FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I like B.J. Worsham’s ideas except he does not go far enough. I think the Superstock and Superbike series are confusing the sponsors and the not-so-savvy observers. A solution: 1) Drop the Superbikes and re-lable the Superstock bikes as “Superbikes” 2) Leave FX as it stands 3) Add limitations as to who can race in the 600 Supersport class so that only riders that have a limited experience on the national scene can compete in this class. For example: If the rider had competed in more than 2 years in 600 SS, then he was no longer eligible or maybe if the rider had accumulated more than a given number of 600 SS points over the previous three years then he could not race in the class. These types of limitations prevent the Ben Spies and Miguel Duhamels from winning all the 600 SS races and allow up-and-coming racers a very competitive class to showcase their abilities. Just my two cents worth as a lifetime racing fan, former road racer and AMA member. George Leavell Gilroy, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: On A Superstock Bike Being As Fast Around Daytona As The Superbikes Lap times in support or lower classes is nothing new. In my short time following racing I’ve seen both 250cc Grand Prix and World Superbike creep up on 500cc times. You only have to look at AMA Supercross to see “Lites” lap times as fast or faster than the premier class. Yes, the track is rougher for the premier class but just this fall a Lites rider finished second in the Jeremy McGrath Invitational. All that aside as a fan I can tell you there are too many classes that look all the same. I think there should only be one 1000cc class and if you must only one class that allows for Superbike level modification if at all. To fill out the weekend they should add a pro class for 600cc, a Thunder class that allows everything except Japanese four-cylinder bikes and a class for Amateurs. Sounds a lot like Canada! The only other thing I would do is use the AMA Supercross idea of pointing riders out of the support classes and follow that up with making it much harder to gain a Superbike license. Once a rider has pointed out they can not step back down to pick up an easy check against the privateers in the lower classes. I think this will actually create more jobs for riders and make the riders that can get a Superbike license worth more to sponsors. Chris Fehr Sudbury, Ontario, Canada FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Let me start by saying that I raced with the AMA a couple of times in 1996 and 1997, and I feel that this was the time that things started heading down hill for the AMA’s racing structure. When I started racing the AMA had no less than seven classes competing on a given weekend: 125s, 250s, 883s, 600 SS, 750 SS, Super Teams (1-hour endurance race), and 750 SB. Now we have four classes made up of two different displacement limits, 600cc and 1000cc. What all of these changes revolves around is money, or the lack there of. The AMA needs to aggressively market their product, and land serious sponsorship money, and not just from industry sources. I as much as I cannot stand NASCAR, look at what they have done. There are cars sponsored by laundry detergent, soft drink, and candy companies. And when was the last time that the winner of a Nextel Cup race won less than $100,000? I would be willing to bet that anybody who finishes a Nextel Cup race wins more that $100,000 in purse money. Hell, how many times has an AMA Superbike race winner won $100,000 for one race? The AMA needs to have a serious look at their marketing direction, as well as what individual track promoters are bringing to the table. If a promoter cannot post $1,000,000 in purse money in major market venues (i.e., Daytona, Laguna, Atlanta, L.A.), or $500,000 in smaller markets or new venues (Alabama, Utah), then the AMA needs to respectfully decline the invitation to race there. To this end, the AMA needs to help the promoters by offering a product that will put seats in the seats by restructuring the rules to promote better competition and a more exciting show. The AMA cannot rely on the die-hard fans that have been attending races for the past 20 years, because those numbers are dwindling, they need new blood. People have been complaining about class redundancy. Superstock isn’t much slower than Superbike, Supersport isn’t much slower than Formula Xtreme. The problem is with the rules structures for these classes. Case in point, for Superbike, the minimum weight limit was 370 pounds dry/375 pounds with fuel, and for Formula Xtreme it was 350 pounds dry/355 pounds with fuel. For Supersport and Superstock there was no weight minimum listed by the AMA for 2006. With most 1000cc bikes having a claimed dry weight of about 380-385 pounds this year, and the 600s in the 355-365 pound area, this sets up an interesting dilemma, the Superstock and Supersport machines are actually lighter than the highly modified versions that are supposed to be much faster. As a result, you have a Superstock bike that might be down 20 bhp, but it is 25-30 pounds lighter, and makes better use of its horsepower exiting corners (without traction control), than its higher-powered counterpart in Superbike. Another problem is that there has not been a consensus among the factory teams which class is the ultimate class. You have had some factories ignore Superbike completely because it would be easier to focus on a support class (Yamaha and Kawasaki this year and last, respectively), than to fight against all of the other factories. Another interesting thing is, which teams should be considered “factory” teams. Would you consider Erion Honda, Attack Kawasaki, and Graves Yamaha “factory” teams? The reason that I bring this up, is because when I raced, my teammate bought a bike from what I would say was a “B or C level satellite” team. When he did, the rider and the team mechanic used to give him stuff, Supersport legal race kit items, and tell him that if he ever needed any more to see them. The reason for this was because that while every thing had an official part number and could be ordered by any motorcycle dealer parts counter, the parts were perpetually on back order and the only people that had any access to those parts were teams that were on file with the manufacturer as one of their own. Having said all of that I do have some suggestions: 1. Lower the minimum weight of Superbike to 325 pounds. 2. Lower the minimum weight of Formula Xtreme to 300 pounds. 3. Set a minimum weight for Superstock at 365 pounds. 4. Set a minimum weight for Supersport at 340 pounds. 5. Ban factory teams, and anyone who posses a Superbike License from Formula Xtreme, this should be a class for privateers to prove themselves before moving on to Superbike 6. Require factory teams to run in Superbike, and qualify a bike at the required 108% or better, in order to enter in either Supersport or Superstock 7. Require factory teams to have a vendor area in the pits selling all parts for the supporting classes (There should not be an additional charge for a “Vendor” spot as this would be set up in the paddock and all sales would be to licensed riders that are entered in a race for that weekend only). If a privateer cannot buy a part on the spot, that part should be banned from the event, and anyone caught using it D.Q.’d 8. Make your schedule more feasible for privateers. Next year the last six events take place in about 70 days and goes from CA, to OH, to VA, to GA, back to CA, and then back to OH 9. Cut the grid size to 32. Anyone who enters and doesn’t qualify, refund them a credit of 50% of their entrance fee to another race in the same season, or towards their competitor’s license for the next year. Unless there is no attempt made to qualify 10. Allow twin-cylinder machines a 100cc displacement advantage. I think that these rules would greatly increase the competitiveness and entertainment of AMA racing. It would force all of the manufacturers back into the Superbike class, and it would allow them the freedom to modify their Superbikes more heavily and further develop their machines. It also would make it a lot harder for a privateer on a Superstock machine to qualify, so only serious privateer entries would qualify. Formula Xtreme would become a class where privateers that have proven themselves in Supersport or Superstock, could showcase their talents before moving up to the premiere class. Supersport and Superstock, while still potentially contested by factory teams, would then be the grass roots proving grounds for mostly privateers. These rules would also eliminate the use of “unobtanium” parts that are used in Supersport and Superstock. If factory “X” can have two 55-foot tractor trailers for their race team, then they can have a 30-foot box van with all the special race parts and the ordinary crash damage stuff that your everyday privateer might need. If 32 riders cannot qualify, so be it, MotoGP didn’t have one race where even 20 bikes to the starting grid that I can remember this year, and it was some of the best racing I’ve seen. Ultimately, competitive equals entertaining, entertaining equals more viewers, and more viewers equals more money. The AMA needs to sack up and get off of their collective asses and make this great sport more appealing here in the U.S. Forget about the FIM, who says that we need to follow their rules? World Superbike was spun off of the AMA to begin with, why can’t we take back the technological lead? Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. Eddy Russell San Jose, California
