Recently we heard BadwinP explain to us why we should be watching Aussie Rules Football. Today I thought I’d continue this trend of exposing you to sports that the typical ESPN-producer douchebag has never heard of.
Motorcycle road racing is easily one of Europe’s most popular sports, yet it hasn’t blown up here in the states like it should have. Now obviously choosing a sport to follow is a matter of personal choice. I understand that. There’s absolutely nothing that could convince me to start following NASCAR or tennis. But most American sports fans don’t watch motorcycle racing because they’re barely aware of its existence, not because they don’t like what they see.
Motorcyle racing is an amazing sport and it’s a travesty that it doesn’t get more noticed here in the U.S. (Yeah, I know we have motocross here, but that’s a sport for rubes and children.) You should be watching it. Here’s why.
1. Motorcycle racing is easy to follow
There are two major racing leagues at the top of the sport, MotoGP and World Superbike. Both are international series that race at tracks all over the world (including the U.S.). The main difference between the two is that MotoGP is for prototype racing, meaning the bikes in that series are pure racebikes with cutting-edge technology and materials. Meanwhile World Superbike (or WSBK) requires that racers ride actual sportbikes that can be bought in a your local Ducati or Yamaha dealership.
The two leagues are not affiliated with each other and compete to get the best riders. MotoGP is probably slightly more prestigious but the differences in quality are slight, as both series recruit the world’s top talent. The way to think of them is that MotoGP is the motorcycle world’s equivalent of Formula 1 and WSBK is comparable to GT/sportscar/touring car racing.
2. Motorcycle racing is easy to watch
One thing I love about motorcycle racing is that it’s refreshingly hassle-free to watch. Especially compared to other motorsports like F1 and NASCAR, it’s an unpretentious sport with rules that are mostly easy to follow. There are no pit stops or communications with the pit crew, so the focus is more on the rider’s skill and each team’s ability to set up the bikes rather than about boring pit stop strategy and fuel management. And the races are typically no more than 35 laps, so you can usually watch two races on TV in two hours without taking up your entire day.
GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE MOTO 2010 from pha on Vimeo.
3. Rossi
For much of the past decade the sport’s biggest star, Valentino Rossi, has been a household name from one end of Europe to the other. He’s one of the world’s best-paid athletes and has won seven MotoGP championships. Rossi has been involved in many of the sport’s all-time most famous “battles” with other riders, including at Laguna Seca (near Monterey, Calif.) in 2008 when he made a legendary pass on Australian Casey Stoner.
So Rossi’s dominance of his sport is right there with Jordan in the 90s (Jordan himself owns a motorcycle racing team), yet unlike Number 23, Rossi has a fun-loving, charismatic personality that connects with the fans.
Rossi stories are all over the internet, but I love how he once put a huge photo of his own bugged-out face on top of his helmet.
4. Motorcycle racers are the last true gladiators we have
This is probably what most separates motorcycle racing from auto racing. There’s a physicality that you just don’t get with Formula 1 or NASCAR. The racers tuck in low for top speed on the straightaways. They lift their chests up to catch air when they need to slow down. They hang off the bikes and touch their knees down to lean the bikes over through the corners. It’s a 180 mph choreographed dance.
And while car racing is certainly dangerous for drivers, motorcycle racers routinely show up to race while injured. Almost no one makes it though an entire season without numerous high-speed crashes so it’s not unusual to see racers on the starting line with broken ankles and bashed up wrists.
In a weird way, though, the injuries are a good thing. Without the risk of injury, racers would simply bash into each other constantly with total impunity… like they do in Nascrap.
5. Motorcycle racing can be beautiful
There’s a certain gracefulness that I love about motorcycle racing. I love seeing a long line of bikes all leaning over through the turns. The sport can be stunning to watch.
Unfortunately some of the really hot HD videos can’t be embedded but you can get an idea by checking out this and this.
6. Motorcycle racing is actually pretty good to its American fans
This isn’t soccer, where American fans pretty much have to resign themselves to cheering for Manchester United or Real Madrid if they want to enjoy the sport’s top tier. While Spaniards, Italians, Brits, Australians and Japanese are competitive, American racing is pretty widely respected around the world. Many of the best riders of the 80s and 90s were Americans and there are a bunch of Americans at the top levels of the sport right now (including three Americans in MotoGP, Ben Spies, Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards).
Personally I love Edwards. He’s a witty Texan who gives great interviews. A few years after being crashed into by an Italian rider during the Italian GP, he explained what happened to the TV interviewer: “We’re in Italy. Something you just have to deal with is dumbass Italians.”
Here’s another Texan, Ben Spies, who won the World Superbike championship last season.
If you’re a fan in the U.S. who wants to watch some racing, it’s really not all that hard. Both MotoGP and World Superbike are broadcasted on SpeedTV on most Sunday afternoons in the spring and summer. And both series makes trips to the U.S.
- May 30, World Superbike Championship at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City
- July 24, MotoGP United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in California
- Aug. 28, MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
7. Umbrella girls
They’re extremely important because without them, the racers would have to hold up their own umbrellas at the starting line and they would die.
