Lame Speed coverage of BCRs

badbilly · 03-11-2003, 07:47 PM

Fellow Bmerphiles,

Hey the race was great! But WTF. Before the race, the Speed guy (I think the bald dude) stands by the starts& stripes bike and states the bikes are all stock r1100s with "stock exhaust!"

Anywhoo.... I was semi-bumed that no effort was given in explaining what mods were allowed, albiet as slight as they were. I guess I expected a bit more technical competence.

And I never heard any mention of what kind of trap speeds the Boxer Cup bikes were pulling. Sure I saw the lap times...but I want to see some MPH numbers!

Congrats to all the local teams! Here's hoping to see it again next year!

Later, BB

markjenn · 03-11-2003, 10:06 PM

I agree that they were not very conversant about the bikes or riders. I guess with all that was going on, it just wasn't on their radar screens to do a lot of research or prep for this race.

But overall, I was fairly impressed with the entire weekend of coverage. They had good camera work, they kept track of orders pretty well, and their "color guy" (don't recall name), managed to be upbeat and interesting without being too repetitive.

I was sure rooting for Yates to be in the hunt at the end of the 200. Wow, that guy can ride.

- Mark

badbilly · 03-12-2003, 04:28 PM

Mark, Yeah, maybe its just me.

I had a friend from Denver go to Daytona way back ('84 I believe) with a factory race-kitted FJ1100 Yamaha. Said he was the fastest privateer at 165 mph "through the traps," where ever that was.

I was curious if these Boxer Cup bikes were as fast. (Curiosly, I did see him run an 11.25 at Bandimeres, and that was at an elevation of 5,600 feet!)

I wonder if that may have been David Sandowski (sp?). I heard many positive comments about his color comentary this week.

And as for Yates, I'm afraid I don't know him. But I'd wager a bet that any of the guys back to about , say, what, 30th place could smoke me big time!

Later, BB

markjenn · 03-12-2003, 04:58 PM

Yes, it was Sadowski, I believe. I know nothing of him other than he won some serious races around the late-80's/early-90's, including Daytona. (I just started following racing the last couple years.) But of all the people Speed Channel uses, I like him the best.

And I'm usually pretty critical of color commentators - don't get me going on Bill Walton doing color for the NBA! That man will make me swear with words I didn't know I knew.

I've followed AMA superbike and supersport the last couple years and Aaron Yates is just a kick. He's just a country boy who talks like he's just got off the peanut truck, but no matter what he's on, he can ride the wheels off it. He's extremely aggressive but not mean-spirited. And he's got the skill to back up some of the dicing he gets involved in.

Yates seems a lot less prima dona than most of the other big racers, such as Gobert. Actually, I like nearly all the AMA guys, moreso than the GP racers, but that maybe because they speak a lot better English. I have no feel at all for the personalities of guys like Biaggi or Rossi.

And then there's supercross ....

Motorcycle racing really is fun - it is so much easier to pass that you get some real excitement. I watched the F1 opener a couple days ago and was sure glad I was watching it on tape so I could skip through all the boring stuff. I think there was maybe two passing maneuvers the whole race - crashes, pit strategy, and penalties completely determined the order.

- Mark

Rootboy · 03-12-2003, 09:13 PM

I'm with you Mark. every bike race at daytona was far more exciting that those glorified parade laps they call F1 (almost any cage race for that matter)

Flatbutt1 · 03-13-2003, 12:33 PM

With Ducati dominating the world series and Honda dominating, or at least expected to dominate GP, it was great to see the results achieved by limiting technology and forcing the drivers to use their skill. The finish was marred by the rule of total elapsed time but that didn't stop me from jumping up to get a better look at a classic photo finish. I think the Boxers set a nice benchmark for racing. A pity the stands were so empty.

markjenn · 03-13-2003, 02:09 PM

This "elapsed time" deal after the restart completely threw me. And it appear the announcers knew nothing about it. I suppose it is more fair, but it leaves the fan now knowing who's ahead.

It is used in GP, AMA, WSB after a restart?

- Mark