This may sound a bit rant-ish but I think it needs to be said, because if we're not careful this era could pass for us Brits as just another nearly moment You see I personally believe we're currently witnessing some of the best British riding talent we've seen for years in Redding & Crutchlow. Thats not forgetting Smith bless him as he's starting to gather pace and I reckon will come good and be at the pointy end soon enough So why does it seem nearly everything I read posted by a British/English Motogp fan (not just on here may i add) seems to be about how good this Spanish kid is or that Italian kid is rather than how good our boys are? Crutchlow is unbelievably good, Alien good in his approach to every race and deserves your FULL support now, not when he's champion. Redding is simply stunning to watch race, Elbows, knees and shoulders down in the bends (its not just MM who can do it lads) and is now realising his potential and leading the championship in which he has a huge weight disadvantage. He also deserves your FULL support right now. I'm sorry but it really pisses me off that we as a nation seem to find almost any excuse to make it hard for our own. Motogp and ride availability is not only about talent nowadays, its also about marketing opportunity etc (the passport saga) If more people actually started getting behind our boys at the top then maybe they'd be given the same packages as the next Italian wonder kid or Spanish golden child because that's what these big corporates see, marketing opportunity, exposure and what's selling....... Rider stock if you like. were a pretty big bike loving nation, we've got history at the top. We're just not throwing our weight behind it and giving our own lads a chance buy British lads, support British, maybe we'll get rewarded, they get the rides, the factory support and sponsorship they deserve. keep supporting every new fancy foreign rider as first priority and guess what, that's where the money will stay. that is all, rant over. ps - I didn't get much sleep last night but I've just watched Moto2 and if you've not seen it take some time to see the super slow mo of redding, fuck me he's good. pps - we do rather well in WSBK as well so something's going right for us PPPS - Its rather high up here
How do you want this support to manifest itself? BTW, it's really the media you want to be ranting at. Diehard bikers aren't short on support but becoming a household name is a PR job. The entourages of Crutchlow and Redding would do well to find out how Wiggins became a household name; it's not as if the country usually gives a toss about the T de F. Now he's a Sir.
I agree with Glidd. I support CC no end. He's an exciting rider. But it's his "people" that need to raise his profile with the world media and with the factories out there.
Well that im afraid is out of all of our hands, I guess all we can do is support them as fans. If Crutchlow or Redding ever reads this then perhaps they can give their PR people an ear bashing. PR aside though the tinterweb is awash with views, opinions and general rider support. I just think the more positive support our boys get can only be a good thing right?
We are all good Europeans, it's all one EU and the rider's nationality is irrelevant for us - we support Europeans. ******** OK, OK ... breathe ... In all seriousness, I see riders as talented individuals first and representatives of their country ... well, not second ... in fact, hardly at all. When you are riding your bike to the limit of your abilities, you are in a place that has no nationality. It is the country of Your Machine, population - You. We as riders identify with this process, regardless of our relative abilities. We see the guy, on the bike, on the track, on the limit. That's what we identify with. The rider is of course a major part of a team effort - crew, manufacturer, sponsor - but we are most invested in the guy who is doing what we ourselves do, or wish to do - ragging the arse off a performance machine. I support the England football team (God help me) and many other English/British teams in various sports. I support many English/British individuals in their chosen sports. However, these are all pursuits that I am more or less mildly interested in and to which I have no real emotional link. The motorbike racer though - he's speaking my language when he is on the track. We are bikers together. Just my opinion, I wouldn't expect anyone else to agree.
it is a good thing for to get behind a talented rider... as the odds are not stacked evenly.. so go and support Redding and CC! Especially CC is doing a top job but i fear he's at his best... Beating VR on a regular basis however should be more than enough to get a go at the factory Yam... as to marketing appeal, i fear he's got some way to go... that Raving Celt approach may not be all that good in that department... however much il like it.. and for Redding, lets hope he beats Esperargo big time.. it's the only way to keep him out of MGP which could upset CC plans...
as you can tell from my posts, im 100% behind the british lads on the world stage. motorcycle racing is still somewhat a niche as far as the UK media is concerned..as much as i dislike the man, Carl Fogarty was all but ignored by the mainstream British media, and Hodgson, oh and Toseland, oh and..well, you get the picture... CC, and SR are our two biggest hopes imho...that said, the Spanish are starting to dominate the sport...5 of the top 10 riders in motogp are from Spain, its a similar story in Moto2 and 3...Spanish and Italian riders are like rock stars in their mother countries...Theres even a statue of Alex Creville in Spain.. I think the football analogy is misleading because the team is the constant, and it is a partisan sport..a fan is a fan of the club irrespective of who is in the team...fans dont switch teams when their star player moves on....in motorsport, golf, cycling, whatever the fans tend to follow the sports person..although the motorcycle rider is part of the 'team', they are in the garage and he wins or loses on his own..the team are the back up..in football, the team is the entire unit fighting for the win.... The same can be said in music.. when a new singer joins the band, they usually retain their fan base and enter a new era for the band...AC/DC and Van Halen on the rock/metal side of things for instance..when an artist goes solo, he usually takes a lot of fans with him, but they still follow the original band..this is closer to motorcycle racing as an analogy... They do not have farewells for factories or sponsors in motogp, just riders..nobody mourned the loss of Lucky Strike, Rothmans, Marlbro or Heron, but we all miss and talk about Schwantz, Doohan, Rainey and Sheene to this day, not to mention those talented men who we have lost.. Riders make factories...ask Ducati about Casey, ask Yamaha about Vale..Yamaha were in the wilderness ... You think its bad for us? How must the japanese feel?? They provide 90% of the machinery on track but only about 2% of the riders.... Anyway, come on the Brits!!
We are not very good in this country at supporting our own which is a shame. In fairness up until this season Redding was not doing himself any favours with his image. But all credit to the boy, this season it seems as if someone has had a word and he is presenting very well and doing the business. CC although an awesome rider really needs direction in the image and presenting department. He always looks scruffy and shoots his mouth off like pistol pete. He doesnt even meet the criteria of a so called "character". IMO it all stems from piss poor management. Why are our british riders not being put on TV more to maximise exposure?????? JT was very good at this. If i had the privilege of managing our talented riders they would be on all sorts. Then the sponsors would be in there plenty. The sport is restricted by the greedy, controlling and self centred idiots that run it. IMO
Sell your Italian Ducatis fellas and go British Triumph PR is only as good as the audience it goes after. Cycling is on a wave right now after Olympic victories without which Wiggins would still be Waggins to most people. Bike racing just can't get that level of appeal. But, it can get that appeal with race fans. UK business to back them would be a start..,BP sponsored MGP for Cal for example. Or Lloyds Bank for Redding. Something which says British rider
Troy - spot on. And how long before they moan about the stuff they don't like. Just as Dunlop did last night after winning. FFS paid to ride a bike and keep fit, what's a few hours a day of interviews and personal appearances?! Cal seems to fall into he same surly bracket although those that know him away from racing day he's warm friendly and generous. Think he believes that image is not good for his racing and the competition but worked brill for Simo and Vale
A very interesting point. A few years ago (quite a few now) there were loads of Japanese riders and we were told that they would totally dominate the sport. I wonder whether the powers that be at Honda Yam et al could see that Japanese riders on Japanese machinery winning everything would not go down too well on the world stage. The Japanese are exporters - they are acutely aware of having their products appeal to audiences outside Japan. I am not at all sure that the lack of Japanese top riders is not more of a deliberate strategy rather than any dearth of talent in Japan.
Wonder what home market kids behaviour has to do with it. Mediterranean Europe is full of skoota boys bashing about like mad. No restrictions almost. Japs have heavy power and engine size restrictions, seems he drifting and customising scenes are growing all the time. Wonder what impact that has had on their talent pool
