Originally Posted by
Billy
Jake Lewis 125GP champion,Seth Deveruex,Prolite 250 champion,Johnny Small,650 Pro twin Champion,Dennis Charlett,600 Supersport champion and an endless list of top line competitors in the National series is good a enough start for me,600 Superstock won by an englishman with NZ heritage and all of a sudden the North Islanders achievements pale in significance,What does that leave,Superbike won by a 40 something year old,Brilliant,So what is it outside of Jaden Hassan(Who incidentally has had training with MCC as have Glen Skachill,Avalon Biddle and Daniel Mettam) that the North Island scheme has produced???
I'm not gonna get into the whole tit for tat NI vs SI thing, cos it's just like football cards: I'll match your Dennis Charlett with Craig Shirriffs, or raise Choppa, Nick Cole or Hayden Fitzgerald against Jake Lewis, yada bloody yada....it goes nowhere. I was trying to show why the "unbelievable" situation that Oyster see's, is very believable when viewed from further away. And how after 10years of junior "development" the same ol' people are still turning up and winning...and that includes Dennis Charlett who is also over 40 like Andrew Stroud but for some reason that's Ok with you, but Andrew's not.
The contrast with ASBK, BSB or AMA couldn't be more striking with youngsters battling for their biggest championships on a yearly basis. I'm not maligning MCC, I'm just frustrated that we don't seem to be progressing despite the best intentions on both sides of our ditch.
Time will show the likes of the 3 Hoogie brothers,Cam Jones,Nick Cain,Eric Oliver Maxwell,Ants Singer and many more from the MCC stable have the ability too step up.
The point is though,Would they waste their time and especially money,Winning a NZ superbike Championship that means NOTHING in the grand scheme of getting to Moto GP and thats what this thread is about isnt it? Unless Suzuki NZ pick up the tab currently offered to Andrew,Craig and co while theyre in their early teens,It will be a waste of time and money,At 21 your considered too old to be starting in the Superbike/Moto GP classes in Europe.
The thing with a Superbike title is you are racing and proving yourself against the best riders in NZ. What's the point of taking on the best overseas if you don't even know if you can beat the best here? A Superbike title worth nothing? Beating and/or competing against Stroud, Bugden, Shirriffs, Frost, Fitzgerald, Smith is on a totally different scale to winning any other class. But yes, it does take valuable time, which is why I'm disappointed we don't try harder to concentrate the talent into fewer classes and reward/encourage progression through the classes. If you can run at the front on a GP125 what's the point of doing F3/pro-twins? Get their fast arses on a 600 ASAP! Same for the next step from 600 to Superbike, why languish in 600's for 3 years if you have proven you're competive?
So I guess the question you have too ask yourself is,Do we want to make our domestic championship better at Superbike level,Or concentrate on getting the talent on the world stage as early as possible???
So how do you identify talented riders if they don't get to ride against decent opposition? (7 riders completed the Supersport Championship last year) My point isn't about making Superbike better, it's about it being the best proving ground we can provide, with truly international quality opposition and decent depth of field. If we don't prove how good a rider is it's just a lottery whether they're up to international competition or not.
No,What MCC are doing is not the magic bullet,BUT its alot more effective than the proverbial foot shooting expedition on the North Island!!!
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