Id like to see Mladin, Bostrom, Hacking, Zemke, Hodgson.....send in their applications to race since the AMA isnt. THey obviously have the day off anyways
Unfortuneately I predict that none of the top guys will race as a wild card in either WSS or WSBK. It is not in the US teams' interest to potentially write off a bike for a race that doesn't pay points toward their championship.
For a guy like Hacking, Zemke, or DiSalvo it might be in their best interest to show the world how good they are as a wild card for potential 2010 rides, but it won't happen.
It would be cool though to see Mladin as a wild card and then watch him and Spies spank the field just for one more weekend.
Unfortuneately I predict that none of the top guys will race as a wild card in either WSS or WSBK. It is not in the US teams' interest to potentially write off a bike for a race that doesn't pay points toward their championship.
It would be cool though to see Mladin as a wild card and then watch him and Spies spank the field just for one more weekend.
Plus, considering the difference in rules, they'd have to build a new bike for their rider.
It would be TOO cool to see Mladin and Spies at the front duking it out. That would have some people paying attention.
I wonder how those contracts read these days now that Dunlop is dictated by the rules, as well as the fuel.
Spies and Hacking rode as wild cards on Bridgestones last year in MotoGP, the year before Duhamel and Davies rode other brands as well at the USGP. So the tire contract problem is probably not a real issue.
The difference in allowed modifications between the two series would definitely be an issue that would have to be overcome if the the riders used their teams' bikes. That doesn't seem to stop riders in other countries (Japan, UK, Australia) from racing as wild cards in their rounds and usually doing well. If for example Kawasaki wanted a bigger precense at Miller, couldn't they cough up a superbike from the Japan series for Hacking or Hayden to ride?
It seems that if there was a will, there would be a way for an aspiring or top rider to try his hand on the world stage as a wild card. It just doesn't seem that there is that will on the part of the riders or the US teams.
Or to put it another way, if Mladin really wanted to ride at Miller, I am fairly confident Yosh Suzuki would find a way to make it happen.
World Superbike Wild Cards Accepted at Miller
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