Look ahead at MotoGP in Portugal & World SuperSport discussed in S5 Ep 39

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Voter GPS happening, Mark Marquez is out, Martine is out,
Maverick is he's going to show up.
Do you think ratings will sufferbecause these top tier riders
are not going to be there at thePortugal round, which is, you
know, that part of the world, man, And motorcycle racing is
huge. What are your thoughts on what
Bulaga, what we might see from Bulaga?

(00:22):
Let's talk about Honda. And it's perfect because it's
about Marquez. I've seen on social media some
folks talk about, you know, Honda's doing really well for
what they're doing, for how quickly they're coming back.
But Mir and Luca is not the writer to bring them over the
hump. We need to find a Mark Marquez.

(00:43):
And you know, since Louis, you have described, you know, how
unreplaceable Marquez is. Please, one of you guys, all of
you can just jump in at different times.
Where is the next Mark Marquez to be signed for Honda?
He's sitting on a KTM right now.Yeah, that's it.
He's sitting there on KTM. It's Acosta.
The finance side of of KTM and Ducati, I didn't, I didn't mean

(01:06):
to stack them against each otherbecause for the last three
years, Ducati's made over a billion a year in revenue, which
is which is pretty impressive. Is that a huge for the
motorcycle industry to for A andthey so like, I don't know,
under 60,000 bikes. So it's not like they sold, you
know, 20 billion bikes or anything like that.
Is that a huge deal for Ducati to be able to do that?

(01:27):
Let's talk about KTM wolves. You know, it looks like the
majority stake owner maybe looking to try to move the their
shares this white noise. How is this good for the team
and is can as KTM as we know it.And I know Smitty already said
KTM is going to be done in threeyears.

(01:47):
So is is this what we're lookingat like another brand that that
may not be around in the next decade?
Before we go into super sport, let's talk about the triple
engine. I find that the the triple
engine does not get the same respect that the twins and the V
fours and the inline 4/4 get. Is it just because they just

(02:09):
haven't been an on and off sportbikes?
I mean, in NB Augusta, you know,we got Yamaha, obviously we got
Triumph, which is probably well known.
I find that you know, like you know, people love twins, they
love the inline fours and the V fours, but the triple engine
seems to struggle with you guys thoughts on on the triple
engine? Should it be up there with all

(02:30):
the characteristics of the ones I mentioned?
It's to be forever cool podcast and I'm your host for X 45.
Join me tonight where we talk about Portugal GP coming this
weekend, the business of Moto GPriders leaving world Super bike
and more. But before I we get started, let
me introduce my guests in this order.

(02:51):
Welcome to the show, Smitty. How you doing tonight?
Pretty good yourself. And, you know, living the dream,
you know, we're talking about motorcycle racing.
I rode my bike yesterday. So, you know, with everything
else that's going on in the world, it's nice when I can talk
about motorcycles or, you know, ride 1.
So how about yourself, man? So for me ride season is done.

(03:16):
Had my last race 2 weeks ago. The where were GNF which I
couldn't race because I had car trouble so that was a wash.
I drove all the way to Barber 2 1/2 hours started car won't
start. Then I got to start drove back
home with the dealership. So trouble weekend actually.
So little waste of time, but I'mhere downtime.

(03:38):
That's it. Man, I've, I've, I, at least you
haven't totaled your car going to a race.
I've done that. I've backed up 395 in the DC
area for hours. Reese, welcome to the show, man.
How you doing tonight? What's good, man?
What's going on, man? It's good to be here, you know,

(04:00):
up here in Jersey for a little bit for my parents, but all good
all. Right.
You know, I was, I was going to say something about that 70s
Show background you got going onNew Jersey, right?
You got to visit the parents, man, You got to visit the
parents. No, no doubt.
I got to do that myself in a couple of weeks.

(04:21):
It is what it is man. It's, it's part of the course.
How you doing other than that? Well, I'm doing good man, can't
complain. Just like you say.
Living a dream, man, living a dream.
No doubt man, I'm excited for tonight, tonight's show and
what's to come this weekend because they keep when we think
it's going to be boring, they keep adding more things for us
to see Bulaga and and the Portugal GP should be very

(04:43):
interesting. Yeah, that should be something
to see. I'm looking forward to it.
No doubt, Lewis, man, what's going on?
Welcome to the show. How you doing tonight?
I'm doing good, doing good man. Just here for another night with
you, talking to talk. So don't sound so down, Lewis,
man, it's. Been good, it's been good.
Last couple of weeks have been good.
We've had a good amount of back and forth and fun and I'm

(05:06):
looking for another good night tonight with the guys on and
talking to talk. No doubt I I completely agree.
So let's get it going. And like Lewis mentioned, if you
haven't checked out the interview with Bobby Fong, be
Forever Cool's platform. Go check it out 'cause it was a
really dope interview. It's good to hear the rider side

(05:27):
and and give that perspective toour viewers and stuff like that.
So definitely check out be forever, cool.com or just put it
in your search bar. With that said, guys, voter GPS
happening. Mark Marquez is out.
Martine is out. Maverick is he's going to show
up. I mean, do you do you guys think

(05:48):
we'll start with Smitty? Do you think ratings will suffer
because these top tier riders are not going to be the at the
Portugal round, which is you know that that part of the world
man and motorcycle racing is huge.
I mean, yeah, for sure. I mean, you talk about the two
top guys, you know, the the two last champions not racing.
Yeah, of course they'll suffer. However, in my opinion, it's

(06:11):
just me, but I think it's betterwithout Marquez at times because
when he's there, you know, like it's Mark, it's marking my cash
show against everybody else and it's it's too easy to tell who's
going to win. When he's not there, it's like,
OK, you have no clue what's going on.
It's more exciting, more random.So I enjoyed that part of it.
But he's not racing, honestly. But I think all sports need that
one great person to bring peoplein.

(06:33):
So it's kind of a hit or miss, you know, but.
OK. All right.
That's what's up. Reece, what are your thoughts on
on those three guys not being there?
You're, you're a die hard. It's in your veins at this
point. So I I I think if it was Bugs
Bunny and his crew, you'll stillwatch Moto GP.

(06:54):
I mean, pretty much it's in yourveins.
I mean, I think it'll suffer a little bit, but I don't think
it's going to suffer that much. I mean, I think the the guys are
still going to show up. I think fans are going to show
up. I think their fans are still
wanting to see somebody else win.
It's been it's kind of nice to see someone else besides, you
know, the Marquez show up there,you know, to see like an Acosta
maybe to see some Pekka come up there and actually take over

(07:16):
maybe. So, you know, they still got a
lot of fans out there that's going to come out and support
and watch. I mean, you know, the VR46 boys
are you know, there. So that's that's a show in
itself. So you got to think about that.
You know Ross, he never was not a showmanship.
So he knows how to put on a show.
So do the boys. I mean, I, I, I think it's the

(07:39):
Jersey Air, man. I think you said something nice
about Petco. I got to give it, you know, you
got to, you got to, you got to just hope for the best for the
guy. You know, it sucks, but listen,
I got to just hope for the best for the guy.
You know? The sun shines on the dog's ass
every once in a blue moon. Lewis is going on man Mark

(08:04):
Marquez, Martine, I mean, he didn't race all year, but
nonetheless, he he did win the championship last year and
that's huge. Vinales, who I think he was the
shining light in KTM until Acosta is doing he's doing his
last couple of rounds. What are your thoughts on on
those guys not being there this round and, and, and, and

(08:27):
especially in a place like Portugal?
Portugal is going to have a great turn out.
All the European rounds this year seem to have really, really
strong audience attendance. Does it suck to not have the
superstars there? Yeah, but you know, there's
plenty of other riders There's, there's going to be some new
faces out there. I think it'll still be a really
interesting round. I I think they'll still get a

(08:47):
really good turn out. The last couple of years at
Puerto Mao have been pretty decent turn out.
And I think this year with all things given, I think that the
turn out will be on par, if not maybe a little bit up just
because this year the attendancehas been up on the European
rounds overall. So I think they'll continue that

(09:08):
streak in Porto. Mao, even without Maverick, even
without Martine, even without Benales, the show still goes on.
Eventually these guys are going to retire, other guys are going
to come in like the show is still the show.
If you put on a good show, I think it'll be a good weekend
overall in attendance and fan engagement.
And again, if the race is good, that's really what counts.

(09:30):
As long as the racing's good. At the end of the day, the
show's good and everybody has a good time.
You can still have fun without stars.
Yeah. Except in the NBA.
Come on. Come on, don't do that.
Don't do that. Everyone's a star in the NBA.

(09:50):
It doesn't take much. It doesn't take much before we
dive further into what may happen from some of these other
riders that are going to be there because they can show up
and they don't have any health issues.
One of the big names that's replacing Mark, that's replacing
Marquez Buluga. What do you guys think?
On Buluga? We saw what Polo Spargo did

(10:12):
these last few rounds for KTM, you know, making it to Q2.
I think both both rounds and he crashed out and you know, he
was, I think he was in the top ten.
What are your thoughts on what Bulaga what what we might see
from Bulaga Smitty? I mean, you know, these these

(10:32):
were I thought riders from WSBK coming into Moto GP for one
round it it never happens much at all to, you know, do much.
So I'll probably say 15th ish atbest, but not much.
John Smith expect he's good but too short notice to, you know,
to ride a bike, to learn the bike, to learn the track.
Well, you know what? The track.

(10:52):
He already knows the track, yeah, He's been in that Moto
Moto 2 paddock, Moto slash Moto GP paddock for some years.
So he's not like some OK, you don't see much so. 15 that best?
15 that I mean. You know what he he might beat
Peko, but that's. Why I like like?
You got that. You got that Orlando air over

(11:14):
there in in Atlanta. How are your thoughts, Reese?
I mean you know you you just came from over in world super
bike with with attack Yamaha andBobby.
You know what do you is is Smitty on par or what to expect
from back from from back Jesus Bulgug Babbitt names tonight.

(11:39):
Bad. No, I mean, I I kind of agree
with Smitty a little bit. I mean, I don't see him per SE
doing too much. I mean, I've seen him out there
having a couple of test days with the bike.
So I mean, he still takes a while to learn the bike and
still figure it out. But I mean, barring some
craziness, I mean, I still see him top 15.

(11:59):
I don't see him getting up past he may get from may get to 10th,
but I don't know. I just don't see it not yet.
Maybe, maybe not, but it's it's one of those weird calls.
I mean Bulliga, Bulliga, but youknow, there's a reason why he's
in World Super Bike. Right.
Yeah, OK, there is a reason, butyou know, it might have been

(12:23):
more administrative. What are your thoughts Lewis on
on Bulaga? First first, let's get the
wording right. If this was him coming in for
Pekobegnaya, then it would be he's replacing Pekobegnaya, he's
filling in for Marc Marquez. He's not replacing Marc Marquez,
right? There's no replacing that guy.

(12:43):
If it was Peko Bagnaya that he was coming in for, he could
possibly be replacing Peko Bagnaya.
So let's not use the like every time I see replacing Marquez
replace, there's no replacing him, man, you filling in for
somebody, you filling in for like the best guy out there.
Now, as far as what he's going to do, I think he's going to

(13:04):
finish in the top 15. Like I legit think that this guy
has a lot of talent. Ducati's going to give him
everything he needs to fill in quickly.
He's not coming onto a shit box bike.
So he's not in a top rack situation where he's going to be
in the paddock next to Miller. He's in a situation where he's

(13:24):
on the factory team, on the factory bike and they're going
to give him everything he possibly needs to try to make
sure that he takes advantage of this opportunity because again,
this is a a possible star of tomorrow.
This is an opportunity for maybea little bit of a test run for
him to show Ducati, hey, after I'm done with this thing over

(13:45):
here in World Super Bike in another year, you guys have a
seat opening up. Maybe this is an audition, you
know, and he has to take this asan audition.
He has to take every single opportunity he has because
remember, he hasn't been in thispaddock in a long time.
You know, he got booted out of this paddock.
He didn't have a seat, he didn'thave a ride, he had nothing to

(14:07):
do and that's why he ended up back in World Super Sport.
Now he's back in his paddock andeven it's only two events.
He's going to shake hands and kiss babies like nobody's ever
seen. He's going to be walking around
with a smile. He's going to be doing all the
right things to ingratiate himself not just to the Ducati
squad but to as many of these teams as possible because if he

(14:28):
ever wants to set foot in a world Moto GP paddock again,
this is his first foot in that door.
OK so you know this again this is motorcycle racing is more
politics then sometimes it is just talent because there's some
non talented riders that get into Moto GP and there's some

(14:48):
talented riders that never do. Yeah, I, I hate that.
You know, there's a good movie called The Replacements, man,
you know it came out. The best movie ever made.
The best football movie ever made.
I watch it at least five times ayear.
I I didn't know. I didn't realize.
We have to check, you know, how we, we classify Marc Marquez.
I mean, this is serious. I mean, you know.

(15:11):
When, when, when Michael Jordan got on the bench, the guy that
took his place was subbing for Michael Jordan.
He wasn't replacing Michael Jordan.
Same thing here. He's subbing for Marc Marquez.
He ain't replacing him. Hey Brady sub for Litzo.
And you know, this is like life happened.

(15:33):
But we'll, we'll carry on. We digress.
So let's talk about Honda. I've, I've, you know, and, and,
and it's perfect because it's about Marquez.
I've, I've seen on social media some folks talk about, you know,
Honda is doing really well for what they're doing, for how

(15:56):
quickly they're coming back, ButMayor and Luca is not the writer
to bring them over the hump. We need to find a Mark Marquez.
And you know, since Lewis, you have described, you know, how
unreplaceable Marquez is. Please, one of you guys, all of
you can just jump in at different times.
Where is the next Mark Marquez to be signed for Honda?

(16:18):
He's sitting on a KTM right now,yeah.
That's it. He's standing in on KTM.
It's Acosta, we all. Agree the same thing, Pedro.
Yep. So that's that's that's.
A quick, quick subject. So but do you?
Well, let's ask a little further.
Do you think that Mayor and Lucacan't and can't bring these guys

(16:39):
over the hump? I mean, mayor is the world's
champion and, you know, mayor inhis own right and also Motor
Moto 2 champion. Mayor in his own right is a, is
a fairly, you know, you know, hehe's, you know.
I wouldn't say on paper he's better than Danny Pedrosa, but
Mayor can ride wait. He but.
He's a subpar rider. Danny doesn't have a title.

(17:02):
Danny can have a bad time. Honestly, Danny.
Hold on, I agree. I agree Danny has the worst luck
out of everybody. I'm not disputing any of that.
But he. Had the worst luck, but Danny
came up with a whole bunch of great writers.
Yeah, you know, Mirror. Mirror got a championship by
some bullshit at luck. But not crashing, right?
No, he got, he got by luck and by us having a whole pandemic

(17:25):
going on. As you you know, he got a
pandemic championship. I just checked, World champion
is still world champion whether you win by one point or 100
points. He's not wrong, but he's not.
Better you win, Yeah, if you winby an inch or a mile, yeah, but
you know, at least the championship get a championship
could go back up in the top five.

(17:46):
You can't even scratch the top five right now.
Time I turn around you in the you eating gravel.
So question but the year that may have won, I'm probably
wrong, but he ain't been. He ain't been not, not one race,
right? He won one race, he won one.
Yep, he won one race. No, and there's other riders who
have won world titles that can'thave similar resumes like whom

(18:11):
you got to. Go a little further back.
It's not in the last 15 years you got to go back to the 90s,
but if you go back to the 90s, there's a couple of guys that.
How how many races did Nikki Haley win?
Maybe 333 or 4. Yeah.
Look, Mirror just happened to bein the right place at the right

(18:31):
time. Yeah, and he was what we call
Mr. Consistency. That's it.
OK. All right.
That's it. Consistency still wins you
championships, man. You know at the end of the year
you have to finish it. It's the number one rule of the
race and you got to finish the race to win.
And if you do races, if he ain'tfinished enough races while

(18:55):
Martine and Quadraro and Pekko and all these other guys were
eating gravel and and again, if Marc Marquez wasn't injured and
this and that and a million other things, but at the end of
the year, he still got that check and he still got that
championship belt. Yeah.
You. Got to put some spec.

(19:15):
On can you as a? Spec on his name.
OK. But Lou, as a writer, can you
really sit there and say I feel great about that championship?
I tell you what, man, when I visit my bank account, I could
care less what you have to say. That mega account has probably
dwindled by now. When I see that deposit, that
one time deposit that. Big listen, I don't care what?

(19:39):
Reason has to say. Vanilla Ice is a good example of
that. He didn't like performing that
song, but that paycheck and whathe's been able to do with it, he
gets there and he puts his heartinto it every time he performs
it. And so he says, So it is what it
is, is, you know, you guys, all you know, said Pedro.

(20:00):
Is there a shot for Pedro to getsigned to Honda?
I mean, you know. Absolutely.
Absolutely. Do you?
So do you think that's where Paige could, you know, we, you
know, as we look and see on social media, it seems like he's
has a good shot with VR46 as well.
I mean, obviously Honda's money's longer.
I mean, what we should all take a time to each answer this.

(20:20):
So we start with Smitty because we we see that, we see the logo
on his hat. So he's going to go hard in the
paint on this one. No, no, listen, listen.
You know he's a Honda trying to do true and blue.
I've been hoping he was in high for the past damn year, 2 years
but it didn't happen yet. But with KTM and their money
problems it was big for a while and it died and it didn't died

(20:41):
away. Now it's coming back up again.
To be honest I don't think KTM is going to be in GP and
probably in three in next like 3years probably.
Honestly, hold that thought because that's on the list to
talk about. So definitely there.
So we, we, we heard Smitty's point of view.
Reese, what are your thoughts onthat?
I mean, can do you think we're Acosta is right now as far as

(21:05):
wanting to win? And we know Ducati's the bike
to, to, to win. I mean, I, I think until
probably 28 if you ask me, you know, Acosta wants to go to a
team that he knows he can win. So what are your thoughts on on
him Honda signing him after his contract is up?
I mean, once his contract is up,I mean, I think it's a pretty

(21:26):
good chance. I mean, yeah, you know, like
they say, Honda's money is very long and go very deep.
You know, with versus KTM, yeah.I mean, VR 4016 has a good shot
at signing him. I mean, they have a good package
under them. But at the same time, I mean,
it's a lot of these young kids are going to where the money's

(21:49):
at. But then you got to look at it
like this. When we come to 27, everybody's
kind of starting out on a similar platform.
You know, everybody's going to start on that same platform and
the 850CC. So you got to see, you got to
you got to take take a chance onwhere you're going.
But I think Honda has a very good shot to go will.
Right, no doubt. Let's let's all right, Louis,

(22:11):
your turn. And I'll say this because you're
the money guy. It's it's on record that, you
know, Pedro still lives at home with his mother and still drives
to be around. So he ain't up, doesn't seem to
be looking for the money as much.
Just because you don't spend money doesn't mean you don't
want money. You know, it was funny.
I was actually listening to an interview with Charles Barkley.

(22:35):
About what I think was Julius Irvin had told him why do you
have 5 cars? And Charles Barkley is like, you
know, can you drive all 5 at thesame time?
No. Then why do you have 5 cars?
Because when you get out of the car, everybody knows who you
are. So you just buying those cars
for the people. So just because you don't spend

(22:57):
the money doesn't mean you don'twant the money.
And you have to think of it thisway also.
Do you want to be the number onerider on a number two team?
Because the VR46 is a satellite team.
It's not a factory team. So as much as they say they get
factory support and this and that, it's still a satellite
team. Come on, man.
Look, Martine won on a satelliteteam.

(23:18):
A win is a win. Come on.
A win is a win. But they go one way, you know?
Let me tell you something. There's a big difference in
certain things when you're on a factory team versus when you're
on a satellite team. With a factory team, you have
more opportunities to make more money as well as more

(23:39):
relationships because you're you're unlimited.
You know when, when you're on a satellite team, even if it's a
very popular team, it's still a satellite team.
Like they still have a little bit more budget constraints.
They still have a little bit more of this and that.
Yeah, but there's one caveat. Which is.
Valentino Rossi is the big boss.He is the big boss, but you

(24:01):
barely see him at the track. So to have someone like that
come as, as we have said, like, you know, Marquez or Jordan,
anybody, you have somebody come and have a conversation with
you. And we've we've heard stories of
Jordan doing this to people and stuff like that that's changed
people's lives. So, you know, if anyone can

(24:21):
convince Acosta to come to a satellite team, it would be
Rossi. He could convince him, but
again. And he knows what it takes to
sign a rider like that because he is that.
So he already know, you know what I'm saying?
He's not right. He.
Is, but at the same time did he resign his own brother?

(24:42):
He he told him to stay with the thing, but he wanted to go on
the factory team, I mean. Yeah, exactly.
And his own brother even knew that being on a satellite team
is not what you want. I think that's a.
Rider All riders want to be on factory teams, and if the
opportunity presents itself, it should.
But once a ride to be has been on a factory team like Acosta,

(25:02):
like Marquez, and Marquez went to a satellite team to refixes
himself. So let's put it this way.
Would do you think that a cost of winning on a Ducati satellite
bike versus winning on a factoryHonda bike, Which one is going
to be more important for legacy if take money out of it, put it

(25:23):
for legacy? I think at the moment Acosta
going to to Ducati with VR46 is like KD going to the Suns.
You're on a team that you're on a machine that's been winning
for the last four years and you can probably and they probably
going to win next year and probably win good has a probably
have a pretty good shot to fightin 27 for the for the title as

(25:47):
well. I think for Acosta, that's, I
mean, Honda still has to prove itself.
I mean, that's how this whole thing started.
Honda still has to prove itself.I think as a Spaniard going to
the Honda team with a Spanish team manager, with all the
Spanish people that are in and around Honda, because Honda is

(26:07):
very Spanish centric now becauseof the people that are running
the team, I think it behooves him to go that route versus to
go the Rossi route on a team that's run by Italians that's
heavily Italian influenced. And that might not necessarily
because again, man, the VR46 squad doesn't have the greatest

(26:30):
relationship with Spaniards for some reason, you know, Do you
think being Acosta, you want to go into that hellscape of an
environment that's a little bit toxic, to be honest with you?
Wow, man. I mean, look, I don't know.
I you know, I think that Marquezwent, he went.
So he he. He went because he's Marquez and

(26:50):
he didn't. He didn't go to the VR46 team,
he went to the Grazini team. Right.
But, but, but VR46 actually won Acosta and Acosta and Valentino
have a pretty decent relationship, unlike on on.
Yeah. I mean, he's gone to the ranch
and and wrote at the ranch. I mean, if he didn't like the
man, he wouldn't show up. I don't.
Think Marquez. Marquez ran at the ranch, too.

(27:12):
No, yeah, now. And guess what?
He beat Rossi's Addis as his ranch and all of a sudden their
relationship went to shit. You know, but you know, you know
what I mean. I from, from what we can tell,
because obviously I, I, we don'tknow personally, but they had,
there's no rift between Rossi and Acosta.
And it sounds like they they if KTM would have allowed Acosta to
go out of his contract, Acosta would have signed the VR46.

(27:37):
Absolutely. But the fact that he did it and
the fact that it's going to be another year before he can, I
think this gives Honda another year to build closer to a
package that could attract Acosta to that team.
Because as Smitty said, I don't see KTM participating at the
level that they're participatingright now going forward.
And we'll talk about it later, but Acosta's got to find his way

(28:00):
out. Right.
You know, he, he knows that the bike is limited, he knows that
the funny is not going to be there.
He's got to find a way out. And his two options are a year
from now go to Yamaha, which means he's going to go even
slower, go to Ducati with the VR46 team because I doubt the
Grassini team would would hire him to be honest with you.
I just. I just don't think that that'll

(28:20):
mesh well because even though there's Spaniards, I don't think
the Acosta's and the Marquez's of the world are on the best of
terms sometimes. That's just the way that's my
personal feeling. And and, and I think in a year
from now, you know, Mir will be out at Honda.
I think they'll keep Marini and that'll be his spot to slide

(28:46):
into man all. Right, no doubt.
All right. We'll keep, we'll, we'll keep it
moving. But we're going to stick with
the, the finance side of, of KTMand Ducati.
I, I mean, it's, it's, it's, I didn't, I didn't mean to stack
them against each other because for the last three years,
Ducati's made over a billion a year in revenue, which is, which

(29:06):
is pretty impressive. KTM has lost 3 billion a year in
revenue. So, so KTM has lost three for
Ducati. It's pretty impressive to be
able to do that. Is that a huge for the
motorcycle industry to for A andthey sold like, I don't know,
under 60,000 bikes. So it's not like they sold, you

(29:27):
know, 20 billion bikes or anything like that.
Is that a huge deal for Ducati to be able to do that and
you're. Just money, you know, the more
money you make, the better company could do, you know,
currently in the future. So yeah, huge deal and
especially being AKTM losing money, you know it is a huge
deal. Honda still making money.

(29:48):
So is Ducati, Aprilia. I don't know where I don't know
how to make money because because to be honest, on the
streets, I don't see anybody at all really.
Maybe it's me just not being outin the in that, you know, zone
anymore, but I never seen anybody on any preliminary
streets at all. Do you see?
But they're. Still there racing so.
Do you see Piaggio's school money?

(30:09):
Do you see Piaggio? You tell me.
I'm at That's so good. I got a Piaggio, man, yeah.
I got yeah. Take it down.
You can't hear me. I think you might not be able to
hear us. Yeah, Yeah, I think I don't
hear. Me.
Yeah, we can hear you. That's weird.
Yeah, I mean that you might haveto just pull out and and and,

(30:33):
yeah, just remove yourself and add yourself.
He can't hear us right. I see Piaggio's everywhere.
Yeah, so I I'm. In California.
I'm not in California, I'm in Florida.
I mean, you see, I'm sure you see Vestas everywhere.
Exactly. I see the.
Still don't hear shit? That's unfortunate.

(30:57):
That's that. That's that Atlanta shit.
That's that Atlanta shit. What are your thoughts, Reese,
on on what Ducati's doing has done financially, being able to
do that for a small company not too much bigger than what
Aprilia? Is OK, so let me see I'm

(31:19):
approach this one for you. So I mean it is great to see
them do that. You know it is one out of a feat
for a motorcycle industry to seethem.
Is it good for the motorcycle industry?
Yes and no, because it doesn't do nothing for the other four
big brands. But I could say this coming from
a dealer perspective, you know, working in a dealership for so

(31:42):
many years and seeing it then it's the same old added question
that you get, you know, people and Lou probably will know the
same thing. But a lot of the the young guys
coming up or even the old guys coming in when they go to buy a
jet brand, you know, and we're at what for an R1 or ACBR where

(32:07):
18,000 some odd $1000, you know,after tax fees and all that,
you're like 20 grand. So the added is why, why should
I buy this R1 or Gixxer or CBR when I can go spend a couple
more $1000 and be part of what they call the elite brand of the
Ducati and have a faster bike? So that's always what's

(32:31):
happened. A lot of guys will buy the, the
elite brand instead of the old brand because nothing has
changed. And so for Ducati to do what
they have done to sell it, yes, it's, it's great because people
are buying it. And, you know, I respected with
their household and everything they've done.
And you know, it, it, it makes everybody else step their game

(32:52):
up a little bit or try to. But it also is nice for Ducati
when you got that Volkswagen company with Lamborghini sitting
behind you, you know? Splotting out a.
Whole bunch of cash and not be like, no, they're not.
I'm like, well, you got to look how many Lamborghini editions
they put out and trust me, they sell out every year that

(33:13):
Lamborghini edition comes. Yeah, no, I, I, I think Ducati
lucked out being purchased by a car company or a company that
actually want them to succeed because, you know, we've seen
other companies get bought and ripped apart and sold and, and.
Well, there's a lot of car companies at home.

(33:35):
Manufacturers. Like the rights or like I found
out I didn't even know for years.
You know, Toyota owns part of Yamaha.
Yeah. Yeah.
So what do you think? Well, where they at?
Oh, your thoughts, Mr. Mr. Finance?
All right, so let me get a little bit.

(33:56):
So what Ducati's done is impressive, but you do have to
understand that overall sales compared to the year prior were
down about 6%. So even though they sold over
50,000 units in 2024, they were down 6% from 2023.
Now 2022 and 2023 had, especially in the US market,

(34:18):
which is a very big market for Ducati, we had that influx of
fake money due to COVID and so forth, and a lot of people had
pent up spending anguish. They just want to get money out
in 2122 even trickled over a little to 2324.
Even though they crested over 50,000 units sold, they were

(34:38):
still down about 6% from the previous year.
But it still shows that there isa market for these specific
bikes. You know, they keep investing
these bikes and giving people a reason to buy these motorcycles.
And 50,000 units might not seem like a lot, but it is a huge
amount when you think about the fact that the average price of a

(35:01):
Ducati is almost $20,000. So, you know, it's not like
you're buying 7 or $8000 CBR 5 hundreds or Ninja 4 hundreds or
things like that, like you're buying a premium motorcycle.
You're spending on average about$20,000.
So 50,000 motorcycles at $20,000on average is a very good return

(35:25):
on investment. And if they can keep that 50,000
unit average, they'll do very, very well for the next two, 3-4
years. The thing is that's helping them
is they're the only company that's actively constantly
developing bikes in this segmenton top of all the other segments
they're getting into. You know, now they have a, a
motocross bike or a dirt bike, and that's going to have a

(35:48):
couple of different variants. It's going to have a trail
version. It's going to have this, it's
going to have that. They keep investing in the right
markets. Their Multi Strata is adaptable
to a couple of different types of riding their V2 motor and
their V4 motor is going are going into a lot of different
platforms and this is what they're doing that nobody else
is doing. None of the Jack bike companies

(36:10):
are doing this. All the Jack bike companies are
focusing on volume at a lower price versus quality and
technology and performance at a higher price.
Because at $20,000 this is this has always been the problem.
At $20,000 would you rather buy a Ducati V4 or buy a fucking 15
year old piece of shit R1 again?Right.

(36:31):
I mean, listen, when you know Wendy's meal is 15 bucks today,
there's a lot of inflation happening.
So I mean, how much of that is inflation versus just having a
more expensive brand because? Yeah, but you can't blame it all
on inflation because if you rolling out the same old shit
box for 15 years and telling me it cost more to make it, well

(36:54):
how's this company making something better and newer and
more different for that? You know, and this is this is
where the used bike market comesin.
People always complain, oh you don't go to if you want to vote,
vote with your dollars, go to the dealership and buy a bike.
Well guess what man, if I buy today's bike, I could buy 8 year
old bike that looks exactly liketoday's bike.
But. How long now you've seen?

(37:15):
Which almost all this? Man this shit got a fucking ZX6
front end and two wings. It's the same shit box
underneath. I like it's a fucking wing.
ZX10 this shit got a ZX6 front end and two wings that look like
they got them from T MU. Bullshit, man.

(37:36):
Yeah, but you know, we'll, we'lltalk about KTM after this.
But I'll say this, the used motorcycle market, because I do
pay attention to it, it needs to, it needs to come down
because the prices are so close to brand new.
When you say 8 year old bike, the 8 year old bikes that are
like 3 grand less than a new bike.
You're not. And and that's that I mean that

(37:57):
is another that's a positive anda negative because if the price
is high and I can get a new bikefor 3000, more than you're going
to probably sell a new bike in place of that.
But also if the prices are high in the used market it deters new
riders from getting into the market.
Because I I would like to get anRR 6 but people are still asking

(38:18):
15 grand for a 7 year old R6. I I can't get ACBR 600 because
they don't exist. So I got to buy what a 2009 CBR
600 that's beat to shit and theystill want $7000 for it?
Like this is the problem, man. Like we don't have a used market

(38:39):
that can pull in new people and we don't have a new market
priced competitive to give people a reason to buy new.
And it's all the Japanese brands, whereas Ducati, even
though they're a little bit moreexpensive, every couple years
they give you a reason to buy a new Ducati.
We went from AV2 to AV4. We went from AV4 this to AV4

(39:00):
that. We do, you know, they actually
hurt themselves because they're constantly bringing out so many
new models that they devalue theproducts that are old.
But that's also a good thing, because when they devalue the
products that are old, this gives somebody a pathway to get
a used Ducati, to start on the used Ducati and eventually buy a
new Ducati. Right, right.
Till they get to that Desmo service and then want to sell

(39:22):
that, yeah. Until they get hit with that one
Desmond, they'd be like, what it's.
Not bad, it's not bad. It's.
Not bad, so. Let's talk about KTM wolves.
You know it, it looks like the majority stake owner may be
looking to try to move the theirshares.
It looks like they're, you know,they're they're following suit

(39:44):
with maybe Amazon and laying offsome of these CEO, these white
collar workers, you know, with this white noise.
How is this good for the team? And is can as KTM as we know it,
and I know Smitty already said KTM is going to be done in three
years. So is, is this what we're
looking at like another brand that that may not be around in

(40:07):
the next decade? So.
Yeah, so I think their problems are going to just keep them
alive for the next couple years.But I think even right now
currently to hear the hey, you know, we're bankrupt, laying off
like but like it's a mental distraction and guys don't want
that, you know, especially, you know, the rider.
It's like, OK, well, next year, you know, should I stay here?

(40:27):
Everybody going to be better where they have money.
So just you want to just leave early while you can before you
get stuck, stuck on a bad team and know, right.
So Pedro should be gone. Honestly, in my opinion, it's
based on the rumors he's having and just the feelings of having
not it's like you feel it's uncertain, you know what I'm
saying? And I don't feel good.

(40:48):
Yeah, no, I I agree it's tough when you work for a organization
and you and you hear about the financial woes and you're still
supposed to wake up and, and give 110% and you don't know
what's going to happen. So it it, it's a, it's a weird
space to be in if if you've beenin a space like that, because
I'm in that. Space now shit.

(41:10):
Yes, yes, you, yes, you are. And and you know, you're you're
essential and and and critical piece to making this thing flow
it, you know, so it's like, yeah, you get right.
You know, I, I, I don't, I don'twant to necessarily put that out
on the on the show, but you know, how do you, how, how do
you stay motivated, man? It takes six days.

(41:31):
It's like you go to work, you don't get paid.
Payday was last week. My tech said zero, you're going
to take 0 next week. But aircraft still got to fly.
So that's what air traffic controllers do, you know, make
air, keep the keep the air safe.So that's it.
Got you, got you. So I, you know, what you're
saying is that you just, regardless of whatever it is,
you just got to, you know, put your head down and still give
110. Maybe 90?

(41:56):
So I can blame you for all the delays and my delay today.
You know what I'm saying? No, because.
No, because we're short staffed and Chris staffing triggers.
Yeah, I was going to say yeah, yeah.
And and if you know, if everyone's giving 90%, then
eventually, you know it, it goes.
But I will move on. I'm, I'm gonna need you to give
100% man next time. I'm tired of being late in

(42:16):
Monday's place, man, you know? You know, we're going to, we're
going to have to get you some gift cards, Smitty or something
to, to, to get you motivated. You know work, right?
Yeah. What are what are your thoughts,
Reese man on KTM woes? And is it just noise or this is
this can't be noise at this point, right?
You're at some point you got to start saying, you know, you know

(42:38):
there's a problem. I mean, I don't think it's
noise. I think it's, you know, it can
be a problem. I mean, it's going to cause a
distraction with the team, you know, I mean as as, as after a
while you got to start looking at it and be like, man, what's
really going on? Are we going to have a job?
Are we going to get, you know what, what's what's the deal?

(42:59):
You know what I mean? What's the deal like this?
It's it caused a distraction forthe riders and team.
You know what I mean? You're not putting your you're
not fully focused. You know, it is.
It does hurt you, man. It, it really does.
You know, I don't see them beingaround for, you know, the next
after the next three years. They may be, you know, you know,

(43:20):
the problem the, the problem I see is we don't know, we're
going into a whole new, it's really not a whole new era on
the 27th, you know what I mean? But it's kind of a different
approach. You know, we're instead of, you
know, how much are we going to either save spend or what are we
doing? Because we're coming down from
1000 to an 850, you know, so what's the deal there where

(43:41):
we're going? So, you know, it's a whole bunch
of different errors on everything.
So that that could be a saving grace.
All right. And do you, do you think it's
more corporate people at KTM than it is motorcyclists or, you
know, enthusiasts or racers at heart?
Because, you know, to spend a lot of money to go racing, you

(44:05):
got to love it. You can't.
There's nothing else. I mean, do you think, you know,
you know, stakeholders are just kind of saying, hey, we need to
show profit. I need, I need, I, I, you know,
I need some return on my investments.
No, I mean, it's just like even,you know, anybody, you know, all
the, when you get the new guys in, the big guys in, they're
looking to see where they can save money.

(44:27):
Slash money here, slash money here, save money here.
You know, budget cut there, budget cut there.
You know, it's always when the new guys come in, they're trying
to do budget cuts and save as much money as they can, you
know, not understanding certain perspective.
And you know, unfortunately, hopefully this guy understands
that, you know, if you don't race, someone's really buying

(44:47):
your product. It's like, you know, without
somebody race, without your brand of in this industry of
sports, if you don't race and noone sees it, how are you
expecting to sell anything? You know, you're not going to
sell anything. You're just going to be left in
the dust, kind of. And Lewis, man, is it, is it
time to start, you know, brushing up the resume or do we

(45:09):
do you give 90% like Smitty? I mean, it sucks to be working
for a company that is in this kind of financial straits that
they are right now. I mean, obviously they're trying
to work their way out of it. They're restructuring.
The hardest thing in the world is try to restructure debt.
You know, you have to work with banks, you have to work with
lenders, creditors, investors. Everybody has to be on the same

(45:33):
page and everybody has to be willing to save the product, not
just save their own asses. And you know, you only need one
group to say, well, we only wantto save our own asses and kind
of throw the whole thing into turmoil.
Like everybody has to be in agreement.
Look, we've already lost this much.
How much more are we willing to lose before we pull the plug on
this? Do I think KTM will survive as a

(45:55):
brand? I think the brand will survive.
I think what we'll see from the brand will change significantly.
I mean, they're still trying to innovate.
They just launched a new bike. They've been showing production
videos of the RC. This is, you know, what they
believe is going to be their first step in kind of moving
back into the market with a new product at a great price point.

(46:17):
I mean, I've looked at the bike,I've looked at some of the
specs. What they're selling at that
price is pretty nice, man. It's it's what's the price?
Point because I know they had that.
What is it? The RC8 that was like 60 grand.
No, no, no. So they have an RC, What is it
9? At the 890. 890.

(46:39):
OK. Oh, OK.
That's like, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
And I mean, again, this is you're looking at something
that's more along the lines of, I mean, what's considered now
super sport. You know, three years ago it'd
be a a twins bike, but it's considered a super sport and
early sales projections on that seem pretty positive.

(47:00):
You know, early sales projections on it have it, you
know, selling decently well to launch.
But the biggest problem with KTMis they've been known as an off
road brand for almost their entire life.
And then they got onto on road motorcycles outside of like
their super adventure and so forth, they were always
considered an off road dual sport type of bike.

(47:21):
They get into the road market. They don't get into the road
market with some of the best products.
That RC390 everybody thought wasa great bike until they started
to realize it wasn't as great aseverybody thought it was.
Hey come on man, I have two of them.
That's your fault, not mine. I love them, I love them, I love
them. But if you crash them, they're

(47:43):
not the most friendly bikes to fix.
And unfortunately, crashing is part of building a cheap bike,
you know, so you have to build it.
You know when you build a uniframe body bike, a trellis
frame and a subframe is welded onto the mainframe and you
crash, your whole bike is totaled.
This is why unconventional sportbikes you have a subframe that

(48:05):
connects one part of the bike tothe mainframe, and even where
you connect the rear sets to thebike, they're not welded pieces
for the most part, they're pieces that are on the mainframe
and the rear sets are designed to bend before the frame bends.
Whereas KTM built a bike kind ofmade to only survive one crash,
if that. The bike is 50 or 100 bucks man.

(48:26):
Come on, let's. Well, that's all it's worth, but
I think I think they learned from the the RC390.
This new bike looks like it has a lot of different pieces that
address a lot of the concerns that the RC390 presented.
So I think that they're going inthe right direction.
Again, it's how long do these investors, how long do these

(48:49):
creditors, how long do all thesepeople that are putting money
into it want to keep pumping money into something before they
see some positive returns, before they start pulling the
plug. And the first thing you got to
do is you got to cut expenses, you got to cut corners.
You know, right now they're talking about moving all
production to the Asian markets,to Indonesia and places like

(49:10):
that to try to get the cost down, trying to reduce overlap
in development people. So instead of having 20
development people, maybe cut itdown to 8 development people.
They're cut here, cut there, like they're trying to find ways
to stay profitable, cut overall spending and keep coming to the
market. If they don't go positive in the
next 36 months, then that's whenyou really got to start to

(49:35):
worry. And the GP front, I don't, I
mean, the one saving grace on the GP front is the new owner of
Tech 3. The new owner of Tech 3 comes in
with a lot of money, and he camein and bought Tech 3 knowing
that they're on a KTM. So he's going to want to pump
money in to make sure that KTM keeps making Moto GP bikes, at
least for the next two or three years until he can work out a

(49:57):
deal to maybe get another manufacturer.
To step right, I was going to say yeah, yeah.
Yeah, so. So I don't think they're going
anywhere, but I don't know if their development is going to
stay at the peak where everybodyelse is.
You know, I think they're going to have to cut some corners
somewhere. A little bit less carbon fiber,
a little more plastic, a little less titanium, a little bit more

(50:19):
stainless steel. You know what?
You're probably right, but at that point, you know, if cutting
corners was the point of stayingin GP, his GP is the whole point
of not cutting corners, you know, so why stay?
Because if the guy in Tech 3 is cutting big ass checks, you want
to stay in Cape in the in the inthe GP game because this guy's
paying for the GP bikes he's bringing.
For it, right and bringing you R&D?

(50:42):
Yep. OK.
So that's the biggest. Yeah.
And and this is the way most companies justify going racing.
You know, we're going to take this budget and it's not just
coming from this one pool of marketing, it's coming from
marketing research and development.
It's coming from this other partover here.
So all these different, even though it's the same checkbook,

(51:04):
when you can slice it up across different segments of the
checkbook, different accounts payable segments, you can
justify, hey, we spent 1,000,000bucks, but marketing only spent
250,000, R&D spent 320. You know, this other department
spent 245. I mean, that's accounting.
It's it's a funny game and you know, you get one big number,

(51:27):
but when you cut it up into seven different departments, ah,
it's not that big. Not that big a deal.
Speaking of cutting up, before we go into super sport, let's
talk about the triple engine. I find that the the triple
engine does not get the same respect that the twins and the V
fours and the inline 4/4 get. Is it just because they just

(51:51):
haven't been an on enough sport bikes?
I mean in MV Augusta, you know, we got Yamaha, obviously we got
Triumph, which is probably well known.
I find that you know, like you know, people love twins, they
love the inline fours and the V fours, but the triple engine
seems to struggle. What are you guys thoughts on on
the triple engine? Should it be up there with all

(52:12):
the characteristics of the ones I mentioned?
I mean, it should be, but because it's in the middle, it
doesn't have saying the same. You know, the you know, the twin
has that deep throaty sound in my force have the high pitch,
high reverend sound. The trip was just like it's
stuck in the middle. It's like, you know, the middle
child, almost no one likes it really.

(52:34):
You know, the you know, like, yeah, it's like, you know, the
kid that's the oldest 1, you know, is in charge.
The young kid is the baby gets spoiled.
The middle kids like yo, hello I'm here.
That's how the triple is. No one cares about it.
I'm glad I'm the youngest. Because it's not, it's not.
It's not like the best of both worlds.
It's just stuck in the middle ofboth worlds.

(52:54):
So. No.
And it's a good bike, you know, but it's.
Just I know. A triple No one cares.
The reason your thoughts on you know, you've been in sales,
you've been in racing, you're a fan of the triple Moto.
Well, your thoughts on the on the triple engine race.
I mean, you got one in your back, in your, in your, in your,
your race garage. Nah, I don't want to my race

(53:16):
guys, not yet, but I'm working on one, I'm working on another,
you know, another one. So but I mean, I think the
triple is a good bike, man. I mean, everyone sits there and
sleeps on it and and and takes it for granted, but at the the
power that it can actually produce and you know, for the
low end torque coming out of a hole is actually good, you know,

(53:37):
and then, like I said, with the R9, I mean, we actually have
them on the same. We have the same power as the R6
almost that we built up. I mean, you got to look what
they're trying to do. They're trying to take a lot of
RPMS away from the R9. So I mean the sleep and then
what Spinny says, it's true to me.
It's like it's, it's, it's somewhere in the middle, you
know, that the triple, but the sound that it actually has, it's

(53:59):
like almost like a, a buzzing sound.
It's like a weird buzz to it, which actually sounds unique.
And it's the same thing as what people used to say when the R1
came out. You know, it's oh, it sounds
like a Ducati now. Everybody loves the sound.
It's like, you know, it, it eventually grows on people, you
know, So I think people are sitting there sleeping on a
triple is is actually kind of insane.

(54:21):
This could what it puts out and produce.
It's it's something different. I do like.
All what sound though I do like it.
See point in case I proved my point it.
Does sound good. What are your thoughts Louis on
the on the triple engine and why?
And more people should go go purchase one.

(54:43):
I mean the triple engine, if youknow the bikes that have used it
over the past 15 years or so, I mean the most common triple that
was out there for a long time was the Triumph.
Like Triumph was known as the company to buy a triple from.
They had a great motor. It was super reliable.

(55:04):
It produced really clean power, good torque, like it had all the
positives of AV Twin and none ofit, none of the negatives and it
had a lot of the positive, but in line 4 and none of the
negatives. You know the biggest drawback of
the triple was it kind of had a cap on horsepower for a long
time like it could only produce so much without going to a

(55:24):
bigger CC motor or you know going.
I think that the the tiger triple or something was like
1200 CCS like you really need tobore it out to try to get power,
but now they can build a lot of power out of a triple like
A800CC triple can you know produce 130 plus horsepower and
right now in Moto 2, you know all the motors are triples and

(55:45):
you see that the bikes are fast man.
I mean everybody says that the bikes are way better than when
they had the CBR600RR inline 4 when Honda was producing the
motors for Moto 2. So I think it's just a matter
that not enough people are have been introduced to a triple and
now they're kind of being introduced to a triple and some

(56:06):
of them are adopting it and someof them are just fighting
against it because they only want a 4 cylinder or they only
want AV twin. You know, they kind of want to
stay away from like this weird 3cylinder thing, but it's a clean
motor. It creates great torque, is very
linear power. It doesn't destroy rear tires as

(56:26):
much as like a twin does becausetwins put down a lot of torque.
So they tear up rear tires. I think as more people get used
to them, as more manufacturers build them and they build them
the right way. Like you can't just build a
triple without good power, without good power output,
without linear torque. If you build the right triple,
it'll sell, But if you build thewrong triple or you build the

(56:48):
right triple and put it in the wrong bike, it doesn't help the
bike and it doesn't help the motor because people are just
going to assume because the bikesucks while the motor sucks.
And it could just be that the bike sucks.
Like the bike is just not a wellbuilt bike, doesn't have the
right components, doesn't have astrong triple tree, doesn't have
good forks, doesn't have good brakes, whatever it is.
And now all of a sudden because this motor in that bike,

(57:11):
everything sucks. It's not just the motor.
True. That's true.
I hate that I want one. I'm going to get one.
Not yet. I mean, I had three.
KTMSII called it my closest thing to a triple, but the
single cylinders. Michael Ruben Rinaldi leaving

(57:34):
World Super Bike full time Agador is going back to Super
Sport where he's won two titles.This is a part of motorcycle
racing. Obviously we saw Ray, but raise
Korea is completely different than these other guys.
Obviously with the six world titles and stuff like that.
You know, Ronaldo was nice on the Ducati for a while.

(57:54):
I mean, he had, you know, Davis as his teammate and Davis was on
fire and and unfortunately he's had some really, I don't want to
sit here and say he, you know, he has some really tough team
mates that that can really ride.So he never got a chance to
really shine the way he did. And, you know, after, you know,
the red ends and the batistas and all these guys came over

(58:15):
from Moto GP, he kind of just got pushed out of the the Ducati
brand and and, you know, he tried other brands, but I think
he just, you know, struggle likeall these other riders.
Well, you guys thoughts on on Agatha going back to world super
bike, not getting a ride or maybe not getting a ride that,
you know, seem to make sense because we saw Schultz go go

(58:35):
back to super sport here in the US, You know, instead of instead
of trying to get into a a super bike seat that may have cost him
more than he might have won. But what you guys thoughts on
Ronaldi, which was a nice he's anice rider.
I I don't remember if he won a super sport or not.
I got to look that up. What are your thoughts Smitty?
I'm not sure, but sometimes you just got to keep a job, you

(58:55):
know, riding the sport is cutthroat.
And you thought about seats. You got 20 rides and 50 seats
like playing. What's that game called?
Let me just go chairs, you know,sometimes seats not there.
So we got to go down to class, ride for like a year or two,
show that, show that you still got it, then hopefully move back
up. So I think sculpts is something
we we talked about like a littlebit.

(59:17):
We'll probably be back into a bike next year so but we'll see.
But as turns up, Agador and Rinaldi, yeah, I think super
sport for like a year or two because it's the take the stress
off, go down, ride, just earn some money, just show the hey, I
can still ride a bike, you know.So wait, wait for that seat to
open back up. What are your thoughts?

(59:39):
Yeah. I mean, my thought is the same
thing. I mean, I mean to the answer
Smitty, I mean Sculpt is in a super bike next year.
But to not give too much insightof certain things.
There's always things that fans don't see.

(59:59):
There's more things behind the scenes as Lou would know, where
it comes down to contracts. It comes down to the money.
It comes down to certain scenarios.
You know, if I go to Super Bike,where am I going to do or am I
going to have a one year deal and then be out or versus stay
in Super Bike and have a longer term career and and go here and
then maybe move to Super Bike tohave a longer term there.

(01:00:22):
So we don't know what was going on behind the scenes.
Like, there were things going onwith sculpts that made him, you
know, the first year, of course,he went down to the Super sport.
But there was other things that played into his second year, you
know, to where he had to take care of certain things.
But I think, you know, people going down the Super sport, it's

(01:00:44):
just like the Spinney says, it'sjust to keep a job.
And then, you know, when you show that you still got certain
things, yeah, you can move back up or seats open up, you know,
you you slot right in there and then then you kind of stay.
Look at Lorenzo Baltazar. He's coming.
And maybe he took his seat. He's coming back next year,
right? He was in bottle E.

(01:01:05):
Right. So I mean it, there's a lot of,
there's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes and a lot
of things that goes on that you know, that will make you drop
down. Is it a smarter decision?
Maybe, you know, for you, maybe it's a smart decision that we
just don't know about. We're, you know, we will never
know the insides unless you are on the inside.
Like there were things I know about that, you know, that work

(01:01:25):
with sculpts, you know, the thing that is there.
It's classified. It isn't my paycheck to say.
No doubt, Louis, what are your thoughts, man, Ronaldi?
And which is a bigger deal? I think because he's leaving
full time, leaving world super sport.
Oh, the Super bike paddock whereat least Agatha may get a

(01:01:48):
chance. But he's a double world title,
so I, you know, champion. So it it it's kind of hard that
he can't find a job. I mean, there's only so many
seats, you know, the, the world super bike is having similar
issues with our own super bike here where the grid isn't packed
with, you know, 27 or 28 bikes. There's a minimum amount of
seats. There's minimum amount of seats

(01:02:10):
that go the entire year. I mean even Scott Redding
started the year World Super Bike and ended the year in BSB
because the team was pretty muchrunning out of money.
If he can't find a quality ride then as a competitor do you want
to just ride around in 20th and maybe hurt your stock because
you're not on a great bike and people see you struggling to

(01:02:32):
stay in the top 20? Or are you better off taking a
step back, maybe taking a job asa test rider or riding in a
regional championship? Because I mean, he's been in
CEV, he's been in the European Championship.
Like it's not like he can't finda ride.
He's just taking this step back and see maybe what opens up next

(01:02:55):
year. Because he's, he's not a old
guy. I mean, he's he's, he's barely
in his 30s. He just turned 31 or he's about
to turn 31. Like he's, he's not a old guy.
He's still got a lot of racing with him, he's still a quality
rider. It's not like he forgot how to
ride. He's just had some missed
opportunities with the teams he'd been on, with the bike,

(01:03:15):
with the equipment, with this, with that.
He did have a couple of crashes,missed some races.
So he just had this unsteady career over the last few years
where it's had some peaks, it had some valleys.
He didn't find a ride for next year, so he's just taking a step
back and I think he will throw his hat back into the rider
market when the rider market makes itself available.

(01:03:37):
And if he gets opportunity, he gets an opportunity.
You know, you never know what can happen in racing.
I mean, he could be sitting home, somebody gets hurt,
somebody calls him up, all of a sudden he comes back.
He's in great shape to ride and he does great on that as a
filling rider. Again, not a replacement, just
filling in. But again, it's an audition to

(01:03:58):
show people, hey, I'm still here, I'm still a quality rider.
I still know how to go fast and,you know, get an opportunity
somewhere else down the road. I, I would hate to think that at
his age, it's over for him because it's not like he has
some debilitating injury that's keeping him from riding.
His only injury right now is he can't find a quality ride.
He couldn't get signed and so hehas to sit out for a year.

(01:04:21):
Right now, guys, does he does? Is it time for him to start
looking at the US? Is it, you know, maybe we're
talking about this before the show started?
Is it, you know, should these younger riders that are and not
getting rides start to look at, you know, different country
championships instead of maybe trying to stay in World Super
Bike or Moto GP? Because we saw what Petrucci was

(01:04:43):
able to come and do you know, wesee some of these other riders
coming over. You finished second in the
championship. What are you talking about?
I mean, win, look. We thought.
Just crowd. Initially, No, no, no, hold on,
hold on initially. Hey, you know Moto GP guy coming
down to no America, he got to mop everybody up on a good bike.

(01:05:05):
It didn't happen and he came in and got and Jake bust his ass
man straight up. But one rider it doesn't.
Matter. He and Jake bust everybody
there. Yeah, Jake does bust everybody.
Yeah. You got it.
My gosh thought that that, that he came here and been
unbeatable. Well, I mean, listen, it's it's,
it's his. I'll defend him a little bit and

(01:05:26):
we'll move on. But you know, it's his first
year here learning the tracks, all that and he still finished
second place in the championship.
It's not like he finished 10th and.
We got some shit tires in Dunlop.
You know, I mean, like, it's it's that's pretty impressive to
finish, you know, second in the championship for your first

(01:05:48):
year. And, you know, I mean, Redden
did better at BSB because he wona champion.
But OK, no man off with his head, Smitty, right?
Even he thought he would have come here and whoop everybody
ass when he came in confident ashell.
And I understand it happens. And then next year they came the
short guy, Hector Barber. He busts everybody's ass but one
person. Come on.
Like it's like, you know, it's not like, like, you know what's

(01:06:11):
up, You know the. Europeans think over here is a
joke and it's not a joke. Man, that's all I'm saying.
Fair enough. I, I didn't, I didn't get that
You, you, you, you were, you were there.
But is, is it accurate what Smitty's saying that you know,
Petrucci is over here whistling at all all our women?

(01:06:33):
I mean, it's the same thing if we go over there, you know what
I mean? It's it's learn a different
track, learn a different, you know, the style of racing.
And then like, you know, Lewis knows the biggest factor is the
tires. You know, that's a big factor.
The tires is a big factor. A lot of people don't understand
that, you know, they're coming from top notch quality Pirellis
and we're coming to bowling ballDunlops, you know, so I mean

(01:06:58):
we'll see what the new spec has,but you know that that that
plays a factor in your setup with the bike.
You know that does you know, Bobby told y'all, you know,
riding from the Pirellis to the Dunlops.
He was just like, yo, this this complete night and day.
It is a complete night and day game.
You know, he test Rd. the Pirellis and he was like, Yo,

(01:07:19):
can we get these like UCS over here?
You know, and so it's it's it's a whole nother game, you know,
and you you got to come over here and learn this track, learn
the style of riding. Then you're trying to get the
crew, you know, learn the crew, then different bike, the
different setup, the different gearing.
And this is a whole nother game man all.

(01:07:41):
Right. So, OK, Lewis, I mean, you know,
you know you, you. That's who was trying to come
into my world playing basketball.
I'm going to bust his ass. If I come in second, I still did
as good as Petrucci. Listen, I I know that's the

(01:08:02):
first loser, but come on man, that that check is still the
second biggest. They did Nelly say it too.
Nobody remembers. And Speaking of checks, this is
a, a big thing to think about when guys from Europe want to
come to the US, You know, we don't have the deepest pockets
in the world here. You know, the, the pockets here
a little bit shallower. They don't go as deep, they

(01:08:25):
don't have as much green. Whereas, you know, the guys that
are currently in world super bike and other and these other
world class championships, they're used to getting checks
that are pretty decent. You know, they're used to
getting the expenses of travel, getting paid for.
They're used to a lot of things.And when you come to the US, you
know, what is it? What will it take you as a top

(01:08:45):
rider? And I'm not saying like a
Valentino Rossi, because if all the teams in the paddock got all
their checks together, I don't think they can get Valentino
Rossi to come here and rate one race here for one season.
But like Adanolo Petrucci, how much do you think it actually
took between Ducati and his teamto pay him to justify him coming

(01:09:06):
here to race for a year? He got a Gillette Razor deal,
didn't he? Well he didn't use it because
he's heavy as shit, but I'm saying he should have got a
manscape deal. He was from a bank on that.
What what What are the numbers looking like roughly for for to
get a ride like that? Roughly, they got to have the

(01:09:27):
opportunity to walk away with half 1,000,000 bucks.
Like walk away with a half 1,000,000 bucks because you got
to justify living here for, likeI said earlier, 8 months out of
the year because you got to comehere, you got to stay here, you
got to test here, you got to ride here, you got to test here.
You know, everything you got to do is here.
So for eight or nine months, yougot to uproot yourself and maybe

(01:09:50):
your family or you come by yourself.
You leave your wife and your kids over there and you got to
travel back and forth a couple of times a month.
You got housing expenses, you got this, you got that.
And what a lot of people don't realize is a lot of the races in
the US, they're considered independent contractors.
So you're not an employee, you're an independent
contractor. You get paid as an independent

(01:10:10):
contractor, which means the companies that are paying you
aren't paying for your health insurance.
So now you got to cover that expense.
The companies that are paying for you aren't necessarily
paying for your flight and your travel.
You got to pay that expense. They might not be paying for
your hotel. You got to pay that expense.
So if you don't have the right contract that 400,000 after

(01:10:30):
taxes, especially if you're based here in the US and you
live in California, that 400,000right off the bat is not
400,000. It's about 200,000, maybe about
180,000. Doesn't weigh the same.
And that 180,000, now you take away food, travel expenses,
housing, blah blah blah blah blah.
That 180 just became like 110. So unless you got a good

(01:10:53):
contingency package to get you back up over like at $400,000,
is it even worth to come to the US and race a season?
You know, for us, for me and you, you give me $400,000, man,
you'll have to pay me another 300 to get off the track.
For these guys that are doing this full time to come here for

(01:11:13):
400,000 and walk away with maybe180 grand.
Like I'd rather stay in Europe and race in one of their
regional championships. I can make the same amount of
money and I don't have to travelhalfway across the world, learn
new tracks, ride on shittier tires, be in a paddock that you
know is not bringing me more opportunities.

(01:11:33):
Man, it's, it's going to be tough to, but, you know, I mean,
obviously we, we see Bradley Smith, we Lois Baz and, and
we've seen other writers come through.
So it seems like some teams are able to get one or two people to
come over, but not a lot. I know we can, we can keep going

(01:11:54):
on that topic a little bit longer, but we're going to get,
we have to get out of here. Yeah, I was going to say,
fellas, I got to go. So I got to take off all.
Right, no doubt. We'll we'll, we'll, we'll piece
it out there then, man. It's the Be forever Cool
podcast. My name is Rex 45 on Thanks
Smitty, Reese and Lewis and for coming on peace.

(01:12:14):
Peace.