Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1019648
MOTOAMERICA JUNIOR CUP P106 Feature of motorcycle weight versus combined rider/motorcycle weight and a 450-rpm-lower limit for the KTM—as guidance for the balancing issue of the machines. Until race two at this last round at Sonoma, no Yamaha had taken a win in the series, with Kawasaki's Ashton Yates and KTM's Alex Dumas taking all but one win in the nine races contested— the other went to Brazil's Renzo Ferreria on a Kawasaki at race two in Utah. For MotoAmerica, the 2018 Junior Cup has been a baptism by fire in the public domain, one even CEO Wayne Rainey admits has been far from easy. "We wanted to build a base and make it inexpensive and get the other brands in. It did not roll out that way," says Rainey. "We want it to be a low-cost, step-in class that kids can come and race and families can be a part of the championship. We can see the talent and where it goes from there. Then they can go through our structure from that James Morse is the man in charge of ensuring there is parity between the competing Yamahas, Kawasakis and KTMs. KEITH MCCARTY Racing Division Manager, Yamaha USA A rguably the brand who has been most affected by the Junior Cup is the one that dominated in Europe last year: Yamaha. The company's Racing Divi- sion Manager, Keith McCarty, has been critical of the way the series has been implemented and we sat down with him at Sonoma to get his thoughts. "I don't think [the Junior Cup] met the expectations that we had for it, simply put," McCarty begins. "Last year, the Euro- pean rules appeared to be very neutral. Any brand could win. I think where things have gone awry is all companies want to win, no question. But I think that there're a couple bikes that got brought into this category that really shouldn't have because it disrupts the parity. At that point, nobody wins. "I've said this very clearly that right now we have this big disparity between the bottom and the top. It started that way. We're six races in, and that problem still exists. It might not be as large as it was at the beginning, but it still exists. So, in my mind, this is an entry-level class which means that it's not up to the bottom portion to spend more money to raise it- self to the top, because then it's no longer an entry-level thing. It becomes a more expensive process. In my mind, the top should come down. Then you have a true beginner class. If people want to spend more money and go to those other bikes, that's entirely up to them. But the level at which they're able to race should be the same. That's still not the case. "I don't think we [Yamaha] should be responsible to keep modifying what we have to catch up to everybody else. If that's the case, then just change the rules to being open, and then we'll decide if we want to be here or not. If they [MotoAmerica] just keep allowing bikes that don't belong in there, then that's where the issues come. KTM had a perfect bike legal for this class, as did Kawasaki (RC390 and Ninja 300). They both chose to make new ones to dominate the class. You couldn't buy the KTM until the third race of our season. It's pretty unfair to that 70 percent of the class, which happens to be Yamahas."