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The AMA Connection

It speaks well for the level of AMA roadracing that two of the three Americans currently racing in MotoGP came directly from the AMA’s big four-stroke classes: John Hopkins, a teenage star taken straight out of the undercard (Formula Xtreme, back when it featured open class machinery, Superstock, and Supersport) in 2002, and Hayden, signed by Honda the following season after winning the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship, came straight out of the AMA ranks. Colin Edwards, an AMA 250 champion, moved from AMA Superbike to World Superbike and won two SBK titles before going to MotoGP, not on a Honda as he wished (he was skipped over for Hayden), but on the uncompetitive Aprilia Cube with Cosworth three-cylinder engine.

The exception was Kenny Roberts Junior, who won the 500 title for Suzuki in 2000. Roberts ran 250s in the States and then did several seasons of 250 with teams owned by Wayne Rainey and Kenny senior before moving to 500. America’s only other premier class world champion since 1993, Nicky Hayden, took the number one plate for Honda in 2006 and is the only American to date to win a MotoGP title. Hopkins, after a single season on the WCM Yamaha and five seasons riding for Suzuki, is still looking for his first win, now with Kawasaki. Edwards, after the first tough season with Aprilia, has been cast into the role of second rider behind Sete Gibernau in Honda and behind Valentino Rossi in Yamaha. He is now at least on equal terms with rookie James Toseland, but the Tech3 team is clearly beneath the factory FIAT Yamaha team on the Yamaha pecking order.

Edward’s podium in Le Mans is all the more prestigious because, in fact, he did it on a satellite Yamaha, no matter how close the Tech3 bikes now are to the factory M1s.

Hayden, in spite of winning the title for Honda in 2006, is in a team that is built around Dani Pedrosa and, with Pedrosa getting much better results both in 2007 and so far in 2008, Hayden is now the de facto second rider.

Hopkins is the lead rider in Kawasaki, especially since Australian Anthony West has underperformed, but the new Kawasaki has not been competitive.

Spies certainly seems to have the doors of MotoGP opening for him, but he should stand back along with his manager, Doug Gonda (the man who originally took John Hopkins to the Grands Prix) and ask the big question:

Will Spies get competitive machinery?

In part II Dennis Noyes will examine that very topic.