One of those two is a cradle snatcher!!! hehehehe
I have heard through the grapevine that almost all of the Honda dealers in NZ are happy to contribute two CBR500 bikes to the 'class' whatever that might be.
In my opinion though, if they want to get it going, get it going. Just have riders enter the bikes in Pro-Twin races and be done with it.
If the bikes work so well then by simple evolution, riders will gravitate towards them and the other bikes will disappear.
A very well sorted SV650 will likely be superior to a CBR500, but, to get that well sorted will take skill and knowledge that your average racing newbie does not have.
The work that Jake, Rob, Av and some fella named Crafar (MotoVudu) along with TechnicaMoto and of course WIL Sports have done over this year, last year and the previous year when he first went over is simply amazing.
It is the model for success. It shows that one bloke with a backpack full of racing gear simply cannot achieve the success everyone craves any more. It is a team effort. I would hazard a guess that if the personalities match, that Simon will help out other Kiwi riders in similar ways, but striking up a good relationship with him is important. A rider like Tyler has a foot in the door having already spent time with Simon, so if WIL or others were to get on board with him and one or more of the guys that raced this year then we can have a steady stream of one or two riders going each year (and trying out for Rookies Cup too). Rogan C could be the one for wildcard ride(s) next year, then Amy Vaculik-Hamilton or Jake Stroud or whoever (these are just names of young riders I know, not necessarily the best or anything).
But it takes a team effort and supreme sacrifice. Not everyone can move their lives to Europe for 8 months to chase a dream and then do it again the next year. I really hope that Sam and Drew are able to do it and that they can do it a bit easier than they had to this year. (I wonder how that might work for a 2nd year given that you have effectively bought the bike, can you enter again for a subsequent year with the same bike and pay a reduced fee??)
Huge congrats to Jake, Connor, Sam, Blayes and Tyler and of course Avalon in Italy and all the others who have taken the risk to chase their dreams on the world stage (like Nick Cole and Sloan Frost and Al Hoogie etc). I chased my own dreams in my own career when I was young (not 17 but !!!!) and it is just the best feeling in the world to be doing that.
Kia kaha.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Ono Lennon.
"If you have never stared off into the distance then your life is a shame." Counting Crows
"The girls were in tight dresses, just like sweets in cellophane" Joe Jackson
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Originally Posted by Billy
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