Next AMA/DMG bombshell: Mladin packs it in

There may be something to Mladin's approach. Suddenly the track is making more of the changes Josh and Chris told them needed to be made, now instead of later.

Maybe trying to be reasonable and working within the system is over-rated. Kind of makes me want to return to the approach I tried to take in the days of the Jon Woo Memorial Safety Project, early 1980s.

Josh and Chris were asked to give input and agreed to do it and take advantage of an opportunity to improve rider safety at a track rejoining the AMA series. They gave input. Neither of them "signed off" on the track. They gave input.

For whatever reason, now we are seeing accelerated action on that input, and stuff that supposedly couldn't be done now (for a variety of reasons) and had to wait for 2010 and beyond is being done NOW.

It's hard to argue with Mladin's results.

If I was king he'd be on the rider safety committee. On the other hand, the track guys say Mladin told them he was coming out to take a look at the track on multiple occasions. They say that they were looking forward to meeting with him and discussing the track, but for unknown reasons he never actually showed up.

 

Gotta go out to pit lane. Out.

 

Could be worse - look at all the money Road Atlanta wasted on that second mouse trap they built and can never use !

 

Why would anyone even know how to find his Facebook page?

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

If someone thinks MM is wrong here, or is doing this just because of his 'ego', they just don't get it.

 

Best post in this whole thread.

You should tweet that stuff.

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I'm with John on this. If Mat's 'whining' brought about immediate changes, then I think that approach should be considered.

Brian Hall's crash was horrendous, and I agree with Jen that it took a lot of courage for him to go back and race like the champion he is at that venue.

Tea's accident was strange, and she's still hot chick, only now she's a hot pirate chick.

My involvement with the Wegman Fund and currently the Red Flag Fund is a direct result of hearing about all of the crashes, both minor and major. Anything, ANYTHING that get's results when it comes to rider safety is a huge issue for me. The RRW Action Fund is at the forefront of this, and the tracks should take head when Pro racers come out to their tracks and suggest safety improvements, invited or not.

Yes, it's a complicated issue, but if track owners hide behind the argument of cost as a reason, we need to take a closer look at that. Obviously when 'the show' was threatened, this owner took action.

The Route 66 debacle clearly illustrates the the paddock can come together when safety is concerned.

Clearly DMG is struggling with many issues. This particular issue is not helping the sport one bit. Stand behind the riders on safety. Use that clout to do something positive for the sport. This is where you can earn respect from racer, crews and fans. This will protect the show so much more than worrying about Whositis Rock Backmarker.

 

So far there has been many opinions that are all over the place. I am surprised at the sponsors that stick around in the US series. We have low TV audiences and even lower people going to the races themselves. To be honest, there is not much exposure at all compared to something like Nascar. Yes, Nascar sucks and it gets old, but they have huge TV turnouts and huge spectators #'s.

With that said, there is also a complex battle here that involves two groups with opposite short term goals and the same long term goal. The short term goal of the riders is to 1) ride at safe tracks, 2) have a uniform rulebook, 3) have good racing. The short term goals of DMG is to 1) Grow the series, 2) bring more mfgs into it, 3) expose more people to the US series using different venues. There are other concerns as well, but for the sake of argument I will leave them out. The long term goal is fairly obvious.

We have to go to different tracks and through the help of the riders, the track itself, and the series organizer we also HAVE to make them safer. The US motorcycle roadracing market has not been large enough to justify the changes that need to be made. The track is thinking, "you want me to do this and this and that and in return I get all 7 of your spectators. Sorry, but it's not happening." I do think people like Mladin are making it aware which is good, but they also have to be willing to help with the solution.

As for the rules, they are a work in progress. DMG has made some errors no doubt and they have admitted to them for the most part. They are trying to bring in another mfg and the rule bending, although ridiculous, may just be what Buell needs to get competitive and sell bikes. If they are allowed in and start selling bikes, then maybe BMW comes over, and a full Ducati effort, or Aprilia, and so on. The main 4 mfgs have had a monopoly on racing for a long time. None of us can disagree that we have pretty damn good racing in the US and some serious talent. However, these are businesses and businesses need exposure. They are not getting it here and they need help to break this monopoly.

It has definitely caused growing pains and come across as a fiasco sometimes and the laughing stock of the racing neighborhood. However, I think we need to give this more time to evolve. It will come around and as a result we have more mfgs involved, more racers attracted, better racing, bigger spectator #'s, and as a result the series flourishes. There will be more battle to come, undoubtedly, but the series was dying under the old regime and if you do the same thing over and over and expect different results then you are insane. Glenn #62

 

I wish 90% of this board had your insight and wisdom. Too many think that DMG wants to destroy racing here in the USA. What would be gained by that? Each area has their goals and as long as people understand were each group is coming from and what they expect, I think progress can be made.

Well done Glenn..........now if a few more people on the board can see what a well-thought out, point driven, effective, absent of swearing, post looks like, maybe they can mirror that.

 

You may be correct. However, I see it a little differently. They lose the racing exposure, but now Rockstar Energy drinks, Makita power tools and Suzuki sportbikes are prominently associated with ride safety. That is, in my opinion, not entirely negative. They are getting as much, if not more, exposure than they would have gotten with the race results and an association with safety. that racing usually does not get.

 

But will the "new fans" DMG is trying to attract understand that?

 

Plus Mat will still win the championship. Whats the difference if he won this week and sat out the final few rounds or sits out this one and wins somewhere else?

 

What new fans?

 

That too. The earlier Mat clinches the title, the earlier the later rounds become less relevant, and with the potential for lower attendance/ratings.

 

I said "trying."

 

Rockstar and Makita did not sign up to sponsor the Suzuki effort to have them sit out because of rider safety. They will not get exposure from this either since only a handful of people really pay deep attention to racing like we do and understand the safety aspect. I don't disagree with Mat's decision, but it's one more thing that hurts the series and we can't have that right now. If Rockstar Makita wanted to get exposure to rider safety, they would become AMA sponsors or some other org where they can get that kind of exposure. They came here to race and get exposure to the sportbike community.

Last week, almost 40% of the people that had their TV's on in Italy were watching the Donington Park GP race. I am willing to bet that this number is less than 1% in the US. That is a pathetic figure and will not bring in $$$$ and surely points towards the demise of the US series. There is a much bigger picture here than "the Buell is a cheater bike, or DMG is a bunch of arrogant pricks, or I don't like the track so I am leaving." If Mladin TRULY cared about rider safety, he would be there to offer help, not wait to be asked. If I was Mat, I would say "hey guys you are all my friends, competitors, and more importantly fathers and husbands. How can I make help make this safe for us? Where is a shovel and some gloves? Let's start filling this ditch." Glenn #62

 

I don't think that 90% of the board thinks that DMG is trying to destroy racing, I certainly don't.

I think that they are passionate industry folks who happen to be focused on some wrong concepts.

When planning any business, you have to set out goals. And no, not just Step one: Underpants, Step 3: Profit. There needs to be a clear plan of how to get from point A to where ever you might be headed. DMG smacks of committee rule, and we're not even sure who is on the committee.

I have never faulted Roger's commitment to the sport, but when he says things like "I have to rely on my lieutenants", I have a problem with that. Yes, you need to rely on others for advise, but you also need to have a strong hand on the rudder and a vision of where you'd like to go.

I think he has the vision, but it's not what some other in the industry agree with. Whether this is good or bad is still to be determined. That has generated a lot of controversy.

As far as a strong hand on the rudder, I think he's faltered in a few placed. It's not irreversible, but the missteps need to be addressed quickly. He's admitted that he's not always made the right decisions. I find that encouraging. However, I think he's also glossed over some important issues that need to have the light of day shed upon them. I count on JU and the RRW staff to provide that light.

As for this season, the die is cast. Thee are lessons to be learned and adjustments to be made. This has always been a fast paced sport, both on and off the track. Let's hope the changes can be made fast enough so we can make growth the focus.

 

Did he imply that his lieutenants have their hands on the rudder?

 

Words. They're important.

Something that jumped out at me from Pt 3 of the RE interview,

"The riders are theoretically a temporary fixture."

You all know what the link is if you want to read that sentence in the full context. Reminded me of one of RE's other brilliant statements about racers - "They have a comfort zone the size of a gnat."

 

Yeah...............screw those riders that are worried about hitting concrete walls. We are trying to make money and we have a sport to grow. That has to be the stupidest thing I think I have ever heard. I am not sure which is more stoopid, saying that riders need to put their safety at risk for the good of the sport or that "hey we race other tracks that have issues so what is the big deal about adding one more death trap". Sure why not, after all if you can get lucky at a few places why not roll those dice..............do you feel lucky?????

Some of the logic that some of you people are using is way out there. Personally I don't think growing the sport in massive market of Topeka is worth the life of a racer.

 

Well said Alexa. This year has been DMG meet the motorcycle community and vice versa. I don't think they necessarily have had "wrong ideas", just different ones and we in, in this community, have not been exposed to and therefore fire back on or reject it altogether. Let's give it time and keep putting positive criticism out there. Glenn #62

PS, sorry for post whoring a bit. This is a good conversation.