[das]

Bayliss is good. Very good. On the edge of great. But there's no way he's a threat to Rossi (unless Ducati can get extremely Duc-friendly rules in GP1, and build an un-beatable bike... and that's not going to happen).



Many WSBK fans said Haga was gonna eat the GP guys alive, and... well, he's stepped back down to WSBK this year.



I like WSBK, and even the local riders who fail to qualify for WSBK races can outride me, but let's be realistic... the GP guys are the best riders on the GP equipment. If Bayliss moved to GP, he'd not be competitive for a while (at least a season), and he ain't getting any younger. Let him stay in WSBK and reap his successes... it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

 

[das]

Re: It's a conspiracy.

No doubt that GP1 is mostly political... (isn't every FIM-run racing series?).

As for why most of the riders in the GP classes are Italians, Japanese, and Spaniards... that's easy: Those are the countries where the series is most popular. Yes, it's political, but it also makes some sense financially that they're giving rides to people from countries where the sport is popular. If you're not a home-crowd draw at at least one race, you'd better have some other fan-drawing/marketing power, like being the son of a former champion, or a woman, or something.

It's the same way in WSBK... the British are nutso about WSBK, so there are lots of British riders in that series.

 

[das]

Re: Suzuki 250 GP

I apologize for not being up on my Bayliss history... no I don't recall his 250GP ride, but history has shown that for many riders, performance in a single home-track race does not guarantee series-long performance.

I do recall him from AMA racing... he was good, but not head-and-shoulders above the rest, as you seem to imply. He just seems to be getting better and better all the time, though.

Don't get me wrong... I like Bayliss. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and he rides that superbike fabulously. But I'd find it hard to believe that *anyone* could start racing GP this year and challenge Rossi.