This has been an interesting week in road racing. First things first the MotoGP race set for this weekend has been delayed until October due to severe conditions caused by the volcano. So we will have to wait another 2 weeks to see how the American riders do against the world.

Now on to the AMA races, we had another great set of races but the most interesting story of the weekend had to be that of Josh Hayes. The Graves Yamaha rider jumped his start causing him to have to take a ride through penalty. Well on the 4th lap he did it, problem happened when the red flag came out causing the riders regrid and putting him back at the front. DMG ruled that due to the circumstances he should have started in the back and as such was not rewarded with the 1st place finish. Motomatters.com has the full interview of Hayes more then sportsman like reaction to the decision.

Ama Testing

The latest ama testing should proof of how badly the economy has hit the racing scene. With many of the teams missing out on what could be a crucial test I would be surprised if it didn't seperate the feild with those who didn't show up. This may be most evident in the sportbike class with Eslick who has been a front runner having zero test time. The other big hit is that Aaron Yates will be unable to join the field for a few races after being run over and breaking his leg in the last race. No official word on his replacement has been announced.

This week we had the AMA races in Fontana California, the races where very good and very close with Josh Herrin winning his 2nd race of the season. He didn't do all that well in the first race as he had brake problems. The weekends negative outcome had to have been that of Aaron Yates who broke his leg after crashing and being hit by another rider in practice. Another big story in AMA superbike is Tommy Hayden winning his first superbike race. His Brother Nicky Hayden was interviewed about the new carbon fiber swing arm on his Desmo 10 below is the interview by OnTheThrottle.tv

A slow week

Well not much has happened this week in Racing. WSBK is on a month hiatus and MotoGp doesn't have another test until next week. So here are my predictions for GP testing

1 Stoner
2 Rossi
3 Pedrosa
4 Hayden
5 Jorge
5 Spies
7 Edwards

Will see what happens though.

Till next week ... have fun.

DAYTONA 200

What a great week in racing. The AMA season opened in Daytona this past weekend and Saturday Josh Herrin took first place with an awesome performance. Last years champion Eslick finished off of podium with a fifth place finish. The two biggest upsets of in the 200 was Mellisa Paris wreck causing her to almost lose her pinky finger and Aquino pit stop fiasco which caused him to sit the rest of the race.

This has been a great week in for Americans in MotoGP. In the last test Hayden finished with the 3rd fastest time followed by Americans Ben Spies and Colin Edwards. This was a big relief for Hayden fans as day one he was down on the testing times almost 2 seconds off the pace. The final testing times below are from MotoGP.com

	Valentino Rossi	Fiat Yamaha Team	2:00.271	-	-	39
2	Casey Stoner	Ducati Marlboro Team	2:00.512	+0.241	+0.241	33
3	Nicky Hayden	Ducati Marlboro Team	2:00.703	+0.191	+0.432	42
4	Colin Edwards	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:00.988	+0.285	+0.717	35
5	Ben Spies	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:01.014	+0.026	+0.743	44
6	Loris Capirossi	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	2:01.320	+0.306	+1.049	50
7	Andrea Dovizioso	Repsol Honda Team	2:01.439	+0.119	+1.168	46
8	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	2:01.478	+0.039	+1.207	57
9	Hiroshi Aoyama	Interwetten-Honda MotoGP	2:01.692	+0.214	+1.421	50
10	Alvaro Bautista	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	2:01.732	+0.040	+1.461	25
11	Randy De Puniet	LCR Honda MotoGP	2:01.980	+0.248	+1.709	58
12	Marco Melandri	San Carlo Honda Gresini	2:02.078	+0.098	+1.807	60
13	Hector Barbera	Aspar Team	2:02.080	+0.002	+1.809	52
14	Mika Kallio	Pramac Racing Team	2:02.082	+0.002	+1.811	66
15	Yamaha T Yamaha T		2:02.287	+0.205	+2.016	18
16	Aleix Espargaro	Pramac Racing Team	2:02.367	+0.080	+2.096	49
17	Marco Simoncelli	San Carlo Honda Gresini	2:03.689	+1.322	+3.418	2

To top off the good news in MotoGP the AMA series is getting ready to kick off with the Daytona 200 next week. My pick for the AMA championship will be Graves Yamaha rider Josh Herrin to take the win at the initial race.







I commented on this blog http://didyouknow-bwhipple.blogspot.com/2010/02/did-you-know-about-ligers.html but it wouldn't allow me to add to list..

World Superbike test

The World Superbike test that took place this weekend has been nothing but depressing for American fans. Hayden turned his fastest lap of 1'35.763 almost 4 seconds off the leading time. Will this be a peak of what is to come in the season, I sure hope not. They haven't had many press releases or statements made about why the team has struggled so badly in the test. Beyond the disappointing test not much has happened in American Racers or Road racing. That will change here rather quickly with Daytona 200 quickly approaching.

Will Ben Spies win in his rookie season?

OnTheThrottle.TV has re ignited a fire that just seems to be unable to burn out. That question is will the former World Superbike champion dominate in MotoGP like he did his WSBK rookie season? Kevin Schwantze seems to think so as he stated in his recent interview with Dave Williams.

http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/516/1/

Personally I don't think he will win a straight up race in normal conditions. I think the best he will manage is a 3rd place if the aliens (Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, and Stoner) all are in full health and don't wreck. I think that Pedrosa will end up losing some of his steam that he had last season and become a 4th place fighter with Spies and Hayden.

Opening Test in AMA and MotoGP

It has been a big week in racing with MotoGP and the AMA having the opening test sessions this week.

For American racers in MotoGP it was a mix of emotions with rookie Ben Spies finishing the test with the 5th fastest lap, Colin Edwards (Ben's Teammate) finishing 7th and Ducati factory rider Nicky Hayden completing his fastest lap in 8th place. Nicky and Colin are saying that they were testing new parts and trying new things which is why they did not put any blazing laps in whereas Ben Spies who tested fifth feels that he could have gone quicker but suffered jet lag. Although each of the Americans finished in the top ten they still have not been able to break into the leading pack. Will they be able to this season, only time will tell.

The AMA had a few less surprises with the shake down of the new bikes being a bit uneventful as most teams haven't received any substantial changes with the factories all backing away and the money being cut back to individual teams. That being said the big news was the larger purse sizes for Daytona which is a huge sigh of relief for many of the privateer teams.

Click for new purse size

Ben Spies in MotoGp

Ben Spies had a recent interview with MotoGP.com discussing his goalsin the 2010 season. Ben a Texas native was signed onto the Tech3 Yamaha team last Novembe. Ben is and always has been someone who does not underestimate the people who he is competing against, perhaps that is why he has become such an accomplished rider.

"I really think it will take me one full season to get there. If I don't show improvements in the second season then I'll know I'm not fast enough to ride with those guys. I know I'm decent and can run in the middle of the pack, but first of all I have to get comfortable on the bike and start riding to my limit."Said Spies.

Full interview

Even though Ben is a bit more realistic in what he wants to accomplish his rookie season he has started to get a bit more attention with his fans who are hoping for him to be a front runner from the first flag drop. As one of 4 Americans in the MotoGP championship it will be very interesting to see how his season plays out and if he is able to live up to the expectations of not only have been set by his team but those legions of fans that he has following him.

World Super bike had its first test in Portimao this weekend. The lone American rider Roger Hayden is American fans only hope since Ben Spies move to MotoGP after winning the 2009 championship. Unfortunately after the first test Hayden fans are left with the questions, was this a good move?

Roger Hayden who was a top finisher in the American series and in strong contention to join Moto2 (lack of funds and sponsorship kept him out) has just completed his first test in 19th place, not the most comforting finish for fans.

• 1 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'42.270
• 2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'42.557
• 3 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'42.877
• 4 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'42.960
• 5 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'43.137
• 6 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'43.157
• 7 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'43.364
• 8 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'43.417
• 9 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.471
• 10 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'43.508
• 19 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'46.990
• 20 12 Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.293

Motorcycle Road Racing in America

With the rapidly deteriorating AMA series about to start its newest season I will give my personal commentary about what I see happening around. I will also be discussing individual rider results and covering races throughout the season of 2010.

Along with coverage of the AMA I will discuss different series throughout the Us, and Americans racing on the World stage including MotoGP and World Superbike,