Luda-GP?

[Awesome]

Good luck to Blata, but Ludacris is not the motogp influence that I want to see.....V6?

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=6&nid=106389

[highsider]

Good to see a celebrity getting involved in some other form of racing besides NASCAR.

[benVFR]

Hey it is all about getting money to fund your team, those guys are smart.

If you haven't noticed the rap guys are sh*tting, vomiting, smoking, eating, etc.. $1000 bills. More money than most of us can imagine. Good job for Blata to get a piece of it.

[Awesome]

Micheal Jordan - good for the sport

Luda - not

Kid Rock - maybe, but better than Luda for sure.

That's my opinion. Who wants to see a swarm of thugs in the paddock, flashing bling, and calling eachother 'niggah' this and that. I'm even a big fan of rap and hip hop, but not the image. Good for Blata for getting the $, but hopefully green is the only influence that comes of it.

[odduc]

On positive note, Michael Jordan is funding a huge team in AMA Superbike, this year. I understand he has become a big motorcycle racing fan, of late. He intends to stay in the sport, as a business, for a long time to come. This is great news for the sport and should bring a whole new fan base to our beloved sport.

I do agree with Ben(gasp), bringing in rappers to motorcycle racing is a good thing because, again, they will bring with them a whole new fan base.

[highsider]

Originally posted by hessogood
Micheal Jordan - good for the sport

Luda - not

Kid Rock - maybe, but better than Luda for sure.

That's my opinion. Who wants to see a swarm of thugs in the paddock, flashing bling, and calling eachother 'niggah' this and that. I'm even a big fan of rap and hip hop, but not the image. Good for Blata for getting the $, but hopefully green is the only influence that comes of it.

If the dude supports bike racing, and especially Moto GP racing in the US, he's ok in my book

[mikeb]

unless you never watch mtv or atleast glace at a " stunter" magazine in a book store. sportbikes are a huge part of the urban scene. there's alot going on with racing and stunt shows. down south, new jersey, all have big events centered around import cars and sportbikes. minorities arn't looking to do the HD thing thats so huge among white america right know. i know atleast half of the rap videos have sportbikes in them so i'm not surprised to see luna backing the sport.

remember america likes bobsledding and neckcar more than bike racing

[BigShel]

Jay, I know you have seen Kings Of Comedy.As Cedric says we are coming ...its good to see some Black folks getting in this finally, These catz are looking at the big picture.sure they have crazy money but no one wants to listen to Luda when he is 40yrs old.but when he has a racing team it will last much longer.MJ found his rider in IL blazing on the highway stop and spoke to the kid about putting his talent on the track...now thats making...And why is Kid Rock better for this than Luda?

Originally posted by hessogood
Micheal Jordan - good for the sport

Luda - not

Kid Rock - maybe, but better than Luda for sure.

That's my opinion. Who wants to see a swarm of thugs in the paddock, flashing bling, and calling eachother 'niggah' this and that. I'm even a big fan of rap and hip hop, but not the image. Good for Blata for getting the $, but hopefully green is the only influence that comes of it.

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by hessogood
Kid Rock - maybe, but better than Luda for sure.

You keep kid rock away from motorcycle racing, he'll have us all riding left-only turns

[Degsy]

Originally posted by UPANDCOMING
Jay, I know you have seen Kings Of Comedy.As Cedric says we are coming ...its good to see some Black folks getting in this finally, These catz are looking at the big picture.sure they have crazy money but no one wants to listen to Luda when he is 40yrs old.but when he has a racing team it will last much longer.MJ found his rider in IL blazing on the highway stop and spoke to the kid about putting his talent on the track...now thats making...And why is Kid Rock better for this than Luda?

There are plenty of black guys racing. Maybe not in AMA, but there are lots in club racing.

In 2003, this very site helped to get a black racer started after I personally spotted him at a trackday riding the balls off a streetbike and begged him to get into racing. He won Rookie of the Year in 2003 and his name is Gary Silva (we're very proud of "our Gazza" here.

MJ got it totally wrong so far in racing. He had the wrong guys racing for him and you have to question whether he made a smart move going with who he did. His guy crashed the bike so many times it was embarrassing.

For what it's worth, I have no idea who LUDA is, but I welcome ANYONE'S money being put into racing. That can only be good for the sport.

[Degsy]

Originally posted by lrrs167
He intends to stay in the sport, as a business, for a long time to come. This is great news for the sport and should bring a whole new fan base to our beloved sport.

Agreed that it is good for the sport, but if MJ thinks he will make a business (profitable) out of AMA racing, he is very much mistaken. The ONLY way to make money out of our sport in the US is to be a bike manufacturer (win on sunday, sell on monday).

MJ is not gonna sell any more Nike sneakers by having a race team.

I still welcome him to the sport with open arms. A couple of guys I race with have met him at the track and say he is very cool with them and is genuinely very interested in the sport.


degsy

[odduc]

MJ is not gonna sell any more Nike sneakers by having a race team.

You're right about that, Degs. My reference to MJ being involved in racing as a sport only meant to point out that he intends to be involved in the sport for the long haul. That is exactly what the sport needs; people with lots of cash who are passionate enough about the sport to invest in high-profile, professional teams.

Additionally, I agree with you on his poor choice of rider for the first season. Montez Stewart may have earned a chance to show his stuff, but he failed to impress in his debut season. I think that MJ made a good choice with Pridmore, but there are a few guys in AMA who should have been chosen over Rapp and Stewart, IMHO.

[benVFR]

Who knows... Nike does a lot of things that make absolutely no sense if they had anything to with MJs choices.

Nike must have lost their shirt sponsoring Lance Armstrong and the USPS cycling team... Nike makes about 2 cycling products and you'd have to look LONG and hard to find them. I've never even seen anyone wearing the Nike shoes that they made such a big deal out of. Very hard to see where the benefit to the company is.

I think they just have so much money coming out of their ass from selling $0.15 made in China products for $100+ that they can do whatever they want that will get their name out there. As long as you're not the guy in the factory it must be an awesome time to be in manufacturing as a manager, exec, etc...

[bentbryan]

Originally posted by lrrs167
Additionally, I agree with you on his poor choice of rider for the first season. Montez Stewart may have earned a chance to show his stuff, but he failed to impress in his debut season. I think that MJ made a good choice with Pridmore, but there are a few guys in AMA who should have been chosen over Rapp and Stewart, IMHO.

I read an article over a year ago that featured MJ and his passion for racing. It seems he got into riding on the track and wanted to improve his skills and the people he knew pointed him towards Montez Stewart. Stewart became his track 'coach'. That's how they got hooked up.

[bentbryan]

Originally posted by benVFR
Nike must have lost their shirt sponsoring Lance Armstrong and the USPS cycling team... Nike makes about 2 cycling products and you'd have to look LONG and hard to find them. I've never even seen anyone wearing the Nike shoes that they made such a big deal out of. Very hard to see where the benefit to the company is.

I doubt that. Nike makes just about anything and everything related to sports now. From hockey helmets to ski gear, they seem to have their big-toe stuck in about everything.

[benVFR]

Really.. it is just the shoes. They've had 3 models of shoes as far as I know, and they are very, very rare. You can go into a whole bunch of bike shops, you won't find them. Some online places sell them once in a while but they are still hard to find. Like I said, all the races I've done, I still haven't met anyone who has the shoes even though I've talked to people online who got them. I even called around to the Nike outlets looking for them and no one even knew what I was talking about.

They make skinsuits, special aerodynamic clothes, etc.. that Lance & a lot of olympic athletes wear, but you can't buy that stuff, it basically has to be made custom for each athlete or it doesn't work. They may have sold some replica USPS uniforms, just like you can go buy a Patriots jersey. But cyclists don't wear those very often, they cost like $150 for shorts and a shirt, and people will give you a hard time for being a poser. The cycling culture is very different than say being a football fan.

They don't do bicycle helmets, Lance doesn't even have a nike helmet. They don't really make any parts at all.

It is a very high profile sponsorship but it can't have sold many specific products for that sport. They must have done it on the hope that it would sell more basketball/street shoes, etc..

I can only imagine if Nike is involved with Jordan's motorcycle stuff, that it is for the same halo effect. I'd be really surprised if Nike leathers showed up on the shelves in a year or two, or even a pair of Nike motorcycle boots. (They probably have the expertise to make some very innovative racing leathers though)

[Degsy]

You are missing the point Ben,

nike can get viable advertising sponsoring ANYTHING with massive TV coverage. They don't have to make bicycle equipment to advertise successfully in the tour. There are millions watching on TV who see the swoosh.

Motorcycle racing in the US is very poorly attended and only shown on specific tv channels to relatively small audiences. THAT is why it is a bad advertising option for them.

MJ has been seen attending WSB and MotoGP events so he obviously realises that he needs to be out there in the international events that DO have masssive TV coverage.

derek

[Paul_E_D]

Jordan got an eye opener last year. He sponsored a street rider to race against racers that have spent a lifetime at a racetrack. Montez will be too old by the time he has the skills he needs (if he can even get them).

This year he hired 2 pros, largely based on friendships he had developed. One step forward, but NOT the way to win anything at this level.

If he goes after a top rider next year, that would be a good move. It would mean he needs to pay them a real salary. I understand Rapp and Pridmore were investing their own money to go racing last year, so ANY pay is good for them. A top racer costs bucks though...

Racing is still largely a white man's game, but that's changing. It has to start at the bottom though, not in the AMA. Young kids growing up at the track and club racing is the way forward.