With Graves reportedly having to fold their 600 Supersport team at the end of the year, do those riders now have a chance to ride the Suzuki next year?
Sheesh does it really change the meaning of my question? Fine. With the rumor that Graves will be shutting down his 600 SS team at the end of this year, does that put JD in the running for the open Yosh seat? Now answer my damn question!
Unless something changes with his team, I don’t see Herrin leaving to go to Yosh. It seems like he’s having fun and enjoying being at the pointy end of the field again.
He's proven he can win on a Yamaha, has won a championship, and as Noles pointed out, he will get paid! Seems like a better choice. Other than that, yes, Beach or Scholtz too.
JD is in the running for sure. I asked him as a fan if he was going to run the mile in October and he gave me the vague "I have some stuff I need to sort out, so not sure yet". Word is he has flat track offers too. Yosh said two to three weeks for an announcement, which would put it at the Barber weekend. JD really deserves the shot. Josh Hayes said at the track that he’s afraid of JD turning into him (forever journeyman and didn’t get his shot until later on). I’m a big Matt fan too, but I’m also a big Matt / Westby fan. He really fits in with the ethos of that team. Toni will be 37yo next season, I can't see him doing this much longer either, and maybe that will open the seat up for Jake to possibly get it back? Jake is a bit younger than JD, Matt, Cam, etc. Herrin has made it known he's riding for Attack next year, but has some real sponsors coming on board. They might build another Superbike too, and Herrin has made it known he wants to develop guys like Ashton Yates, Gavin Anthony, and others. Hope the Broaster guys figure out next year. Seems Honda is iffy on support? There is a bit of a loss generation, I think a lot to do with the economy in 2008. You have the 36yos then it jumps down to 26yos and younger. Not much in the way of the 30ish year old generation besides Eslick and Cory West part time. Jared Mees (31yo) kind of said something along the lines that when he was looking to try road racing, you had guys like Tommy Hayden and Jake Zemke struggling for rides, and who was he?and that he was finally getting paying rides in flat track. Dane Westby would have been in that “class”
R. Hayden retiring is like the end of an era in US moto RR, the Last of the first family but also the last of the old school except for Eslick. wasnt all three Haydens racing AMA superbikes one year? (that era!) but yeah, that age gap thing you mention is weird, before it was so many big names and talent racing SBKs and after it not so much. I think mostly the economy is the main factor. I watched the Malaysian SBK race 1 yesterday and its hard to fathom how places like that have such incredible facilities and huge grids yet here in America, we barely have anything and if it wasnt for W. Rainey, Im not sure the US would even have this much right now.