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MOTOGIRL

FAST THOUGHTS FROM JESSICA LEE

Sunday November 30th, 2008
News That Has Sparked My Interest
With the motorcycle racing season over and the riding season winding down, most of us are left to wonder what we will do until the snow stops falling or until, get ready for it - March when Bike Week kicks off a new year. During these tough months I keep sane by reading up on all of the juicy motorcycle gossip. I figured this time around I would start sharing what I’ve heard with all of you.

One thing that has been on my mind and I’m sure has driven you crazy as well is the situation between the Daytona Motorsports Group (formerly AMA superbike) and the factory backed race teams. For those of you who didn’t know, a lot of the factory teams were not too happy to say the least about DMG’s new spec rules for road racing and have threatened to pull out of the 2009 season. I’ve heard things about Factory Honda not racing in the USA next year at all; that means no motocross or road racing. I don’t think the legendary Dayonta Supercross by Honda would be the same with out well you know... Honda. Suzuki and Kawasaki are pulling out of next season as well. All 3 believe the specs for the new series are not what they expected from DMG/AMA. As for Yamaha, from what I have heard they will be going racing in 2009 with Ben Bostrom and Josh Hayes riding for them.It seems like the main goal of DMG was to keep everyone on the same level so could the US Superbike series be privateer dominated or will Ben Bostrom and Josh Hayes stomp all the other competition? What would happen if the only top factory team was Yamaha?

As this so called “revolt” takes place in US road racing, it makes me curious as to what all of the younger privateers trying to catch a spot on a factory team will do. If there are no bigger teams, they will have to try for a World Superbike spot if they havent already. Joshua Day is one of those young privateers who has already given racing everything he’s got and at only 19 he was offered a chance to race the world superstock 600 class at Donington in early September. After placing a respectable 14th place in his first ever european race he showed that he had what it takes. At his 3rd world superstock race he impressed everyone with a 5th place finish. There is no word yet as to who he’ll be racing for or what he will be racing in 2009 but be sure to keep a look out for him next season. Josh could be a huge threat across the pond!

Atleast we know that if all else fails here in the US, we have another series to follow along with World Superbike; MotoGP. One changed that surprised me was hearing about Nicky Hayden switching to Ducati. My family has a deep passion for the italian company so hearing that my favorite GP rider would be riding for Ducati put a huge smile on my face. To top it off, Nicky wasn’t looking to shabby during testing.The Ducati might just be the bike he needs to get closer to winning another championship!

As for myself, I will be doing select Florida Trail Riders (FTR) harescrambles and doing a couple of different races around the country. Right now I have been very focused in getting my fitness to the perfect level to be able to perform at my best on the track. I have a shoulder injury that is slowly healing and after dislocating it a few times before my season started I realized I needed a little bit more rehab time. At my first harescramble, I crashed out during practice, chipping my elbow and injuring my knee. Injuries are always the worst part of racing but we just have to work to overcome them! Look for some great results from me next season!



Posted by Jessica @ 5:23PM  -  Permalink  -  0 Comments  -  0 Trackbacks
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Monday July 30th, 2007
How Popular Could MotoGP Become?
It’s pretty sad how most people in the USA have no clue what MotoGP is . Yet, just as soon as you hop over the pond all you hear about is Valentino Rossi and Futbol. We all know that Valentino had to move from Italy to the UK just to be able to step out of his house without getting mobbed. He made Forbes’ Top 100 Celebrities list at #64 making just over $30 million last year and turned Ferrari down saying “I don't like being famous - it is like a prison. And driving for Ferrari would make it far worse.” So why isn’t Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards, or Kenny Roberts getting the same amount of attention here in the US?



Yep, Vale has won a total of 7 championships and hundreds of races in Europe but the American riders have done the same thing here in the US. Don’t get me wrong, I love Valentino and he is the only rider I know of that has set the fastest lap on worn down tires. Wow! It’s just that next year, the MotoGP series will be making 2 stops in the USA and we need to pump up our American boys. I’m not saying we need to make their lives crazy with fame but I think that everyone should know who they are. After all, every single motorcycle racer out there puts their lives on the line each time they line up on the grid so why can’t racers make headlines here when basketball players are making front page news stories for not even doing good deeds? It has always bothered me that the same people who spend every Monday night sitting on the sofa watching American Football won’t even think about spending an hour on Sunday watching motorcycle racing. Yes, a lot of racing fans are also football fans but the majority isn’t. Another thing is that our sport doesn’t involve getting drunk and there aren’t very many alcohol sponsors like in Nascar; if you need to be drunk or high to enjoy a sport, that is sad! I’m not against football, Nascar, or basketball I’m just stating the obvious.



So, look at the facts and decide for yourself. MotoGP bikes run at about 220 MPH. They turn both left and right. Each rider tries to pass without bumping into each other and the race doesn’t look like LA traffic. If there’s a crash it could very easily be fatal! Having a tobacco or alcohol sponsor for your team will cause a stir and no one races on steroids. Also, MotoGP racers don’t get paid nearly as much attention as ball sports players, yet in Europe on average around 115,000 people will attend each race. I think that here in the USA we should try to top that. If as many people that watch basketball would watch racing then we could beat Europe by a landslide.



Just do me a favor and think about it. Tell your friends who the great Kevin Schwantz is and make sure they know that Kenny Roberts’ boys are racing. I cannot explain the excitement and fun of watching a race, so spread the word!



Posted by Jessica @ 6:45AM  -  Permalink  -  0 Comments  -  0 Trackbacks
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THE AUTHOR


Jessica "Motogirl" Lee is a 35 year old motocross racer and journalist. Born into a family of motorcycle enthusiasts and industry insiders, she has been riding and nurturing a passion for motorcycles from the age of four.

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