Motorcycle racing legend Kenny Roberts. (Photo by Mark Mitchell) » More Photos

King Kenny Could Lead

Recently, between the trucks in the Valencia paddock, Kenny explained to me his idea for leveling the playing field in AMA Superbike, an idea that guarantees relatively equal power by requiring the use of homologated engines from each manufacturer built to a specific peak horsepower by the 'engine department' of each competing importer or manufacturer and leased with guaranteed performance parameters to all teams. Client teams would have the same engine as the factory team. For example, a homologated CBR1000RR engine, built at American Honda, run on the test bed and certified to produce an easily obtainable but satisfactory HP output, like 190 at the crankshaft (and less for Daytona to avoid tire problems), would be available to any eligible AMA team that could pay the price. All four Japanese factories could produce a kitted bike of comparable power. Roberts, however, would allow ample freedom to fit aftermarket wheels, brakes (steel), plus swingarms, and links. Of course there would be standard ECU with no traction control, wheelie control, or launch control, and everyone would be on the same tires.

Roberts believes the art of racing is in the turning, the overtaking, and the sliding on corner exits and that today's production engines, offering as much power as the old 500s but with a more docile delivery, would give riders and teams more than enough oomph to thrill fans and challenge riders and technicians, but without the burden of useless costs for invisible -- and therefore unappreciated (by the crowd who, at the end of the day, really pay for the show by being there or by watching on television) technology.

The idea itself is original and Roberts believes in it and presents it convincingly. It is a better formula for a national series than the wide-open World Superbike model that is running expenses higher and higher in WSBK, and it would be really easy to implement, but only under a respected despot like 'King' Kenny.

Of course, there is nobody 'like' Kenny in motorcycle racing. I asked Kenny if he would, in fact, be interested in running a Superbike racing program. He replied, "I already told Jimmy France that there are only two ways to fix racing in the USA: buy the AMA and start over with new ideas or just start another series. There is no way to patch the AMA up, not now. They need to be a service organization for their members, not race promoters. They have got some good people who could help, but the AMA has to just let it go so it can grow."

He went on to say, "If a well-funded team can't get hold of competitive parts to make a competitive bike then there is something wrong. If they are telling Michael Jordan that he doesn't have enough money to get a competitive bike, then AMA racing is all f*****d up and they need to get out of the way and let somebody fix it."

The factories would hate the Roberts system at first because it takes away their advantages over their clients, but with someone of Roberts' stature, convictions, and Charles Barkley-like candor, it would work.

A look at the new British Superbike rules confirms that the tendency is toward much more restrictive technical rules, but Roberts' concept goes much further and takes away advantages for the factory teams by reducing power to levels that will require much less maintenance. As Paolo Flammini observed recently, "Just obliging a team to use standard pistons and con-rods does not save money. In fact the smaller teams will spend more money on rebuilds or will suffer more breakage because they don't." Flammini believes that national championships, even the big ones in the USA, Great Britain, and Japan, will go to a 1000cc Supersport-type SBK regulations, but that World Superbike will continue to be a step above the national series in performance and in technical freedom… as long as the teams can afford it.

The AMA has already committed to much more restrictive technical regulations in 2009, but no rules are going to be released until the new promoter accepts them. The kind of rules that Roberts believes should be applied are much, much more restrictive and would oblige factories to make available everything they have to their client teams and for affordable and, probably, subsidized prices. It would increase the relative value of riders in the equation while at the same time giving riders on satellite equipment a chance to show their real worth.

For sure the guys to beat would continue to be Mat Mladin and Ben Spies and the team to beat would be the brilliant Yoshimura Suzuki squad, but remember, in 2006 Casey Stoner was written off as a brash crasher… they called him "Rolling Stoner" until he got off the satellite Honda and the second level 'satellite team' Michelin tires (Casey says he rarely got the same tires as the factory Honda riders). Once he had a competitive package he suddenly bloomed into the second coming of Mick Doohan.

And not one expert picked him to even contend for the title. Think about that.