Racing

[oldironnow]

And, need another American in there, too.

Also, watching a moment of SSP300, i learned Ana Carrasco broke two vertebrea in a testing crash.
I am hugely disappointed for her season.

[Mad4TheCrest]

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[oldironnow]

Mad4TheCrest wrote

Sorry for Carrasco - that's a tricky injury to recover from. Ask Jorge.

As for Americans, Gerloff on the podium! First American on the WSBK podium since Nicky Hayden in 2016.

Must make time to watch this!!!

[oldironnow]

https://www.superbikeplanet.com/american-star-gerloff-edges-rea-after-wet-friday-worldsbk-practice/

[Mad4TheCrest]

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[whatarush]

With Roberts moving over to Moto2's Italtrans Racing Team in 2021. It looks like Cameron Beaubier is taking his place at American Racing Team.

https://www.speedweek.com/moto2/news/166492/American-Racing-holt-Cameron-Beaubier-statt-Roberts.html

[motogrady]

whatarush wrote

With Roberts moving over to Moto2's Italtrans Racing Team in 2021. It looks like Cameron Beaubier is taking his place at American Racing Team.

https://www.speedweek.com/moto2/news/166492/American-Racing-holt-Cameron-Beaubier-statt-Roberts.html

Good news.

Tighten up the American series next year.
Put another Yank on the doorstep of the big show.

Ya, good thing.

[oldironnow]

motogrady wrote

whatarush wrote

With Roberts moving over to Moto2's Italtrans Racing Team in 2021. It looks like Cameron Beaubier is taking his place at American Racing Team.

https://www.speedweek.com/moto2/news/166492/American-Racing-holt-Cameron-Beaubier-statt-Roberts.html

Good news.

Tighten up the American series next year.
Put another Yank on the doorstep of the big show.

Ya, good thing.

Good analysis. ^  I hadn't thought of the effect on the US series.

[oldironnow]

https://www.superbikeplanet.com/oh-its-real-now-valentino-rossi-has-covid-19/

[motogrady]

Bummer.  2020. A season I'm sure Rossi would like to forget.  

[oldironnow]

He had such a good chance, too.

[motogrady]

oldironnow wrote

He had such a good chance, too.

Ya.  And it's not like he was just mailing it in.  At least it did t look like it to me.  

[Fatfatboy]

motogrady wrote

Bummer.  2020. A season I'm sure Rossi would like to forget.

As well as many.
Just poop.  

[Mad4TheCrest]

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[oldironnow]

Thanks for the update.

I've been too busy to watch anything, and now I have the info, instead of b.s.ing myself I will watch soon.

[Mad4TheCrest]

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[motogrady]

Mad4TheCrest wrote

Well, MotoA has wrapped up 2020, and there will be changes:

Tony Elias has left his Suzuki seat. Where will he go?
>>> by the way, it sure looked like M4 Ecstar was nowhere close to Yoshimura in its capabilities managing the Suzuki team, while Attack did fairly well taking over the Yamaha chores (that surprised me).

Cameron Beaubier is off to Moto2 and the Tenor American Racing team, taking Joe Robert's seat (he's off to another, supposedly better, team).  Will CB bloom into a GP champion, or get swallowed up and spit out like other US riders of the past - Roberts a notable exception?

On the television front: MotoAm needs to get more money from Fox Sports to compensate for the crap job done in scheduling (never could tell whether the show would appear on FS1 or FS2 - and the last race if the year was preempted by drag racing, returning to MotoAm coverage for the last two freaking laps!)

Nice recap guy.

I wish I followed MotoAm more.   Kinda lost on Kevin's series.
As far as Cameron, he needs to go.  I know it got stale watching him kill everyone most of the time.
I know I'm pulling for him to carry the flag high.

Roberts, what's up with that?  I thought he was the great white hope.

As far as the TV thing, face it.   Bikes just don't have the numbers of watchers other venues do.
Heck, Supercross, Motocross, it's always been like that also. Effin Pro Poker Series used to bump them.
Yes, Effin card games pull more viewers than motorcycles.  
Which sells more stuff, which pays more for the broadcasters.  

I wish they would have a dedicated channel.  Horse racing has 2.  Tennis has one. Fishing has I think 2.
Heck, there's probably a cooking channel.  But nothing for bikes.  

[oldironnow]

We are the channel.

[Fatfatboy]

Hey Oldiron, did you make it to the Bagger series at Laguna?

[oldironnow]

Fatfatboy wrote

Hey Oldiron, did you make it to the Bagger series at Laguna?

Yes, I did!

I saw he last half of Saturday's schedule and all of Sunday's. It was the best I could do. I had picked vacation weeks for MotoAm's Ridge, Indy, Road America and Laguna events, but this is the only one I could even half attend.

There was not enough time or energy to build the Seca Hut for one night, so I just drove the naked pickup over to my camping spot and backed up to the fence, set up the folding chair on the tail, and just relaxed. I needed to watch some racing. Ice chest for an ottoman, and a micro camp stove for coffee and vittles, since the paddock was off-limits per covid. In fact, no free-range spectators were allowed. The overlords said only people who had purchased even-numbered reserved campsites would be allowed into the park. The rest of you unwashed swine with 65' toy-haulers can get a refund, or pre-pay next year's race.

So I called MotoAm and asked if I could have the space of someone who isn't coming. The voice on the phone said "sure, you're space 399?"  I said, "yeah. Since World Superbike came back." "Well, then why don't you take 398. "Cool. Thank you."

I spent some time during each race gathering lap times of the leader and the last place guy, all in an effort to get a handle on what class to race in with the AFM. I'm going to start keeping track of my lap times to see if I'm even remotely ready to do this. Most advice comes in the form of 'get an R6.' I also get some words saying the 400 class is a good way to go.

But just watching the Twins Cup class gave me the best feedback. Proper-sized bikes, near 600-size tires, overall sweet spot of torque and horsepower; more, and also not too much.

The weather was effin' cold as central California hell. Nick-Harris-in-my-head says 'Normal service has been resumed on the coast.' Spitting water and drizzle all morning out of an old-school thick marine layer. It was like living at the bottom of a refrigerator stuffed full of cotton balls. Gloom and cold and finding no warmth next to the pickles and maraschino cherries way in the back.

Alright. That's a crap simile, but I've been racking my brain for 30 minutes.

The clouds relented and the sun burned through really late. Around 3:00. Finally, some warmth for an old man, and just in time for the last Superbike race of the year. Cameron destroyed. He even seemed to be playing with wheelspin after the exit of Turn 9, getting it to step out to the right for a while where no one else did.

The Baggers, by the way, (that is the point of this tale, isn't it?) were/are a hoot. Let me repost something I left at a CW article about the race and the class:

***

"I was at Laguna Seca today, and was prepared to mock the Baggers relentlessly, but even from the sighting lap, it was a good exhibition.

The absurdity of these giant, fist-in-the-air machines brings the smile, yet the discipline of the racers and the creators is still the same. I found myself sucked into wondering about the process, and the mods and the riding technique.

And the SOUND is a joy. Standing on the inside of Turn 10, I could feel the bottom of my lungs shaking as the pack went by. I haven't felt that as a spectator at Laguna since the days of the BOTT.

I hope this class will give license to these manufacturers to make and sell better handling baggers, much as production racing distilled and refined the sportbike market in the '80s.

Thanks for the article; it's good to see one up-close.

Point of Information: I was at a Seca trackday at the end of August, and one of the Indian Baggers was running in A group. They are serious."

***

The Historics were good fun, too. Mostly Suzuki GS, as far as I could squint. The little chrome cam caps winking at me from across the space. Likely many KZs. Definitely two Moto Guzzis, and I believe a Pantah Ducati.

The irony-download moment of the meeting occurred with the running of the Historics.  I had been diligently keeping track of lap times all day, mulling over racing again, trying to find a place to set my ego amongst the crowd... and the last guy - in the slowest class - is wearing the exact same set of '90s-era Fieldsheer black/white/red knock-off leathers I have.

I bet his are genuine, too.

Baggers


Fid Bike


Superbikes - likely a Duck in front.


Historics


The Slowest Man


The view from Corkscrew Hill


The view from waaaay back in camping showing Turn 11 and the Front Straight.



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