Kickstarting the winter debate series: Mladin's Legacy

But would he be if he was on a honda or yamaha factory team the whole time.

 

+1....Greatest, How? ..... I like my "greatest" with a dose of humility as well as talent.... Nicky...maybe. Ben, probably not. Mat, no way!

 

Okay, now that's just silly...

I think that it is pretty widely accepted that when MM first started riding the Yosh bikes they were not anywhere near the dominant bikes that they are now. Mat played a large role in making them so. Maybe a better question would be how much better would a Honda or Yamaha factory superbike be today if Mladin had been involved in their development instead?

 

Miguel didn't always suck. Does anybody remember the RC-45 days? There were good races back then.

What about Lawson coming out of retirement to beat up everybody at Daytona? Just because someone made a phone call and asked if he was doing anything that week. Thats good stuff.

He has a great record, but he didn't build it during a great time for AMA racing. I think that needs to be factored in.

 

uhg.... these type or arguments are lame. It is almost as bad as two Trekies arguing who was the better Star Fleet Captain.

Jean-Luc Picard Vs. James T Kirk

:tut:

 

The Star Trek thing in irrelevant, but Kirk FTW.
















I'm just sayin'....

 

Let's see, now, Mat came to Suzuki in 1996, right? That was the year that Pascal ended Suzuki's 6 year winless streak at Mid-Ohio. (In the rain) I'm guessing that Mat went to Ducati the next year because he wanted to get on a good bike. I remember him grousing over there because he didn't feel Eraldo was working hard enough, (Specifically not testing enough) so he went back to Suzuki. Mat and Yosh were made for each other. I noticed at Loudon that Team Yoshimura was always working way after all the other teams had packed it in for the evening and gone back to the motel. (For a couple of years I was in charge of locking up the garages when the teams were done and I was always waiting on Yosh, usually at about midnight.) Mat seems to be driven to work just as hard and I truly believe that they pushed each other to be the powerhouse team that they are today.
But it will always be said that he never pushed himself to the next level when he seemed too comfortable racking up the AMA wins. As long as there is a higher level of racing, it will be said that he stayed in the AMA to cherrypick.

 

Hey JU, if Mat and Josh Hayes were on equal 600's this year, who do think would win??

woo

 

Well said!

Mladin will have the most Superbike wins in AMA history. I can't say he's the best ever cause he's been with the team that's dominated for so many years. Let's see him do the same on a factory yamaha or factory honda, then he will deserve the Best Ever title.

 

its not an Honor badge to say you don't care what other people think,especially when those people are the ones that facilitate your career .Professional road racing is a spectator funded and supported occupation(not just tickets,they intend for watchers to buy advertised products as well) .You don't have to be a role model and a public ass kisser ,but at least don't give me the "I don't give a shit what you think of me ",it just seems pretty weak.Not saying he said it ,just that people keep thinking its some sort of merit badge to not give a shit.

just a bystanders opinion

 

Mladin has some of the best mental game/focus in the business. As for Spies, I don't recall many epic battles between the two of them. They would stay close early on and then one or the other would win going away. Other than when Spies passed Mladin at Laguna to win the championship last year I never recall him having much of an answer for Matt once he got passed. Not to many memorable battles during the years they have raced one another. I still give Mladin the nod.

 

I agree that you can't dominate like that from luck. Mladin gets the nod with no asterisk. +1 to BCC

 

IDK Ben came in 05 as a rookie to superbike and got second by a small margin..

Then 3 years in a row after that.. In my book I think he would have continued his streek with ama if he would have stayed! But, he should have gotten a ride with motogp but didnt. Now at the world superbike and Im thinking he will be a top runner!

 

Still, this isn't a time period in the AMA. Remember, there was a time when the world came to race the AMA guys to see who was boss. Those days are where our greatest riders were.

His team/package is by far the best in recent years, but recent years have sucked. The other teams just haven't kept up like they should have.

 

We use stats to measure everything and using the stats Mat is the best superbike rider till now. Whether you love him or hate him doesn't change the stats. If Auntie had balls she'd be Uncle, but that aint the case kids!

 

If Muhammad Ali had only fought Americans and beaten them all would we call him the Greatest? Matt is like a boxer who never stepped up in weight class.

The Yoshimura Suzuki team as a whole is legendary. Matt is a major part of that. His legacy is as the lead rider for an unbeatable team.

 

The FBF Ducati was a 955 when we raced it in 98. Most of the bike had the MM initials on it.

 

Mladin is the greatest AMA Superbike rider of all time... he's the only one that stayed long enough to prove it.

 

We didn't have to. He said that starting out.

 

LOL, indeed.