MotoAmerica Twins : 2018 Mid Season Review / Can we up the grid?
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We are half way through the 2018 MotoAmerica season and the twins class has been… exciting AND frustrating. We have two guys going at it every single race not wanting to give an inch but take several miles. Chris Parrish and Jason Madama are putting on a show. Both riders are pushing themselves and their bikes, continuing to develop themselves and their bikes, and showing everyone what two “ordinary” club racers can do at the pro level with out a huge budget. After 4 rounds Parrish and Madama are separated by just 2 points. Except for Madama at VIR, both riders have been on the podium every race. Parrish with one win and Madama with two victories. Both racers on different machines; Parrish on a Suzuki SV650 and Jason on his Yamaha FZ07 (Mt07 or what ever Yamaha feels like calling it now). It’s fantastic to watch two different racers battle on two different bikes. Here’s my question, why do we only have two guys battling for the championship?
Are these the two fastest lightweight racers we have in the USA? Both riders are very fast, I believe there are lightweight twin racers out there who can battle with them, push these two even harder, and contend for wins. Why aren’t these guys out there? We saw Xavier Zayat run away with the victory at VIR with out having to set lap times he’s done in the past. We saw Curtis Murray and Dustin Domingue give Jason & Chris fits. That’s 3 more racers that should be on the grid every weekend. Imagine a 5 rider duels for victories? Imagine if current or former lightweight racer and class record holders like Bradley Champion, Jason Catching, Robby Bobby, Frankie Garcia, and Danielle Diaz would also show up on the grid. We did see Diaz and Kris Turner show up at Laguna who are both riders that I believe can take wins from Parrish and Madama and make the action even better. Turner having a chain pop off and not able to compete in the race, Laguna may have been a show.
I know this sounds like I am taking credit away from Jason and Chris, I am not. Those guys are doing something special and going fast doing it. Those two guys should be giving others motivation. Madama set a lightweight class record at Laguna. Parrish mustered insanely fast personal best lap times a tracks with tires he has never used on a new bike. The race fan in me wants to see the guys that would make the party more fun show their grit on the grid.
Maybe it’s the cost factor or maybe it’s the rule book. While I do have my own opinions on the rules **cough** needs to be superstock **cough**, I don’t believe that’s keeping guys off the grid. We hover around 10-12 racers on the grid but I believe that number should be 20+. How many 2003-2009 SV650 race bikes are out there? Where are those guys? Is it because they don’t think they can win? Fear of learning a new tire? That isn’t stopping the fan favorite Dustin Ducote or Ryan Roth. Injuries, budget, and time are surely keeping many off the grid but there are others who are just a disappointment, you know who you are.
The last two rounds will be the best races of the year. New Jersey Motorsports Park and Barber have the potential to be the best damn barn burning lightweight twin races this country has seen since the Suzuki Cup days. I personally know a bunch of wildcards that will be showing up at NJMP, I just hope they can open the throttle enough to keep Jason and Chris honest.
Huge props to both Jason Madama, Chris Parrish, Ryan Roth, Samuel Wang, Carl Price, and of course Dustin Ducote for getting to the rounds. Be more like those guys.
It’s not often we get to see SV650s getting backed in.
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