That’s what I was wondering. My son will be upset when he finds out about Mr Hayes. Josh was his buddy. He gave Alex a tour of the Graves Hauler at Pitt this year. Signed autographs for him. The whole 9 yards.
I might be wrong on this but I think it took a long time for factory teams to cotton on to how good Hayes was, this coincided with the demise of racing in the US under DMG. Had he got the chance earlier I believe he would have had a factory ride in either WSB or MotoGP (should he have chosen to take it) and done very, very well. He was very, very good and came across as an extremely likeable bloke, which is what sponsors want too.
If graves does run another rider I would love to see Braden Orrt get the seat. He did really well this last year with Tuned.
Really Yamaha? Lets forcefully retire a multiple time Champ that has been the staple of the series, has a huge fan base and is still competetive. Hayes is 41 years old. Which realistically is the average age of a MA fan and motorcycle rider in this country right now. So I guess we should deduct that were too old to ride now too, eh? Yes, I'm pissed.
Time marches on. Our favorite racers can't race forever(excepts maybe Rossi). This was probably Hayes worst year in a decade. I think the writing was on wall.
I feel the same. Hayes is still younger than Biaggi was when he won his last WSBK Championship, and Hayes is obviously still fast as hell. If Hayes WANTED to stop racing full time, then by all means. But I don’t like the idea of him being removed (if that’s what happened). I have never liked or agreed with the “they should step aside and make room for younger guys” bullshit. As long as the “older” guy is still capable of running up front, removing him just to put someone else on the bike just because they are younger is stupid (IMO). Who gives a shit if someone is 21 or 41? What matters are results, consistency, being good for sponsors, setup/development ability, etc. None of those things have anything to do with someone’s age. For the people with that bullshit “they should get out of the way for someone younger” way of thinking, how would you feel if everyone felt that way? What if you showed up for work on time every day, were very experienced, very productive, very safe, represented your company well, and were overall VERY good at your job, as in you were one of the best in the entire industry........then somebody said “you should be fired so a 19 year old can take your job”. Think about that next time you start to think “they should get out of the way and let a younger guy take the seat”.
I'm bummed that GG was not able to find a suitable ride at the world level or maybe BSB. He and Cam may find themselves trapped by the money. It's got to be a tough call. Fortune, even modest, Vs. Possible fame and bigger fortune. Or maybe a bust and....
Happens all the time in the corporate world. I am an example. My position with a company I spent 35 years with was “eliminated”, I was a high performer. It was due to my age and my salary, nothing else. Think of what time and money has been invested in the younger guy in Hayes case, do you think they want to lose that investment to someone else? Yamaha obviously thinks very very highly of Josh as evidenced by the position they created for him That is there side.
I'd say it isn't just Yamaha US but motoamerica as a whole. Only a few paying rides and way more talented riders to fill those spots.
LOL! Mongo killed my pit at TGPR one year. I believe it was circa 2001. Cold as fuck and we had a 10x20 Ez Up with sides on it and one of those heater elements on the propane tank to keep it warm. We were all just standing around, cooking out and having some beers and all of a sudden there was a huge panic and a mass exit from the pit. Mongo just stood there with a shit eating grin after he had dropped the most deadly and silent ass bomb that Alabama has ever experienced.