effort, and I imagined them being as close to a Factory Yamaha team as one could be for years. However, they've never seem to be able to bring the best out of their riders...and even with all their available financing, and their ability to fabricate almost anything on the bike they chose to...they have always fielded a team of riders that were good...but not great.
So...can Joe Gibbs Racing team still be considered a B-team?
So...can Joe Gibbs Racing team still be considered a B-team?
I believe some of their riders have not put forth the same level of commitment. Barcia being one example.
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Certainly some bad luck for them....They just have never really had a bike when it was better then the others.
JGR was new to the Suzuki when Barcia was there right? They needed time to learn the bike. Factory support from Suzuki is never “great”.
And yes, that’s what JGR is, they are a private team with Factory backing. But that shouldn’t get in any rider’s head. And it certainly aint “B” team.
1. Factory Team (ie: HRC Honda)
2. Factory Support (ie: JGR Suzuki)
3. Satellite Team (ie: FC Honda)
4. Private Team (ie: CR22)
Expespecially within a budget.
If Roger Decoster was the manager at JGR, they would have had 2-3 championships already.
In this day and age the technology is a pretty equal playing field. Everyone has access to data sensors and cnc machines but lets face it there isn't much more data one can take from a dirtbike that's already available. Dumb argument to say they are ahead of anyone if you ask me.
I know for a fact that JGR had some pretty legitimate complaints of rules violations during their Yamaha years. Their words fell on deaf ears. Had Factory Honda or Factory Kawi made those exact same complaints, action would’ve been taken.
They are in a better position now that they have mfg backing.
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What makes an "A" team? Experienced leadership:
To provide the best equipment
To get the best out of a rider and understand what they need to be successful- training, setup
I think many well funded factory and factory support teams can be an A team, but that's not defined by direct ownership of a team by a motorcycle manufacturer.
JGR is as I see Weston Peick and the long term improvement they have been a part of.
The usual thing we hear about JGR is that their resources are huge and they can manufacture anything. Maybe they tinker with the bikes too much? I know Matthes have talked about that in the past, Weston Peick mentioned that the Factory support for this year is a huge thing, Barcia had issues with the JGR Yamaha being too aggressive/fast etc.
I don't know, these are just observations from the outside. I want them to have success, they seem to be a bunch of good people but sometimes i just scratch my head. Like with the signing of Hill. I mean it has been a massive failure. They basically bought a red number 1 plate for one weekend. Something is obviously wrong with him. I have read that some would put him on a 450 for the east rounds, i disagree. I would never reward Hill with east coast 450 racing after this start to the season.
Money and resources can do a lot of things, but they can never replace knowledge. And by knowledge I don't mean that in a disrespectful way, because I know JGR has a lot of intelligent people on their program, but I mean platform and setup knowledge. Something I'm sure is a lot different for a factory team when you have a whole team of engineers working with you that likely have years of experience with a certain bike and a whole list of setup sheets ready to go before a rider swings his first leg over a bike.
I really think JGR thought they could do it the NASCAR way where power is key and pretty much everything is custom built anyway, but along the way realized that the traditional (factory) team structure is a much safer bet.
Answer- three years. Roger joined Suzuki in 96, Albertyn won in 99.
Perhaps many riders think JGR means Just Getting Rich. Who do we blame for that perception?
Bring Roger or Mitch to JGR and you will be on to something.
This is not NASCAR. It is 80% RIDER, 20% BIKE. In nascar, there are 50 year olds winning championships because it’s 95% CAR, 5% DRIVER
I'm my view JGR has only taken on already lost riders, besides Hill, or medioker riders. And then signing up bikes that is least of interest where only a handful riders in the world could make it on.
So not fair to say it is teams fault. If they had funding to afford better riders and factory support from Honda, husky/ktm or Kawi I think it would be difficult.
Barcia success at A1 is 100% bike(+rider)-related.
JB51 was a punk that was humbled when he didn't have a ride for MEC.
JS7 is a burnout. Millsaps was consistently getting top 5 results while JS7 was complaining that the bike was junk.
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