Oh SNAP Mladin DQed!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

No shit! I mean really,what kind of "power" can you expect? Besides,they probably illegally balanced it using lead or whatever. It's not a horse power item, per se'. It's still stupid on their parts but there's at least one of these scandals every year. Honda got hit last year in the 600 class,if I'm not mistaken. Heck,remember when Rossi got spanked for cleaning the dirt from his starting position in Qatar?

Besides,I doubt that we've heard the last of this. I'm sure they will file a protest with the AMA.

BS! a lightened and balanced crank would free up a couple ponies and allow for quicker acceleration since the engine wouldnt have to work so hard to spin it

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Dave

BS! a lightened and balanced crank would free up a couple ponies and allow for quicker acceleration since the engine wouldnt have to work so hard to spin it

I didn't say there would be zero hp gains... I don't think it would account for these 15-30 sec leads that MM & BS have enjoyed all season. Besides,most of the factory bikes on the grid couldn't pass that inspection. Every time they do one they find something regardless of brand.

The Yamaha limited edition came with a balanced shaft so they are allowed to work on it more per the rules. Also,the MV and High end Ducati come with heavy metal balanced cranks so they too are allowed to modify them further. I wish Suzuki would do a limited edition $30,000 bike to race WSBK and AMA.

To be honest,I don't see why they would knowingly "cheat" this way. It really doesn't give you that much of an advantage and they certainly don't need anymore hp or acceleration. They have a hard enough time putting the power to the ground in a controllable manner!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

I didn't say there would be zero hp gains... I don't think it would account for these 15-30 sec leads that MM & BS have enjoyed all season. Besides,most of the factory bikes on the grid couldn't pass that inspection. Every time they do one they find something regardless of brand.

The Yamaha limited edition came with a balanced shaft so they are allowed to work on it more per the rules. Also,the MV and High end Ducati come with heavy metal balanced cranks so they too are allowed to modify them further. I wish Suzuki would do a limited edition $30,000 bike to race WSBK and AMA.

To be honest,I don't see why they would knowingly "cheat" this way. It really doesn't give you that much of an advantage and they certainly don't need anymore hp or acceleration. They have a hard enough time putting the power to the ground in a controllable manner!

gotcha, from previous arguments on this site i didnt think you would be unaware of the advantages there but that first post made me unsure enough to speak up lol

[Rider]

I can almost guarantee that Spies and Hayden were using the same crank. The other question is... have they been using it all season long... maybe even the past few seasons? If this was the first use of the "illegal" crank, it didn't make much of a difference because the Suzuki guys have been beating the shit out of everyone the entire season by large margins of victory.

[z06boy]

I was at the races and have already stated here that his bike "sounded different" than the other bikes out there so this does not surprise me at all.

I didn't actually compare his bike one on one against Spies or Haydens bikes but just remember Mladin sounding different when he would fly by. Another guy at our table brought it up first and we would listen for it when he would come by.

[pickle.of.doom]

I would hope they would be checking Spies bike as well. Don't bother checking Tommy's, you know he's the red headed stepchild of the team anyway, he doesn't get the good parts.

I'm sure it has to do more with changing rules and foggy rulebooks than it does with anyone trying to cheat.

I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, AMA racing is doing its swan dive of a dramatic death....

Lookin forward to watchin cousin bubba race on the "Team Bob's Backyard BBQ This Saturday At Eight, BYOB" Suzuki racing team

[smileyman]

To me it brings up a couple big ??



Ben and Tommy are more than likely on the same spec cranks. So Yosh Suzuki has been cheating for some time, how long probably could be measured in seasons, so why now? An unprompted protest by the sanctioning body at this point makes me think DMG wants a scandal to enforce their view that Superbike racing needs a clean up and they have the plan to do it.


If he is DQed and no appeal sticks Ben is the Champ. He is well out in front of everyone else and could pull out of the final round and still win. Or he could run the final round and get protested, DQed and still win. I think if I was American Suzuki and if it didn’t stick I would simply withdraw my entries from the final rounds and call it a protest. There is nothing set for next year or any plans for racing at all so why not?


If I was Mat Mladin I would be pissed as hell, knowing that all that speed came from his hard charging style and maybe .002 of it was a better , more efficient crank. If I was Ben Spies I would be scared to have this scandal question my AMA Championships. If I was Jamie Hacking I would be scared to death they would look deeper into my ZX10 cause they have been cheating their ass off just to stay in sight of the Suzukis…


None of this is any good for US motorcycle racing. None of this is any good for the fans

[smileyman]

More from superbikeplanet....
Mladin Disqualification: The FAQ
by dean adams
Friday, August 22, 2008
We've received a great many questions from readers and the like on Mat Mladin's recent disqualification for the VIR round of the AMA Superbike series. We will try to answer some of them here.

No one involved is talking on the record so actually verifiable information is scant.

Question 1. What does Mat say?

Answer: Nothing but silence from Mr. Mladin, thus far. We have asked him if he has any comment. There has been no comment.

Question 2. Why did the AMA disqualify Mladin from the Saturday race if they tore down the engine in his Superbike down on Sunday?

Answer: Interesting question. From the AMA rule book and press release: Any motorcycle found to be in violation of equipment rules may be assumed to have been in violation for the entire race meet.

Question 3. Is there any information on exactly what was found to be in non-compliance on the crankshaft?

Answer: Not really, but reading the AMA's press release on the matter seems to indicate that the crank either had material removed from it, or had a surface treatment that the AMA has deemed illegal.

Known good sources on each side contend that the crankshaft that was in Mat Mladin's Superbike was "visually and dimensionally different" than all three of the production crankshafts it was checked against. Suzuki sources contend the crank is legal.

Question 4. Why would a team so dominant that they could probably win Superbike races with a Superstock motor, cheat?

Answer: It's highly doubtful that there was a bona fide, outlined, plan to cheat (like most of the factories did in early '80s AMA Superbike racing). Modern Superbike teams are vast organizations with many employees, departments, budgets and the like. Within that complexity, sometimes, shall we say, issues arise.

Question 5: Suzuki has filed an appeal. Won't this just be overturned on appeal like so many infractions in the last ten years of AMA roadracing.

Answer: Possibly. But this isn't the old AMA simply because the AMA no longer owns AMA Pro Racing, DMG does. To coin a popular phrase, 'There's a new sheriff in town'. From an analytical standpoint, NASCAR hasn't spent a great deal of time in the last two decades arguing technical points with series participants. Will this become AMA/DMG's modus operandi as well? Maybe.

It seems very possible that Mat Mladin's DQ was only the first shoe to drop. The AMA press release mentioned fines and suspensions.

Question 6: Given the conflict between DMG and the Suzuki factory, isn't this just a counter-move by DMG for Suzuki not supporting the new series and possibly starting their own series?

Answer: DMG sources say that they hope this won't be interpreted that way because it is not their intent. They point out disqualifications of the Erion Honda at Daytona, and the Attack Kawasaki machines earlier in the season--all on technical grounds--as support for their contention that they are serious about upholding their own rule book.

Question 7: What of Spies and Tommy Hayden's bikes? Were they not torn down? Why weren't they found to be illegal.

Answer: Sources tell us that Mladin's bike was the only one to be torn down to the crankshaft. The top end of Spies and Tom Haydens' bikes were checked and some parts taken back to Ohio but thus far they have not met with any issues

[Gunther1000]

Originally Posted by smileyman

To me it brings up a couple big ??



Ben and Tommy are more than likely on the same spec cranks. So Yosh Suzuki has been cheating for some time, how long probably could be measured in seasons, so why now? An unprompted protest by the sanctioning body at this point makes me think DMG wants a scandal to enforce their view that Superbike racing needs a clean up and they have the plan to do it.


If he is DQed and no appeal sticks Ben is the Champ. He is well out in front of everyone else and could pull out of the final round and still win. Or he could run the final round and get protested, DQed and still win. I think if I was American Suzuki and if it didn’t stick I would simply withdraw my entries from the final rounds and call it a protest. There is nothing set for next year or any plans for racing at all so why not?


If I was Mat Mladin I would be pissed as hell, knowing that all that speed came from his hard charging style and maybe .002 of it was a better , more efficient crank. If I was Ben Spies I would be scared to have this scandal question my AMA Championships. If I was Jamie Hacking I would be scared to death they would look deeper into my ZX10 cause they have been cheating their ass off just to stay in sight of the Suzukis…


None of this is any good for US motorcycle racing. None of this is any good for the fans

Very well said my man!

[Mrs. Colleen]

Originally Posted by pickle.of.doom

I would hope they would be checking Spies bike as well. Don't bother checking Tommy's, you know he's the red headed stepchild of the team anyway, he doesn't get the good parts.

I'm sure it has to do more with changing rules and foggy rulebooks than it does with anyone trying to cheat.

I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, AMA racing is doing its swan dive of a dramatic death....

Lookin forward to watchin cousin bubba race on the "Team Bob's Backyard BBQ This Saturday At Eight, BYOB" Suzuki racing team

AMA is the series that none of the manufacturer's teams signed back on for next season right? Just want to make sure I did not confuse it with another series...