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imo, he did about as good as one can do with the equipment he had. he whooped his "teammates" while on inferior equipment.
beating the PC or Honda kids isnt possible in the 250f class without equal equipment. and those teams play by a different set of rules than the satellite teams or privateers who run actual production stuff.
a superior rider can take a stock bike and beat the production-rule-legal mod bikes. but i dont think any rider but bubba stands a chance against the factory 250f teams even with the best production legal bike money can buy.
trust me on that one...not one OEM out there is happy seeing a private team (satellite yamaha at best) compete with them on equal footing. the rules are designed to give the OEM's an advantage.
teams like JGR are what the sport needs more of. yet the OEM's would want nothing more than for them to go away. hell, they'd get them DQ'd and run out if they could but i dont even think they ran tech at the outdoors last year and any OEM who would protest wouldnt because they know JGR has the money to fight back.
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No I dont want to hear your shit of how expensive racing is. Most of us have footed the bill and some to the extent that the big boys are jealous. Take a second out, get some credit, make the leap and show us you have some real balls. If mom and dad can foot it for little Johnny, some of these guys pulled decent salaries. Put it to work.
All this pathetic whining of your boy doesn't have a ride...Maybe he didn't earn the one he had because he was a primadonna ballerina under the tent. Has anyone noticed how humble Hansen has gotten? Reed Man'ed up and made his own team. Credit to him is due for that. No it's not easy, but if they even tried they would find the support would join them.
90% of all racing is done out of your own back pocket. What makes these guys so special?
I bet you, if there were more guys out there racing for next weekend the racing would become infinitely better. The haves would be scared of the have-nots. Like seriously scared. Attendance would double.
wanna know the gnarliest part about that race.. I broke my collarbone the day before and had no idea. I had a plate w/ screws in there. But i thought it was fully healed. The day before that race i heard a pop and figured it was nothing. But, this is what i was racing with there.
Damn....that thing looks extremely painful.
this is pro level racing. to compete on an equal field you need equal support. whether that be bike, team, mechanic, parts/development budget, trainer, circle of friends, etc.
thats not to mention that no matter how good you are at finding sponsors, you will never get the tires, suspension, or motor mods that the elite teams have unless your name is reed. the tires and suspension alone are 2 seconds a lap at the least.
i totally respect reed for what he has taken on, but it will take its toll on him. its way too much work to take on. you cant be GM, head coach, and quarterback all in one. a racers job is to race, and if you want him to race at his highest abilities, thats all you want him focused on.
some of the kids listed here arent just looking to line up and qualify. they want to compete for wins. highly motivated/competitive individuals that dont want to settle.
tiki, you are absolutely right, that if any of these kids without a ride put in a lil effort they could easily put together their own budgets from private sponsorship. but by the time A1 came around, they would be drained and not properly focused. hell, i had this very conversation with one of the kids without a ride, so its not like they havent heard what your saying before. but its just not realistic at the pro level if your goal is to do more than just line up.
i say all this because at one time i was that guy. i put together over 75k in sponsorship one season and managed to go over to europe to compete against the best in another motorsport. i was worn out come raceday with all that was on my plate because i just didnt have enough people in my corner. i could have spent half that and bought my way onto a team and i have no doubt my results would have been better. it was highly draining, frustrating, and took a lot of the fun out of racing. my equipment was fast, and i had the skills, but i had put myself at a serious disadvantage because i had just too much on my plate.
most of the field are signed to teams because they brought $$$ to the table either because their families are privately buying their spot on the team or because they have a big sponsor behind em.
the elite riders all get the elite bikes they deserve. but theres a lot of guys on B+ level equipment that arent their cause they are necessarily faster than the next guy.
Just because they aren't listed "online' doesn't mean there aren't signed contracts.
Teams would hate to leave off a last-minute sponsor, right?
Pit Row
He made main events last year in the West before breaking his back, but came back and raced the nationals to earn number 94. Their sponsors that were all lined up fell through and now they are scrambling to get some support for the Supercross season. This kid works hard!
John@srpinternational.com
Like you, Im not sure I understand the logic of the factories, but none of them want any more "turds in their punchbowl"....Im under the impression not even Yamaha does.
The OEM's would much rather prefer the system of (a) Factory Teams (b) Satellite/Support Teams and (c) Private/Customer Teams. For one, that system gives the OEM's the most control, that might be the major reason right there.
Take MotoGP for example, Honda ABSOLUTELY hates seeing their Satellite Team (Gresini) ever finish ahead of the Repsol boys. Back during the 990cc days, the satellites were pretty much at a equal footing, and many suspect that was a major influence in the drop to 800cc.
Privately funded teams take the control away from the OEM's. The mfg's have a lot to lose in that respect.
Also, another major factor is that if you have too much parody in racing, its very hard to get a return on your investment as a major sponsor or OEM. They would rather concentrate their efforts on a select few that have the best chance at winning. Too many riders on equal footing will just pull points from each other. Its why teams with a clear-cut A rider and a clear-cut B rider have traditionally been more successful than teams with two A riders who tear each other and the team apart. Look at McLaren when they had Alonso and Lewis. Red Bull almost cost themselves the title this year because they didnt pick a driver and go with it, Alonso should have won the title.
Ducati is about the only mfg in any motorsport that I know of thats ever given all their riders/teams nearly equal support, in MotoGP for example. As a result, they cant afford to give as many updated parts throughout the year as they have to support all 5 bikes on the grid rather than just their factory squad. They treat their customer teams very well, but it severely puts their development speed at a disadvantage. Whereas Honda just gives its customer teams last years bikes with maybe one or two proven updates throughout the year. Yamaha tried helping out Tech3 equally, but with Rossi and Lorenzo, it just wasnt do-able.
There really is no advantage for a OEM to give equal support across the board when you think about it. I wish they would, it would make for way more interesting racing, but that isnt their goal....we all watch just the same, knowing that the OEM's are cheating, and that there really are only 3-4 guys on a given nite with the skills/equipment to win.
I think if we let them fight for it. We as viewers will be rewarded. If they can do it for little Johnny wanting to make it to Loretta and NMA, it can be done at a higher level. For the record, I dont fault the racers for this, it's really the culture. Is a Freightliner toy hauler needed? Can you still race out of a van? It was good enough for McGrath, Henry and Emig. I think for many of these guys they can pull it off. Rider marketing is at the all time high with branding the numbers. Can they not sell their own number and all that goes with it or does the AMA want too much of it?
Honestly if there is no room for the privateer in our sport anymore turn out the lights. The line needs to be drawn sooner or later. Either shit or get off the pot. What I am saying is: If you can not race professional motocross without the suspension, motor, bling wheels or tires is it really racing anymore? would any of those parts be the difference between qualifying and the main? How about 20th and 5th? Yes I understand it helps, more so in the 250 class. If the pro bikes are detuned, Can you not find equal ground with basic equipment? I just think the "Factory Ride" stigma is way overrated. These guys need to go outside the industry and find money. Doing so they will be hero's.
BTW Kudos to you on your own endeavors. I think some of these guys would love a program like you set up for yourself. That is a hell of a package.
i might be going overseas to help out an american rider this year. going overseas would be a great experience for him in his career. and since ive done it before, i know many of the unforseeable bumps in the road that await. Something as simple as having someone handle the rental car clerk and then do the driving for ya makes a world of a difference.
part of the problem, is what you stated, the culture needs to change. most riders do not think they stand a chance unless they are on a team. the truth is, they can pretty much all build the same bike most B level teams would give them but its a lot more work doing it yourelf. i can totally relate to not even wanting to compete at that point. when youve paid your dues, patience runs thin. and then you got someone like me offering help, but they still know that they wont have enough equipment to win. this isnt lorettas anymore, where the cream is always going to rise to the top...everyone at the pro level can ride, equipment matters.
and for the most part, the agents in this industry are worthless. they do the bare minimum required. the only deals they sign are the ones that fall into their lap. ive seriously thought about seeing what i could do with the exposure that mx offers and some of the resumes without rides right now. a little effort and enthusiasm goes a long way.
you are probably right, there isnt room for the privateer rider or private team in the sport. or any motorsport for that matter unless they are going to enforce the production rules! worx frames and engines are the norm. and tires and suspension that the elite teams have are perfectly legal, but nothing that a private team can compete with. fact is, most are just grid fillers.
unless we are talking F1 in its hey day, racing always has and always will be about who can cheat the best. i wish more privateers would just say FUCK IT and run big bore kits...unfortunately the engine is just one part of the equation in mx.
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