gettin' weirder all the time

Good morning all,

I am a fan of Suzuki Superbike pilot Matt Mladin. He is highly skilled, intelligent, outspoken when it comes to rider safety and a really nice man when it comes to talking to fans. All in all a good representative of motorcycling and motorcycle racing.

However, he seems to have pissed off the powers that be in AMA Pro Racing (the DMG). As we have all read, Mr. Mladin was disqualified from last weekends Superbike races at VIR for a possibly illegal crankshaft. HMMMMM.

Matt has been very outspoken regarding the upcoming changes in American roadracing next year. More than just outspoken...critical. American Suzuki/Yoshimura have also been, how do I say this...very displeased with the plans. So unhappy that when DMG head honcho Roger Edmonson came to California to talk to 'The Big Four' he made a comment that three out of the four were receptive and one's behaviour (Suzuki) was unacceptable.

In past Motoworld podcasts, I have spoken with Matt about the changes, he has categorically stated he won't race 600's.
So... are we now seeing a 'pissing war' between AMA Pro Racing and Suzuki? More pointedly, between AMA Pro Racing and Matt Mladin?

Think about this, in AMA Superbike rules as they currently stand, modifications are pretty minor...Superstock bikes with even less mods are almost as fast as the Superbikes!!?? Team members are pretty much riding the same motorcycle with suspension changes and EFI mapping changes for personal riding styles. Not much else is different. Why was Matt singled out? Shouldn't AMA Pro Racing have pulled ALL the Yoshimura bikes? They have been more than dominant the past seasons, everyone else racing for maybe third and with Tommy Hayden healthy, probably fourth.

As the old saying goes 'somethings rotten in Denmark' or in this case, Florida

Live from MotoGP...Day one

Those foreigners, it's like they have a different word for everything!! (thank you Steve Martin). Here we are covering another race, this time the MotoGP circus is here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It's great to be at another World Event, the media center is alive with more foreign languages than a U.N meeting. Writers, photographers, TV, and little 'ol podcasters...us.

The lessons learned at Miller Motorsports Park were invaluable. Getting credentials through Dorna (the owners of MotoGP) is quite a bit more difficult. With the great help of Press Officer Ed Nichols here at Laguna Seca, we finally got them and into the media center we go. Thank you Ed. The center here is big, it has to be, MotoGP brings a lot more attention. The video screens are giant, showing the track sessions, timing (in detail) and every bit of information an information junkie (journalist) could want. Oh, and free Red Bull...this is the Red Bull Grand Prix you know.

After getting settled in it was off to Yamaha to interview Superbike pilot Jason Di Salvo. What a great kid, we had a really good time. Jason has a very interesting story, you can listen to it next week on the podcast.

Next on the hit list, Suzuki ace Tommy Hayden. After watching his brother Nicky run a very successful practice session, he and I sat down and had a bit of a chat. He's just coming back from a pretty nasty spill so it's really great to see him back on his bike. He was anxious about this weekend because it would have been the first time in 10 years that he would have missed the race.

We wound up the day at the track in a great way. I sat down with multi time World Champion and great guy, Freddie Spencer. What an interesting man. Prior to my talking with him, I was listening in on a conversation with he an old friend and team member, it was fascinating, two old friends talking story. Freddie and I talked a good 20 minutes about the year he won both the 250cc and 500cc World Championships. Freddie is a great talker, no wonder he is a very popular Speed TV announcer.


Well, next week you can check all these great interviews on The Motoworld podcast. I hope you all listen. Now it's off to dinner at our favorite place in Salinas, the Pennyfarthing Tavern.

Ride safe, ride fast and I'll see you the road.

Paul