Are Brits negative?

[neninja]

That article misses one important point - outside road racing like the TT and NW200, there are probably fewer than 10 riders across the UK series who are actually paid to race. Most have to rely on personal sponsorship and have to fund their racing themselves even when riding for high profile teams so BSB is not the lazy option.

Much of the recent failure of British riders to secure good rides in MotoGP is the domestic racing scene is so focussed on 4 stroke racing.

The best way to get a good ride in MotoGP is still to progress from domestic 2 stroke series into 125 and then 250.

In the UK, many riders go from racing in 125's at club level and then progress straight to Supersport or one make series like the R6 Cup. They then end up racing 4 stroke Supersport and Superstock bikes by default and so this pretty much removes the pathway to GP's. Bradley Smith is one of the few to buck this trend and looks to have a bright future.

The GP paddock is very insular and pays little attention to race series outside it's own walls so you need to be there racing in 125 or 250 for anyone to notice you unless you are lucky enough to have the right passport and have the sponsors to buy your ride.

I agree that there are a few bright young things like Rea and Camier but our young riders do seem to lack the drive of the Aussies particularily. There seems to be a constant stream of talented Australian riders who are prepared to make sacrifices and travel half way round the world to develop their careers - Casey Stoner, Billy McConnell, Brendan Roberts

[NinjaMaster]

I think the thinking that a racer can't get to MotoGP through WSB is incorrect. The reason there have been so few picked up is because most of the top guys in the series are old. Once Bayliss, Haga, Corser, Biaggi, etc. retire in the next few years, hopefully we will see an influx of young blokes take over to lead the series foward and not cashed-up MotoGP rejects buying the top rides and spoiling the series credibility. If the rider is good enough, I don't see that it would matter if they were 250 or WSB champ as to their success or opportunity in MotoGP, just like Hayden, Hopkins and Vermeulen were able to skip the 250 process. Remember, the likes of Lawson, Gardner, Rainey, Schwantz and Doohan jumped on 500's that were far more removed from the superbikes they had been racing than the current MotoGP bikes are from todays superbikes. The riders talent will ultimately shine through.

[tha_jackal]

I think the thinking that a racer can't get to MotoGP through WSB is incorrect. The reason there have been so few picked up is because most of the top guys in the series are old. Once Bayliss, Haga, Corser, Biaggi, etc. retire in the next few years, hopefully we will see an influx of young blokes take over to lead the series foward and not cashed-up MotoGP rejects buying the top rides and spoiling the series credibility. If the rider is good enough, I don't see that it would matter if they were 250 or WSB champ as to their success or opportunity in MotoGP, just like Hayden, Hopkins and Vermeulen were able to skip the 250 process. Remember, the likes of Lawson, Gardner, Rainey, Schwantz and Doohan jumped on 500's that were far more removed from the superbikes they had been racing than the current MotoGP bikes are from todays superbikes. The riders talent will ultimately shine through.

SSSpot on!

[Mach24]

I think the thinking that a racer can't get to MotoGP through WSB is incorrect. The reason there have been so few picked up is because most of the top guys in the series are old. Once Bayliss, Haga, Corser, Biaggi, etc. retire in the next few years, hopefully we will see an influx of young blokes take over to lead the series foward and not cashed-up MotoGP rejects buying the top rides and spoiling the series credibility. If the rider is good enough, I don't see that it would matter if they were 250 or WSB champ as to their success or opportunity in MotoGP, just like Hayden, Hopkins and Vermeulen were able to skip the 250 process. Remember, the likes of Lawson, Gardner, Rainey, Schwantz and Doohan jumped on 500's that were far more removed from the superbikes they had been racing than the current MotoGP bikes are from todays superbikes. The riders talent will ultimately shine through.

I support this theory completely, however Dorna(Spain) will prefer promotion of riders from within, not sourcing from the Flamini(Italy) championship.

[NinjaMaster]

I've never been good at reading politics so I'm going to assume the manufacturers will pick the best riders who will win them races. The rest of the seats will be taken by cashed up 250 riders.

[Mach24]

I've never been good at reading politics so I'm going to assume the manufacturers will pick the best riders who will win them races. The rest of the seats will be taken by cashed up 250 riders.

I could name half the entrant list who are there for the wrong reasons. But I won't coz it really is not intended to be that kind of thread.

[AndyRAC]

I could name half the entrant list who are there for the wrong reasons. But I won't coz it really is not intended to be that kind of thread.

No, name them, we all know who they are, I think!
Back to the thread I still feel there is more of a SBK culture in Britain then Moto GP, that's why mosy British riders aim for WSBK.I maybe wrong though. Personally I prefer Moto GP

[Silver]

I've never been good at reading politics so I'm going to assume the manufacturers will pick the best riders who will win them races. The rest of the seats will be taken by cashed up 250 riders.

Later on in the article that I quoted further up the page, there is this quote:

Now Ekerold wants to expand to a two-rider World Supersport team in 2008. But he warns: "If the money comes from Spain or Italy, I'll look for riders from those countries."

As has been mentioned, there are more than one or two riders that have benefitted for better rides due to their nationality...

[Mach24]

No, name them, we all know who they are, I think!
Back to the thread I still feel there is more of a SBK culture in Britain then Moto GP, that's why mosy British riders aim for WSBK.I maybe wrong though. Personally I prefer Moto GP

I think the SBK support you speak of is true of UK, USA and Australia. I can not speak of other countries as I would be speculating much more than I am now.

To reach the pinnacle in circuit racing in the aforementioned countries you go to Superbike. GP classes are the poor cousin.

However in Spain (can I be bold and suggest Europe?) National GP classes are strong.

Edit: Yeah we all know who is there for the 'wrong' reason's, however there could be some passionate discussion on a few names!

[The Phantom]

Hayden, Hopkins and Vermeulen were able to skip the 250 process

Not Hopkins - he did a 250 apprenticeship in the US before going to race for the last full year of 500s in 2002.

To reach the pinnacle in circuit racing in the aforementioned countries you go to Superbike. GP classes are the poor cousin.

However in Spain (can I be bold and suggest Europe?) National GP classes are strong.

I think this is the crux of the problem - GP on the world stage is huge (because of history, pride etc.) but at a domestic level it's slipped away since the seventies. The bikes are small, noisy, smelly, high maintenance machines that are fairly irrelevant to most riders, who are brought up on a diet of bigbore 4-strokes.

So although there's a lot of depth in Brit domestic racing, there isn't enough love for actual GP-class machinery to see a ladder to MotoGP. Which is why WSB/WSS have remained relevant, despite the ongoing clash with MotoGP for tv and sponsor attention.

And never take anything that the British press writes about its own sportsmen seriously : )