Is this "peeved" or "pissed off"?

Ya know, I actually a touch disappointed that it's Mat. I was praying it was some assmonkey playing games, and that after Brad found out, he would let loose with a world class barrage. After all, Brad closed his church of the Gobert to start construction of his church of Mladin.

 

Well Mat - Since you are here and actually answering our questions, I have one that I've been wondering.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to watch you guys qualify on a few occasions, and you talk about getting tows during qualifying. I have allways wondered why you and Aarron never hoock up during at least a portion of the qualifying? It seems like it would be a win - win situation. I realize that your riding styles are really different, but it seems as if you guys would be able to help each other out, and Suzuki could maybe get Suzukies 1-2 on the grid

 

Nice number. I prefer to do it by myself because trying to organize a tow or get a tow is going to end up in tears more often than not. I like a clear track so I can concentrate only on the race track. I do believe though that you can pick up some time by getting a tow and timing it right. eg: if you get a tow off a faster bike at Brainerd down the front straight it can improve your laptime probably up to .5 or .6 of a second. I remember when Kocinski rode the Ducati there a couple years ago the qualifying ended up being between me and him. I used a couple Q's and when I came in I said to my guys that I can't go any faster out there and it was the best lap of Brainerd I have ever done.
Kocinski got the pole by I think .4 over me. My bike was running 176 max through the radar and his was 183. Thay's your time right there. In this instance I would have been better getting a tow. But my averages are pretty good so for now i'll stick to what i'm doing.

 

Yeah...and they are all wearing AMA PRO RACING OFFICIAL name tags.

 

BTW...

Isn't this more than a little unreal to be exchanging posts with the three time national champion?

 

Very Awesome

 

WOW. Thanks for the reply, Mr. Mladin. I should've known that there would be more to the story than what I happened to catch on a TV show. You now have a new fan (I'm sure you're all giddy). Good luck this year!

Wade

 

Mate, ease it up on the Mr Mladin bit. Mat will do, your'e making me feel old

 

Aren't you? I mean, you're no Doug Chandler, but you're no spring chicken either. You've been around for a loooong time.

Really cool to read your opinions here, unedited. As a racing fan, this stuff truly makes my day.

 

I second that

 

This is the coolest thread I have ever had the pleasure to read. Anywhere.

 

Really Cool Mat

Hi Mat,
It's pretty cool of you to get on here and explain some the stuff that has happened in the past. However, I don't feel it's necessary for you to do so. These things have all happened in the heat of the battle or qualifying or whatever........at one of the top levels of our sport. Even at the club level, there are things that happen that piss people off and all we are fighting for is a nice piece of wood with a little puter motorcycle dude on it. Maybe some contingency money if you are fast enough. Never enough to cover the tire bill though, unless you save em up. Ultimately, we are fighting for a championship that will net most of us nothing. Sometimes, apologies are necessary. I had to give one earlier this year for being pissed at a racer because he protested me for an aluminum subframe on my SV. He was well within his right to protest and we said our pieces and moved on.

In your case, you said your piece with Ben and moved on. He understood why you did what you did and you understood why he was pissed off. End of story.

My point is, people, until we are riding for salary and having to deal with the anti-rider press spin, the pressure of riding at that level, and the preparation that goes along with it, we need to reserve judgement on those like Mat until we know the full story. It kills me how people can talk smack about these riders like they know them. Talking about them as if they haven't put in their dues and are just one of the lucky few, as if it were handed to them. Bullshit! The day I can ride as fast as Mat or any of these other guys, is the day I will start talking smack. So basically, never. Dammit, I wish I would've been smart enough to get the hell out of Moto-x at age 15 and start roadracing. Of course, nobody wants a 33 year old budding racer. You don't have any room on your team do ya Mat?

 

You're right, UGA Dawg. You are right.

It's unbelievably cool that he would take the time to reply (at such length!) to my half-ass opinion of something that happened over two years ago. I'm still pretty star-struck.

 

As someone who was sitting in the stands during the PPIR blocking incident, I have to call Bull Shit on MM's explanation...

Ben was running a fraction faster than everyone the day before. The final qualifying session the next day had cooler temperatures and was allowing everyone to go about 1/2 second faster then previous so the times were dropping as everyone started fitting their Qs.

10 minutes before qualifying was over, Mat Mladin posted the fastest time and we were all waiting to see what Ben would do with some Qs spooned on. Since Ben had yet to run with the Qs and since Ben was already close to the time posted by Mat, it was pretty certain that Ben could do the time needed for pole. As we waited in anticipation with the stop watch ready, a red flag was thrown and the session was shut down.

No! Now we'd never know. We figured qualifying would be cancled and we were robbed of the show.

But the AMA decided to allow 10 more minutes once the track was cleaned and joy returned. We were ready for the show, Ben had his qualifiers on and the time to use them! The fans in the know were getting excited to watch his try but we were robbed again.

This time, the thieves came from the Suzuki pits. One of Mat's crew members was watching the Ducati pits and waving to another crew member standing by the infield when Ben went out. He then waved to Mat who was still out on the track putting around waiting to get in Ben's way. Which he did.

There is not doubt about what was going on to anyone watching. Mat was not out trying to get a better time. Mat was going about 3/4 speed and making sure he was in the way through the infield each time Ben was on a hot lap.

Mat timed it perfectly, not once, but twice. Ben went out on a warm up, was blocked on his hot lap and came in for another set of tires. He then went out again, warmed them up and was fenced in again by Mat. The signals were working perfect for the Suzuki team.

This was blatent and non-defendable. The fact that the Speedvision tape showed what Mat says was nothing is because the full on blocking was not part of what was recorded--or at least was never released.

So I am not a Mladin fan. I have three reasons for that stance but this is the bigist one. In fact, this is the reason I started printing the "Anyone But Mladin" T-shirts.

If Mat would admit the incident and apologise for it, hell, even if he admitted it and just said "hey, I needed the point for pole and did what I had to do to get it" then I'd lay off. But as it is, Mat is a poor sport and a liar.

A true champion would run his best time and, if he felt it wasn't going to hold up, go out and do a better time. Mat wasn't out there trying to get a better time during the last 10 minutes, he was only out there to block Ben. In my book, that's exactly the same as if he snuck into Ben's pits with a knife and slashed up his qualifying tires.

Mat's a great rider, maybe the best. But he is not a champion, and never will be without learning something about character.

Later,
Kent Larson
3 time regional, 1 time national CCS lightweight supersport champion.
"Anyone But Mladin" shirts in their 3rd printing.

 

Crap! Now I don't know whether to go to bed or wait around. Looks like this is about to get good.

 

As I said in my answer to Wade, Ben will no doubt have his own opinion. As will other people, you are more than entitled to them. While I totally disagree with your theory I am glad you wrote in. I was wondering where you were since Brainerd 2000 when I wore your T-Shirt (ANYONE BUT MLADIN) on the podium. Didn't deflate your ego did it. I was hoping you would come with an updated version for 2001 cause that one looked like a 70's model, quite frankly I was disappointed that that was the best you could do. Anyway look forward to seeing the new ones. I'm not sure if your regional championships or CCS champioship is supposed to pull any weight over this topic, but the guy next door's opinion is just as important as your's.

 

I forgot one thing, if Ben was so much quicker than everybody what happened on Sunday.

 

Who's got the Popcorn? Mat, shouldn't you be training or sleeping or something. Yer fittin right in on the BBS.

 

--------------MM Says:----------------------
As I said in my answer to Wade, Ben will no doubt have his own opinion. As will other people, you are more than entitled to them. While I totally disagree with your theory I am glad you wrote in. I was wondering where you were since Brainerd 2000 when I wore your T-Shirt (ANYONE BUT MLADIN) on the podium. Didn't deflate your ego did it. I was hoping you would come with an updated version for 2001 cause that one looked like a 70's model, quite frankly I was disappointed that that was the best you could do. Anyway look forward to seeing the new ones. I'm not sure if your regional championships or CCS champioship is supposed to pull any weight over this topic, but the guy next door's opinion is just as important as your's.
-----------------------(I'm new at this forum stuff. I'll figure out quotes soon)-----------

Naw, I didn't have a problem with you having my shirt on the podium. I thought it was funny. After that I figured I'd better not make too much noise. Trying to get in your face just seems to make you faster.

Like I said, I just didn't like you lying about the incident. I figured you'd admit to it if it didn't embarass you. My take was that you felt bad about doing it, bad enough that you were too ashamed to cop to it.

Anyway, I'm not making money off the shirt and I don't care enough to try to update it. I just wanted to get my personal feelings known and that was the best way to do it.

After posting with my CCS stats, I felt like I should have left that off. I just wanted the others to know that I at least was a racer at one point. Since all that stuff happened back in 1997, it's not like it holds much weight anyway.

I'm really an embedded systems programmer that makes medical devices but I'm also a hack writter for a local mag (Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly). I've tried to interview Mat Mladin a number of times with no luck. If I could, I'd love to do one at the Brainerd or Road America round. Any chance of having a 1/2 hour with Mat to discuss the talent, trials, and troubles of a champion racer? I promice it wouldn't be all about character flaws but I would bring them up.

If anyone wants to read my lame attempt at interviewing Rich Oliver and Ben Bostrom, they can be found in the archives at www.motorbyte.com.

Later,
Kent Larson, Troublemaker
Hasbeen (never was?) roadracer. 1997 National Champion, CCS Lightweight Supersport Amateur.
p.s. I'm thinking about coming out of retirement with a GS500 in CRA ultralight. I could get another GS for you, Mat, if you want to kick my ass up at CRA in Brainerd. Then the interview could start with how bad you smoked me on equal machinery.
p.p.s. I am buying that MM is realy Mat Mladin and I'd like to express my own thanks for wasting time with all of us. Thanks.