What's the solution though? The youngsters were the future, he is aging out. There are only so many "Factory" seats available and rumors of those disappearing next year as it is. There's no money left in US motorcycle racing. Do we leave the future talent stuck in supersport until they rot as well?
Got the chance to see him up close and personal at Buttonwillow this year. HOLY SMOKES, ridiculous speed on what looked like a stock R1. I share the same sentiment on the cherry picking portion, I dont see him as that type of guy. The one incident that stands out was Sonoma against SDK. I felt like SDK was stood up by JH and wrecked hard, he`s not one to pull those types of moves. Wonder if that played a factor?
I really thought I’d hear from Josh on that, but I know he is a classy guy, and probably talked to them multiple times about it. I bet between the lost income while riding (instead of coaching), being a dad, and other things, it didn’t help and I could see him deciding “I shouldn’t be out there putting guys lives at risk by making mistakes because my head isn’t all there”. But, who knows. Glad he’ll be around and his riders go pretty well too. I’m sure he’s not a cheap coach, and tbh, he shouldn’t be.
First met Josh when he was a 22ish year old kid from Mississippi riding for Mr. Ulrich and Team Hammer. He was one of my instructors in the Team Hammer school at Pocono. Nice as hell then and still is to this day. We've run into each other at AMA/MA events over the years and he's always been classy and taken a minute to talk..I know he's working on those weekends and busy....so I appreciate his taking a moment for a fan like myself. Also want to take a moment to publicly thank him for the way he's been with my son. He's signed autographs...let Alex sit on his superbike when they first met at NJMP in 2016, and even gave him a tour of the Graves Superbike hauler at Pitt raceway a couple years ago. For some reason early on, Alex was a Jorge Lorenzo fan, after they first met at NJMP...we were leaving the facility after the races and Alex said to me, "Daddy....my favorite racers are Jorge Lorenzo and Josh Hayes." I said, "Yeah Little Buddy...Josh is a hell of a racer and a really good guy." Thanks Josh.
Sounds like he likes the thought of money more than riding. And the person that will be riding the bike has tons of it.
Did he close the door to Daytona? Really enjoyed watching him this year. Do you think an annual one off is out of the question?
As a track day rider, I'm OK with the fact that I'm not as fast as I used to be. I would think a Pro like JH would struggle more with the concept. Kudos to him for rationally thinking through the issue.
Josh is awesome, Melissa is awesome...great people and I hope they stay involved with the sport in some capacity.
I think he is one of the classiest people in sports and a true gentleman when I met him. I wish him nothing but good fortune in any of his future endeavors.
