Ron DeleteThis @Somewhere.com wrote:
> On 27-Jun-2007, Dirt wrote:
>
>> On Jun 26, 5:41 pm, Mark N wrote:
>>> Regarding the coverage decisions, they were the right ones, no
>>> question. Show the damned live race until conclusion, then show the
>>> whole tape-delayed MotoGP race. If you're not at home and instead
>>> taping (like me), too bad. Watch or tape MotoGP tomorrow night when
>>> they replay it. I watched what I had, and then went to the MotoGP
>>> website for the rest. But I'd be pissed as hell if 10 laps into the SB
>>> race they said, "we interrupt this live broadcast to show you tape of
>>> a race run 10 hours ago in the rain somewhere in Europe...".
>> I was on about this in another thread. My grip with this situation is
>> NOT that they finished the AMA race. I'm in full agreement that the
>> live coverage should be finished and that the following tape delayed
>> MotoGP coverage should be run in full. I hate pre-empting. My gripe
>> is that there continues to be live coverage of the AMA despite the
>> fact that they almost certainly will run late. As far as I'm
>> concerned, given the AMA's history in this regard, SPEED should run on
>> a one hour delay with the AMA rather than running live. That way the
>> coverage is almost live, but there's a little allowance for the
>> inevitable delays.
> If the AMA didn't try to run 3 races back to back, maybe run one before
> lunch, run the second one after, then have an
> hour autograph session or at least have 1 hour between races they wouldn't
> run into so many delays/
Well, now you've opened a can o' worms! From a non-television
perspective, I've been at three of the last four AMA weekends (Fontana,
Sears, Miller), and have done some thinking on the AMA's new consistent
schedule:
- Regarding Sunday, they condense the three races into 1pm, 2pm and
3pm starts (SStock, SSport, SBike), which makes for three hours or so of
condensed action, more like a conventional spectator event,
stick-and-ball stuff. The morning is left for warmup and fans to wander
the paddock, vendor area, get autographs, etc. The places don't really
fill up until afternoon, and it's the biggest crowd of the weekend. And
things end a bit early, so people can get out and get home on Sunday
night. Can't argue too much with that, although it seems a bit too
condensed for my taste.
- Regarding the live SB window, it seems like a Speed issue. I can see
where it could get to be something of a problem to present a race on
only one hour's tape delay, because with any red flag they'd be juggling
on the fly, dealing with taping the action toward the end of the race
and editing at the same time they're broadcasting the beginning. What if
there are two red flags?
There were two issues at these races, first all the red flags that meant
delaying the Fontana SSport race until after the SB race. I heard people
complaining about that, but does anyone want to turn on the set, see the
end of the SSport race, then the start of the SB race, then see that
preempted? The second was the flag at Miller, and I think Speed did the
right thing there, staying with the race until conclusion. The only
answer I can see to the first circumstance, which has been the
historical problem with the AMA, habitually getting off schedule, is
that they either run one race before lunch or have a larger gap between
the last support race and the SB race. Neither is ideal, if they're
trying to present a condensed all-action show lasting a few hours.
It has to be said that the red flags are a SAFETY issue, arising out of
concern for rider and cornerworker safety. This is a GOOD thing, and
hasn't always been the case. The AMA may pull the pin a bit too quickly
sometimes, but that's probably better than pulling it too late. And I
respect an organization that will do this rather than caving completely
to the television schedule. In MotoGP they will send guys out on slicks
on a damp track in mixed conditions with nothing but a single warmup lap
because the clock says it's time to go, and that's that. Is that really
better? From across the pond there is the suggestion of pace cars, but
I'm not sure that's the answer either, particularly after the Daytona
fiasco. But if done right, it's better than stopping races. And is it
right that a guy can crash and stop a race, then end up finishing 4th in
that race? No certain answer. And for the record, the red flag delay at
Miller was just under 22 minutes, which seems longer than it needs to be.
- The Saturday schedule is quite the opposite of Sunday, action on
track all day but hardly of condensed quality. My trigger event is the
first SB qualifying session, run at about 10am and including the fast
guys. But then they run a second session for the slow guys (no drama),
then FX practice, lunch, two SStock qualifying sessions (fast guys and
slow guys), two SSport qualifying sessions, and then the SB race at
3:30, followed by the FX race at 4:45. This needs work. The races I
understand, the promoter wants a draw on Saturday, get two good paydays
out of the weekend, and I prefer the two SB races be on separate days.
FX late on Saturday, or before lunch on Sunday? I could go either way.
But this qualifying stuff needs to be changed. First, the AMA needs to
limit the grids more, certainly no more than 28 bikes in SB and 32 in
the support classes. Second, they need to weed out the slow guys
earlier. My thought is they need to focus on their ABCs - Always Be
Cwalifying. In SB, you can't hit 110% of top time on Friday, you go
home. On Saturday, it's 107% of pole instead of the current 108%, which
is the suggestion in an editorial in this week's Cycle News. And the
110% in the other classes needs to come down, unless SSport gets
officially redesignated a starter class, and I can't even imagine that
happening now.
I understand the fast/slow split in the Qs, but nothing screams club
race like the slow sessions, and you can only eat so many burgers in one
day. So what they should do is put them all out there, then pull out the
8, 10, 12 fastest guys for an extended session that determines the front
spots on the grid. Maybe 40 minutes, then a 5-minute stop and another 15
minutes, all done in an hour. More drama, fast guys always out there,
and the more casual fan has a chance to figure out who the fastest guys
are during that last session. Then start the racing earlier. The FX
practice should also be done before SB qualifying, so anyone wanting to
see the Q and then the race doesn't have to commit to a minimum of
seven hours at the track. SB IS the show.
In 2009 it all changes with the dropping of one class, and a serious
rethink has to be done before that, on the class structure as well as
the presentation. That CN editorial suggests the AMA is seriously
considering dumbing down SB, even more than in BSB. Bad deal, and it's
likely a good thing that they won't do anything until 2009, giving them
more chance to watch BSB and WSB and do some real rethinking. Of course
what we don't know is what the factories want, and that should be a real
driver - if they want real SBs and will build them, then let them; if
they want to save some bucks and run something closer to showroom, then
maybe that's not such a bad idea, should tighten up the whole field. But
do they dumb down FX as well, making the distinction with SSport even
less? Or do these end up being the technology bikes, complete with
traction control and everything else? Not necessarily a bad idea, but it
does have its problems. Btw, that article at least suggests part of the
decisionmaking going on in the AMA now is driven by people on the board
who also have a stake in MotoST - bad deal...
On the schedule and show, I still think this eventually means
effectively a two-day weekend, unless some fourth class develops from
the grass roots. On that subject, I finally scanned that Cycle World
article by Cameron, and it wasn't at all what it was made out to be.
Critical of the AMA, yes, but hardly endorsing of MotoST. Mostly it was
about the current state of uncertainty in racing here, in all aspects.
For instance, he talked about 450 singles in racing chassis, but also
pointed out that those motors aren't really designed for roadracing. The
world isn't what it was back in the late '80s, when the AMA was made up
of newly-crowned SB, #2 250GP, the new SS classes that brought in the
clubbies on the cheap, the BoTT twins that couldn't yet compete in SB,
and sometimes endurance. Today two strokes are dead - those 125s at MMP
were an eye-opener, almost seeming like vintage, somewhat ratty bikes
next to run-down box vans and trailers, older guys (and women) in
tattered leathers - and there are really only two classes of streetbikes
to feed off of, middleweights and literbikes. So those dirt-based small
singles seem like the only real alternative.
What that means for the AMA show is more track time and probably more
guys trying to occupy fewer spots. My guess is that Friday will be an
open practice of sorts, something like a combination of the current
Thursday and Friday deals. The pressure to allow more guys on the grid
runs contrary to the best interest of the racing, which is fewer guys
running at more similar speeds, and feeds into the AMA's old national
club race mentality (built on greed, according to that CN article). It
also means one fewer race, one would assume. So do they run SB on
Saturday and all three on Sunday, or do they move all the racing to
Sunday? The latter screws the Saturday payday, so my guess is the
former. But that doesn't work so well when matched with more SB
practice, particularly if they don't do a full Friday.
Finally, something needs to be done about Daytona, as that one event
remains out of sync with the rest of the series. The suggestion made by
Cameron is that they have too much power relative to decisionmaking on
that event, and with these MotoST considerations in the mix, that's no
doubt true. But not running SBs in the biggest single race of the year
does more to confuse than the supposed SB/SStock puzzle ever could. If
SB is redefined as SS-level motor tuning, is there really any good
reason not to run SBs in the 200? They should either switch back - or
pull out entirely? A big move, no doubt, but maybe it's almost time.
And then there's the horrible points system...
>> Stay informed about: I'm a believer (Spoiler) 
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