2009 AMA Structure. - Sportbike Addicts

Lucky7 · 04-18-2008, 04:21 PM

Kinda blows.

Quote:

Daytona Motorsports Group Debuts New Class Structures
by dean adams
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Roger Edmondson and the Daytona Motorsports Group debuted their current plans for the US Superbike series this afternoon at a meeting with many of the teams at Barber Motorsports Park.

Essentially, their plans are as follows: 600 Supersport and Superstock are "thanked for their service" and go the way of the dodo bird. The premier class becomes "Daytona Superbikes" which will include a very wide array of machinery from different manufacturers, from a BMW 1200 to a Japanese four-cylinder 600. Daytona Superbike will be horsepower limited and power to weight ratio limited--with the bikes being weighed with rider. Daytona Superbike will be regulated to improve parity and competition, including regular ECU exchanges.

The 2009 Superbike class, which many OEMs were concerned about being disbanded, returns with a new name--LiterBike--and essentially the 2009 Superbike rules that the teams worked on this year to formulate will apply. With a single tire rule and spec fuel as well. Each manufacturer will have to enter four riders in the class to be eligible.

The MotoST series will join the AMA Superbike series with three classes, keeping its spec tire, spec fuel and twin-cylinder rules in place.

Other additions will be the (Red Bull) Rookies Cup, rolling starts "where appropriate", fan activities and pre-race ceremonies.

Plans for a two-day event seem to have been shelved, but Friday will be little more than a half-day of practice sessions.

I saw Roger Edmondson for a moment in the museum this afternoon and he said that response from the teams was measured. His job now, he said, will be to take this to the promoters and get feedback from them.

Assuredly superficial yet semi-interesting note: The presentation which was shown to the teams used a modified 1990s-style AMA logo on it, with stars superimposed over the A's. It's a much better-looking logo than those that we saw after that.

More details as they emerge.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080417a.htm

Suzuki: http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080415-brea.htm

Yamaha: http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080416a.htm

One of the reasons why our bikes and tires are so good is because of direct development at the race track. This whole NASCAR style of marketing in the direction of spec tires and fuel and taking the empasis away from the platform is just going to suck. Say goodbye to better production bikes under this new structure.

I think Suzuki's response by far is the most telling. I think that it's pretty much the same way that Kawasaki and Honda would respond.

Field a 4-man team in a superbike support Class? Madness. They basically telling the manufacturers that they can race their flagship product but it's not going to get top billing as a premier class and they'd have to field a 4 rider team. Well Suzi and Honda teams could probably afford to do it but that's going to shut out Kawi and Yamaha, not to mention Ducati that was trying to get a team in the back in the Superbike class. Then you go back to the Superbike series being Yoshimura 1 and 2 anyway.

The rumors are circulating the boards now that premier class Daytona Superbikes will have a 130hp limit which is pretty anemic. If this goes through I predict a manufacturers and riders bailing to WSB and BSB.