OP/ED By Ralph Rodriguez
American racing is on the cusp of something great. MotoAmerica is getting ready to host their inaugural season. Supercross is just if not more exciting without James Stewart and Villapoto. And the rumors of SBK champ Troy Bayliss coming to race in America in the GNC are about to become reality, except….
Road Racing and Flat Track Racing in the United States took a hard hit in the last few years, losing major sponsors, great racers going abroad and fan taking their money elsewhere (to Supercross). Flat Track in particular is something I’m proud of since it is a true American sport, crafted by trend setters like Gary Nixon, Mert Lawwill, Gene Romero, Jay Springsteen, Gary Scott and of course King Kenny Roberts!
Kenny Roberts did for the sport of Flat Tracking what few had done before; He created a buzz with his 1975 TZ750 appearance at the Indy Mile. Then again in 2009 when he turned a few laps on the now famous TZ750 in front of MotoGP greats during the MotoGP stop in Indy.
Even MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez calls flat track racing one of the best training exercises for road racing. Leading the call to bring back the superprestigio and inviting America's greatest racers to participate. American racers like Brad Baker, Shayna Texter, and UK's Scott Redding.
I haven’t had a chance to speak to Troy but I did talk to David Lloyd co-owner of Lloyd Bro Motorsports. David says “Troy had the desire to compete in the GNC and would like to race in 2015, and we have a fully race ready Ducati ready to go. We just need a sponsor.”
Like I said at the beginning of this post, America is on the cusp of a breakout season. Having SBK Champion Troy Bayliss racing the 2015 GNC is akin to bringing King Kenny out on his TZ. This kind of buzz will resonate not only through the country, but the world. Bringing fans and hopefully sponsors back to the sport of US Flat Tracking.
American racing is on the cusp of something great. MotoAmerica is getting ready to host their inaugural season. Supercross is just if not more exciting without James Stewart and Villapoto. And the rumors of SBK champ Troy Bayliss coming to race in America in the GNC are about to become reality, except….
Road Racing and Flat Track Racing in the United States took a hard hit in the last few years, losing major sponsors, great racers going abroad and fan taking their money elsewhere (to Supercross). Flat Track in particular is something I’m proud of since it is a true American sport, crafted by trend setters like Gary Nixon, Mert Lawwill, Gene Romero, Jay Springsteen, Gary Scott and of course King Kenny Roberts!
Kenny Roberts did for the sport of Flat Tracking what few had done before; He created a buzz with his 1975 TZ750 appearance at the Indy Mile. Then again in 2009 when he turned a few laps on the now famous TZ750 in front of MotoGP greats during the MotoGP stop in Indy.
Even MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez calls flat track racing one of the best training exercises for road racing. Leading the call to bring back the superprestigio and inviting America's greatest racers to participate. American racers like Brad Baker, Shayna Texter, and UK's Scott Redding.
I haven’t had a chance to speak to Troy but I did talk to David Lloyd co-owner of Lloyd Bro Motorsports. David says “Troy had the desire to compete in the GNC and would like to race in 2015, and we have a fully race ready Ducati ready to go. We just need a sponsor.”
Like I said at the beginning of this post, America is on the cusp of a breakout season. Having SBK Champion Troy Bayliss racing the 2015 GNC is akin to bringing King Kenny out on his TZ. This kind of buzz will resonate not only through the country, but the world. Bringing fans and hopefully sponsors back to the sport of US Flat Tracking.
Ralph Rodriguez is a writer, host of 2WheelPodcast and producer of all things motorcycles. Contact him at [email protected]