2023 MotoAmerica Medallia SuperBike Racing

[Joe]

The 2023 MotoAmerica SuperBike races at Road Atlanta this weekend have been nothing short of amazing. With four current and past champions returning to the grid on four different brands (BMW, Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki) to battle it out, something had to give. Both races are worthy to watch, but the 2nd became an instant classic with 12 lead changes, couple fires and an epic last lap duel. Think World Super Bikes with an American twist of tradin' paint, perfection. 

 

 

 

[p6x]

I watched the two heats;

It seems that Cameron Beaubier learned one thing or two from his Moto2 stint, combined with the BMW legs.

Heat 2 was really epic! I have not listened to the debrief, but it seemed like Beaubier touched Josh Herrin and Gagné took the opportunity to get the win...

Again, the Yamaha seems to be lacking top speed, just as in MotoGP.

Like in WorldSuperbike, MotoGP, the Ducati seemed to be the best package in good hands. Not to put down Petrucci, but Herrin was really giving Beaubier a hard time.

 

[Joe]

Josh Herrin reportedly lost his front brakes in the collision w Cam on the last lap, that’s why he ran through turn 10a. I agree the BMW & Ducati have a lot more ceiling as they get their bikes sorted with the Ducati strongest later in the race. Herrin & Beaubier looked awesome this weekend, w Gagne the talent is definitely stacked in MotoAmerica SuperBikes this year.

[p6x]

Wow! it was a miracle that Josh Herrin did not collide with Cameron Beaubier when he crossed the track... this was really scary and had the potential of serious injury for both pilots. He really missed Beaubier by the skin of the teeth!

I think Jack Gagné should get himself a Ducati. Yamaha seemed to have gone back into making musical instruments. MotoGP, Superbikes. Each time there are going to be longer straights, Gagné will have to ride hard to keep up.

What is the story with all these bikes catching fire? they run on phosphorus?

[Joe]

The track marshals did a little better job on the second fire 🔥 

[Joe]

Josh Herrin explains the last lap of Race 2........

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcJ5l8KtiTc

 

 

[GuzziMoto]

14 hours ago, Joe said:

Josh Herrin explains the last lap of Race 2........

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcJ5l8KtiTc

 

 

Good insights from him. Really sad that he takes so much flak from people who likely don't have the experience, skill, and knowledge he does. I did not know. I mean, I know people are stupid, but I did not realize how stupid.

Amazing luck with the way he threaded that gap between the other two.

[Joe]

4 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

Good insights from him. Really sad that he takes so much flak from people who likely don't have the experience, skill, and knowledge he does. I did not know. I mean, I know people are stupid, but I did not realize how stupid.

Amazing luck with the way he threaded that gap between the other two.

It could have been much worse, with other rider's getting hurt along with Josh. What's not seen in the last lap that Josh eluded to in his video breakdown was that the competition between Cam, Jake and Josh was second to none, epic, some say best ever American Superbike race ever.  With 12 lead changes in 15 laps, I would agree. What I hope is that the MotoAmerica Medallia SuperBike Championship racing stays this entertaining all season long with all three winning a race.

[p6x]

On 4/26/2023 at 9:40 AM, GuzziMoto said:

Good insights from him. Really sad that he takes so much flak from people who likely don't have the experience, skill, and knowledge he does. I did not know. I mean, I know people are stupid, but I did not realize how stupid.

Amazing luck with the way he threaded that gap between the other two.

I think he should realize that 18 years of professional racing experience cannot compete with 18 years of professional couch assessment.

Kidding aside, he did provide a truth that many professional couch viewers don't know. The front shake moving your caliper pistons leaving you with no brakes at first. You need to pump them to regain braking.

That he did not broadside either Gagné or Beaubier was a miracle.... he should recognize that.

[GuzziMoto]

50 minutes ago, p6x said:

I think he should realize that 18 years of professional racing experience cannot compete with 18 years of professional couch assessment.

Kidding aside, he did provide a truth that many professional couch viewers don't know. The front shake moving your caliper pistons leaving you with no brakes at first. You need to pump them to regain braking.

That he did not broadside either Gagné or Beaubier was a miracle.... he should recognize that.

It seemed like he was recognizing that.

[Joe]

3 hours ago, p6x said:

I think he should realize that 18 years of professional racing experience cannot compete with 18 years of professional couch assessment.

Kidding aside, he did provide a truth that many professional couch viewers don't know. The front shake moving your caliper pistons leaving you with no brakes at first. You need to pump them to regain braking.

That he did not broadside either Gagné or Beaubier was a miracle.... he should recognize that.

🙏🏻

[p6x]

3 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

t seemed like he was recognizing that.

I was expecting something along the lines of Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction... you know, after they escape with their lives in the initial apartment encounter...

just kidding.... but it was really a close call;

What I don't understand, is why Brembo does not figure out a system to prevent that issue which has now happened plenty of times.

I am thinking about a choke system, which only works in one direction. The hydraulic braking fluid is free to flow to the piston, but is slightly metered in the opposite direction. Not sufficiently to impede brake release, but in cases like a violent front shaking, at least the pistons are not backed out.

What do you think?

[audiomick]

43 minutes ago, p6x said:

What do you think?

Very difficult to impossible to build. The only possibility I can see is a shake sensor (electronic...) that regulates the damper. Otherwise I can't see how it would be possible to combine the necessary damping with quick enough release of the pads.

[Joe]

56 minutes ago, audiomick said:

Very difficult to impossible to build. The only possibility I can see is a shake sensor (electronic...) that regulates the damper. Otherwise I can't see how it would be possible to combine the necessary damping with quick enough release of the pads.

Most riders don’t find themselves sling shot away from the Apex, have to drop the bikes lean angle until you’re almost knee dragging to avoid running off the track. All while doing 185mph, a predicament that pushed that motorcycle to its limits. The MotoAmerica spec Ducati runs World SuperBike electronics, maybe they helped save Josh from the Grim Reaper. ☠️ 

[GuzziMoto]

13 hours ago, p6x said:

I was expecting something along the lines of Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction... you know, after they escape with their lives in the initial apartment encounter...

just kidding.... but it was really a close call;

What I don't understand, is why Brembo does not figure out a system to prevent that issue which has now happened plenty of times.

I am thinking about a choke system, which only works in one direction. The hydraulic braking fluid is free to flow to the piston, but is slightly metered in the opposite direction. Not sufficiently to impede brake release, but in cases like a violent front shaking, at least the pistons are not backed out.

What do you think?

That is an interesting idea. But, as mentioned, there would be a number of hurdles in designing such a system that does prevent this issue without causing other issues. Keep in mind, when a rider applies the brakes he needs them to apply exactly as he tells them to. But when he lets off the brakes he needs them to release exactly as he tells them to. Response in both directions is critical to good brakes. A system that slows the release of the brakes would be bad.

To be honest, as a racer I think it is rare that this is a major issue. Usually if there is a head shake that is enough to move the pads away from the disks it is coming out of a corner and the rider should know to pump the brakes before the next application of the brakes in anger. This was an oddity in that the head shake was nearly entering the corner and the rider did not have enough time to pump the brakes. Well, maybe he had enough time, but he didn't apparently didn't realize he needed to pump the brakes in the small amount of time he had with everything else going on. Funny thing about moments like that. A good racer will truly slow things down in moments like that, Josh seems to have done that. It is funny when you hear Josh breaking that incident down so precisely, but at the moment his brain was running so fast that everything was slowed down. You have so many thoughts in what is really a very short amount of time. It seems impossible to have all that going through your head in a matter of seconds, but it does.

The thing that struck me was despite everything that was going wrong for Josh at that moment, he was still thinking about how he was going to make up positions, not how was he going to get through this next corner without crashing. That is not a negative comment about Josh, although I am not sure it is a positive comment either. It is just a comment about Josh and his mindset. It is impressive that in the midst of all that he was still in racer mode, trying to maximize his finish. Good for him. And lucky no one got hurt.