"The Grand Prix of Brazil is a disaster for the riders and an embarrassment for Youthstream. Need to know the reasons why? Here they are:
Turnout: Only 24 total riders showed up for the 250 GP and 24 for the 450 GP…and 13 of the 450 riders and 9 of the 250 riders were local South American riders (from Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela and Argentina).
Local 450 talent: Antonio Balbi was the fastest of the 450cc South American riders, but he was still eight seconds a lap slower than the fastest rider (and five seconds a lap slower than Jimmy Albertson, who was the slowest of the GP regulars to complete all the laps). Balbi was lapped, as were all the South Americans. There was one rider at the Brazilian GP who was 43 seconds a lap slower than Philippaerts or Cairoli in the first moto. That meant that he was lapped once every 2-1/2 laps. Mariana Balbi earned GP points for the second straight year. At a true-to-life GP this would have been a significant moment in motocross history (for a women to earn Grand Prix points), but coming from the Brazilian Grand Prix it is meaningless. Mariana finished 20th in both motos, but she was three laps down in both motos and if she hadn’t been there the guy who was 43 seconds a lap slower per lap would have earned GP points.
Local 250 talent: The local 250 riders at the Brazilian GP were better than the 450 riders—in that no one was 43 seconds a lap slower than the leaders. The slowest South American 250 rider was only 24 seconds a lap slower. Every South American rider was lapped.
Travel: Uber-meister Giuseppe Luongo is dedicated to making the World Championships race outside of the European continent (a good goal), but traveling to Brazil late in the year almost guarantees to very few Grand Prix riders will make the trip.
Schedule: If the race was earlier in the season more riders would venture to Brazil because it is the easiest GP to earn points in, and early in the year many riders still think they have a chance (while later in the year they know where they stand—and know that going to Brazil isn’t going to help them). Plus, lots of riders dropped out with nagging injuries late in the season—and they would have raced if the GP was in Europe.
Date: The best plan would be to make the USGP and the Brazilian GP very early in the GP schedule (somewhere between the third and sixth GP) and have them back to back…so that the teams would only have to travel across the Atlantic Ocean one time for two GPs. Unfortunately, with the USGP, Brazilian GP and MXDN in the USA on the 2010 schedule, this forces the teams to travel overseas three times in one year.
Money: In the olden days there was a travel allowance to help the teams get to overseas races. Everyone knows that Youthstream doesn’t want to spend money, but they need to reinstate travel stipends for overseas races (and drop the entry fee for riders who make the trip). That would go a long way towards encouraging the top 20 riders in each class to make the trip.
The present: The FIM World Championships needs to go to places outside of Europe…and there is nothing wrong with going to Brazil, USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico or China…but the quality cannot be reduced when you go overseas. It is time that Youthstream start giving back to the sport…instead of forcing the riders and the team to do all the giving while they do all the taking. This is a simple formula—you have to water the garden to get it to grow…not just mulch up the existing plants without investing in fertilizer. Cut the riders and teams a break. Help them race and they will put on a good show. Making life difficult may make Luongo money in the short run, but these kind of embarrassments don’t improve Youthstream’s image. And if anyone needed an image make-over it is Youthstream (any organization that makes the AMA look good by comparison is in desperate straits).
The future: The glimmer of hope of many Grand Prix fans rests with the potential of a breakaway Red Bull World Championship motocross series—that series could work much like the Red Bull Air Races worked (the Air Races will be discontinued in 2011). It would take until 2012 or beyond to implement it, and no one knows if Red Bull is serious beyond a few feelers about moving some of their British series rounds to the continent. Youthstream needs to think about the future…not just their bank account. Youthstream may think that having the FIM in their pockets is a slam dunk for them, but they need to realize that a competing organization could find a different sanctioning body, pay purses, not rip the riders off on entry fees and get the support of the media (well, the American media anyway) and the factories. It could happen."
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