<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (povol @ Mar 21 2009, 05:23 PM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Let the firestorm begin.The Buell DOMINATED the day
1 Danny Eslick Daytona Racing/RMR Buell Buell 1125R
2 Jamie Hacking Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
3 Martin Cardenas M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600
4 Jason DiSalvo M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600
5 Jake Zemke Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR
6 Josh Herrin Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6
7 Chris Peris Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR
8 Chaz Davies Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV
9 Steve Rapp Aprilia RSV
10 Tommy Aquino Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6
11 Leandro Mercado Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
12 Michael Barnes GEICO Powersports Buell 1125R
13 Barrett Long Paradigm Racing Yamaha YZF-R6
14 Christopher Fillmore CF Racing Yamaha YZF-R6
15 Shawn Higbee Higbee-Racing.com Buell 1125R
Top finishers Eslick and Hacking were taking little jabs at each other in the post-race press conference. After the question was asked about what would it take to beat the Buell, Hacking commented that the biggest middleweight Kawasaki has is a 636, clearly making reference to the large displacement Buell.
Then Eslick jumped in and made mention of all the other Buells in the field that didn't finish up with them, effectively saying it wasn't as much the bike.
Eslick had a six second lead on the last lap and had time to do some victory wheelies along the way.
Well I said I would give you guys a sense of attitudes that I detected at the track, and by far the talk among knowledgeable fans was certainly the "Daytona" class (damn it, its happening, people are just calling it "Daytona" now. There is still lots of confusion surrounding the formula that allows a bike like Buell's 1125cc and Aprillia's 1000cc twins to compete with 600cc inline fours. Again, the displacement is not really the issue but rather the HP difference. Keep in mind, if you go to your local dealer and pick up a Japanese 600, your gonna be riding home a bike that makes about 105-108 HP, compared to a Buell at your dealer that makes about 135 HP. So you have to stretch the 600cc pretty far to get it anywhere near close to the Buell. The 20 lbs or so they handicap the Buell with is anybody's guess as to the effectiveness of parity in the formula. But below is what I found.
So I approached several riders, mechanics, and spectators, and asked this question: Can you explain the Daytona SportBike class to me? Most spectators said, 'Uhm, I don't really know.' Some said, '600s right?' Then I said, well they have a 1125 Buell & 1000cc Aprillia. 'Oh yeah, well I'm not sure why they are there.' was the response. Others said, 'its like GT right, they have several classes in one class." I said, no, its all one class, then they would say, 'Oh, well I don't get it then.' I did get a few that said, 'well its about horsepower, they all make the same.' So I said, ok, now what about torque? Most said, 'I don't know about torque.' One guy said, 'well that's the trick part'. So I pressed, what do you mean by "tricky"? 'Well they can't all be the same, so some will be more the same than others.' Ah what a great response. I did get some fairly good answers though, some actually did explain the weight to power ratios as explanation for the formula to make the bikes competitive. However, I did get some outright: 'its a ........ class.' and 'its a DMG class to fix it so a Buell has an unfair advantage.' I asked, do you mean by "fixed" are you saying they are knowingly cheating? I got back a few "yes" and some were not willing to make that leap and said, 'not cheating but the rules give the Buell an advantage that just can't be overcome.'
Among the riders I asked I got different responses, here were the 3 basic responses (by the way, almost every time I asked I was looked once over, some laughed and some smirked). Here were the two categories (I took the liberty of condensing them):
1. Hahaha, well I really don't know, it looks like they put together a class that matches up several different bikes, we'll see how it pans out.
2. Its a class that matches up different bikes but makes them equal by HP to weight ratios.
3. No Response
Disclaimer, I didn't have the balls to press the riders for much more for obvious reasons.
I asked mechanics and crew workers the same question, here I got a more technical response but again, they fell within the categories above. I must also add that many riders/crew members were reluctant to talk about it while others were more than happy to give their explanation. Some were actually openly disgusted with the class.
I did ask one mechanic from a 600cc rider AFTER the race and he said, 'This is an issue we are gonna need to have a meeting with the AMA immediately and figure out how to make the bikes more equal.' (Response above were all paraphrased, but this last one was almost an exact quote).
Take away what you will from this unscientific survey. Here is what I got out of it. 'CONFUSION'. There seems to be some confusion as to what is the definition of the class and how the formula really actually works for parity of the bikes. Sure some tried to explain the power to weight ration, ah but really had no explanation for the torque disparity.
DISCLAIMER: Danny Eslick is bar far one of the most talented young guns in the AMA. If there was a class structure for riding style, he would win every time. He is also a down to Earth, humble and hardworking young man. In no way is his riding ability in question here.
Now here is what I observed in the Daytona SportBike race itself. The winning machine (ridden by D. Eslick) was visibly more powerful down the banked straight than the chasing 600s. The lead kept growing throughout the race. The Buell had very good handling characteristics and powered out of corners with plenty of planted power. The second Buell (ridden by M. Barnes) was also visibly powerful down the straight, but much off the lead lap pace, he finished 38+ seconds from the leader).
Ok, now for the tricky part, like I said, in no way am I questioning Danny Eslick's talent. I want to be very clear about this because the kid is a breath of fresh air in what sometimes can be a hot air filled paddock. Also, lets remember, Eslick was/is on the same list of names that were/are cited as the future of the AMA championship among names like B. Young, J.DiSalvo, and J. Herrin. He was previously on what is accepted as an inferior package in years past, so we could have easily been talking about previous win at this point for the young man. So congrats to him for this outstanding win.
Ok, well lets look at a few names he beat yesterday. Jamie Hacking, previous champion in this "group" (I can't really say "class" anymore, because this class has disappeared). And he beat Jake Zemke, also a champion. Hacking and Zemke are riders that I could make a case may be a cut above Eslick, but with the disclaimer that this was in the past, Danny Eslick may have arrived and gelled with the Buell (which is to be determined). But also, consider this, the rider who were more along his talent level (on paper) were DiSalvo, Herrin, and Cardenass. All of whom came 3-7 seconds behind. Not much time you say, right, but no, the gap between 1st to 2nd was 6+ seconds before it seems that Eslick nursed it to the finish line where the gap was reduced significantly. So my thoughts are, here is a kid that before was racing with the likes of the young guns (the trio above) but today he beats them like nobody's business. The two series champs of Hacking and Zemke are relegated to fight for the spoils. I should also mention that M. Barnes, his teammate, has not been a rider that has challenged for wins previously, and his finish yesterday was in keeping with his standard finishing order. So, can I extrapolated something here? Again, I don't know, Eslick may had a great day or perhaps the other boys just had a bad day, but I can tell you there was one glaring difference to compare with the past: the Buell he was riding.
Make of it what you will.
Check out this poll:
HERE.
BTW, I PERSONALLY DID NOT VOTE BECAUSE THE POLL WAS CLEARLY LEADING and BIAS. I mean just look at your options. I'm not gonna trade one mockery for another. Very unprofessional poll.
If a news site wants to give an opinion, then make an editorial, not some ........ poll that give you no choice but to steer you in the direction they want to to vote.
However, the poll should give us a vide on what the insiders are talking about regarding this topic.
(I have more stuff, but its now 8am here. I got up early to give you guys a little observation from yesterday before I forget. Oh, BTW, it has been raining here. As I look out the window, it’s a patch sky and some clearing, but it may continue to rain. Imagine that, it rains like 15 day a year here, maybe less, and it just happen to come down on Sunday's race weekend morning. Perhaps God is voicing his disapproval of DMG?)
