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/1485886
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 48 NOVEMBER 29, 2022 P69 Right now, in Light- weight, we have a lot of Ninja 400s. That's fine. I think it's pretty similar in MotoAmerica. You don't want to discourage people from purchasing the bike that's the easiest way to just do it with the least amount of grief. Most people who have been racing for a while understand that tuning is never the delight you think it's going to be, right? There's a lot more to it, and even people who are good at it have problems and challenges. The joke in the old days when there were a lot more brand-new bikes because riders were sponsored, was unless you absolutely need to ride a brand-new bike, the last thing in the world you ever want is a brand-new model because it's just so much more costly. Has the racing been honest enough between the competitors? Well, you're talking to an organizer! When I worked at the AMA, there was one team that really liked the expression, "rules by fools." I used to remind them I'm the fool. If you're one who takes that personally, it's the fool. Right? I believe broadly that people adhere to the rules. I also know it's never as easy as the people who have never built stuff think it is. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of suspicious things, and we have to follow all of those suspicions. Sometimes, we use a radar gun, see who's doing what. But the flip side is, we don't have that many fast tracks. Two weekends ago in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Suzuki's Trevor Daley's bike was detuned to 159 hp. In Shubenacadie, the most we've ever seen is eight percent full throttle. It's almost nothing. These are some of the things that comes up in terms of possible restric- tions, especially with electronics. Some of the homologated parts, particu- larly from BMW, who have been the most aggressive in terms of providing equip- ment, have been very good in providing reasonably- priced choices to tune the bike. And of course, we can plug the Dyno Jet in and read all of that. So, on a Thursday, we can help you tune your bike, and then on a Saturday we would see if you're reading the rules. How has the support from manufacturers been in the last couple years? You mentioned BMW. It's on the rise. In terms of our series, the easi- est way I could describe BMW is in a little over a decade, what Suzuki was doing, racing everywhere, BMW has taken over. They became our new GSX- R. BMW were the ones helping the dealers. They were the ones pushing new bikes onto the track, which, for a long time, wasn't happening. I think, in the early days, BMW were doing dealer programs for 10-15 bikes. They put a lot of bikes on the grid. And the most important thing that a lot of people don't think of is what's really important about direct manufacturer support, like the glory days when there were so many satellite teams, is those bikes that were built by people who know what they're doing and really well-maintained trickle down. And so a guy who could never buy all that nice suspension and everything, suddenly he has a bike that's pretty new and is built by somebody who knows what they're doing. That really helps the series. Like the ninth, 10th and 11th-place guys. And when Brett (McCormick) was in Europe in WorldSBK, half the grid were Ducatis. From a series point of view, if it's really competitive, that (Right) Fraser can be seen behind the lens at any given opportunity during race weekends. (Far right) Scottish-Canadian CSBK Champion Ben Young has become part of the new, young face of the series.