AMA Superbike - Page 2

**gomick** · 27 May 2006, 01:10 (Ref:1619900)

its great to see that ben spies is challenging (& beating mat), its a pity that honda, kawasaki, yamaha & ducati are not on the suzuki's pace - again!!!!

i wish the ama would work there championships out. they used to be awesome! get rid of formula xtreme 600, make them all race in supersport, the same with repsol superstock, get those r1's in superbike

chunder · 27 May 2006, 08:14 (Ref:1619992)

Probme is that I think politics is very rife in AMA racing.

THe reason why it all went wrong was down to politics. Honda lost their HRC bikes of you remember and have really struggled with the bikes they use now, Yamaha quite the superbike class a long time ago to concentrate on the road based classes because it is more relevant to them sales wise!

As for Kawsaki I thkink the fact that they would probly have lost the Hayden brothers if they hadnt gone Superbike was a huge factor after losing Eric Bostrom a few years back.

Really though their series are in a mess, with maybe two factory teams trying to get the limelight in every class, it has the look of a club series, some of the guys in the big class are lapped after only a few laps, and though that sometimes makes the racing more interesting, its hardly world class!

**Dani Filth** · 27 May 2006, 13:08 (Ref:1620167)

AMA still has the riders . but yes . it kinda lost the bikes ..

jhansen · 5 Jun 2006, 17:00 (Ref:1627730)

Well Mladin took it to Spies this weekend by claiming both races. Nice to see him battle back.

But I agree, the lack of competition for Suzuki makes the series a bit dull. Although the Honda Team had another promising weekend with the loan factory Kawasaki also showing some bright moments. It would be nice if the factories focussed on the same series, but they don't.

Hazza · 6 Jun 2006, 01:34 (Ref:1628099)

I'm going to stick this for ease.

Yeah, well done to matt to holding of Spies in race one then hunting him down in two.

So, the real question is how much of a talent is this kid? (Not Matt, Ben)

jhansen · 6 Jun 2006, 15:09 (Ref:1628565)

Well Mladin has stated that he has "found" some things to help get him back to the front. So whatever he and his crew have worked on it seems to be working. I'm certainly not going to doubt Spies after losing two races. Afterall, he won six on the trot, so he has skills. Hopefully a strong teammate battle for the title will keep the series interesting. And we'll get a sense for how Spies reacts under pressure.

Although, I'm hoping for a few Honda wins and a Kawasaki podium before it's over.

Dutton · 8 Jun 2006, 06:55 (Ref:1629716)

Tough to see a non-Suzuki victory...although, given a particularly weird race, it is feasible...

It is good to see there is the possibility of the fight being taken to Spies for the rest of the season, as it is never particularly interesting seeing one person romp away every race on the only bike with a chance.

I thought the second RAm race was particularly interesting. It would've been nicer to see it run without the red, as it interrupts the natural flow of things, but that is minor detail really.

As for the question of how good Spies is...I would've thought logic would dictate very good?

jhansen · 14 Jun 2006, 23:04 (Ref:1634719)

Interesting to note Mladin's comments. He stated that while following Spies at Fontana he saw something that Spies was doing a bit different. Then at Infineon he confirmed it. And then went to work on making the adjustment, which led to two race wins coming from behind after poor starts.

jhansen · 19 Jun 2006, 15:25 (Ref:1637256)

Finally, a non Suzuki winner! Way to go Zemke! Best of the year so far.

Race 1 was very competitive with Ducati, Honda, and Suzuki going at it. Spies pulled out the win in the end though. Zemke put his head down after running it wide at Turn 1 of the opening lap of Race 2. Fought his way through for the win followed by Mladin and Spies. Very enjoyable to watch.

Hazza · 20 Jun 2006, 09:02 (Ref:1637542)

Go Jake. What a ride.

Now hopefully he can rack up a few more.

Hazza · 18 Jul 2006, 02:22 (Ref:1658757)

Quote:

This just in from the AMA. This ruling means any and all forms of traction control are are legal in FX and Superbike, while only traction control systems that use OEM sensors are legal in Supersport and Superstock.

Ducati are back in it?

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2006/Jul/060717tc.htm

jhansen · 18 Jul 2006, 18:44 (Ref:1659356)

Hmm, interesting. Thanks for that. I missed this. Very interesting. I'll be at Laguna this weekend, so I'll get to see first hand. Although, this is more of a Suzuki track.

chunder · 21 Jul 2006, 19:29 (Ref:1661705)

Lucky man, would be lovely to go and watch at Laguna! Such a great track for the spectator i imagine.

Havent kept up too much with AMA recently but the Suzuki domination is really rather dull, but then most series this year are suffering the same fate, but isnt it interesting that all of a sudden things start to change. Zemke wins a round in AMA, Bayliss has a bit of a off weekend in WSB, Lavilla starts dropping it in BSB!

All the better for every series in my view

Alex K · 22 Jul 2006, 20:52 (Ref:1662303)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chunder

Basically Honda USA had a huge hissy fit about not winning the Superbikes and trying to say that they were unsafe (maybe that fact that they hadnt won for a while eh), so somehow made the AMA put the race for Superbikes down to a support race!

It was unsafe, number of riders had problems with Dunlop tires on banked part of the track, this could've cost someone's life.

chunder · 22 Jul 2006, 23:23 (Ref:1662371)

I dont really think the issue is any less prevalent now than it was in the early days, Roberts and Sheene were doing 180 odd in the seventies. The speeds have been the same on the banking for years. I agree that Dunlop have had problems, but really without the GP development of running thousands of miles on dual or even triple compund tyres Dunlops experiencxe in high power, high speed running is limited!
Plus Honda didnt like getting beat and wanted to sell more 600's!

jhansen · 6 Aug 2006, 22:46 (Ref:1676046)

Spies, Mladin and Duhamel swept the podium both days at Mid-Ohio. Mladin once again is forced to admit that he's losing out in terms of pace in relation to Spies. Whatever Spies is doing different, it's definitely working.

The Hondas still look second best while the Kawasakis were a bit flat after a good race at Laguna Seca. The Suzukis clearly have the advantage at the twistier circuits, which of course dominate the schedule.

Hazza · 7 Aug 2006, 00:12 (Ref:1676101)

Mladin has nothing. Which is quite a shock!

How good is this guy?

jhansen · 7 Aug 2006, 14:14 (Ref:1676593)

Spies does seem like the real deal. He often just takes off at the front while Mladin is left to recover from a bad start. The thing is, he's setting some of this fastest laps down the stretch, which is impressive. Spies chose the harder tires on Race 1 while Mladin was using a softer front. Mladin tried the harder front for Race 2, but it didn't help.

jhansen · 21 Aug 2006, 03:47 (Ref:1687845)

Mladin sweeps the weekend. Spies had a crash on Friday and hurt his hand amongst other things. He went on to finish 2nd and 4th. The points difference is now 29 points with two race weekends and three races left. Spies still has a chance to break the win record.

Hazza · 22 Aug 2006, 13:39 (Ref:1688748)

Ducati have spat the dummy, chucked the toys out of the pram, etc, etc ,etc.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2006/Aug/060822a.htm

chunder · 22 Aug 2006, 18:58 (Ref:1688971)

Haha, not sure why that is though they seem to be on about not being able to run the bike to quite the same level that they can in WSBK, which if you ask me is a little unfair when they are spending a shed load trying to keep a clearly down on power bike up with the big fours.

Think to be honest the AMA could at least level the game up a bit and let em run a WSB spec bike, I mean its a full factory effort with at least one decent rider! They shouldnt really be faffing around in fifths and sixths!

jhansen · 22 Aug 2006, 19:58 (Ref:1689036)

Maybe they'll come up with a privateer effort next year. Shame to see them go. I was hoping AMA would step up to WSBK rules at least.

Hazza · 22 Aug 2006, 21:33 (Ref:1689127)

Mladin has stated that it's 'not the bikes' and if 'Troy Bayliss was here things would be different'.

jhansen · 22 Aug 2006, 21:55 (Ref:1689145)

Well, another great sound bite from Mladin...

LOL!

chunder · 26 Aug 2006, 20:55 (Ref:1693063)

Oh really, well I guess we will never know! I do think yes that Troy is a class apart on a Duke and it would be cool to see them race there next year in AMA, but why should they when they are an even more negative starting point than WSB.

PLease believe me that Ducati WILL pull out of superbike if they are not allowed to go 1200cc. Have just read an interview with Domenicali and he is admant that the only reason they are still quick (and only with Troy, Lanzi is a joke!) is the electronics they are able to bring across from GP. The bike is still pretty much the same as it was two years ago power wise!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Superbike Update....	gomick	Bike Racing	7	27 Apr 2005 20:13
superbike qualifying...	gomick	Bike Racing	10	29 Mar 2004 15:50
Superbike 2002	pink69	Bike Racing	31	4 Apr 2002 01:56
Best looking Superbike?	pink69	Bike Racing	3	30 Oct 2001 18:42