World Superbike to the Max
Max Biaggi and Aprilia both took their first World Superbike Championship Sunday.
It was quite a weekend of racing. Max Biaggi finally broke through to win the World Superbike Championship for himself and Aprilia. Biaggi’s title on Sunday could have been penned by a Hollywood screen writer. One of Italy’s favorite riders winning the World Superbike Championship on an underdog Italian brand at Imola.
The amazing season of rookie Ben Spies was going to be a tough act to follow. A title run by Biaggi was about the only scenario that could keep World Superbike fans on the edge of their seats.
MX des Nations Victory for Team USA in Colorado
Team USA won its sixth straight in Motocross des Nations Sunday at Lakewood.
Team USA (Ryan Dungey, Trey Canard and Andrew Short) won the prestigious Motocross des Nations for the sixth straight time (21st time overall) on home ground in Lakewood, Colorado, but there was drama involved. After the second moto the U.S. trailed Germany in the overall standings. A brilliant moto race by Ryan Dungey and Andrew Short (who finished first and second) secured the des Nations title for the Americans.
The victory clearly keeps America on top as the motocross world and proves the U.S. domestic motocross championship is at least on par, if not better than the FIM World Championships. On one hand that’s a good thing, but I’m old school enough that I’d still like to see a rider like Dungey go overseas next year and compete for a World Motocross Championship, but that shipped apparently sailed long ago.
Hayes Ends Yamaha’s American SuperBike Drought
Josh Hayes gave Yamaha its first American SuperBike title since 1991.
Team Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes did what he needed to do and wrapped up a championship-winning 2010 American SuperBike campaign at Barber Motorsports Park yesterday. Hayes’ victory gives Yamaha its first American SuperBike title since 1991, when Thomas Stevens rode to victory on the Vance & Hines Yamaha.
Hayes raced Superbike in 2004 and ’05 and then was inexplicably relegated to the support classes for three seasons when just about everyone in the paddock knew he should have been racing the premier class. His championship this year proves that opinion and Yamaha has rewarded Hayes with two more years on the team. Insiders say that Hayes is taking a major pay cut to stay on the team, but job security is worth a lot in this day and age of the recession riddled American road racing championship.
Fireworks in Daytona SportBike
Calm, cool and collected describes new Daytona SportBike Champion Martin Cardenas of Columbia.
Martin Cardenas quietly went about his business and wrapped up the Daytona SportBike Championship at Barber aboard the Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki. The soft-spoken Columbian is perhaps the most focused rider in the AMA road racing paddock today and it will be interesting to see if he gets the opportunity to race SuperBike next season.
While Cardenas quietly won the title, bombs were going off around him in the form of an epic heated battle between the two other title contenders Josh Herrin and Danny Eslick. The two bumped and banged on one another all weekend, culminating in Eslick coming in way hot into a corner on Sunday and taking out Herrin. Riders punting one another off the track is never a good thing and AMA Pro Racing will have to walk a fine line of letting racers race versus allowing things get out of hand (Herrin’s camp will say that line has already been crossed). I guarantee you Herrin will be looking for payback at some point next season (probably at Daytona). Does the AMA give Herrin the chance to get even, or do they put a lid this openly hostile battle and tell the riders to start fresh? It will be one of the most interesting things to watch at round one in 2011.
Rider Files 