Given that WSB has a shaky future, MotoGP would be his only jump. I disagree he would be spanked in WSB. MotoGP he would probably be where Hopkins, Edwards and Hayden are at.

 

KPauls Predictions

Because the weather forcast is for moderate temps and the race starts at 12 not latter during the hottest part of the day, Mladin will win, Yates Second, Bostrom Third. i.e. Tires won't be a problem

The slow death of the V-Twin in racing continues

 

Yes, you are correct in your assumption. Really good racers use the AMA racing as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. They test themselves against the world's best, and don't make a career bragging about AMA championships. Kenny Roberts would have won 15 of em if he stayed here, but Mladin is bragging about winning 3.

 

slow death?

slow death of v-twin continues? gadzooks, man, don't tell neil hodgeson.

 

Re: KPauls Predictions

How slow is slow?? 10 years? 20 years? Maybe we should start talking about the half life of carbon 14 or something instead.

 

Mladin raced 500 GP's in 1993. He's gone way backwards in classes. We'll see how he hangs with Hodgson and Xaus in WSB at one of his series regular tracks. I am fairly certain that he'd have his ass handed to him by the WSB guys.



Hayden and Hopkins are young and moving up in classes. Mladin's career is winding down and he's going backwards so I don't see how that's relavent. He's just hanging out beating the up and coming stars instead of racing against his peers.



I agree that people like Kenny Roberts or Freddie Spencer would have cleaned house had they stayed in the AMA. Most competetive people WANT to race against the best, not sandbag to win a trophy or title. What a loser.

 

Re: slow death?

Opps I forgot about the doomed Ducati cup (WSB)

 

Re: KPauls Predictions

In racing. Harley will be around until Ducati buys them.

 

Defending Mladin Again

Just because he is not Spencer or Roberts doesn't mean his riding should not be respected. Every one has a role. Not having an AMA race with Mladin would be crime. His competitiveness can only help sharpen the sword of younger riders. I suspect he race until the end of his current contract and then go back and concentrate on his dealerships in Austrailia. I love his outspokeness about the rules, tracks etc. His riding is terrific.

 

Re: Defending Mladin Again

I don't respect him because he's hanging around to blow his own horn about his race wins and supposed popularity. Real racers want to be the best. He wants to hang around to be a somebody in a nobody league. Is he a good rider? Absolutely. It would be like Hank Aaron never moving up to the major leagues so he could become the all time minor league home run hitter. Big Deal. If you can really hit, go hit with the big boys. If you can't, then stay here and quit blowing your horn. Nicky is on a GP team to be the best. Even if he does average to poorly, he is still racing to be the best. That puts him miles ahead of Mladin, no matter how many wins he gets.

 

Re: KPauls Predictions

I'm not a big Harley guy myself, but I dont' see HD going anywhere for a long time. And then I doubt Ducati would be able to afford it.

 

Mladin is a weenie...

Mladin is a jerk. He was asked before if he was ever going to step up and he said he didn't believe WSBK or MotoGP were a "step up" in competition. And he was serious. I often wondered why, if this was the way he felt, he never raced in the American WSB races. Now some will say "rules"..but if Mladin REALLY wanted to race those races, Suzuki would make it so. I look forward to seeing him race agaist those guys this weekend. Oh yeah..and remember when Mladin was getting creamed by the Twins last year and he said he thought the rules weren't fair and thought the series name should be chaged to AMASuperbike Twins (even though he rode a twin in the series before)...well now that he's on the hot bike he's telling others "rules is rules..deal with it". Sometimes I think Mladin just whines for the sake of whining.

 

At this point i dont think WSB is a big step up from AMA.I think Mladin would be competitive;however ,he would struggle in GP.I like him here;it gives us someone to root against and provides good target for Bostroms and Duhamel

 

Re: Mladin is a weenie...

Sometimes I think Mladin just whines for the sake of whining.

Just like Biaggi...

(okay folks, flame away)

 

Ben Bostrom...

What the heck is up with BBoz these days?

I know he's had a rough transition to that Honda, but I really expected that with his WSB experience, he could qualify higher than 8th here...

Maybe he'll move up a few spots from that position once the race starts, but I kinda hoped he might be a front-runner in this one, especially since they're not letting him ride WSB...

 

Re: Ben Bostrom...

good question. maybe the supermodel girlfriend has him weak in the knees.

 

They shouldn't even race

They should base qualifying on MSF scores and then have a bench press contest and a 40 yard dash.

Isn't that what motorcycling is all about?

 

Mladin sucks

Thanks guys. I knew I couldn't be the only one that thought he was lame.

I guess we'll revisit this post after the weekend and see how well he does against the WSB guys.

 

Re: Holy sh1t

That was funny!

 

Re: EBoz

Is riding the green off that Kawi.

 

Mladin is a stud

"-- Mladin's times so far are better than the best the WSC boys could produce. Sure, the World Superbike guys will go faster, but so will Mladin and company"

from Mladin kicks butt

 

Re: They shouldn't even race

Name the competition little man. But it can't be womanizing and bull shyting. I willing concede those to you. Cause I don't B.S. and I don't understand women period.

 

Well I think Mladin will do well..the level of talent in WSB is waaayyy down from what it used to be...so he should do well. Too bad Mladin never raced when WSB was "big". Duhamel raced against the stars and even got a podium finish. I think Mladin wants to race this year because the competition isn't as stiff as it used to be.....Oh..and he's still a weenie!

 

>>too fast and experienced for AMA Superbike but would probably get spanked in World Superbike<<



Given the fact that he was also fastest in the first WSB qualifying session (with a motor he had never before ridden with -- considerably different from the AMA motor), I think it fair to say that he might well be better than most of the current WSB crop.



BTW, for those p!ssing and moaning about the unfair restrictors on the WSB Suzukis, note that his and Yates times on the WSB version are virtually identical with those on the AMA bikes, so it looks to me that the restrictors don't really have that much of an impact in final analysis.



Ducati is winning everything in WSB because they have the best riders -- if Suzuki WSB team was using Mat, I think they would be challenging, if not dominating, the series.



Bob

 

given he is not the most civil of people and

hard to approach, but he is FAST!!! have any of you guys even seen him ride?? remember this guy won 3 ama'a on a 750. i wacthed him today and yesterday blast down the corkscrew between guys with not an inch to spare, and wheelie out of the following right hander totally crossed up and then slam it into the next left hander. he blasted by Hodgson today and took the pole pulled in and watched him plant his bike in turn 3. yes- he can compete at any level- given a decent bike and full factory support. no i am not a fan of his, as a matter of fact my buddy asked him to sign an autograph and he looked at him like he was really asking him for a favor- go figure... just my lousy 2 cents...