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/128316
vateer who 'd had his bike for on ly a few weeks. '" t hink one of t he most ingenious things I've hear d is running this race at night, but ob viously one of th e biggest things is the lighting on t he infield," he said. Maybe the Supercross was just the beginning. "But if they cou ld sho rte n it into two legs and make t he pit window more like on a IS-Iap thing say it' s two 30 lap races - I thin k that would help so lve some of the probl e m." He 's also a fan of mandatory pit sto ps, since "then It' s not up to the team to push the en velope and risk som ething happening. That, along w ith shorte ning "You've got to have big bikes because big bikes are fun, and big bikes bring the best riders out," he said. On the first day of practice, Mladin was half throttle through the banking, prompting o thers to specu late on his decline. Not so. "I was half t hrottle around the banking because trust in something for me takes time," Mladln said. "I'm not willing to go out there and on the first lap run 190 mph. When I see the tires look like they 're going to be okay, then I'll start trusting the tires again." Mladin believes that if Dunlop could produce "tires with as much grip as a qualifying tire and it would last 20 laps, then the speed thing is not that big an issue. Because going around the banking wide open at 185 mph is easy on a qualifying tire, but they can't." Returning to Daytona is inevitable, he believes , regard less of the crowd size . What he sees as a bigger Issue are the rules . "You've got two classes out there doing the same lap times," he says of Superbike and Superstock. The same can be said for Supers port and Formu la Xtreme. "Ou r bikes are essentially exactly the same except for the suspension. They're running the same tires, just a 17 Instead of a 16.5. It's exactly the same except for the suspension and brakes. So the lap t imes are the same; of course they are . Because the suspension with these kits that they put in there are bloody excellent. Personally, I thin k tha t's ridiculous. They need to get rid of one of those 1000 classes and put It in one. Even if we race Supe rstock bikes, they're still going to be 190 horsepower." Surprisingly, Mladin is in favor of making Daytona a spec hors epower and we ight class , similar to Formula USA. DiSalvo would like to see the bikes 44 MARCH 24, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS but also much more fun to ride, too. Tell you what, that Superstock class was almost a bother to get around here and try to mix it up with that whole pack of guys at that speeds knowing what one false move could be . It's like if the lead guy had fallen and we'd all gotten tangled up, that's the front running group for the Superstock class ou t for God know s how long." Others , Eric Bostrom included , didn't believe there was an equitable equation for restrictors on the various engine configurations. Other riders offered more novel solutions . Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster thinks the races need to be shorter. The Daytona race is 100 kilometers, rather than the 60 kilometers at most tracks . "Why?" Buckmaster asked . "Except for sticking a few mo re laps in there, the outcome is the same. It's great raeIng all the way to the end . "I mean , the Superbike race , you 've got to admit, it ends up being a little boring. You throw them pit stops in there, all the fans are confused. No one knows what's go ing on . Maybe one pit stop. I really don't see the need in seeing 200 miles." Buckmaster discounts the notion of a t rack change . "I don't think you'll get Dayton a to budge on that situation, so tha t's out of the question. And the AMA certainly isn't going to push for it.;' Like Mlad in, he believes the problem starts With the rules. "The AMA has given the manufacturer s too many options," he said. "If they want to make bette r racing, make sur e eve rybody's in one two or t hree races. Job done. Good racing all day for the fans." Prieto Racing's Michae l Barnes has the unique pe rspect ive of having been to Daytona 33 times on an entire spectrum of equipment. The Florida journeyman hustled his Pirelli-shod R6 to a close sixt h in the Super sport race, a significant achievement for a pri- 40th Anniversary the distance and making a particular time w hen you have to pit, that's one of the better solut ions I've hea rd ." Yoshimura Suzuki's Yates isn't sure wh at to do , but he wants it done now "be fore it's too late . Make some kind of arrangement to where t he Superb ike class isn't 190 mph motorcycles. I know for the fans, they th ink it's cool seei ng the bikes going so fast, but I've seen a lot of fans te ll me they enjoy watching racing, and they don't want to see thi ngs happen and seeing people get hurt because of the speeds and stuff. They enjoy racing, and t hey don 't want to lose any competitors. The re 's hardly any com petitors out there now. It just seems like we 're all walking on a tightrope out t he re . I'll be glad whe n it's all over with and I can go home." Yates made the comments before his altercation with Anthon y Fania Jr. late in the Superbike race. Because of his horrific crash, Spies has an unfortu nate ly unique perspective on t he racetrack. There is the visible pot ato -sized scar on his left elbow, mo re gr ievous damage to his left buttock and shoulder, and the mental scar that will be long in healing. "If we're going to kee p coming back here , t hey've got to do someth ing to slow the bikes do wn, some thing," Spies pleads. "I do n't know what they'r e going to do . I've heard some differ ent crazy ideas , but I don't know what they cou ld do , but they've got to do some t hing. The way it is now, I don't want to race he re . The bikes are too fast , and you 're racing too close. That's the point. Especially with the wall right ther e. It's not like yo u'r e on a st raightaway and then back t he re. You fall, and bad stuff's going to happen . All the failures t hat have been go ing on , it' s not very good , and I fee l they definitely have to change something. I think, yeah, it's a problem , for sure . They need to take action on som et hing." The rider s have spoken. O nly t ime will te ll if anyone listens. eN