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Austin my friend (and I know I'm gonna get a bit in trouble with Krops (though I know both you boys being good Christians will forgive me), we may just have to agree to disagree on this one, but, allow me to make a case (btw
BJC made a similar case on another thread, but I didn’t respond to him because frankly I think hes an ....., not to mention a MigsAnal rehash of anti-American sentiment); nonetheless,
I’m not buying there is NO favoritism in MotoGP-Dorna for Spanish riders (sorry for the double negative dude, must drive you crazy, hehe). I am not buying Spanish racers are the best skilled and or talented in the world. What exactly would lead us to believe this in the first place? Somehow I’m not convinced the CEV is the greatest league on the planet turning out great riders simply because they keep appearing in MotoGP. I would submit to you this IS by design. All the Spanish riders keep landing on the best teams and equipment (conspicuously with Reposl banners),
then we are going to point out they have the best records? The lessons of ‘parity’ in GP should be plenty clear from the last two years ).
DORNA runs the CEV! (I would repeat this 10x).
http://www.dorna.com/dorna_thecompany.html (And for others reading this, let me explain, the
Spanish National racing series, that is, the Spanish counterparts to the UK’s BSB (that everybody has seen & heard of) or US’s AMA (that everybody has heard of and some seen), or Europe’s (let’s face it) WSBK/WSS (that everybody has heard of & seen), well… the CEV (known specifically as “CEV Repsol”, yup that’s right, its even their URL address cevrepsol.com) is
RUN BY DORNA! Just out of curiosity, when was the last time anybody reading this saw a CEV Repsol race?
That their subsidiary riders then appear in the next steps of the parent Company/League, run by the same people, should NOT lead one to conclude that these riders are the best by virtue of their participation in GP (especially given the nature of their participation is almost always on the best equipment). Friend, allow me to quote Dovi, ‘GP is not a meritocracy.’
As I see it, the sport has been
HIGHJACKED! Nothing less. The CEV rightly would be ranked behind BSB, WSBK/WSS, and marginally lateral to the AMA (that’s only given the reality of the poor state our national series is in at the moment). YET, the overwhelming preponderance of riders “promoted” into the lower categories of MotoGP are from the Spanish ranks and NOT BSB, WSBK/WSS. When we do get somebody from these other series its big news. Meanwhile the numbers are made up by Spanish riders, a conveyor-belt steadily filling the top ranks of GP. How then we can conclude that there is
no Spanish favoritism and rather they are promoted solely on merit, where riders who have ridden in other highly competitive series rarely make the cut,
is unlikely at best! Frankly, I am reminded of an editorial I read many years ago by
Jim Lampley (yes the boxing announcer) a piece titled
“The Biggest Story of our Lives.” In it he describes the highly unlikely probabilities that lead one to the unmistakable conclusion of rigging. (Regardless of anybody’s politics,
when the outliers are so prevalent, the dots connect themselves.) Again, it looks like we certainly disagree mi gran amigo. And believe you me, your opinion in my eyes is right up there with
The Oracle of GP, as I could honestly sit around and pay for the privilege of hearing you two talk GP for the sheer tickle; however, I believe there is no less rigging of the sport in favor of Spanish first participants. (This is the abbreviated version).
But allow me to say a little bit more, in contrast to the CEV. There are a few riders in the lower categories currently racing that have participated in the
Red Bull rookies cup (just off top of my head,
non-Spanish riders who have moved on: Danny Kent, Arthur Sissis, I think there is another name Stradford, not sure if Bradley is one, and I’m sure there are a few more) yet to date,
none are American (despite them wining championships, in both the America’s cup and the Euro cup)!
Ask yourself, where might these cup winners be today
had they been Spanish? Look what a similar contest did for Pedrosa. You look at the ranks of Moto3 and Moto2, we are talking about a cluster of Spanish prospects moving right along. The UK started something similar, the
ACU (Academy Cup), most notable graduate I suppose is
Cal Crutchlow. My Brit friends will have to forgive me, but personally I don’t rate Cal as thee UK’s brightest talent, above average yes, UK’s best…debatable. Nonetheless, he was promoted into the series, and I would note, rather atypical (as usually riders from superbike classes have to at least win a title in the premier class of a given series). I must honestly defer rating Cal, as I didn't follow him closely. All I remember is he won a WSS with Buckmaster's outfit. And frankly, somebody must have seen something special, as I am reminded of those who scouted John Hopkins. In a similar vein I suppose, lower category title winners who were promoted to the Big Time. After two years, look at Cal now,
riding near the front, (tis what happens when you vie somebody a chance, of which the Spanish due in spades)... given a
top tier machine of course (we can never escape parity, and I’ll add, its always a litmus test on separating the wiki bandits from those who follow the nuance of racing). Moving along, the UK has a cluster of excellent talent, just to name a few (and I will admit here, I might be talking a bit beyond my depth) but:
S. Lowes (which will have to prove himself in the big boy class),
S. Byrne (yeah old but dude still has it)
E. Laverty, T. Sykes, L. Camier, C. Davies, and my sentimental fav
L. Haslam. I’ll even throw in
Josh Brooks (though hes an Aussie). I won’t bore you with a few American names who I think might make the cut. However, I find it hard to believe that these racers, who also like the Spanish, start off racing as young kids, have not the skills to make it onto the world stage of GP and hold their own with the Spanish contigent (regardless that their craft is mainly on superbikes as oppose to 125s/250s or their 4 stroke equivalent).
If this list of riders were Spanish, they’d all be in GP by now!
You know, I could go on and on. As I was typing this I remembered and article I read in
American Motorcyclist dated something like 1983-84ish. It had a piece in it about
why Americans dominated the world stage at the time. No, it wasn’t because GP was an American company, sponsored by American oil companies, it had a very different take. And one that I think speaks to today’s situation with quiet relevance. If I can find it, I’ll pull it up. I think you will find it interesting.
(or is that Devon? Maybe you lot have a different set of peccadillos...)
