Oh oh...

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...a-road-racing/

 

interesting... they must really have there ducks in a row to withdraw for both forms of racing in anticipation market forces.

I wonder if we might be seeing some of the last of the big bore sport bikes for the street

 

oh man... thats some bad news.... well, im glad i got to see them race twice this year.....

i wonder whats going to happen to the streetbikes now?? that looks like a definate no go for that V4 engine honda was doing R&D on...

 

the world really is coming to an end

 

this is bad for the sport i think...What honda was thinking?

 

It's only AMA. They're still in everything else that really matters - WSBK, and MotoGP

 

this sucks, without existance of any factories in the series, the daytona group could easily convert the series to a spec series.

 

Ehh, erion and the corona team are there. My guess is that honda, kawi, and 'zuki are gonna play the boo hoo hooos 'cause the can't dictate what goes on in the series anymore. I'm pretty sure all of the factories have all bounced at least once during the tenure of AMA superbike racing and if yamahas' sales even seem to move up a tick, they'll be looking to come back, by shop team with better parts or a real factory rides.

I'm not a huge fan of the DMG, but the old system of letting the factories call teh shots wasn't going to allow new people to get in with a shot of winning (expect for maybe 'stock classes). I'm still hopeful.

 

WTF

after pulling out from F1 they said they were 100% committed to all their other motorsports commitments . . . . ..

 

Factory Yamaha is racing....

 

along with factory suzuki as well i thought?

or is yoshimura suzuki not a factory effort?

 

if suzuki races it'll be a privateer effort. Yamaha is the only one who's bought into the series so far. Kawasaki may not either. Now just because factory teams aren't in doesn't mean privateers won't.

 

AMA cancell it races for 2009.

Bummer, lol

 

Where there's racing, people will come regardless of the economy or which factory teams are there. Jordan Racing, Erion Honda, Corona Honda, Factory Yamaha, Attack Kawasaki will pick up the slack along with other privateers and will make the most of the opportunity.

 

Suzuki, kawasaki and honda are out!!! and you know why? Cause their new rules suck A$$!!

 

The new rules aren't bad at all actually. It'll allow for privateers to better compete. I'm not fond of a few things but the factory groups are being slickly ****. Kawasaki wants to keep their underseat fuel tanks, suzuki doesn't want to lose their dominance, and honda is leaving because of economical reasons. Honda has left ama before because of this. They left F1 because of it too. Say what you will but DMG has fixed some of the rules that lead to AMA being the most boring show on earth.

 

fixed that for ya

 

DMG has fixed some of the rules? Everyone knows DMG fugged everything up and thats the reason teams are leaving for their stupid rules!! And what makes you think Honda is leaving cause economical problems?

 

http://superbikeplanet.com/2008/Dec/...ndapullout.htm



http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=35171



Honda was only 1 of 2 factory teams at the tire test and had every intention of running according to Hodgson. It even appears that the Honda may have been the best bike for DMG racing. Also honda pulling out of F1 for economic reasons is another reason why I know that's the main reason regardless of your speculation.



Also what rules did they fix (which btw you do realize superbike is for the most part unchanged don't you?)?

Spec tire - yeah you can say it eliminates tire ingenuity and development but it levels the playing field. No more bullshit about certain teams getting "special" rubber. Everyone gets the same stuff so no whining there.

Ducati 1098 is now eligible for the Superbike Class

Eliminating special fuels and going to a spec unleaded fuel - see same explanation as spec tire

I could go on about other stuff. I posted the rules below for you to look at.


Also a lot of the muddiness with the rules that AMA had that lead to shady bike inspections, fines, and disqualifications has been removed. Often times teams were told various things about what they were allowed. You also end up with the Mladin incident where he was eliminated from a few races. All of the rules help privateers become more competitive in a class that was dominated by 1 company for the last umpteen years. AMA was far from profitable and has lost a lot of popularity due to flat out boring races. The few changes have been put in place to allow your superbikes to run but to eliminate some of the edge that the factory teams with gobs of money had. Overall competition should be closer and lead to a lot better racing.


btw here's the rules for you to skim through. Point out to me what's so bad about them?
http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/...?article=34777

 

Any word on them dropping Motocross and Supercross? I sure hope they don't.

 

Omflord... =|

 

Don't believe so. The cost of racing those events has got to be significantly less then the cost of racing AMA superbike and supersport

 

Not only that, but racing success in those series might have a more significant impact on sales.

 

Well yeah. In the US market I'd say AMA supersport has the most impact on sales but that hasn't been Factory Honda racing in that. Plus even in superbike that was only American Honda which is completely separate then the rest. Hell they don't even run in WSBK. MotoGP is the only thing they really do.


In the end I hope the rules bring AMA superbike to be closer to WSBK where a "privateer" group like Ten Kate can compete with the likes of the factory teams.

 

Actually, I was saying that success in motocross and supercross has a greater impact on sales than road racing does. I would guess that magazine comparisons have a greater impact on sportbike sales than AMA racing. The dirt market might be more dependent on racing success though.