Lights Out At Daytona
LIGHTS OUT AT DAYTONA
RACE WATCH
AMA Pro Racing under the microscope at the World Center of Speed
KEVIN CAMERON
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN PROFESSIONAL American roadracing? What hasn't changed?
One year ago,AMA Pro Racing was bought by Daytona Motorsports Group, associated with NASCAR. Early publication of new and more "democratic" competition rules was promised, but the actual outcome was a prolonged arm-wrestling match between DMG and U.S. motorcycle importers-or more specifically, between DMG's Roger Edmondson and Ray Blank of American Honda and Mel harris of American Suzuki. Finally, rules were in place, lists of approved equipment were emerging, and the factories that had withdrawn from the sport had returned. The sea son-opening races at Daytona were our first opportunity to see the new regime in action.
\%alking through the garage area at Daytona, I found two basic opinions of DMG World. Many race-goers seemed to yearn to believe, or even to be sure, that NASCAR can't fail and that the change will bring the Millen nium. W~rking racers were matter-of fact, with a `this is what we have to work with" attitude. They are watching and waiting.
The Daytona program used to stretch from W'èdnesday through Sunday. Now, with the exception of a practice or two on Wednesday, it all happens in two days: Thursday (SuperSport and American Superbike) and Friday (~1oto-CT two-hour endurance and Daytona Sport Bike, the latter billed as the 200 and run under the same lights used for the I)aytona 24 Hour sports-car race).
SuperSport is like the old AMA Novice class brought back to life. Unlike 600 Supersport (and more recently, just Supersport), it is limited to younger riders, providing a na tional showcase for up-and-corners. Earlier Supersport was factory-dominated because sales of 600cc sporthikes were tightl~ linked to it. Sixteen-year-old Tyler Odom was the winner over Joey Pascarella and Russ Wickle in last-laps action.
Odom was impressive for his tactical decision-making and racecraft. He said that a few laps from the end, "Those guys were out of tires. They were way down on the tires' shoulders, spinning and sliding off the turns. I was lifting the bike up onto the meat of the tire (before gassing it) and had rubber left. I know you're never supposed to lead out of the chi cane on the last lap, but I saw I could pass both of them and then pull enough gap to win in the clear." And he did it-by 0.3 of a second.
A stated goal of DMG's rules-mak ing process was to put more machines and riders together on the last lap. It's an oft-repeated rule in racing that, "You can make your own machine faster but you can't make the others slower." The possible exception is when you control the rules. Suzuki ruled AMA Superbike for years, mainly because it had two of the best riders and the only real race team. American Honda, told by Japan that it must stand on its own, ran homebuilt bikes. Kawasaki outsourced racing to contractors. Yamaha blew hot and cold-hot at Daytona, cold thereafter. This was a recipe for predictable domi nation that was no more Suzuki's fault a~~was the ppearanc~ of riders able to challenge Mick Doohan's five successive 500cc Grand Prix titles in the mid-to-late 1990s.
New American Superbike rules require stock cylinder heads, cases, cranks, connecting rods and pistons, with electronics, combustion-chamber shaping and head porting left open for development. The spec tire is Dunlop and the spec fuel is Sunoco. Stock forks must be used, but internals may be modified. Brakes are open. All alter native equipment must come from the eligible equipment list, publication of which took a long time, leading to last minute confusion as to just what would and would not be legal. Making items eligible required office procedure and payment-part of the "revenue streams" that interested parties discussed last fall at the inaugural Indianapolis GP.
The above restrictions are sensible because modern sportbikes have become so good that they are less improved now than formerly by such things as $65,000 forks. Would solid gold balls improve bowling? Limiting tires to 17 x 3.5 inches front and 17 x 6.0 inches rear means all roll on the same stuff-no trick 16.0 or 16.5 inchers imported from foreign war zones.
Kawasaki, noting DMG's emphasis on~6OOs, quit Superbike.
Mladin had set American Superbike pole but pulled a muscle in his back during Wednesday practice. In the 15lap race, he led briefly but was then passed by Larry Pegram on a veritable rocket of a Ducati 1098R, which had been timed at 199.9 mph. Miadin seem ingly gathered himself for a time, dur ing which Neil Hodgson (Honda's "fac tory" rider, on a "factory" bike, running under the Corona banner) led two laps. Then Miadin moved up to take the lead and win by a second. Hodgson was "the best of the rest" as so often in the recent past, narrowly prevailing over Miadin's teammate, Tommy Hayden, in a photo finish, followed by Pegram in fourth and newly elevated Yoshimura Suzuki teamster Blake Young in fifth.
Irue believers hailed this finish as proof that the New World Order has already achieved the hoped-for closer racing. Yet it was clear that had the Ducati-a most impressive machinebeen ridden by any of the other front runners, that rider would have cleared off to win big. I intend no disrespect to Pegram, who held his own while he could against very strong riders. His overall ambition is the creation of a solid Ducati-based team.
Why no Yamahas up front, in the first year of the Ri `s new 90-degree crank shaft? Riders proclaimed the bikes promising (Ben Spies has already won in World Superbike), but there were handling issues. These sounded like the "pumping" that Eric Bostrom encoun tered in 1999, an oscillation that began any time he tried to sit down during the 200. The three Suzukis in the top five were all 2008 models, with the late-ar riving stacked-gearbox `09s expected at the third or fourth race.
We talked with Kevin Erion, owner of a Honda team that has won many championships. Like so many team personnel we met, he presented a "wait and see" attitude because, as he told us, "This is a business, and I operate it as such." He pointed to the several spon sor logos on his shirt, saying, "This one and this one, I pay. Before, they paid me." He was referring to spec tires for which every team now pays $480 per set and spec fuel. Nothing is simple.
Erion went on to give us a glimpse of how rides may in the future come about. A racer's dad asks a team owner what a program for his son would cost. How much can it cost to prep one more bike, roll it into the big truck and add one or two competent people to look after it?
"I couldn't afford to do it for less than, say, 10 percent of my budget," he said, "so that's two hundred grand."
Why don't father and son keep do ing it themselves, in the time-honored "man in a van with a plan" style? Be cause the competent people are rarer and their skills are more specialized now. Also because the dad thinks they can't afford any mistakes. It has to be professional all the way.
Ihe tüture doesn't favor the man in a van. Edmondson repeated in an inter view conducted high above the Speed way that, "I'd like to see in five years 15 to 20 teams at each event that are sponsored by Fortune 500 companies in such a way that the guys won't run for prize money." This implies a new and very businesslike way of connecting riders with funding-a way based upon the operation of Edmondson's other se ries, Grand-Am Sports Cars.
Erion continued, "This all depends on being able to find enough rich old guys to make it happen. If they do, fine. If they don't... I think people will give it a couple of years and then consider their options."
Upon reading the tech rules, I can understand the confusion among the teams. American Superbike was to run stock pistons. Then one approved al ternate. Then back to stock-with stock rings. Con-rods must be stock. Can we shotpeen stock rods to improve their fatigue strength? (Many stock rods are so treated). Can we substitute higherreliability rod bolts? Probably not, for the regs begin, "Everything that is not authorized and prescribed in these regulations is strictly forbidden." Ah, but that means we can continue experi ments with low-drag oil-scraper rings; just run rings that are worn out ahead of time. No one wants to be DQ'd because "your crankshaft looks funny."
We know that in the past, Superbike and Formula Xtreme were two-tiered events. In the first group were factory and big-team entries, while the second (and much larger) group was mostly Superstockor Supersport-level bikes. Why? Because no privateer could af ford to build a special bike for these classes when his bread-and-butter was earned from manufacturer contingency in regional Supersport races. Does that change now? Edmondson, referring to Miadin, said, "If he wins today.. .he's riding a motorcycle that cost about 20 percent of what it did last year." Even if last year's bike cost the same as a Super sport rent-a-ride, 20 percent is $40,000an amount few privateers can spare.
What is the factory view? Asked about costs, Yamaha's Tom Halverson replied, "A Superbike is costing us about 50 per cent of last year." Throughout this year of discussion, the factories have said equipment cost is not their major con cern. All the Yamaha men were seen to file into First Class for the flight home to California. Figure it all out-if you can.
For this year's under-the-lights 200, a rolling start took place at 8 p.m. Big surprise of the first 10 laps was the speed of the Bruce Rossmeyer-entered Buell 1 125R, ridden by Danny Eslick, which traded the lead with the factory Graves Yamaha YZF-R6s of Josh Hayes and Ben Bostrom. It was big-Twin ac celeration versus high-rpm horsepow er-until a large "air brake" swung into action from the right side of the Buell. The team, impressed by the machine's 400-pound weight, had deleted the ra diator mounts and attached the cooler to the fairing, which had broken. In the meantime, the top eight machines had gapped the rest of the field by 20 seconds, with M4 Suzuki riders Martin Cardenas and Jason DiSalvo joining the front group. Lapping of slower riders began on lap seven.
Action continued in close Supersport like fashion until lap 36, when the lights went out in the chicane (these bikes have taillights but no headlights) and the "safety" car appeared. Two laps later, a catching-up rider collided with Graves Yamaha rider Tommy Aquino, whose aftei~~to get up fascinated the ai~~That brought a long red and single-file reconstruction of the race order on pit lane. That was finished at 9:54 p.m. Eleven minutes later, they rolled back onto the track.
Now for another perspective: One top rider still standing when this year's mu sical chairs ended was Steve Rapp, who in desperation took a ride on an Aprilia whose team had no sprockets. Thank you, have a nice life. Next try was Four Feathers Racing, which rolled a Yamaha under him. Sorry, we don't have the quick-change stuff. You'll have to make one set of tires last (three sets are normal in the 200). Off he went. He would finish 12th (he had been listed as high as sixth earlier), right up against the back of fac tory and big-team entries, and with his worn-through tire throwing long pieces of belt cord. He said that in the closing laps his back tire had tried to pass him both going into and coming out of the corners. Riders really want to ride.
Lap 40: another cras~h, another ambu lance and, again, the safety car. Hayes is the first bike behind the car but Bostrom is listed number one. Where is
he? On pit lane. The safety car droned around a while, and then an excited arm came out, waving the field ahead, one by one. Who, me? Yes, you! And you! Once all the bikes had come past, the car slowed to "collect" first Bostrom (who had reached the tail end) and then the rest of the field. At 10:30, racing be gan at lap 49, leaving a six-lap sprint to the finish. Are you getting all this? Not confused or anything?
A last drama was a highside exit by leader-of-many-laps Hayes (probably the result of a fresh, not-fully heated tire). Hard luck again. Hayes won this race last year only to be DQ'd on suspi cion of an illegal crankshaft. At the end, it was Bostrom and Josh Herrin, both on Graves Yamahas (although the fac tory crew was in the pits, including four personnel on computers-real big-tent pageantry), then DiSalvo, Jamie Hack ing on an Attack Kawasaki and persis tent Shawn Higbee on a Buell.
Meanwhile, people ask when will we see all the top riders in a single class, as we always did just a few short years ago? We have passed through a period in which each factory had "its" class and could proclaim "Brand A, B, C or D wins Daytona!" Now that there are just two factory classes, people wonder why Jordan Motorsports doesn't compete in the 200, and why Bostrom and Hayes will return to American Superbike ex clusively after Daytona. And where was Honda? (I know: the safety car!) Ameri can Superbike is the class that the mak ers want to win, but Daytona SportBike is the class DMG wants to succeed.
Twice in our interview, Edmondson explained that U.S. promoters cannot afford to upgrade their tracks to world safety standards, so bike performance must be scaled back to compensate. But crashes occur entering and leav ing corners, not at maximum speed. If anything, corner speeds of 600s are greater than those of l000s. How do we make sense of this? For 10 years, we raced beastly two-stroke TZ75Os on these same tracks on what today would be considered 250cc-sized tires. This makes Daytona SporiBike appear to be the creation of insurance execs. What happens next? Edmondson says the public will decide which of the two classes will receive top billing, but the public doesn't decide how they are pre sented-DMG does. At Daytona, Ameri can Superbike was billed below the two-hour Moto-GT race. Does that mean something? So long as DMG and the factories hold quite different opinions on what's important, this cannot be a Peace able Kingdom, and the strife of the past 12 months lies just below the surface.
What appears to be evolving out of this friction and change, like it or not, is a return to the age-old AMA structure of Novice, Amateur and Expert races. Novice corresponds to the present SuperSport, limited to younger riders. Amateur becomes Daytona SportBike, the limitedperformance 600cc class presently run in the 200. Expert is American Superbike, the class that the factories (and therefore their celebrity riders) most want to win. I doubt DMG sees it this way.
I went to Daytona to try to understand what's happening in racing and came away with a head full of impressions but few conclusions. Will the powerful forces in play reach a working consensus? Or will mutual irritations fuel a Cold War? Politics is much more than partisanship. It is skillful horse-trading by parties determined to get things done.
