In the 1970s, '80s and '90s, the United States ruled MotoGP.
Between 1978 and 1993, American riders won 13 of 16 world championships. Kenny Roberts won three in a row between 1978 and 1980; Freddie Spencer and Eddie Lawson traded titles between 1983 and 1986; and Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz claimed six straight crowns between 1988 and 1993.
And since?
Kenny Roberts Jr. won the championship in 2000 and the late Nicky Hayden did the same in 2006. He was the last American champion, though.
No rider from the U.S. has won a MotoGP race since 2011. An American hasn't even held a full-time ride in the series since 2015.
Roberts Sr.'s technique, honed on the dirt tracks of California, paved the way for his fellow Americans. He opened a school in Barcelona to teach the Old World his ways. Seven-time champion Valentino Rossi of Italy was one of his pupils. That dirt-track style has been a cornerstone of the career of six-time champion Marc Márquez of Spain.
(There is also a piece in it about motocross and supercross being now more attractive than road racing because of the weak MotoAmerica series and having no feather series to become a MotoGP pilot on hand in America.)
We used to have a great high profile road racing feeder series and we f-cked it up somehow.
Use to be 6-7 good road race tracks in colorado, now there is only one or maybe two.Road racing is all but dead in the states now so no way to develop talent.
American kids want to be Supercross stars.
Did you had a good feeder series or did Flat Track accidentally created great racers? Because those 2 stroke 500cc road racing machines where real monsters, equal monsters too those Flat Track bikes that Americans and Australians raced "for fun" on their dirt ovals.
More recent, I'm with you on this, you had the American Superbike series. But that series went down the drain. The rules from "MotoAmerica" are so far from the World Superbike rules that a talented American could never do what Ben Spies did. Also the rules are so different from the British Superbikes that even a talented American would have a hard time converting to the British series (to move if possible eventually on to WSBK). Besides that you've also the the ever widening gap between World Superbike bikes and the MotoGP bikes. What Spies did years ago is almost impossible now and that is a real shame. The only way you can get into MotoGP is through the feeder series from Dorna and if the AMA, American kids and parents, American fans and the American media wants more Americans in the series they should create a 'Mini Moto series' (maybe) with the very popular and pretty cheap Ohvale bikes, followed up by a Pré-Moto3 series (With national championship Moto3 bikes, from one manufacturer, similar to the local British Talent Cup and Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup) and possible also already a Moto3 championship with the WC Moto3 bikes. If that series is created America will attract people from South America and Canada who are now doomed to go to Spain from the moment their kids seems to have some speed.
But to get decent MotoGP riders they should also (keep) investing in Flat Track, Supermoto championships and tracks, because it is all part of the game now. That is something you Americans and Australians can be proud off, those 3 decades reformed the world championship of road racing.
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Unfortunately Road Racing in America is dead. Go to an American Roadrace. And other than team and family members there are very little spectators. When I was in my 20’s(59 now). We all had Dirtbikes AND Sportbikes. FZ’s. GSXR’s. CBR’s. And then Ducatis. We went to Daytona Bike Week every year. Scott Russel. Jamie James. Miguel Duhamel. The Bostrom and Haydens. Spenser. Lawson, Rainey and Schwantz(GP). Were my heros as much as my motocross idols. Seems now all kids care about are Side by Sides. Probably fun too. But little interest in street, much less sportbikes in my area. My last sportbike was a Ducati 1198. With everyone distracted on cellphones. And just poor auto driving and awareness. I just decided to get off the street and am 100% committed to motocross now. Many of my friends quit altogether or are Moto only as well. A few of us got Harleys for those slower Sunday rides through the country roads. It’s actually very therapeutic for me. As my life is always go, go, go with work and Moto. Sometimes it’s good to slow down and enjoy the ride.
As above. The “feeder” series in Spain (especially) are basically MotoGP factories
Start on a “mini moto”, end up on a work’s Ducati.
Also with the electronics and Aerodynamics utilised in Moto GP these days, the riding techniques probably reward dirt track experience less than in the past.
Finally, the adjustability available on Moto GP bikes and rider feedback required to get to the front mean it is a lot easier to succeed in MotoGP if you have come through Moto3 and Moto2 (prototype racing) rather than production classes like Supersport/Superbike.
This applies to everyone around the globe. You need to be racing in Spain and/or Italy at a very young age.
If you're 18-22 years old and still racing the national superstock classes you have probably already missed the boat for a future in the MotoGP paddock (including Moto2 & 3).
Does anyone remember the Match Races? Later called the Transatlantic Challenge then onto the Eurolantic Challenge when the European’s fielded a team. The American teams had so much talent back then.
The 5 time Superbike champion went overseas for two years in 21’ & 22’ and competed in Moto2.
He had flashes of brilliance and threw away a win and a couple podium finishes but did manage to get a pole position and 4th a couple times. He was also in his late 20’s and decided to just come back to the States cause he was already starting a family.
His name is Cameron Beaubier and he’s a savage on a road racing machine.
Joe Robert’s is also an American that is a race winner in the Moto2 class and still competing. He came from MotoAmerica.
MotoAmerica has made strides in the past couple years and is still the best option Americans have if they want to eventually go to MotoGP. The series practically died in 2009 and has been revived since.
Motocross is definitely a more affordable option if you want to get involved in racing motorcycles. I have a friend who was a full time road racer and he would spend over a grand per weekend on tires !
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Welcome to Vital, Eric.
Much like formula one you must be filthy rich to even be considered. Talent doesn't mean shit these days, it's all about money.
You guys got Moto Merica right? I believe a South African, Cam Peterson is cutting his teeth there.
I think your fastest guy on asphalt is competing in the SBK series.
I once attended the Daytona 200 before the SX and the field was stacked with fast guys.
That was back in 1999.
Without sounding harsh it's because there not good enough to compete in moto gp
I read an article years ago about why American and Australian riders dominated the 500cc class for many years in the 80’s and 90’s. The gist of it was riding a 500cc GP bike, with the power levels and ability to break traction, didn’t translate easily from 125 and 250cc road racing bikes, and that the American and Australian riders mostly had backgrounds in dirt racing, either motocross or dirt track, which gave them better skills to adapt to the 500’s.
With the change away from two strokes that advantage largely disappeared and European riders were, in general, able to progress easier to the 4 stroke MotoGP bikes from their road racing backgrounds.
Nobody in the USA cares any more.
I watched all the greats of the US ride, from 1972, legends of the sport but that fizzled out over the years, WSB diluted it a lot as well, so now they are even struggling to get riders in to that
Shame, same happened with speedway.
This is true, but they aren't good enough because they aren't being developed properly through the American series for MotoGP succuss. If American interest in the sport was revived, then setting up a US feeder system from minibikes up to Moto3s would eventually yield GP worthy talent but it would take many years for the series to get competitive enough first. I personally think it is just a numbers game and any country that provides ample opportunity, good competition, and path forward will end up with top talent.
Yer I agree , it would take a decade if not more to see results If something was put in place now it's not a overnight thing 👍
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Yes many of those guys cut their teeth in flat track for sure. My point was we had a healthy, popular National road racing program as well and I am not sure why it went in the tank. I also think it is a different era and not nearly as many young folks are choosing that type of riding if they are attracted to motorcycles in the first place. I think Ben Spies may have been our last decent hope at turning out a MotoGP quality rider and it stinks. I used to pay close attention to our superbike series, the world superbike series , 500GP and then ultimately MotoGP.
I think this is pretty close. Nicky Hayden was a flat tracker. In 2006, the skill to manage a bike with more power than traction was valuable. After 2006, electronics came into the sport, and took away much of the advantage of this skill. Plus, the teams are building bikes for jockey sized riders. HRC, even as Nicky Hayden was winning a championship for them, was tailoring their development toward pint-size Danni Pedrosa. And now, all of the MotoGP riders are tiny, and they are skilled in managing bikes with less power than traction.
Plus, road racing in the US is almost dead. Watch a Moto America event. The stands are almost empty. I used to go to bike week in the 70's & 80's. Even then, the Daytona 200 was a big event, and drew big name riders, but the stands still weren't full. I thought it was about perfect, though. It was popular. There were a lot of people, but you weren't packed in there like sardines like a NASCAR race.
Zero circuit racing culture here for bikes or cars, it all stems from that.
As mentioned, there isn’t a suitable feeder series to develop World Championship level talent here in the USA anymore, unfortunately. Especially now that the Bagger stuff is pulling the biggest viewer numbers in MotoAmerica. Even Rocco Landers is racing Baggers next year.
Mikey Lou Sanchez is the USA’s next big hope. Him and his family saw the writing on the wall, and moved to Spain a few years ago to race against the deepest talent pool they could find. So far, he’s doing really well. These aren’t super wealthy folks, either. They have made huge sacrifices, and have some great people assisting them to make it all happen. It could make a great movie script someday. Give him a follow on social media. Been watching him since he was a little kid who couldn’t touch the ground on a CRF50. He’s the real deal.
Like many said. No feeder series. But to expand on that.. Kids in Europe with aspirations of racing Motogp start on small prototype motorcycles. That is the one thing that kills any chance for an American kid even with major funding. Riding a production motorcycle won't prepare you for riding a prototype motorcycle. Ben Spies talked about it in the Gypsy Tales podcast. Something along the lines of only being comfortable 1 or 2 instances on the Motogp bike.
I mean we have Sean Dylan Kelly who won the AMA Supersport Championship at 18 I think. He has been in the moto2 paddock for 3 years now? He hasn't done anything. Joe Roberts has shown potential but he went straight to Europe as a kid I believe, raced the Red Bull Rookies Cup etc..
It's pretty lame that this is the case. But it also doesn't help that Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki really haven't developed a road racing liter bike in what 10 years? It seems they are more focused on SXSs and dirt bikes for the US market.
I went to Daytona road races maybe 11 years ago now. Dare I say during the 200 I briefly fell asleep. The good thing was you could sit just about anywhere that was open in the grandstand. I bet there weren't 300 people in the stands. The flat track, down the road at the time, was full of fans. It was a real cool grass roots vibe in the pits with riders selling merchandise out of their box vans.
I remember going to Loudon (aka Laconia), NH in the 80s and the national was huge with factory talent. Someone tried to resurrect it last year (not as a national), with some serious purse money. It was probably as bad of a rain storm as the SF SX was, and I think they had like 8 restarts, probably more.
There is just not a pathway for it anymore in the US, and there is very little interest. The costs involved in road racing has also gone up a lot.
Racing MX at a national level is expensive, but the cost of competitive Moto-America racing is obscene.
So true I had been off the road for a while and bought a ducati 1098 a few years ago. Only had it about a month and was like yeaaaaa fuuuck this. So many distracted drivers, everyone driving a massive suv or truck, and ppl just driving like idiots. You have to be so hyper aware of every single potential situation that could happen and 5 different escape plans constantly running through your head that you cant enjoy it. Every time I rode was so stressful that it was miserable.
My dad and his friend (a family friend of ours) had been two of the last hold outs I knew who still rode their harleys pretty frequently. Then after the last gillette supercross we saw him there and then a couple days later he got killed by an idiot lady who cut across the lane in front of him. After that happened my dad sold his harley and was like nope thats it I’m done. Its crazy out there these days… ppl have jobs, kids, wives, families, bills…etc its way less risky to just ride on the dirt.
In the 70s, 80s and 90s, Americans (And Australians too) were very successful due to their Flat/Dirt track background, the 500cc bikes with no traction controll devices, those beasts used to slide trough the corners, only riders with flat track experience knew how to tame those beasts.
But in the late 90s Dorna, the promoter of MotoGP, started the now called "Road to MotoGP" program, that consists in helping young riders by creating promotion championships, everyone has the same bikes and mechanics and the only thing that makes you win is your skill, this program that started in the old 125cc spanish championship helped Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner get where they are now, Dorna started to not only help 125cc riders who where on the verge of getting into 125WC, they began helping riders in 80cc, 60cc and minimoto series in Spain, to the point that in order to get into MotoGP, you have to race in Spain so you can learn (That's why Fabio Quartararo, Pecco Bagnaia, formar moto2 champ and son of 500cc Remy Gardner speak perfect Spanish), But later in time Dorna started helping other series in other places, they created the RedBull Rookies cup for European riders, Northen Cup for Northen Europe, British Talent cup and Asia talent cup for Asia and Australian riders, there's also the American talent cup and MiniGP talent cup for minimoto riders around the World.
A fun story I think it's worth mentioning at this thread, Jorge Prado, after winning the 65cc World Championship, was called by formar motogp rider Sete Gibernau to test a MiniBike, he tested it and they were impressed on how good he was, considering it was the first time he rode a road bike, they offered him suport to race road bikes instead of dirt bikes, but Jorge (Who was a kid at that point) chose motocross, we will never know how his career would have looked like, and I remember a Intreview with Jorge's father, where he said that Jorge's grandfather said to him why race motocross for little money when you can race MotoGP for big money?
Make Roadracing great again….get rid of all the electronics. Put it back in the racers wrist.
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