Sup people. Most of us know WSBK rocks, but what is it that makes it rock so hard?
Now don't get me wrong, I love MotoGP and truthfully, in part this blog entry is the result of my frustration at watching motorcycle's flagship event lose its cut-and-thrust, take-no-prisoners attitude (and yes that includes the last race in Jerez!)
MotoGP may have the prestige, the bigger names, more silicon per grid girl and of course, the quicker, badder bikes but as a racing spectacle it can't hold a candle to its poorer, production-based sibling at the moment.
We're talking racing here folks, it isn't a time trial. And when it comes to racing, speed is a relative phenomena - regardless of how close the WSBK field laps a given circuit compared to the MotoGP guys (and in some cases it is damn close) unless you have a grid where a large number of the riders have the potential to lap with the front runner's over a race distance then overtaking becomes the exception, not the rule.
I was going to conjure some excel-trickery replete with pie-charts and things that flash with pretty colours to show you the amount of lead changes, lap-time differences and the like between WSBK and MotoGP, but to save your time and mine just take a look at the opening two rounds of the respective championships (if you haven't already, what the hell are you doing!?!?) and you'll see what I mean.
Now there are those of you out there who will say 'Oh but MotoGP is a prototype class, close racing is just the cherry on the cake' that argument might hold water among died-in-the-wool race fans, but with motorcycle racing in general crying out for new fans (and the associated sponsorship $$$) it must be confusing to outsiders when they see manufacturers field bikes in both series which to the layman look staggeringly similar. For many the only difference will be when they sit down to watch a race and they notice that one race offers consistently closer racing and larger grids, while the other, unfortunately doesn't.
Try and get a newbie race fan to tell the difference between a blue and white M1 and R1 tearing around a circuit and they'll probably murmur an incomprehensible answer under their breath with all the assuredness of a 'I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter' taste tester's understudy.
Another problem is the sheer predictability of MotoGP - something which the premier class has arguably been burdened with since 1994 to some degree. But while the Doohan/Rossi era could be called predictable when it came to the crowning of the champion, at least for most of the time we had decent sized grids, not to mention the odd riposte from satellite riders who on their day could stick it to the factory teams. We all used to cheer on at the efforts of Garry McCoy and Regis Laconi on the Red Bull Yamaha, Loris Capirossi on the Pons Honda, not to mention the last victory by a satellite rider - Toni Elias' balls to the wall victory at Estoril in 2006. Marco Simoncelli has a great opportunity to get one back for the satellite riders this year, albeit on a factory spec RC212V.
As for WSBK, well we only have to look to last year and Carlos Checa's exploits to see a privateer team go postal on the factory teams, while in the last five years just off the top of my head I can nameBarros and Xaus as taking race wins on non-factory equipment. Open up the roster to include podium places and the difference with MotoGP is even more pronounced.
On top of all that, at the last round in Donington the top seven placings were occupied by the seven participating manufacturers - that makes me warm in my special place.
Why else does WSBK rock? Well there is a more established career path for the stars in both the junior classes (i.e. Stock 600 > WSS > WSBK) and various domestic championships (BSB, CIV, AMA etc) to move up to the big time. I am probably over-simplifying this, but this is probably due mainly to the fact that grid sizes on the WSBK circuit are large enough to accomodate incoming talent as new teams are still coming into the fold, or in some cases, established teams are expanding. Money, or the lack thereof obviously has a huge bearing on this.
And the winner in the end? The fans of course! Once again this season we have seen series debutants like Sam Lowes show great promise in WSS, while in WSBK Eugene Laverty just missed out on the podium in his first race at Phillip Island and the talent of Marco Melandri was able to shine as he took overall honors at Donington.
Yes OK, it should be harder to get into MotoGP then it is to get a glaswegian to buy a round of beers - that's part of the appeal, but with just 17 bikes on the grid (10 of which are eligble for rookies) and 40-odd in Moto2 it is very much a case of trying to fit a round peg in an oversquare hole. Add in the ever-increasing pressure for riders to bring money with them to secure a seat in MotoGP and Moto2 is in danger of becoming a premier class purgatory.
MotoGP's place at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing will never be threatened and it is still the ultimate goal of any racer out there. But at the end of day, with the sponsorship dollar becoming ever more difficult to secure, a complete overhaul in the long term strategy of the series is needed to make it a racing spectacle on par with WSBK. This has to be done while keeping the series relevant to the marketing needs of the participant manufacturers without sacrificing the viability of privateer teams.
It's a good thing Carmelo Ezpeleta doesn't have much hair, because if he did I am sure he would be pulling it out right now.
Now don't get me wrong, I love MotoGP and truthfully, in part this blog entry is the result of my frustration at watching motorcycle's flagship event lose its cut-and-thrust, take-no-prisoners attitude (and yes that includes the last race in Jerez!)
MotoGP may have the prestige, the bigger names, more silicon per grid girl and of course, the quicker, badder bikes but as a racing spectacle it can't hold a candle to its poorer, production-based sibling at the moment.
We're talking racing here folks, it isn't a time trial. And when it comes to racing, speed is a relative phenomena - regardless of how close the WSBK field laps a given circuit compared to the MotoGP guys (and in some cases it is damn close) unless you have a grid where a large number of the riders have the potential to lap with the front runner's over a race distance then overtaking becomes the exception, not the rule.
I was going to conjure some excel-trickery replete with pie-charts and things that flash with pretty colours to show you the amount of lead changes, lap-time differences and the like between WSBK and MotoGP, but to save your time and mine just take a look at the opening two rounds of the respective championships (if you haven't already, what the hell are you doing!?!?) and you'll see what I mean.
Now there are those of you out there who will say 'Oh but MotoGP is a prototype class, close racing is just the cherry on the cake' that argument might hold water among died-in-the-wool race fans, but with motorcycle racing in general crying out for new fans (and the associated sponsorship $$$) it must be confusing to outsiders when they see manufacturers field bikes in both series which to the layman look staggeringly similar. For many the only difference will be when they sit down to watch a race and they notice that one race offers consistently closer racing and larger grids, while the other, unfortunately doesn't.
Try and get a newbie race fan to tell the difference between a blue and white M1 and R1 tearing around a circuit and they'll probably murmur an incomprehensible answer under their breath with all the assuredness of a 'I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter' taste tester's understudy.
Another problem is the sheer predictability of MotoGP - something which the premier class has arguably been burdened with since 1994 to some degree. But while the Doohan/Rossi era could be called predictable when it came to the crowning of the champion, at least for most of the time we had decent sized grids, not to mention the odd riposte from satellite riders who on their day could stick it to the factory teams. We all used to cheer on at the efforts of Garry McCoy and Regis Laconi on the Red Bull Yamaha, Loris Capirossi on the Pons Honda, not to mention the last victory by a satellite rider - Toni Elias' balls to the wall victory at Estoril in 2006. Marco Simoncelli has a great opportunity to get one back for the satellite riders this year, albeit on a factory spec RC212V.
As for WSBK, well we only have to look to last year and Carlos Checa's exploits to see a privateer team go postal on the factory teams, while in the last five years just off the top of my head I can nameBarros and Xaus as taking race wins on non-factory equipment. Open up the roster to include podium places and the difference with MotoGP is even more pronounced.
On top of all that, at the last round in Donington the top seven placings were occupied by the seven participating manufacturers - that makes me warm in my special place.
Why else does WSBK rock? Well there is a more established career path for the stars in both the junior classes (i.e. Stock 600 > WSS > WSBK) and various domestic championships (BSB, CIV, AMA etc) to move up to the big time. I am probably over-simplifying this, but this is probably due mainly to the fact that grid sizes on the WSBK circuit are large enough to accomodate incoming talent as new teams are still coming into the fold, or in some cases, established teams are expanding. Money, or the lack thereof obviously has a huge bearing on this.
And the winner in the end? The fans of course! Once again this season we have seen series debutants like Sam Lowes show great promise in WSS, while in WSBK Eugene Laverty just missed out on the podium in his first race at Phillip Island and the talent of Marco Melandri was able to shine as he took overall honors at Donington.
Yes OK, it should be harder to get into MotoGP then it is to get a glaswegian to buy a round of beers - that's part of the appeal, but with just 17 bikes on the grid (10 of which are eligble for rookies) and 40-odd in Moto2 it is very much a case of trying to fit a round peg in an oversquare hole. Add in the ever-increasing pressure for riders to bring money with them to secure a seat in MotoGP and Moto2 is in danger of becoming a premier class purgatory.
MotoGP's place at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing will never be threatened and it is still the ultimate goal of any racer out there. But at the end of day, with the sponsorship dollar becoming ever more difficult to secure, a complete overhaul in the long term strategy of the series is needed to make it a racing spectacle on par with WSBK. This has to be done while keeping the series relevant to the marketing needs of the participant manufacturers without sacrificing the viability of privateer teams.
It's a good thing Carmelo Ezpeleta doesn't have much hair, because if he did I am sure he would be pulling it out right now.
