MotoAmerica | Ridge Motorsports Park | June 23 - 25

I hate BS protests, like the wrong cover on your master cylinder or something really lame. However, I agree a low handle bar, is a low handle bar., and IMO is a performance advantage. No excuse for a factory team.

Just like when I raced go-karts, if you were an ounce light on the weight, it was a DQ. You have to enforce the rules.

 

Disagree. Cheating is intentional. Making a mistake and being 1 mm off is illegal and deserves a DQ (because a line has to be drawn somewhere), but "somebody" doesn't have to call it out if they are being honest with themselves about why they got beat. If it's caught by the authorities, I applaud it.

Speaking in general here, not about this specific incident. To each their own, but I know that there were times when I would not have been to look at myself in the mirror if I had lodged a protest after getting my ass kicked by a much better rider than I was.

 

I was paying special attention to make sure I didn't fuck that up.

And I still did.

Story of my life.

 

Saw this bike up close after the race right next to his team mates and they are very different. The front wings even looked different like a different aero package. Spent Monday morning looking for info on Alpha Racing website to see if they had one but nadda. Looks in house made by WSBK team.


SuperSport side note: Ran into an old friend there who mechanics for Altus Motorsports. We asked him about the Duc vs Suz 750 vs R6. He said the 750's are nuetured and restricted to 72% throttle, the R6 costs the most to maintain as the motors dont last at that level of racing for the top guys and the DUC is restricted greatly as well. He said the Xavi Fores is just that much better/Faster than everyone else. (I dont have a dog in the race so argue his comments how you want)

 

I’m glad Xavi is there. I just wish the younger guys could ride close to him a bit more. They need to ride with talent to really improve. Next year I hope they add a 2nd Duc to Superbike for him. That would be interesting.

 

Watching at the ridge. Xavi is just that much faster,smoother and quicker to getting on the gas. Watching them come down the waterfall and the sweeping left before the straight,he was getting on the gas so much earlier then Other guys and the bike never moved it just accelerated. M.A. has done a good job with that class. We have had all different manufacturers setting fast laps,it’s just that xavi is just so consistent every lap.

 

Appeal was made to the FIM steward, which is possible. He upheld the decision of Race Direction.

 

You didn’t expect any different, did you?

 

So much to comment on.....

1) The Ridge is extremely technical and the place where JH2 and SM37 crashed requires absolute precision, at pace. I rode around with SM37 on the electric bike for a few laps at the trackday before....it was obvious to me he was not going to get through the weekend without an issue. Same with JM99, but he cleaned things up pretty well.

2) Xavi is on another level rider rider wise. Combined with the characteristics of the V2 and how at The Ridge you are single file within a few hundred feet of the start, lethal combo.

3) The balancing situation is very very difficult. We race a GMS R6 and we are at the limit of development within these rules. That's all we got.....

4) The V2 is IMO, pretty close. Yes, it has more torque off the corner, but it's pretty even with an R6 on top. Overall, I think that bike is very close balancing wise.

5) The 750 is a monster, still. The Road America balancing helped, but when you have to RACE against one, yikes, we're still getting punched in the face.

6) When CB6 found time at Barber on Sunday morning WU, that was a warning shot for the rest of the season. He's coming.

7) Super Hooligans is the new SSP. Rules are being pushed and OEMs are in the mix, great class.

Ken

 

Agree. Unintentional oversights (often caused by ignorance of the rules but none the less oversights) are looked at a bit different in my book than knowingly putting illegal parts on.

 

It was worth a shot. I get both sides of the argument, but if the rule is for safety you can't penalize a rider who passes a competitor whose bike is stuck in 6th gear, options are limited at that point. Speed at the braking zone was 131 mph, brake force into the chicane was 55% higher on the lap in question. I don't know what else Rocco could have done, the other bike finished the race in 6th gear, no way to let him regain position without causing a dangerous situation.

 

And in reality to not be penalized he would have had to follow till the next green corner right? So you have a 10 second lead and you have to follow a lapped bike way off pace and let the rest of the pack get right to your ass again?

 

I suppose. If Race Direction had called the other rider after the race and gotten more information things may have been different but I don't know. That's what I always did in my days as a Race Director and I'd bet that's how Mongo would have handled it. But with Motoamerica you are always on the back foot, the burdon is on you to prove your point. We failed I guess.

 

There was never any chance of prevailing. Your proof doesn’t trump their politics.

I’ve got this hat. I love this hat. I wear it everywhere every day. When MA gives a mea culpa, I’ll need a little salt and pepper to help it down as I eat it.

 

C'mon Ken, just because you can remember everyone's initials and numbers, it doesn't mean the rest of us old guys can. Please use the name like you did on Xavi, the reading is much easier for this old guy.

Having said that, if the extra keystrokes required using the name, would keep you from posting, I would rather have to work at it and have you post, versus having you not post at all!!!

 

i removed some of khill's post..

yup. even restricted on throttle opening.. doesn't that allow the massive torque these bikes have over a true 600cc bike to run all over them? 30% throttle, when you have WAY more torque, is still .. more... lots more. i get that the "balancing" of the duc and 750 restrict total throttle opening, but what about off the corners, when throttle is just opened up? JH4 has said it many times, in a very tactful way.. that he's on "the little r6 that could", basically bringing a knife to a gunfight.
I could be way off on how the balancing goes, and without a doubt, it's opened up the class to a lot of other makes and models for sure.

 

If they’re setting the throttle limit only based on peak power achieved, then below that rpm (at which peak power is delivered), a larger displacement engine will tend deliver more power (at a given fraction of the rpm at which peak power is delivered). You don’t need 100% throttle to deliver 100% of available torque when operating at lower rpm. So unless the restriction in throttle is variable with rpm you could end up with more area under the power curve with a larger displacement engine compared to a smaller displacement engine.

 

He has won in WSBK?

 

I hate that the announcers made up, and popularized via their broadcasting, the name "Waterfall" for the T13 section. That section is called the Ridge. It's literally the namesake of the track. *facedesk*

 

127 starts.

6 podiums.

No wins.