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/656086
VOL. 53 ISSUE 11 MARCH 22, 2016 P111 sional racer, current or former, that has raced at Daytona that would be in favor of racing current superbikes 200 miles around the Daytona International Circuit, some are less than keen to race a sprint on said modern day superbikes. The reality is modern super- bikes have outgrown the track; they actually outgrew them more than 10 years ago when they were fire-breathing superbikes. Now it's a worry in nearly stock form, especially at higher levels of competition when guys are reaching speeds of 206 miles an hour on the banking. Then again, does it really need superbikes to bring cred- ibility back to the legendary race? Not really. The biggest failing of 600cc racing was the lack of top riders, like those you'd find in the premier class of a championship. The race needs the big names of the sport, domestically and abroad. So, while it doesn't mean that it has to return to the schedule of the national superbike champi- onship—MotoAmerica—it would sure help. It would force the hand of the top teams and riders in the U.S. to race it again. And that's what it would take for that to happen again—force it to be a points-paying race that affects the championship. Yet another reality, although it is America's most famous motorcycle race, there's no one raising a big fuss in the MotoAmerica paddock to go back there again. Sure, there are guys who will have a go at it independently, a go at the glory, but even that dissipated this year in the second running of the race outside the national cham- pionship. Fewer top racers and MotoAmerica teams entered the 200 this year, most notably was the absence of Josh Herrin and his Meen Yamaha squad. So if it's not a MotoAmerica race, how do you get top riders and teams to give the race its lifeblood? Not an easy answer. They say where there's a will there's a way; in this case, money really helps the "way." Racing the Daytona 200 is not cheap. It costs less in its current form, but even at a modest effort you're looking at putting two to three races worth of a budget for just one race. Towards the end of the AMA Pro Racing era, when some factories were still involved, the paddock increas- ingly grew weary of Daytona. It cost a lot of money and used up a lot of effort to prepare for one track and one race that was un- like any other on the schedule. What they (ASRA's version of the Daytona 200) have now is a $175,000 purse. But the way it's structured (first place gets $25,000, second $20,000 and third $15,000), you pretty much have to win it to make money; for everyone else, well, they are just living the dream of racing the Daytona 200. What happens to that dream when no one can remember why racing the Daytona 200 was a big deal? That's my biggest worry. At this point, it either needs to die a graceful death or find some new life. I'm in favor of the latter. You hate to see something with so much history dismantled. It'd be like demolishing an old historic building because it out- lived its purpose and was in a state of neglect. Why not try and save it or preserve its memory for posterity? Giving the old race new life is not an easy prospect, though. The only way is to draw the big names. The only way to do that is to bring in a professional championship—domestic or in- ternational—or bring big money. And I'm talking real big money, like the winner takes home all of that $175,000 purse, nevermind the rest. It's a dilemma with no easy answers. At the end of the day, though, where there's a will there's a way. Hopefully some- one finds that will (i.e. money) and/or a way (i.e. a plan) to save one of American motorsports' most famous past times—the Daytona 200—hopefully before it loses the power of its name and the people that remember the legacy that went with it. CN