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
CN III VOICES L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R "Nothing against Michael Barnes or Authur Kowitz, but the race is not the same." Daytona 200 Daytona has lost its luster. Middleweight machines instead of superbikes, and they don't have the most talented guys rac- ing anymore. It's a second-class event and that is too bad. Kirk Ochwat Call it a vintage race! Nothing against Michael Barnes or Authur Kowitz, but the race is not the same. American road race talent has a bigger hurdle! This is was what Daytona Bike Week started out as. Chris Grzanowski MotoAmerica Superstock 600/ Superstock Combo Just to clarify, there are way too many classes in (not only) road racing for the fans to have a clue who is racing on what. Either put the best of the best together on the track or forget it, go home and call it amateur. And give them a name that properly identi- fies to anyone what is going on. It's okay to have a slower class if it is age or cc development related and clearly stated as such, and I don't mean a sand- bagger class. Other than that please don't put me to sleep with a never-ending array of classes that mean nothing other than the fastest left or right handed, born on an odd or even day, blonde or brunette, zip code class. If a promoter is intending to make entry fees their primary income by letting everyone in then don't call it professional. 600cc, under 21, and pro (on any size bike) is plenty for a TV show. Elimina- tion heats to pare the field with a less spread out start and shorter races would eliminate the bore- dom as well. John Depperschmidt Combining classes to fill a grid is a sure way to confuse new enthusiasts and us long-term ones. Seeing the debauchery of DMG soured so many on both the AMA and the France organization. Wayne Rainey, Chuck Aksland and the team that was put together really did save motorcycle road racing in the U.S. from a certain death. How can you have any faith/trust in an organization that tells Gill Campbell in 2013 "we see no value in motorcycle racing?" While not ideal in only their second year of operations, the overall outlook is still good. This year, beIN Sports has gotten the rights, exclusively, by the way, to the U.S. broadcast market for MotoGP. If beIN has been able to do the same with MotoAmerica, we won't be seeing it on CBS Sports. Fox Sports is on every cable/satellite service, even in the lowest tier lineups, same with CBS Sports. Many cable companies don't even offer beIN, and both satellite providers only have it in their highest-cost line up (Dish), or in a "sport channel package" (DirecTV) that costs $15/month for 98% ball-sport channels. Combining classes only makes it more difficult for TV and keeping track of who is where and what lap they're on. Look at MotoAmer- ica coverage last season, it was a ridiculous Youtube produc- tion/highlights show with no lap counter or running order listing, and many of the laps were cut out entirely. Greenlight.tv had no clue, or never actually watched how it should be done, like dur- ing the Chet Burks production years on Speed and the previous broadcasts when AMA Pro was still on TV/CBS Sports in 2013. I hope it improves, and I am positive that Wayne and the team at KRAVE are doing what they can to make it better for folks who want to watch on TV. I mean, look at who they hired to be the head of communications! John A. Stockman Hey, good Cycle News cover- age on Toronto Supercross. You know, we CN faithful sometimes take our weekly news for granted. I can't wait for Monday evenings to see the latest issue. This week's Vol. 53 issue I really took extra time and noticed the quality of your photos and coverage. You've got great people working for CN. No other cycle rag covers the world of motorcycles like you folks. Top-shelf indeed. I like all sorts of racing too—flat track, SX/MX, road racing and Snocross (wish you covered that, too). And I like being able to send Voices my two cents. Keep up the great work! James "Bonecrusher" Smith Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor P6