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/126801
Tiding ihem. There are people out
there that Daytona is ignoring because
of that rule.
"1£ they had Daytona without Formula One then I would be happy. To
run full-blown racers with streetbikes
is not my idea of professional motorcycle racing.
"I think they can build a streetbike
class and I think it's good to ride
them at Daytona," he says. "I just
don;t think that it's good to step on
Formula One. Everyone in America
knows Formula One and I don't
think it's good to step on it to build
Superhikes.
"I favor Formula One simply because the highest level of raciT!g motorcycles is the 500cc World Championship equipment," Roberts said.
"If I'm going to promote any kind of
motorcycle or be associated with any
kind of motorcycle, then I want to be
associated with the top level and that
means Formula One.
"I don't mind the Superbikes. I
think it's a good class but I just don't
think we should devote all OUT efforts
to build streetbikes. Worldwide,'
Superbikes are not the answer. There
have been countries like New Zealand,
South Africa and Australia that went
to streetbikes because they were
cheaper, but their racing has gone
downhill. I don't think that's the way
i want to see motorcycle racing go..
Formula One is very expensive to
run, but it is the premier class in the
world. When we promote Formula
One here, at the 500cc level, then we
can also promote it, using our bikes
and riders, in Europe. With streetbikes
it will only work here."
Roberts would eventually like to
see motorcycle racing in the United
States reach the same level of professionalism as auto racing. When
speaking of motorcycle racing's
future, Roberts likes to use comparisons between the two sports.
"There are two realms of racing,"
he says. "Let's relate to cars for a
minute. You have stock car racing
and you have CART,' Indy type racing. There are people who like to go
and see some close racing that's controlled by a yellow flag, and that's
stock car racing. But you also have
people that like to go to Indian~polis
and CART races, to see a spectacle;
something they can't have and can't
drive. That's what we have in motor- .
cycles. We have a Superbike class and
some people like to go and watch
what they caD ride to, work. We also
have a different type of people that
like to go and see a spectacle of something they can't have and can't buy.
That's why we have two different
classes right now."
Superbike racing has been billed as
a cheaper alternative to Formula One,
but Roberts doesn't see this as being
true.
"The Superbike is supposed to be a
cheaperform of racing," he says. "All
the factories are going to participate,
that's what I've been hearing. Actually it costs a lot more to run a Superbike than it does to run a GP bike, so I
don't know what they are trying to
promote here. It seems to me in order
to promote Superbikes, so that everyone can ride it, the cost of experimental motors, special parts and
everything else will have to be brought
down. Let's bring that down to, a
level where the dealers can afford to
run it. Right now it's not at that level;
you have to buy special motors to be
able to run in the Superbike class."
Roberts does not deny that Formula One is an expensive class, but
he think this is pan of the mystique
that makes the class special.
"Formula One should be expensive becaus.e that is whatit is," Roberts
says. "It's a class that not everyone
should be allowed to run. Not ever,y- .
one should be allowed to buy a motorcycle and go out there and ride it. You
have to gr