MotoAmerica 2021 | Road Atlanta | April 30-May 2

I reckon this needs its own thread as the season starts for real. Each class (sans JC) seems pretty stacked. Who y'all got?

I'm going with:
SBK: Fong/Gagne
SSP: Escalante x2
Stock 1000: Lee/Gilbert
Twins: De Karel (sp?) and Parrish
JC: Toth / Wyman
Baggers: O'Hara/ Barnes

 

Yeah, next weekend, but mods should leave it so you can feel like an idjit.

SBK: Baz x 2
SSP: Escalante x 2
Stock 1000: Mesa / Lewis
Twins: Blackmon / De Keyrel
Jr Cup: Wyman / Gloddy
Baggers: Gillim (only 1 race)

 

Max toth will be on the podium for junior cup and twins. He’s gonna be opening up some eyes this season.

 

Tyler Scott is fast as hell too. This is his first stab at JC.

 

SBK: Baz/ Gagne
SS: Escalante/ Landers
Stock 1000: Corey x2
Twins: De Keyrel x2
JC: Toth/ Gloddy

 

You misspelled 'O'Hara'.

 

You really think Landers is going to get a win his first round on the R6?

I think he'll get some this year but not until a handful or rounds or one if his favorite tracks.

 

Yes I do, after watching them shave so much time off at Daytona I think they will get the bike dialed in and he will collect a win on the second day.

 

SBK: Baz/Gagne
SSP: Escalante x 2
Stock 1000: Mesa / Lewis
Twins: Schultz / De Keyrel
Jr Cup: Bicknese / Gloddy
Baggers: I'll watch for fun, zero care who wins

 

Someone needs to put Gillim back on a proper bike. That dude can roll. If they put him on a 600 or 1000 he'd run up front

 

Man the next 7 days cant pass fast enough. Hoping to be there Friday around lunch if anyone wants a .

 

SBK: Gagne X 2
SSP: Escalante/SDK (Rocco with a podium MAYBE in race 2, but I'd guess later in the season - a win, mebbe this year.
Stock 1000: Alexander/Lewis
Twins: De Keyrel X 2
Jr Cup: Gloddy X 2 - hopefully young Max Van up in the mix as well as Kohlstead (I used to race with him at the Ridge when he was a tiny kid)
Baggers: meh... O'Hara again I guess? More of a train-wreck scenario for my interest in it.

 

I would love to see him do it, but IMO there isn't a chance in hell. I've never run there, so I could be talking out my a.., but current repaved Daytona on a 600, is much easier to learn, versus the old bumpy days on a 1000 where you had to know the smoother ways around the track. Also at Chuckwalla a couple months ago, he was top 5 not 1st place, which is still super respectable, since the guys in front of him were all MA riders too.

Now I know the Landers practice a bunch, so he will get closer, but IMO Escalante and SDK aren't going to be beat by him for awhile, unless they crash out.

I'm willing to put money on it if you want? I actually hope I'm wrong, as it will be super exciting and I really like Stoney and Rocco.

 

He opened our eyes last year when he yeeeeted himself at Laguna Seca, in turn 1.

 

Give the bagger class a little more credit. These teams are building full blow superbikes. Wyman said they were running times at Laguna fast enough to qualify in 600sp and stk1000. In an interview with Gregg and Jason he said he couldn't touch the ground on the damn thing they have it raised so high for ground clearance. LOL

 

No bettor here, it ruins my ability to enjoy the race haha. I think that Stoney is underrated at his ability to get the bike dialed in, I listened to a pod with Stoney and he said they weren't getting the bike in time for Daytona. So, seeing him make that progress on his first ride at Daytona is promising to me. Now that he has actually been able to train/race on his bike and did indeed win at Chuck this past weekend I believe it could happen sooner rather than later.

 

I'm not doubting the skill and boatload of money poured into the bikes.

I'm not questioning the riders asked to pilot them.

It's a question for me of having no interest in polishing a turd. It's the same reason I don't enjoy spectacles like Spam eating contests, bodybuilding competitions, or lawnmower races - just not my jam.

 

Cool, I didn't know about this past weekend, what were the laptimes? Also who was he racing against?

Stoney is awesome and unlike you, I haven't seen Rocco ride in person for a few years, only on TV. I only saw the results from chuckie last month or two months ago, I didn't see him in person or hear about any bike setup issues they may have had.

EDIT: I just looked it up, didn't realize there was a race. The fast guys were not there in the 600 class, so the wins were a given. However, on Saturday he was laying down much faster times than he was 2-3 months ago. He actually hit a 45.9 in one race on the 6oo and that has to be close to record pace, will have to look it up. He ran 47's in one race and in a 1000 race, Gilbert won doing 45's and Rocco did 46's. So I would say he has already improved a bunch like you said.

2nd Edit: I looked and Rocco did set the record when he did the 45. Thanks for mentioning there was a race last weekend.

Should be a good season. Since he already knows all the MA tracks and they seem to have found a good setup, it will be interesting. I still don't think he will win his first weekend but I do think he can put it on the box.

 

Don't underestimate the speed of a properly built and setup lawnmower. LOL

 

I miss watching some good old USLMRA action on Speedvision.