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Post by Oneup on Mar 12, 2011 22:25:23 GMT -8
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Post by Justin(o) on Mar 12, 2011 22:48:37 GMT -8
And if Scott Russel could read me that article, my insomnia would disappear.
Cycle News can says AMA is turning around.
I find it unwatchable.
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Post by Oneup on Mar 12, 2011 22:59:03 GMT -8
What they believe is necessary for the AMA to get better. I agree if they had a completely different marketing company then they might be able to grow the sport. They've gotten the tech rules and the issues with the racers ironed out better than before which is a huge improvement. I still don't like all their rules (spec tires and fuel) but they have made improvements and have been able to put together better racing. The number of privateers are up even in this down economy and the people I know that race in the AMA actually enjoyed it last year. There was no drama and they were actually able to race on a professional level for a reasonable price.
One thing the article missed is that the AMA needs to fire their announcers and do whatever it takes to get the races to be a higher priority on TV, even if they have to move to a different channel.
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Post by Oneup on Mar 12, 2011 23:02:54 GMT -8
And if Scott Russel could read me that article, my insomnia would disappear. Cycle News can says AMA is turning around. I find it unwatchable. It is unwatchable. Two years ago when they first took over it was both unwatchable and there was no real value for the racers to show up. The racing wasn't good, the racers were pissed, and the major sponsors were leaving as fast as they could. They've turned around the actual racing, they just have to make it better for the fans to watch and worth it for the major sponsors to spend money on it. They aren't there yet, not even close. But they have made a step or two in the right direction which is better than where they were two years ago. |
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Post by Justin(o) on Mar 12, 2011 23:25:10 GMT -8
I like your ideas, and I'm relieved that hear their moving the right direction, or at least slowed their descent.
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Post by Oneup on Mar 12, 2011 23:32:02 GMT -8
I like your ideas, and I'm relieved that hear their moving the right direction, or at least slowed their descent. It's still unclear whether they will get it together, but I'm hopeful. |
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Pizza
Full Member
Pizza Tony AFM#963
Posts: 166
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Post by Pizza on Mar 13, 2011 0:03:50 GMT -8
daytona this weekend was certainly not what i would classify as 'unwatchable' !!! i fell out of my chair while watching the crash at the end of DSB race. it was great to see some unusual names up in the top 10.
I then watched race 1 of the SBK race, to watch 2 bikes tumble like bowling balls within the first 2 turns of lap 1. THEN the lead changes during the last few seconds of the race made it far from 'unwatchable'.
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Post by Justin(o) on Mar 13, 2011 0:19:54 GMT -8
You actually saw the last hour. many others weren't so lucky.
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Pizza
Full Member
Pizza Tony AFM#963
Posts: 166
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Post by Pizza on Mar 13, 2011 0:21:06 GMT -8
i enjoy watching AMA racing. its (in my mind) the closest connection that us track day squids and wannabe racerboys have to the professional world of racing. getting to ride infineon myself, and then watch AMA race there each year brings all sorts of warm fuzzies to me. ive been on the track with people who race in AMA, and i would venture to guess that greg has been able to ride next to many more AMA racers, still, compared to my limited experience! though people will always disagree and have their own opinions regarding the fairness, competitiveness and even-ness of their classes, i find it comforting to see so many different bikes on the track at the same time. (i find the moto2 racing not as interesting based on the idea that they effectively removed the bike from the equation; if everyone is on the same exact equipment, the only thing left to race upon is the talent and skill of the rider) .. but then again, who am i to be forming opinions on this subject matter! haha
i agree that the AMA has a LOT of work to do. there is CERTAINLY plenty of room for improvement, in order to grab more of the US market. that said, i believe that the american TV viewing market is somewhat (and by somewhat, i mean COMPLETELY) dumb, and there is a very serious limit to the amount that the AMA could possibly grow, based on the consumer that theyre trying to sell this sport to.
in a country where the number viewed sports are football, baseball and NASCAR- im left completely dumbfounded as to what the other 200 million US citizens find interesting about it. the US is completely backwards to the rest of the civilized world when it comes to sports, in my opinion. in europe, FIM and motoGP reign supreme. the crowds that each race draw for motoGP draws are simply astounding compared to what we draw at laguna each year. how is that possible?!?! perhaps if they changed the daytona 200 from the road course to the NASCAR perimiter course, we would find more interest to your average coors light drinking, ford driving AUHMURRICANNN??
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Post by Justin(o) on Mar 13, 2011 0:31:52 GMT -8
Quite a rant, Tony. I agree with the last two paragraphs.
but. . .
Feeling a connection because you ride on the same pavement as an AMA racer smacks of the idiot tourists standing outside a N.Y. morning show with a sign wishing someone in Oklahoma a "Happy Birthday."
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Post by jlavallee on Mar 13, 2011 1:30:32 GMT -8
While I am no lover of the ball sports we're not as bad as you think. I once had to watch Cricket during a business trip to Australia and have been witness to soccer madness in Europe and both of those are about as exciting as golf to watch. Bikes do better over there because gas prices have always been high, parking is at a premium and there is less disposable income in socialist nations so almost everyone has owned a scooter or bike. If you do something you tend to follow it more. Bikes just don't have the exposure here.
AMA racing will never do anything in my opinion until those DMG morons go away. Maybe the racers like it but I don't give a rat's behind about low level privateers. The idea of not having a premier class where all the pros run is BS. There are so many classes that every manufacturer gets a championship for the most part and the best riders are split between classes. Anyway, I don't seem to be alone based on attendance and hopefully the series can fail and come back the way it used to be in the late 80's, early 90's. The current racing does not inspire me at all. I tried to watch a round last year and it was almost as painful as cricket.
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Pizza
Full Member
Pizza Tony AFM#963
Posts: 166
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Post by Pizza on Mar 13, 2011 1:52:54 GMT -8
sorry justino, i really half assed a reply on the above comment. ill try to convey my thoughts more clearly in the future!! haahaaaa
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Post by zipbyu on Mar 13, 2011 8:29:06 GMT -8
Speed showed the 2nd half of the 200 at 8:00 last night. Way good race finish. It was like a moto2 race. I still have it if anyone missed it.
The other 2 superbike races were worth watching too.
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Post by Oneup on Mar 13, 2011 8:42:01 GMT -8
AMA racing will never do anything in my opinion until those DMG morons go away. Maybe the racers like it but I don't give a rat's behind about low level privateers. The idea of not having a premier class where all the pros run is BS. There are so many classes that every manufacturer gets a championship for the most part and the best riders are split between classes. I am confused by this as there are fewer classes now than there were before DMG took over (unless you count the Harley class). I'll agree with you that the premier class being a 600 class is odd. It also isn't as much as a manufacturer bought racing as it used to be. Last year it was anyones game. Suzuki had the best 1000's on the grid and lost to Yamaha because Hayes out rode everyone. Yamaha lost the 600 class last year because of the immaturity of their top rider. It is really anyones game right now. Before DMG took over it was always Suzuki winning the 1000 classes and Yamaha winning Supersport. The reason a lot of these guys are low level privateers is because there is no money in the sport. Bobby Fong won races last year on an inferior bike and has no ride this year at all. The one thing that AMA did a better job of last year was filling the grid. You may not care about anyone but the top riders but there won't be any racing if the grids are only 8 people. I do agree that DMG needs to go away from the marketing. They are currently doing an acceptable job at the racing and competition part of it but without money being brought in the series will just turn into glorified club racing. |
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Post by jlavallee on Mar 13, 2011 16:03:19 GMT -8
DMG in its desire to make it a money machine like NASCAR instead of the sport has killed it. They can't be trusted and have showed it with special agreements to manufacturers like Buell. Mladin basically lost the last championship to Spies because of their BS. He spoke out against them and strange enough his bike gets torn down and found to be against the rules when Spies bike was never touched.
Until there is a premier class like superbike used to be, you're never going to get focus because if they're all weighted similarly, then why not just focus on the one where you have the best chance?
There is no money in the sport because the manufacturers don't see benefit in it. They know that everyone is going to be equalized so why invest money for minimal return? They race to sell bikes and competition comes from that. Because of the special rules to equalize everyone all the factory teams have gone away pretty much. Without opportunities to make your product stand out there is no point in sponsoring anyone. Without the money, the best riders have gone or won't come here and we essentially have a glorified club series. Yay.
Having close racing is a club level thing. At a high level if everyone is close then the rules are too tight. Who has a hero that was just average? On a stock bike a lot of guys can get close. How would Hayes do on a superbike where he has to develop it? Guys used to learn up the ranks and now you're seeing nobody learn the development skills because the bikes are club level. The jump to world level development gets harder and less Americans go overseas. Fewer Americans to watch on a world level and lower sport draw. Vicious circle. Hayes may have won but because of the lower level of the series nobody cares. He seems like a nice guy but he’s not getting MotoGP offers in the future. If you’re a standout, you can always get paid but you need a forum to show that.
AMA was sinking before DMG but DMG has ruined it totally. The racing is closer but that is not always a good thing. I want the 80's & early 90's where you had a lead class and a couple of support classes. Different focus and opportunity but I will concede that with bikes becoming much better from the factory, it is always going to be harder.
You say that before DMG Suzuki was always winning the 1000 classes and Yamaha always were winning the supersport but everybody was playing to the same rules so if they didn't have the riders or engineers to make winners then too bad. Doing the Ducati thing where you get special treatment to be competitive is what losers whine for. Winners figure out how to beat the other guy at his own game. If Yamaha wanted to win in the early -mid 2000's then they could have hired Mladin, worked on their bike and I guarantee they would have won. They didn't and focused on SS instead because the value in the premier class wasn't there.
Who from the world is going to come here now? Who is going to hire a guy on a stock bike to go to Europe? Equal outcomes are ALWAYS bad for any kind of development as it kills incentive. Few people are inspired by that mentality. Put it this way, a Ferrari 360 is a sweet car and you’d love to have one right? Now if everybody had one, is it still special?
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