What do YOU want out of your racing?

[White trash]

piss taking aside, why do you think that?

Because there's no incentive for the truly skillfull riders to join in. Bernard racing's doing what they can to find new talent but it's not enough. If Hayden Fitzgerald, who can win at will in NZ, can't finnish in the top ten in Austrailia, what hope in hell have we got on the world stage?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm better than these guys, just from a spectator point of view, I'm not impressed and it's not exciting.

[White trash]

did you read what you just wrote

"i dont race because im scared of being beaten" then the "talent on any one track in NZ is abismal" hahahahhahaha read it an weep.

you just called scared of being beaten by a nuch of non talented riders.......

bar the insult to all the riders in nz...... GREAT CALL WHITE TRASH

Actually, did YOU read what I wrote? I didn't claim to better than these guys, I would have my serve of humble pie against most of NZ racers right now. The fact that two of NZs top 600 racers can't even stay in the top 15 of the field in Australiais what worries me.

And think of this smart arse, if I ca't stay with these guys, and 99% of KBers can't stay with me, what does that say about the general skill level of New Zealand motorcyclists?

[FROSTY:Me]

well personally I think its all about feeding the funnel.Road racing in godzone is being run on a shoestring by a very few dedicated folks.
You wanna improve the quality of racing --I beleive we need to improve the QUANTITY of available racing.
Watch a club level meeting before the nationals -then watch the same meeting after the nats. The bar gets raised as the racing intensifies.
Another thing to keep in mind is its frigging difficullt to raise sponsor dollars in this country. That means if people kike hayden want to compete they are doing it off their own backs --unlike a lot of the professional -or heavily supported auzzies

[Brian d marge]

Actually, did YOU read what I wrote? I didn't claim to better than these guys, I would have my serve of humble pie against most of NZ racers right now. The fact that two of NZs top 600 racers can't even stay in the top 15 of the field in Australiais what worries me.

And think of this smart arse, if I ca't stay with these guys, and 99% of KBers can't stay with me, what does that say about the general skill level of New Zealand motorcyclists?

It does beg the question why doesnt it ...I mean there ARE some VERY talanted riders in NZ ...I mean one guy I grew up with could wheelstand a CB360 ..now that is good ...he got to the gate at work but he could never get it to the stop sign ....
The Rossis of the world ...start from an early age ,,,,,and come up through the 125 etc long and hard apprentiship ....
People such As Bernard Racing are making a difference ...my feeling is he may be struggling financially ..
Over here Racing has personalities ...My wife doesnt know SH1t about bikes but she is always asking about Ukawa ...yes I know
If the sport could be made profitable ( no sniggering in the cheap seats ) ,,,,I supose it would feed upon itself ...
The other way I could think off is by developing new stuff ,,and selling the Knowledge gained ,,,sort of like what brittan did ,,,push the boundrys of the tech and flog it off
Its not like NZ is short of talanted Engineers either ...look at who is working at the GP level ...
Just some thought s

Stephen

[k14]

Because there's no incentive for the truly skillfull riders to join in. Bernard racing's doing what they can to find new talent but it's not enough. If Hayden Fitzgerald, who can win at will in NZ, can't finnish in the top ten in Austrailia, what hope in hell have we got on the world stage?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm better than these guys, just from a spectator point of view, I'm not impressed and it's not exciting.

So do you know the full situation?? He is riding a bike that is around 10hp down that most of the other guys over there. He has no chance in hell of competing against the factory guys with fully spec'd bikes and new tyres every race. He is on a cbr600 with a bit of work and has to use the same tyres for a whole race weekend. He is beating guys on better bikes than his. Look at his results in the wet, finished in the top 10 off a grid spot of 19th.

Also look at what shaun harris is doing. Going over to the states next year to setup his team, taking dom jones with him. Dom's already been over there and quite easily held his own, again on a borrowed and under spec'd bike.

Its not as bad as you think, but it's not good either.

[Quasievil]

Its as frosty said, there is but a small following of people who watch the sport and because of this its a cheap sport, ie no sponsors dollars,
WT is bang on the money to, I suggest a few put the time into actually reading his posts as intended.

Imagine this, COKE, MOBIL,TELECOM and other big names sponsoring a motorcycle event in NZ ........regulary, now imagine this, Two smoker on a factory sponsored bike...... Im now thinking suddenly the standard and ability of the NZ racer has just gone up ten fold , what ya reckon

[FROSTY:Me]

Just to give ya an idea --in the uk there is a race meeting every day of almost every weekend -imagine how much better a rider we would be with that much racing.
I know myself I improve heaps when Ive had a trackday or two before a meeting

[TwoSeven]

I have a fair amount of experience working in managing projects, ok, in a different field, but one of my key skills is the capability to understand whats required to succeed in something and even more, understand how to get it out of people to do that.

Being successful in motorcycle racing in any country especially NZ does NOT require money - thats an excuse that pessimists use to raise the bar so that they can make people fail - a cultural thing that is quite common here.

Every person has the same opportunities and talent as every other person, its all a level playing ground - most people (and I can pretty safely say most everyone on this forum) has probably never been pushed beyond their limits so will not be aware of their real capabilities there desires will always remain dreams because they dont push themselves to make them real. In that regards, people put up barriers to say why they will fail or even, they wont succeed as well as they desire too. I see this day in and day out, I even see it on riders on race tracks.

Any person in this country could potentially be made to run at the top of any event in any sport in the world, there is no excuse why not. Any person in motocycling in NZ (within reason) could be made to run in the top 10 of any aussie series. It requires two things - desire and someone to show them how.

Teamwork is about enablement and support, there are no leaders in a team, just a shared goal that is common to its members. When people work in a balanced team (from a psychology point of view), there is nothing that the team cannot achieve. Its unbalanced teams that fail. Once you put a leader in a team, that team will fail. Good team managers do not give instructional commands, only strategic commands. If you want to become a world champion then you must have the desire to make those strategic commands stretch goals (bhags - big hairy audacious goal as the technical name is), you must have the team in place that can learn how to break those bhags into mini-goals and the desire to see them implimented.

For an individual to succeed, they need to learn to listen to their team and allow the team to make mistakes and likewise they themselves must make mistakes. Only thru getting things wrong, will you really know how to get things right. I very seldom see this in the motorcycle scene in NZ. I see ego's, I see chest beating, I see people trying to go it alone, I see people riding in circles making the same mistake as the person next to them. Sure people talk to each other, laugh and joke, but those people have forgotten how to really listen, observe and understand and to push hard.

I watch the top riders and I read their comments in the mags, and its all about limitations and how machinary didnt work and how they could have done better only if - I dont read about how they are working in a team and how they are achieving their goals and overcoming their propblems. Why dont they compete overseas - because the dont want to. If they did, they'd already be there.

Teams also need to learn to make mistakes and how to listen collectively. In management we use a mentoring system, where successful people industry coach other people to also be successful, it happens in other sports - netball even, old players come back and coach the teams. Does this happen in road bike racing - no it doesnt. Has anyone actually asked successful road racers to come here and mentor the industry (not just individuals the whole industry). How do you know whats required to succeed if you never ask?

If you want to increase the number of people in the sport you have to make it a family affair, because the family is the TEAM that gives the core support and allows individuals to live their dreams. Thats why rossi is world champion, because his family was involved all thru his life in mini-moto up to motogp. You'll probably find that of any champion - if its not their family, then their team and peers will have taken its place.

I very seldom see families at road racing events getting the 5 yearold out on a minimoto while dad or mum is out on the big bike - I see it at dirt bike events which funnily enough, has world champions. There is no point in saying things about what classes you need and all that rubbish, when the most basic thing required is quite simply to make a family day out - the rest will grow from that.

[texmo]

I went to puke today for racing the scootahs did 4laps and were told to stay behind a car that would only do 70miles per hour... its not just the raceing that dose it for me its the whole environment. The track would have tobe the most fun with your cloths on.

[Ivan]

So do you know the full situation?? He is riding a bike that is around 10hp down that most of the other guys over there. He has no chance in hell of competing against the factory guys with fully spec'd bikes and new tyres every race. He is on a cbr600 with a bit of work and has to use the same tyres for a whole race weekend. He is beating guys on better bikes than his. Look at his results in the wet, finished in the top 10 off a grid spot of 19th.

Also look at what shaun harris is doing. Going over to the states next year to setup his team, taking dom jones with him. Dom's already been over there and quite easily held his own, again on a borrowed and under spec'd bike.

Its not as bad as you think, but it's not good either.

Yeah in Aus they are aloud to do the cams the heads etc etc we cant do that in New Zeland and yeah lookat Dominic Jones and look at Sam Smith on a 125 and look at Shaun Harris and Look at Bruce Anstey and Look at Aaron Slight I could go on forever in a Day we have the experience we just need that break onto a good bike with the right horses and the right setup and new tires

[Kickaha]

Yeah in Aus they are aloud to do the cams the heads etc etc we cant do that in New Zeland and yeah lookat Dominic Jones and look at Sam Smith on a 125 and look at Shaun Harris and Look at Bruce Anstey and Look at Aaron Slight I could go on forever in a Day we have the experience we just need that break onto a good bike with the right horses and the right setup and new tires

Wasn't it Sam Smith who got a third in the 125GP class? guess some can run at the front of the field in Aussie, pity MNZ just wanted to wank on about the 600 riders instead of giving him some recognition

Domonic Jones was also doing very well in the USA before he damaged his wrist and is looking for a bike to compete in the premier class (buckets)

[Coyote]

I enjoyed racing before I wrecked the bike. Hope to do it again sometime

[Ivan]

Dom should build a bucket a RS125 housed bucket cause he was the man on one of those and MNZ should have looked at 125's we aint ever gonna win the Oceana cup either for 2 reasons 1 our 600s arnt up to oz spec 2 its 3 kiwis vs 30 something ozzys as long as all the 15 ozzys finish race one they got it wrapped up and in the bag Sam Smith showed what you can do on a 125 were we are aloud to do what we like I wonder why the Ozzys dont want the oceana cup to be in 125's HHMMMM I wonder

[username]

How do you guys put up with the total bullshit this idiot spouts??
TwoSeven have you ever actually raced a motorbike?
Have you started your own team supporting a young rider?
If not then shut up because you haven't a clue.

[TwoSeven]

How do you guys put up with the total bullshit this idiot spouts??
TwoSeven have you ever actually raced a motorbike?
Have you started your own team supporting a young rider?
If not then shut the fuck up because you haven't a clue.

Fookoff!!!!

There is nothing worse than an ignoramous that cant express their thoughts with a valid counter or follow thru discussion.

The three main points of my post were to highlight.

1. Motivation and know-how to succeed
2. A team to support you, the team should have a mentor
3. The most effective supporting team is ones own family

The rest of my post basically said that any individual is capable of performing beyong expectations to be at the top of any sport, and that usually when they are not performing its because of one of the above failing.

If you disagree with any of that - then please post and explain why as any normal person would do.