Honda Cheats at Daytona ? !

[Rain Rider 1]

From motorcycle daily;


"With the disqualification of Josh Hayes (Honda) due to an out-of-spec crank, Chaz Davies (Kawasaki) is the winner of the Daytona 200. Finishing second was Steve Rapp (Kawasaki) with Larry Pegram (Ducati) third."

[RickO]

Here is a link to the story on the official AMA website:

http://www.amasuperbike.com/article.php?sc=1120&aid=11265&UID=xQkZK7sK0oeHBJFDsoQjSyBLqywFwH

Apparently the rules allow a crankshaft to be polished, but the disqualification resulted from metal being removed. I presume this is lightening, not balancing.

Maybe racing is just getting too high-tech for its own good. I remember a few years back, a F1 team was penalized for secretly reprogramming a chip used to regulate pit-lane speed to act as a traction control device.

Come on regulators: just let the racers race. Even the eventual winner admitted that the disqualified rider deserved to win. His margin was 32 seconds in a 200 mile race, so the crank could not have been some huge secret weapon.

[Rain Rider 1]

Come on regulators: just let the racers race. Even the eventual winner admitted that the disqualified rider deserved to win. His margin was 32 seconds in a 200 mile race, so the crank could not have been some huge secret weapon.[/QUOTE]

Well, rules are rules and if caught cheating, your rider no matter how awesome he rode, gets caught up in the bad stuff.
Honda knew what they were doing.

Its kinda like taking steroids to build a better body or to run faster. Cheating is cheating. Rules are rules.

IMO
It looks good on the Honda juggernaut. lol

[KZDon]

Heck, the real scary part from Daytona was the announcement that the Daytona management is taking over motorcycle racing from the AMA. This is the bunch that thinks (apparently with the approval of the American public) that driving cars in a circle for an hour is a race. One of the spokepeople said he wanted to see some real racing on the track, so that fans wouldn't have to see the same racers winning every time. With that clear swipe at Mladin and Spies, I fear a rulebook change that lets Harley sportsters compete on even ground with GSXRs. Welcome to NASBIKE.

[Uwe W.]

Bubba goes bikin'? I watched quite a bit of the Daytona coverage and was quite surprised (especially given the hype surrounding Daytona Bike Week) at how empty the stands were. While it's possible the television coverage didn't pan past the massive crowds I expected to see, I suspect there was more interest in the action on the beach...

[RickO]

I have only attended the 200 once, way back in 1990. I too was surprised by the empty stands.

Part of the problem is the massive facility. I guess there aren't enough road race fans in the US to fill the grandstand, from which the bikes on the track are barely visible. You need binoculars just to tell which is which. I suppose that's why the NASCAR "stockers" are painted those garish colours and plastered with giant logos.

There is definitely more activity on the beach (where the race used to be held) and downtown.

[Rain Rider 1]

I have a completely different opinion on Daytona.

The track is awesome and you can get close.
The bikes come past at full pop and you can stand close to the fence and banking.

Binoculars are a must to see the distant areas, but seating allows you to see the pits, pit stops, the start / finish, etc.
All seats are general admission.

You can walk right into the pits and watch the mechanics.

Talk to the riders before and after the race.

Post race, we have walked across the track, sat on the banking. Took pictures.

I met Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Randy Mamola, Kenny Roberts, Eraldo Ferrachi(sp), Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, Jamie James, Miguel Duhamel, Yvon Duhamel, Bob "Hurricane" Hannah, all brothers Hayden, brothers Bostrum, Scott Russell, Jake Zemke, and many others.

In fact, we sat next to Eddie Lawson and his beautiful girlfriend/wife?, Mamola and Hannah at Bob Evans one morning.

Also talked to Dave Despain, Kevin Cameron and Peter Egan.

The Rain Rider Group was invited to "THE" after race party at a bar on the beach. (can't remember the name of the place) All of the who's who of racing attend this party.
One time we were there we met the guy that was trying to start a company called "Joe Rocket". Imagine that. Now his dream came true and being in Daytona was probably a big part of that initial seed planting.

I think the race today has softened a bit due to smaller cc machines and the top riders aren't all in the 200 miler, but there are a whole lot of other races going on day after day at the track and admission is cheap.

I really enjoy going to Daytona bike week. Its a perfect get away at a cold time of year.
Bikes, racing, beach, girls, beers, food. What more could a man want?

[grog]

I have not been to Daytona, but hope to do so some day. Like Don last year, the little ones will keep me away from seeing racing instead of a family vacation for a few more years.

For me, though, Daytona is like the first robin of spring. Being able to watch about 8 hours of motorcycle racing over the weekend may not be a cure for the winter blahs, but it puts them aside for a bit. The fact that a fair bit of the racing was close and exciting (Mladin's win aside) made it even better.

[RickO]

I really enjoy going to Daytona bike week. Its a perfect get away at a cold time of year.
Bikes, racing, beach, girls, beers, food. What more could a man want?

I'm with you on this one. I guess when we attended, we misunderstood our options (or perhaps things were different in 1990, as I am pretty sure our tickets were specifically for the grandstand).

I did see the vintage races from the infield and it was a totally different experience. I still remember riding through the tunnel under the track.

Now if you want the real 'Murrican NASCAR style oval track experience for bikes at Daytona it already exists in the form of the dirt track races. As I recall they were at the Municipal Stadium and seemed to draw a bigger crowd than the 200, although it could have been an illusion as the venue is much smaller. It was the only short track on the Grand National circuit the year I attended. A lot of the road racers you met got their start banging handlebars on the dirt ovals.

[Rocking Couple]

I know some guys who rented access to the track and the cars. ! Ya, no kidding. That's what I thought too. I think it was at Daytona a couple years ago, during off times. These guys (about 5 or 6 of them) got together, planned it out, booked it, paid their bucks, and they let them on the track all together. All strapped in proper-like.... I think each guy had to have an instructor in the spare seat though. Speeds were reduced a fair bit, but I was shocked still how fast they allowed the boys to go. I forget the actual figure but think it was only 20 or 30 mph, maybe 40? under the usual race speeds. The guys came home and didn't come down for a week talking about it. Among the many things that stood out with the whole experience, they said the cars were friggin LOUD.

Me? They're not bikes so who cares...although I would still do it for the hell of it, I just wouldn't pay very much.

[Rain Rider 1]

I think it was in 1999 or 2000 we were at Daytona with our bikes.
We went to the track and the free motorcycle show which takes place outside the speedway. (all major brands are there as are most accessory manufacturers.)

We were talking to the BMW sales guys and asked for demo rides. They invited us to attend a track ride on their new models the next morning.
We rode to the track by 7:30 am and each had a few laps of the track on new BMW 1200 twins. It was incredible. The tour leader took us up to speeds in excess of 120 mph.

[Rocking Couple]

partial quote


I think it was in 1999 or 2000 we were at Daytona with our bikes.

The tour leader took us up to speeds in excess of 120 mph.

They must have been 1100S's. And completely tapped at that. Would have been fun wringing those things out though eh? Someone told me about the bank angle of the track but I forget. I think it is so steep you can't climb it on foot.

Back in 2001 (I think) I have fond memories of THE BEST demo ride I have ever been on. Was a quiet day, not too many showed. Took 5 bikes back to back. First was an XX, then the Firestorm (a yellow one like Ivor's)a VFR, then a Valkyrie and lastly, an F4i. There were only 5 of us in the lead group, including our escort who really opened up the new Gold Wing. We let him go for a few moments, then caught him. I remember seeing over 220 on a couple of the rides and couldn't believe this was a demo ride! And no one got in s**t over it! I remember the torque of that VTR, and how buttery smooth the Valk was. Those really were the good old days, even though it wasn't that long ago. We'll never see demos like that ever again. Demos do sell bikes though. Not all participants are just killing a Sat afternoon. I bought one of those a week later.

Unfortunately though, I also remember a demo ride a couple years after that, which was so restrictive that everyone was climbing up on top of each other with anxiousness. Not a good time to be caught mid-pack. As it turned out, their strictly enforced rules of staggered formation had a couple of inexperienced riders wipe each other out on a narrow sandy corner. Reminded me of the Thunder Run at Parry Sound Sport Bike Rally in 2006, only not quite as safe.

[Paddy]

Regarding the Daytona owners taking over the 200, it kinda reminds me of Tony George, that filthy greedy egomaniac owner of Indianapolis Speedway taking over the 500 and starting that open-wheeled Nascar abortion called IRL.
Look what that did to open-wheeled racing in North America! Is that going to be the fate of bike racing and the AMA?

[KZDon]

No idea, but the guy SpeedTV interviewed certainly seemed to have an agenda for change.

[KZDon]

Here's an interesting article proposing specific changes to AMA motorcycle racing in the face of the DMG takeover.

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-sbk-advice-to-dmg-2009-manifesto//P1/