This is to bad

This kid was coming the last half of last season and running at the front. Now he cant even get a ride. The European virus of riding for free has apparently jumped the pond.



This just in from racer Clinton Seller:



Clinton Seller's Headed Home



In 2010 the South African Clinton Seller had his debut season on the Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha in the Daytona Sportbike class.



From the time Seller started racing at the age of 3 his dream was to race at the AMA. In 2010 his dream became a reality. Seller sold everything he owned and moved to the United States, which was an adventure on its own.



Having never seen the race tracks, Seller knew it would be a challenging year. However he reveled, in the challenge, confident that his team and bikes were of a world class standard.



"When I committed to the program, I did not know a sole on the team. However after our first meeting and test at Fontana, I knew this would be the right team for me. We were having fun, yet working hard."



Seller's year had its ups and downs, but he always persevered towards his goal of being a consistent front runner towards the second half of the season. "I knew getting used to new race tracks, a new motorcycle, different race format, and a new country would be challenging. I knew I could be fast, but it was just a matter of getting my rhythm, confidence and learning to race with a new bunch of guys."



Seller began accomplishing his goal with highlights such as leading his first AMA race at Road America, as well as moving on to a podium finish at Laguna Seca during the Moto GP round.



A major setback for Seller was a one race ban at the only track he knew, New Jersey Motorsports Park, due to a turn one incident at the previous round at V.I.R., in which he and Josh Herrin came together causing Herrin to crash out. "It was a huge disappointment to be sidelined at Jersey because that was the track I knew I could win at. I definitely felt that the punishment far outweighed the crime, but for me it was more important to focus on coming back strong for the final round at Barber Motorsports Park than to be sour about something I had no control over."



And that is just what Seller did, qualifying on the front row and ultimately finishing a close 2nd to Martin Cardenas, the eventual 2010 Champion, in race 1. "Barber was really a good track for me because I tested there earlier in the year. I arrived knowing the race track, which was a first."



The season ended on a high note for Seller, with his best result of the year. Unfortunately, after contacting every team possible during the off season, he has not managed to secure a ride for 2011.



"I called every team owner that I could get in touch with, but unfortunately, due to the economy, unless you have money to bring to the table, you're unable to get a ride. I come from a small African country where the exchange rate to the dollar is 7 to 1. Therefore, that kind of money is hard to come by."



"I am really sad and disappointed there are no opportunities to stay and race here in the American Championship. I will return to South Africa, but my main goal now is to keep racing, riding and staying sharp so that when things turn around here I can come back and work towards becoming an AMA champion."

Same reason more Americans don't race in Europe right now, no money, no ride.

It is what happened the the 4 wheel community about 10 years ago. And it won't come back. If you don't bring the green (and a .... load of it), you don't get a ride. Going to be many promising racers leave racing decades early because of this.

One thing you can say about stick and ball sports, if you pay to go see a professional, you will see the best. In motorsports, you get to see who purchased their way into the sport. 30 bike field and a top 5 rider cant find a ride. Something seriously wrong there. Is this even sport anymore, or just business.How things have changed , it used to be "winning isnt everything, its the only thing". Now its "winning isnt everything, we are here to turn a profit"

povol said:

One thing you can say about stick and ball sports, if you pay to go see a professional, you will see the best. In motorsports, you get to see who purchased their way into the sport. 30 bike field and a top 5 rider cant find a ride. Something seriously wrong there. Is this even sport anymore, or just business.How things have changed , it used to be "winning isnt everything, its the only thing". Now its "winning isnt everything, we are here to turn a profit"

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It was business when money became a factor, which was day 1. And it became even worse when the auto industry found a way to use racing to advertise their products, their names.



Kawasaki left MotoGP because it hurt their bottom line running around in the back. The privateers left World Superbike because they couldn't compete with the factory efforts. When three people watch on TV, and only a few people attend AMA races, do you blame the factories for not competing?



And the lower end of the racing ladder is also hurting because people are finding it really difficult to justify the costs of a new bike or parts to their wife, when winning doesn't pay the costs of the weekend, let alone finishing outside the top 10.



I'd argue with that first statement though. Basketball and the NBA weeds out many of the smaller guys. I grew up with a kid who set a bunch of school records at michigan State, yet because he was 6 foot, he got zero chances at the NBA. He's in Germany now and even still having trouble find playing time.

Hayden Fan said:

It was business when money became a factor, which was day 1. And it became even worse when the auto industry found a way to use racing to advertise their products, their names.



Kawasaki left MotoGP because it hurt their bottom line running around in the back. The privateers left World Superbike because they couldn't compete with the factory efforts. When three people watch on TV, and only a few people attend AMA races, do you blame the factories for not competing?



And the lower end of the racing ladder is also hurting because people are finding it really difficult to justify the costs of a new bike or parts to their wife, when winning doesn't pay the costs of the weekend, let alone finishing outside the top 10.



I'd argue with that first statement though. Basketball and the NBA weeds out many of the smaller guys. I grew up with a kid who set a bunch of school records at michigan State, yet because he was 6 foot, he got zero chances at the NBA. He's in Germany now and even still having trouble find playing time.

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If he could play in the NBA, he would be playing in the NBA. The road is scattered with great college players who didnt make it in pro sports, and many stories of little guys who do make it, Mugsy Bogues, Spud Webb, John Stockton are just a few who come to mind.In college, a good coach can mask a players deficiencies with schemes because of the talent level. In the pro's, there is no where to hide, the talent level is to high. Im guessing your buddy has liabilities, such as rebounding and defense, that outweighed his offensive ability, which im guessing also suffered once he got to the next level. A perfect example of great college players who under perform on a massive scale on the pro level is players from Duke University. Every once in a while, a Duke player who was All World in college, excels as a pro, but way more fail than not. They are products of a great system and a great coach.None of that helps at the next level.

Clint Seller was blacklisted because Herrin panicked and threw his championship away. Somebody had to be blamed. Why not the obscure South African with some heart and talent. Two birds with one stone, you got somebody to blame and you get rid of a potential future threat.

povol said:

One thing you can say about stick and ball sports, if you pay to go see a professional, you will see the best. In motorsports, you get to see who purchased their way into the sport. 30 bike field and a top 5 rider cant find a ride. Something seriously wrong there. Is this even sport anymore, or just business.How things have changed , it used to be "winning isnt everything, its the only thing". Now its "winning isnt everything, we are here to turn a profit"

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Povol, the people who said "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" are the same people who said "we are here to earn a profit". Professional privateer racers said both. Winning was literally the only thing b/c they didn't waste time with sponsors, TV media clowns, promoters, or the organizers. Furthermore, "winning is the only thing" meant "we are pros--we are not here to goof around like the rich amateurs and the garagistos". The classic breed of privateer racer is dead. Killed off by the manufacturers and the spec-racing entertainers who want mega-bucks not trophies.



You are confused b/c you were reared in an era when the manufacturers were fighting NASCAR about spec racing. Manufacturers were con, NASCAR was pro. Looks simple enough on the surface, but it's not Axis vs. Allies; it's more like Nazi's vs. Soviets. They both want the same horrible totalitarian nightmare so you don't pick a side b/c you think one is right and one is wrong. You pick a lesser of two evils. I picked DMG in the AMA mess b/c they were clearly the lesser of two evils and their evil ambitions don't even work on 2-wheels anyway. Spec-bike racing = horrible entertainment. They were always going to have to adopt a WSBK format.



Don't get confused. NASCAR and the manufacturers are both obsessed with lucrative profits they simply bicker over how it should be accomplished. Neither one of them are useful to the fans. NASCAR is fake entertainment. Manufacturer owned series are fake business (constant collapse). How do you think we ended up with 10 different versions of NASCAR all around the world? The manufacturers bankrupted everything else and now they side with NASCAR. Even the FIA and FIM use NASCAR techniques. Manufacturers bankrupted AMA as well.



I'm sorry to hear about Seller, but the AMA is recovering from a bad business model, worse racing, and a botched DMG take over. The lesser of two evils won, but there is no guarantee the series will survive.

Jumkie said:

Clint Seller was blacklisted because Herrin panicked and threw his championship away. Somebody had to be blamed. Why not the obscure South African with some heart and talent. Two birds with one stone, you got somebody to blame and you get rid of a potential future threat.

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I find it hard to believe that everyone in the paddock is a Herrin fan, and is so upset that Josh didnt win the title that they wouldnt give a top 5 rider a seat. Yamaha maybe, but somehow i dont think the other teams give a .... if Josh ever wins a title. Are you normally this conspiratorial, or do you get more paranoid when your high.

Motor racing has always been about money because it is an expensive sport to compete in. If you can't afford the equipment you can't play. You can turn your nose up at teams that require riders to bring money if they want to compete, but the alternative is for that team to leave to sport because they can't afford it. Somebody has to pay the bills.

povol said:

I find it hard to believe that everyone in the paddock is a Herrin fan, and is so upset that Josh didnt win the title that they wouldnt give a top 5 rider a seat. Yamaha maybe, but somehow i dont think the other teams give a .... if Josh ever wins a title. Are you normally this conspiratorial, or do you get more paranoid when your high.

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Has very little to do with the number of his fans. I don't think you understand the vindictive and immature nature of power politics in the AMA paddock buddy.

Jumkie said:

Has very little to do with the number of his fans. I don't think you understand the vindictive and immature nature of power politics in the AMA paddock buddy.

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I didnt mention his fan base, i said i doubted he had fans in the paddock, outside his own team, that would blacklist him. If that were the case, Eslick would be banned and burnt at the stake, not just blacklisted.Josh threw the championship away at Mid Ohio when he had a brain fart while leading the race with a huge points lead.Sellers bonsai at VIR didnt help matters, but the championship was lost by Herrin himself

I just googled "Why johnnyknockdown hates the Bostrom Brothers" and all the above mentioned comments appeared



Oh and once again I have no idea what Lexas is trying to say

JohnnyKnockdown said:

I just googled "Why johnnyknockdown hates the Bostrom Brothers" and all the above mentioned comments appeared



Oh and once again I have no idea what Lexas is trying to say

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I will likely never be able to explain it adequately. The battle of manufacturers vs. NASCAR-style-spec-racing is very complicated. All you need to know is that it's like Soviets vs. Nazis. There is no side to be on, you just hope the lesser of two evils prevails so that the situation can be remedied in the future.



If fans understood the business model of racing, the sport would have been fixed by now. Fans just join one of the legions of doom, and then they wonder why nothing gets better. Every once in a while, an innovative solutions are floated to race fans like open-source rules in IndyCar or budget caps in F1. The ideas are gunned down almost immediately after they are released.



I think Jumkie summed it up best when he said we can't even imagine the petty, immature BS that goes on in the racing paddock. I have no first hand experience, but judging by the state of the AMA (and many racing series around the globe), I can believe what he's saying without reservation. I also saw a documentary on the American Honda SBK team during the 2006 season. It was an egregious violation of human decency. Yet another reason I want Ray Blank at the end of a hangman's noose (figuratively speaking).

mylexicon said:

Every once in a while, an innovative solutions are floated to race fans like open-source rules in IndyCar or budget caps in F1. The ideas are gunned down almost immediately after they are released.

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How could budget caps be governed?

Mr. Shupe said:

How could budget caps be governed?

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Same way they police the Resource Restriction Agreement--auditors. RRA is probably more difficult to police than a budget cap b/c the RRA has restrictions on wind tunnel time, personnel, and other computational resources. It would probably be easier to just track the money.