Dear Ping,
I race the plus 60 class at every round of the Spring Creek Super Series at Millville. 4 laps is about a 12-minute moto and usually I get a good start but fade after 1-2 laps and I am pretty worn out by the end of the moto.
My bike is a 2018 Yamaha YZ450F with Race Tech Gold Valve Suspension and I keep a fresh set of Dunlops on at all times. Also, I ride once or twice a month to keep my on the bike fitness sharp.
Do you think the fading could be caused by Epstein-Barr Virus? Is my bike set up off? Or am I just too old, not talented, and don’t practice enough?
Jerry #11
Jerry,
I like to keep it positive so let’s look at the things you’re doing correctly: You have a great bike, the proper tires, good suspension, and you’re over 60 years of age, which requires some basic survival skills, at a minimum. Nice work, Jerry! Now, what are some things you could improve on? I don’t think it helps that your name is Jerry. That moniker is synonymous with lackluster skills; see IG page @jerryoftheday for examples. Once you change your name, I’d focus on riding a little bit more. You can’t do anything once a month and expect to be even remotely proficient at it. I’m not a doctor but I feel confident in saying that you don’t have EBV. Arthritis, gout, irritable bowel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, hypothyroidism… you’re the perfect age for all of these horrifying maladies, however, so good luck with that. In closing, enjoy riding that YZ, keep it on two wheels, and get a bottle of blue pills so your “little Jerry” stays harder than your forearms after a blistering two-lap moto.
PING
Ping,
Supermoto seems to be building back up again in different parts of the country. Here in SoCal, the local series is doing well and there are always guys at the local cart tracks practicing. I know you were involved pretty heavily for a while… what happened to the sport and do you see it getting as big as it once was?
See you at Adams!
T-Bone
T-Bone,
I’ve heard that there is a bit of a resurgence out here, and there has always been a good Supermoto following back east. I love hearing that! There were a bunch of different things that caused the decline in that sport. First and foremost, the economy tanked. Red Bull was supporting the growth of the sport over here until they had an issue with the AMA. I don’t know what happened, exactly, but it soured Red Bull on the series and they took their money elsewhere. One of the cool things about the early years of the sport was the participation of superstars from various disciplines. Nicky Hayden, the Bostrom brothers, Reed, McGrath, Pastrana, Henry, Wardy, Dymond, Nicoll, Metzger, and many others were showing up to various rounds of the series and all trying to compete at the X Games event. Over time, certain riders who specialized in the sport got so good that those stars couldn’t compete. Troy Herfoss, Mark Burkhart, Cassidy Anderson and Chris Fillmore were all incredible racers, but the fans didn’t recognize their names and they began tuning out when moto heroes got tired of getting beat and stopped showing up. The coup de grace for the sport was when ESPN decided to pull Supermoto out of the X Games lineup.
I don’t know if the sport will ever make a return to where it once was, or if it will ever reach its true potential, which I don’t think we ever saw here in the US. I hope the folks at American flat track will get involved and use some of the momentum they’ve built in their series to bring Supermoto back to life. Those were some of the best days of racing of my career, and a lot of the guys I raced with [Wardy, Micky, Henry] all think the same thing.
PING
Ping,
I’ve been waiting to hear what is going to happen with JGR and no news yet. The only stuff I hear is that Suzuki isn’t helping and the team is struggling. Do you know more about their situation? I’ve been a fan of their effort since they started and every year, I think they are going to break out, they just don’t. I was hoping 2020 would be the year and now I’m just hoping they show up.
Kirk
Charlotte, NC
Kirk,
The chatter I’ve heard hasn’t been good. Rumors of Suzuki cutting their budget by more than half, if accurate, are devastating for the JGR boys. Like you, I’ve been pulling for this team since the very beginning. Jeremy Albrecht, the team manager, is a friend of mine, so I’d like to see him do some more winning over there. But I also think it’s big to have the Gibbs family participating in our sport. If they can’t make this work financially and they pull out, it’s a very bad look for our sport. I know they have good equipment there, the support from the team members is great, and their staff is talented and capable… so what’s the missing piece?? I don’t think they know, at this point. James Stewart was supposed to be the catalyst to thrust them into championship status and it just didn’t work out. They’ve had some bad luck with injuries in other riders and haven’t been able to sign a Tomac/Musquin/Roczen type of rider who has the pedigree to win. Let’s hope they can sort out title sponsors, get Suzuki to properly support them, and get a rider there that's capable of winning.
PING
