It was a great start. I stopped watching when the complaining started. Never saw the end of the season. Will never be a BP or SDK fan.
Smart move for him staying with them, he needs a bit more refining and they certainly have the tools to do it.
This. They have the tools for on and off the track. When JU (and now CU) talk about talent people listen. Amazing even speaking with people in the BSB paddock the respect people have for JU.
The first few laps were generally exciting, but once Richie got in front, it was bye felicia. To be fair Superbike was a runaway as well.
Finally an offical updated provisional schedule for the start of the year: 2021 MotoAmerica Provisional Series Schedule *March 30-31 Circuit of The Americas Austin, Texas April 30-May 1 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia May 21-23 Virginia International Raceway Danville, Virginia June 11-13 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin June 25-27 Ridge Motorsports Park Shelton, Washington July 9-11 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 30-August 1 Brainerd International Raceway Brainerd, Minnesota August 13-15 Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex Wampum, Pennsylvania September 10-12 New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey September 17-19 Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama **TBD Circuit of The Americas Austin, Texas
Methinks if this is true, superbike is going to be a repeat of last year, with one guy running away every weekend. Only chance I see of that not happening is something along the lines of Toni on a Graves/Honos Kawi. Can't think of any other rumored team/rider combos that I think could even get within sniffing distance of Baz on that Duc.
Let's not get carried away.... Baz is good but not great IMHO. He doesn't know the American tracks and he's use to nice smooth surfaces... not the case in quite a few tracks in the USA (correct me if I'm wrong) It will be nice and good for the series to have yet another World stage racer (always great for the fans, if they'll be allowed onsite) Besides that, I see SBK in MA being a better more fierce competition this year.. Don't see anyone really pulling away like Beaubier did.
and it's not definite. Baz still might end up staying with Ten Kate if they get that new sponsor to sign the contract and they get the budget.
I expect Herrin, Scholtz. and Elias to be fighting for championship (others may get race wins). Baz would be a contender but no way will he get away his first year here.
Baz showed some absolute brilliance last year on a non-factory team with a non-top tier bike. He's got the goods. And that Duc is an absolute monster, probably will quickly be every bit as good as the Yamaha if it's not already. I suspect he'd quickly be on Cam's pace from last year. Gagne hasn't shown any ability to run that pace. Herrin is too inconsistent. Honestly, I think the best Yamaha rider is Scholtz. Paired with Stanboli, I suspect he could do some damage but obviously that's not happening. And while I'm hopeful M4 will have made good use of the offseason sorting some stuff out, they're playing from behind. Looking back to last year, it looks like Zanetti won his 3rd race on that bike. Baz is a far more successful racer than Zanetti from what I can recall and the team has had even more time to develop the bike now. Any word on where Elias is going to end up? As I said in a previous post, on the right bike he's the only one I see potentially challenging Baz (assuming he does come over here on the Duc).
Ummm you say Herrin is inconsistent and then say Scholtz is the best rider? Scholtz is the undisputed crash king of MA. Podium or dumpster fire.
Fonger was the first year in superbike and with a team that's still is getting his head around their equipment. Schultz has been binning the shit out of that WESTBY R1 for years now.
Okay so Fonger has binned it consistently in multiple classes and for multiple teams and Scholtz has consistently binned it for one bike and team. They can share the MA crash king title if you ask me. Baz will be an instant title contender, however, considering what series this is and the riders on the grid that's nothing special. My money is still on the Yamaha
That 600 showing on M4 from Fonger was definitely a crashfest. I'm a Fonger fan but man, they must have a slush fund for his off-road excursions.