That's interesting. In my uneducated opinion that looks pretty solid. Sucks that Mesa was made to feel like there will be retaliation if he files a protest. I remember being nervous about creating issues when filing a protest when my kid was racing. Fortunately the organization said no problem and one of the guys within the organization said he would do it too based on what he saw.
He's got a case to maybe get PJ out of the class (and by that I mean the V4R), but at the end of the day the competition is stronger this year in that class. @Hoffman900 is right when you look at the past data and lap times. Last year Mesa one of the fastest, it was pretty much Lee, Mesa and May that were usually at the front, with Gilbert there too half the times, and Alexander in the few races he did. But none of those guys are quite at the level of Scholtz, Lewis, Jacobsen, Petersen, etc. Last year, the top guys were at about Mesa's level, which made for some fun races at the front. This year is more similar to a few years ago where the top guys are at a whole different level of speed, they just have stk1000 bikes. If he were to protest and MA actually does something about it, PJ would hop on an R1 or ZX10 or GSXR1000 and he and Petersen would be 1st and 2nd in every race anyway. But still doesn't make sense to me that someone like Andrew Lee who has won that class twice has no ride, yet someone who has ridden in the Superbike class (and even WSBK in PJ's case) is allowed to race in Stk1000. Roger Hayden might as well join in that class and get himself some contingency while we're at it. That class IMO should be a feeder class into Superbike, not a drop down class for SBK guys who couldn't secure a SBK ride.
I do agree about it not being a drop down class. Someone pointed that out to Herrin that he won in 2016. He pointed out he was against Corti, Scholtz, Fong, Lewis, etc. The field was pretty stacked then but he also pointed out they changed the rules. MA wouldn't let them step down from Superbike to run. PJ technically has never rode MA Superbike, but Cam has. That said, I'm not sure Mesa wants a PJ on an equal spec Kawasaki either... I bet he would be as fast or faster than he already is on the Duc (considering the development time on the Kawi), and then what's his argument? Based on past talent, I be PJ would have been in the 2:13s on a Kawi. Scholtz has already shown a SSTK1000 R1 and Jake Lewis on the GSXR can go sub 2:14 at RAm. Scholtz on a 2020 R1 should be faster. Bobby Fong (Kawi), Scholtz (R1), and Lewis (GSXR) all were running 2:14.2's in the races in 2017, which is some 3s faster than Mesa was running this past weekend, and nearly 2.5 seconds faster than the front of the class (Lee, Mesa, May, etc.). after those guys moved on to Superbikes. That said, if they push PJ to Superbike, he's really not far off Kyle and Kyle has a whole season of development already and some hand-me-down WSBK parts.
http://www.motoamericaregistration.com/PDF/Bulletins/Competitor Bulletin 04-2020.pdf - Looks like the Superbike cup license allows this.
That was me on instagram. Yes, he won a SBK title in 2013 and then a Superstock1000 title in 2016. I get it that the field was stacked but the rules allowed it at that time just like they allow PJ in the class now. Also considering Cam has never been on the podium or even a top 5 on the SBK ride i'm sure thats why he was allowed a Superbike cup license.
Also, you could argue the PJ isn't proven on a SBK or SSTK bike. Sufolgu was a beast on the 600, but when he went to big bikes we all know what happened.. PJ made no impression in WSBk. Sure he was on the Honda but it's not like he was a front Honda runner. The whole rules thing will be up to MA. But he didn't protest so..
If Scholtz and Lewis have already gone mid 2:13s on SSTK1000 bikes, you bet he would. The Kawi is also arguably faster than the GSXR. and Fong already did a 2:14.2 on the Kawi (in less developed trim) back then as well. As pointed out earlier, the track appeared to be as fast this weekend as it has been in a few years. Cam was even 1.7s faster than Roger's pole time back then... in the race! Not trying to talk crap on Mesa either. The guy is obviously talented and fast, but just not sure what he's thinking opening himself up like this, when it takes seconds to pull up past results / level of performance of other riders in that class, because the bench mark is quite a bit away from where he is currently running.
Sounds like he's complaining that the V4R makes too much HP in stock/sstk trim compared to the other manufacturers in the class. But as someone else mentioned, that also means that Mesa has an unfair advantage against anyone running the pre-2021 CBR-1000RR-R Type-R And Herrin is saying that PJ is too talented to be running in the sstk 1000 "feeder" class......but I could be wrong, that's just how I read it.
Mesa had 10mph over Scholtz, Lewis, and Fong in 2016 and they were 3s a lap faster. * I'm assuming the speed trap is in the same spot, which it very well might not be. PJ's trap this year was ~2mph faster than Mesa. Mesa had 6mph over Cam Petersen.
So in other words they'll allow superbike guys to race in Stk1000 class as long as they sign up for the SBK Cup and they do both classes, on a stock 1000 bike? Am I understanding that right? Is that how Petersen was allowed in Stk1000? And PJ I guess.
My guess is no, because I'm sure Jake Lewis and Josh Herrin would have done that if they would have let them run in Stock 1000, based on what Herrin said on someones copied post from Insta, Twitter or Facebook.
I think Herrin was talking about in the past, not this year. They didn't have this Superbike Cup deal then. I don't think they tried to do Stk1000 this year....but that's just how I'm interpreting his post. Maybe he can clarify on that.
Okay I only read what was in here somewhere. I took it to mean he and his current teammate, Jake Lewis, since they are on a lesser financed team, would like to run in STK1000. The class where there is generally smaller budgets and less competition which suits their smaller team quite well?
If I read Herrin's IG comment correctly he was stating that he and Jake were trying to enter Stock 1000 when they had no rides and Motoamerica said no because they had too much experience. Not that they were trying to do Stock 1ooo and Superbikes on the BMW's
Idk why Herrin doesn't have a 2020 BMW. Kinda sad that a true privateer like Wyman has one but the SBK team doesn't.. its already been proven that the outgoing BMW isn't competitive so why not start fresh with the new bike?
$$ I don’t think BMW is handing out bikes. The MA podcast with Steve Schiebe was good. They’re a small team and it almost reads like his retirement project.
I really don't know- I was told by one of the Jr Cup Competitors that bikes were being torn down. FWIW.