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/1172754
VOLUME 56 ISSUE 39 OCTOBER 1, 2019 P127 anymore! So there are a ton of great racers who never have a real chance at winning, such as Tim Gajser (Slovenia) and Pauls Jonass (Latvia). Second, those great rac- ers like Gajser, Jonass, Cai- roli (when healthy), etc., always make it a point to try and beat Team USA at the events be- cause they're fundamentally racing for "the GPs." That's basi- cally what the event has become ever since Team USA started winning in 1981: GP vs. AMA. That's how most of the racers see it, especially if they aren't on a team with a realistic shot at winning. But even when they are on such a team, like Team Belgium in the Stefan Everts years, it would always get as- sistance from Cairoli or other GP regulars. Third, the three-moto format was developed when there were three racing classes (125cc, 250cc and 500cc), and now there are only two—250cc and 450cc. Today, they have to make up an additional class that's basically a 450cc class anyway, but they call it the "Open" class. So, here is what I think: Have the event (or a "Trophee des Regions" event) embrace its tribal nature. First, the race would be divided into three regions: The United States, Europe and the rest of the world. The USA would field racers from here, and Europe would get to combine everybody to one team so that wins by people like Cairoli, Gajser, Jonass, etc., would be much more relevant for their team's chances. And then "The Rest of the World" would get all the best racers from Canada, anywhere else in the Americas, Australia, New Zea- land, Japan, South Africa, etc. And instead of three racers per class, per country (including a made-up class that only exists at the Motocross des Nations), each region would field upwards of 10 racers per class in the 250cc and 450cc classes only. We could combine a gate of both bike sizes like they used to back in the day, where the big bikes were on the front gate, and smaller bikes behind them (to avoid a 60-racer-wide gate), or they could run their own motos altogether. I favor that latter, as the point should be to determine who has the best racers in each class and overall. And then we could still throw out the worst one or two scores for each re- gion to even things out a bit. What's funny to me now, 15 years or so after I thought about a formula like this, it as an idea to help the GP guys have a bet- ter chance of defeating Team USA, but after eight straight losses, I also think this would help Team USA be more com- petitive against the GP guys! And we might need that now. Using this past weekend's event in Assen as an example. Justin Cooper crashing into Jason Anderson ruined Team USA's chances right off the bat. We were finished just like that. (This sort of thing happening to other teams has benefitted Team USA many times in the past as well, though, so this isn't a one-way street.) First off, those two would've been in different classes, but even if they weren't, there would've been several other racers on the track for Team USA in that moto. And I think there'd be a very good bal- ance dividing up the teams this way, as there are more or less always 10 solid racers from each of these regions to race each of the two classes. I also think it would bring more and better racers to the event if the top rac- ers from each of these regions believed they had a real shot at winning the overall. However, the main issue with implementing this idea is travel: We have to get everybody to participate, and that means sending (for the USA, if the race is held outside the U.S.) 10 rac- ers, bikes, mechanics, etc., to the race, instead of just three. That's expensive. But that money exists, we just need a promoter with the will to put it together and get spon- sors to cover the travel (and pay purse money)! CN