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MotoAmerica I GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest I Laguna Seca - July/8-10

Discussion in 'General' started by motodog650, Jul 6, 2022.

  1. G 97

    G 97 Garth

    $18,000? Damn, that’s a long way from $4,800 off the showroom floor GSXRs back in the day.
    When did racing become way more expensive. :D
     
    Senna and Boman Forklift like this.
  2. metricdevilmoto

    metricdevilmoto Just forking around

    And, not that any OEM exhaust has any real re-sale value, but Yamaha values the exhaust that comes on the R6 street bike at about $3k retail for the complete system. Figure in you get the race bodywork with the purchase price, but you don't get street bodywork to sell or headlights and tail lights and so on to offset the cost.

    That's way back in the day.
     
    Senna and MELK-MAN like this.
  3. grasshopper

    grasshopper Well-Known Member

    I'm not saying you are wrong on this and it looks good written down on paper...

    But the fact of the matter is in every single Junior Cup race and most Twins cup races you can throw a fucking blanket over 6-8 riders that are battling back and forth passing each other every other corner. In Superbike and Supersport you simply DO NOT have that. Yes the talent is much higher in Superbike and Supersport, yes the sponsors are paying bigger money, yes the technology of the bikes is more advanced, yes the views are higher and yes more people want to watch the big bikes.

    BUT Junior cup and Twins cup is more exiting to watch. SBK and SS are simply follow the leader snooze fests. There might be a battle or 2 here and there but nothing like the passing and show that the little bike classes are displaying. The 2 premier classes get all spread out and it's follow the leader besides a few battles here and there but you never have 6-8 riders stuck together for the ENTIRE RACE.
     
  4. G 97

    G 97 Garth

    Yep, I know. Yet viewership numbers speak differently. Mat Mladin wasn’t wrong with his statement of we all know what bikes the majority of fans are coming to see. There is a lot more to racing than just the lead rider/pack. Some of the best racing ever was AMA Superstock for 7th-12th place. Those guys were axe murderers. But to your point, close racing for the lead is awesome.
     
  5. Knarf Legna

    Knarf Legna I am not Gary Hoover

    I wasn't bitching, I enjoy visiting those tracks. But I'm realistic and don't believe that two events at Laguna, etc. would work due to cost knowing that many small teams are on thin budgets right now.
     
    Boman Forklift likes this.
  6. G 97

    G 97 Garth

    Ok then, I’m willing to cancel Pitt as well. That should make another West Coast round manageable.
     
  7. MyWayGuy

    MyWayGuy Well-Known Member

    When the apocalypse happens, the only things left will be cockroaches and SVs.
     
    tgold, FastByKids, jd41 and 4 others like this.
  8. MyWayGuy

    MyWayGuy Well-Known Member

    Are there any tracks near the SoCal population centers worth visiting? I know of Fontana/Auto Club, it looks blah at best. (didn't AMA race there why back when...)
     
  9. Busdriver02

    Busdriver02 Well-Known Member

    Senna likes this.
  10. Gino230

    Gino230 Well-Known Member

    I know the guy who has it.....FL local.
     
    motion likes this.
  11. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    I might hit you up someday for more info on that, thanks.
     
    Gino230 likes this.
  12. rd49

    rd49 Well-Known Member

    Fuck you cornboy. :D
     
    SuddenBraking and G 97 like this.
  13. Gino230

    Gino230 Well-Known Member

    I spoke to a crew chief on one of the bigger teams running a GSXR 750 this weekend. The kit is roughly $12K, that includes you sending them your throttle bodies in exchange. It comes with some base maps for the ECU and of course a harness. The rest is just your average SS build- shock, bodywork, carts, etc. The engine is bone stock, not even a head gasket.

    What I'm not clear on is how well the ECU is mapped from the vendor. There's no TC, but there is a multitude of maps that control rate of throttle opening and you are allowed to mess with those to smooth out power delivery. You can also mess with fuel delivery. It's not immediately transparent what the limitations are, you have to hunt for them if you really want to know. GSXR gets roughly 80% throttle opening. 3rd hand rider feedback is that the torque on corner exit is an advantage.

    I don't know what head work and stacks cost on an R6, but I would guess it's close to $12K. Especially if you get into tuning it properly and paying someone who knows what the hell they are doing to work on your engine braking maps, etc.

    Supersport had a better turnout at laguna with over 20 riders- that is encouraging. The balancing act is tough, if they are looking at Herrin or Scott's mid corner speed and turning down the ECU of the guy in 20th because of that.

    It's interesting that you guys say Twins has great racing, but those bikes are all different from each other, too. Whereas you say "Supersport is ruined" etc. because it isn't the R6 cup anymore. I agree in theory that we need a class where costs are controlled and talent is the big factor- Stock 1ooo seems to be the best candidate- but can you put a 16 year old on a 1000? In the end, sanctioning bodies didn't have a choice but to do SOMETHING with SuperSport.

    If I were King, and we had Tobacco Money, we could revamp Jr. Cup to a true spec series with a manufacturer providing identical bikes like Red Bull Rookies does.

    As for the Baggers and Hooligans, they may be annoying, but damn there was ALOT of spectators there this weekend. You can complain that "fans don't want to see this or that" but the point is there's bikes on track ALL DAY.

    If you've never watched Scholtz race in person, you're missing out. TV just doesn't do it justice. Dude is an animal.
     
    SuddenBraking, MELK-MAN, rafa and 8 others like this.
  14. pickled egg

    pickled egg Tell me more

    That's what these bozos seeking "purity" in the pro series is missing. The show is an all-day affair, not just a 45 minute spectacle followed by 2 hours of ball scratching before the next 45 minute spectacle.

    I hope you're reading this, Garth. :Poke:
     
    Gino230 and Boman Forklift like this.
  15. FastByKids

    FastByKids Tire Warmers What?

    Step away from the crack pipe Hunter. :Poke:
    :D
     
    Senna likes this.
  16. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    I remember the first year after a baggers race, the baggers had 10x as much as any other class, something like 600K for baggers and the superbike was like 60K. It was presented on a thread on this forum, just don't know where?

    I can't remember ever thinking SBK was the best product or my favorite race. It could have been that way before I started watching, but I almost always liked the racing in the 600 class and now I enjoy the Stk1000 class, Twins, and not sure what after that. I do watch SBK too, but it usually would not be what I watch first on a weekend. However, it would be before Jr Cup, Baggers, and Hooligans.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2022
    FastByKids likes this.
  17. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    IMO that official is 1000% right.

    You are extremely biased towards everything for kids. My kid raced and I understand the love for your kids and racing, but I think I also understood most people don't give a rat's a.. about kids racing, they want to see the stars.
     
    Gino230, Senna, FastByKids and 2 others like this.
  18. metricdevilmoto

    metricdevilmoto Just forking around

    There are three Baggers races on the MA channel with 1.2M views and 942k views and another with 845k. For reference, the Daytona 200 this year has 950k views. There's also a Hooligans race with 829k views. Without wasting a pile of time, it looks like most SBK races get around 150-200k looks, but there are some outliers.

    I've come around on the Baggers and Hooligans thing. If it attracts any interest at all to motorcycle racing, it's fine by me. I don't like seeing the bikes oil down the track, but I think that'll get better. Both of those classes are spending a lot of coin to be there. And people are watching.

    Sometimes, it's just as simple as getting a millionaire or two to look at motorcycle racing and think it looks like fun and you've got another semi or two in the paddock with jobs for techs and rides for racers.
     
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  19. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Yes, but they aren't close to hotels and nice infrastructure.

    Chuckwalla-3 hours east out of LA. Nothing around it. Palm Springs is about an hour west of it. No close hotels, hospitals, grocery stores, etc.

    Buttonwillow - 2 hours Northwest of LA Nothing around it. 10 minutes away from some hotels and some decent food. Hospital in Bakersfield I believe 45 minutes away

    Willow Springs -1.5 hour Northeast of LA some restaurants and hotels within 5-10 minutes. 30 minutes away for hospitals, etc. I raced my only AMA national there. LOLOL Getting pretty long in the tooth for holding a national, I would guess?

    Thanks for bringing good data into the discussion.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2022
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  20. FastByKids

    FastByKids Tire Warmers What?

    Yes, I’ve taken my virtual beeb beatings through the years for being enthusiastic.

    The needle is moving towards the kids. When I came through two decades ago I knew nothing of mini racing. There was no Mini Cup, NATC or Jr Cup.

    Now many mini orgs are turning out some phenomenal talent.

    We have come a long way and I’m still learning. People like you are invaluable that can have the patience and get your point across in a respectful manner.

    BTW, just landed a major sponsor today. Was so nervous in my pitch that I actually under estimated my ask. They were so onboard before I walked through their door. Two hours later they were in my driveway dropping off product and equipment.

    Truly need to pick your brains on your fails / successes for sponsors.

    We go back for a reevaluation in January.
     
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