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/1424948
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 2, 2021 P115 Very rarely in racing is some- thing as it seems. Shady deals and favoritism between team boss and one teammate over an- other can undermine trust, and when there's money involved, it can get real nasty. Many team owners out there are in it for fi- nancial gain (why would they not be?), one way or another, unless they happen to be business moguls and just enjoy racing, such as the Estensen crew in flat track. Speaking from a road racing point of view in America today, there are probably 10 riders in the entire MotoAmerica paddock who could genuinely call them- selves full-time, professional motorcycle racers. That's 10 in a population of 329.5 million in the United States. These riders, you can probably guess who they are, are paid by their team to do a job, just like I'm paid by Cycle News to write stories for you folks. The rest are not paid, so they're not technically professionals. They are certainly elite-level athletes, but if they don't make their living out of the sport, they are not professionals. Oxford Languages describes a "professional" as, "engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime." It doesn't matter what your Instagram bio says. If being a professional racer in America is close to impossible, it's even harder in Europe, where closed-door deals and relation- ships rule the roost as to who gets what and who goes where. The days of being contracted to a factory like Honda in America and the Japanese placing you in the Repsol Honda team like Nicky Hayden are long gone. That was the traditional way, just as it was for Kevin Schwantz and Suzuki. Now you have to really grind it out, like Joe Roberts has been doing, to get noticed. The Europeans at least have some respect for the American riders who go to Europe off their own bat and make a go of it, but to do so you need money. Lots of it. And to get into the big time of MotoGP is about as easy as becoming a brain surgeon. Motorcycle racing should be done because it's fun, not be- cause you want to make it a job. If it's fun, you'll go well, which then might get you a sponsor or two, which then may morph into a ride you don't have to pay for, which then morphs into a ride you get paid to take. That's the dream, but I've seen so many young families wreck themselves because junior was going to be the next world champion but couldn't win a club race. That's the cold fact about racing—the stopwatch never lies. The guys that do make it are once-in-a-generational talent. When Casey Stoner went to England, his family sold every- thing they had to make it hap- pen. If he went to Donington Park and broke his back at 13 years old, the family would be in financial ruin they'd still be mak- ing up for. It takes a certain type of person, with god-like talent, to make damn sure they succeed in racing. Casey just happened to be one such person. But hey, I'm not trying to dis- courage anyone from pursuing your dreams of becoming a pro- fessional motorcycle racer, but you need to know that you've got to be tough as nails to make it in racing. You need to be ruthless, to play your cards extremely well, and to make sure you don't get screwed over by anyone, because there are people in the game who don't have the best interests of a young rider at heart. Just like the quote in the TV show Yellowstone, "There's sharks and minnows in this world, Jimmy, and if you don't know which one you are, then you ain't a f***in' shark." And in racing, sharks always rule the roost. CN Motorcycle racing should be done because it's fun, not because you want to make it a job.