tokin

So, I know this is nothing new, but AMA SBK is boring as shit. As much as I enjoy watching Suzuki's spank everyone else, I don't understand how the fuck they are SO much faster.

Mat Mladin/Ben Spies just that fast or are the bikes seriously that much faster?

1080Rider

Oh no, it's the best racing in the world 'cause ducati hasn't cheated and had them change the rules... just ask the locals

SlowGoose

After watching World Superbike I watched all of five minutes of the AMA race. Ugly tracks, boring racing, predictable results. I doubt I'll watch another AMA race this year.

tokin

I did the same, watched WSB then snoozed through AMA superbike

late apex

Interesting that we think its boring yet we don't want DMG screwing with the rules to make the racing more competetive.

SlowGoose

I don't actually care. Really. It's been boring for years for the most part (Yates doing WWF impersonations aside). I'd much rather watch BSB if I'm going to watch a national series.

nocontrol74

That's blasphemy right there James...

The only think DMG will do is NASCARize AMA and the party line is that it will ruin it.

It

tokin

Yes, but it being terrible is an cart blanc for making retarded fucking changes?

jwfzr

I don't blame Yoshimura for boring results. Thank goodness Spies has gotten fast so at least there are two guys up there. It seems like suzuki or at least Yoshimura are the only ones that take the AMA seriously. It's a bunch of amatuers taking on two pros.

GixxerPete

Because they are a bunch of fucking idiots and are "solving" the problem by making it into NASCAR.

GixxerPete

I take the "Ducati Cup" era of WSBK was oh so much better?

GixxerPete

I believe Mat and Ben ARE that fast, and if everyone rode identical NASCAR-ized bikes they would still stomp the competition.

PeteN95

We need closer finishes, .011 seconds is an eternity!

Hypnotiq

0000000000000000

Hypnotiq

Yup. In Mat's own words.

Mat Mladin said, “I don’t really care what DMG does. They’re not really my concern. I don’t care whether we race 125s or 1000s. Whatever Suzuki wants to race I’ll race. Whatever Suzuki wants me to race, I’ll race. I’m contracted to Suzuki. As far as results go, it’s not going to make any difference.”

holypiston

WSB puts my ass to sleep. What happens on the other side of the pond has me R.E.M. ing in 15 minutes. I like the local AMA although the results are typical, the gixxers are winning. good. now back to sleep.

tokin

How does it put you to sleep?

nocontrol74

All that close racing, passing and manufacturer parity is boooring....

Studio819

WSBK is vastly more interesting of a series to watch then AMA SBK. Potentially more interesting even then MotoGP this year (personally I have been more interested in the 250 races then the MotoGP races so far)

Now, that said. FX, Supersport and Superstock AMA races are indeed damn fun to watch. Large grids, lots of paint swapping, and while Factory Yamaha is kicking ass this year, Barber showed that lapper traffic can indeed play a part and to that I say, "May the best man win" because while you may be the fastest person out there, there are other people out there and your ability to get around them as well as fend off the guy right on your tail is indeed part of racing and as seen an important part of it.

The "Ducati cheats" thing is ridiculous also. Bayliss has not been checking out of every race. It has not been a Ducati sweep every round. And it has been a wide mix of bikes up at the front in the various races (both at different circuits and between race one and race two). If they were "cheating" then it would be a sweep of the podium every time for Ducati. Xaus, Biaggi, Fabritzio (sp?) are all excellent racers and on Ducati's this year as well as Bayliss. Not only would they sweep the podiums but SuperPole would also be a sweep of the Ducati's...no lap traffic, qualifier tyres and "cheater" bikes should be obvious.

Looking forward to seeing what DMG does to help the sport, but if Spies does indeed go to MotoGP and Mladdin retires or goes to race elsewhere due to his boredom, AMA SBK could get interesting again. Until then, AMA SBK is a good time for me to download photos to my laptop to get ready for the next race.

GixxerPete

As I understand it, the rules for Ducati this year are a moving target. As in, if they do dominate, they may get weight penalties etc. This puts Ducati in a unique position to sandbag when they can to prevent any "adjustments" to the rules, while leaving them a little something extra if they need it. If they flat out dominated, there would surely be "adjustments". But if they merely win most of the time , and Bayliss backs off a tad if he's gapping the entire field, it wouldn't appear to be "dominating", and probably not warrant any adjustments. This is a strategy only Ducati can employ, the other inline teams have their rules fixed for the season. Just some food for thought.

Fixed it for ya.

Studio819

So Ducati gave team orders to both their factory and satellite teams to stagger the overall standings

Bayliss in first
Xaus in fifth
Biaggi in eighth

With Biaggi's ego alone I don't think that is possible. Remember this is the same guy that trashed factory Honda while racing for Repsol in MotoGP. And watching the last race, look at Xaus and his passes and racing style...no way he is sandbagging. Does Ducati have a hot box in the pits to fine tune the bikes as they pass the pit boards so the rider races just as hard but the bikes are dialed down to a "do not dominate" setting? No.

jwfzr

Maybe you have not been around long enough to remember Brandon but this is exactly what Ducati did in AMA in the early ninties. An onboard video was released and the evidence was out.

GixxerPete

Do the riders necessarly have to be in on it? Do you think Josh Hayes was down there helping his mechanics polish his crank? Or even knew it happened?

PeteN95

It's not the riders, the ECUs are being controlled by the silent, black helicopters hovering nearby!

jwfzr

Yes there was no shooter on the grassy knoll,we don't have alien aircraft. It's easy to write this theory off as crackpot but Ducati has done it before.

wheezl

All of SBK is boring as shit.. I mean with those Japanese cheater bikes that get an extra 2 cylinders.. it's just a joke.

watskooo

I doubt there's a Ducati conspiracy, especially this early after switching to a completely new model. Ducati isn't really that dominant either...Bayliss is dominating while everyone else still thinks it's pre-season testing.

Bayliss has 178 points after 4 rounds, having finished every race with 2 Fastest Laps and 2 SuperPoles. He has a 70 point lead b/c his competitors can't keep the rubber side down. Let's look at everyone else's results:

C Checa: Crashed out of 2nd, ended 5th, moving Bayliss from 4th to 2nd at Valencia and 1 Fastest Lap
T Corser (Yamaha): 1 DNF and 1 Superpole
F Nieto (Honda): 1 DNF and 1 Fastest Lap
R Xaus (Ducati): 1 DNF and 1 other crash
N Haga (Yamah): 2 DNF and 2 other crashes and 2 Fastest Laps
M Neukirchner (Suzuki): 2 DNF and 1 Fastest Lap and 1 Superpole
M Biaggi (Ducati): 2 DNF and 1 other crash and 2 crappy results due to injury and 1 Fastest Lap
Y Kagayama (Suzuki): 4 DNF
M Fabrizio (Ducati): 3 DNF

The other Ducati riders don't seem to be able to keep from crashing, and if the Bayliss is the only one who isn't going to end up with a whole handful of DNFs, he's going to win easily. Lots of other riders are fast, and even if everyone else isn't crashing every other weekend, he's still going to be winning, but I think it'd be a little closer. Also, it's not like Bayliss winning races is unusual, there's no reason to think that this season is rigged though.