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MARTIN: Could Moto2 Reopen The GP Pipeline?
Written by: Chris Martin   
07/03/2009
Monterey, CA
 
The Laglisse Yamaha and BQR Honda Moto2 machines. ยป More Photos

The pendulum of opportunities for AMA stars hoping to advance to the world championship level has swung back and forth in modern times.

During the heyday of American Grand Prix dominance that extended from the late '70s to the early '90s, AMA Superbike success routinely made a rider a prized prospect in the eyes of 500GP team managers with superstars like Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Bubba Shobert, and Doug Chandler following that particular career path.

However, those opportunities began to evaporate as sponsors came to favor Italian and Spanish passports, and the advancing tire and engine technology made the once-beastly two strokes considerably friendlier to the European aces groomed on 125 and 250cc machines -- riders who had also already mastered the circuits utilized in the premier class.

Around the same time, the introduction of the Superbike World Championship in 1988 created a new avenue for global success for aspiring national championship heroes, and AMA Superbike aces like
Fred Merkel, Doug Polen, Scott Russell, Troy Corser, and Colin Edwards soon made a habit of graduating from AMA stardom to WSBK championship runs.

But then the four-stroke GP revolution reopened that once sealed '80s talent pipeline -- albeit momentarily -- as the Grand Prix paddock was willing to roll the dice with their rider lineups while attempting to sort out just who could best tame the new 990cc machines, with an influx of riders from 500GP, 250GP, World Superbike, and AMA Superbike all converging on the shiny new MotoGP class.

However, even after former AMA Superbike king Nicky Hayden blossomed into a MotoGP world champ, advancing electronics and the shift to 800cc race bikes made it evident that the 250 pilots were the most likely to make the transition smoothly, successfully adapting to the current MotoGP reality that presents them with tidy machines readily suited to their clean riding styles, as well as a familiar paddock with comparably fewer off-the-track obstacles in the way to sabotage their efforts.


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