Jason Perez…Does he deserve to be in MotoGP?
Sunday, March 5th, 2006 at 9:48 am by 1bigdawg
During a comment on a post by Angrybob about the opening WSB race I needed to do a little research on the MotoGP website and noticed that Jason Perez (An American rider) will be riding for WCM racing this year along with Jeremy McWilliams. So what are Jason’s credentials for moving from the AMA motorcycle racing series to the elite of motorcycle racing venues?
Jason Perez earned the 2005 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year Award. The 21-year-old second generation AMA road racer from Brentwood, Calif., finished ranked 27th in the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited in spite of only participating in the final six rounds of the 17-race series and battling back from a serious elbow injury.
March 6th 2005 he placed 3rd at Daytona in the 15 lap sportbike division.
I’m sure if I spent more time searching I could find more info about Jason’s racing resume. I know I have heard them talk about him on the AMA race broadcasts. I believe he has mostly been an AMA privateer and has done a great job. I’m sure Jason is a good racer, but what is the benefit to Jason to move him into a class he can never expect to do anything than finish at the end of the pack. Finishing at the end of the pack has to do with his lack of podium finishes in any high level races and the fact he will be on inferior equipment on the WCM/Bimoto bike.
Is this a great opportunity for Jason, you bet, will it be a positive to his racing career I don’t think so. Look at what has happened to John Hopkins. John may have been able to be a contender in WSB but not in MotoGP. He did not have the right experience to be a top rider in MotoGP.
Furthermore as I have said other times on this blogboard. If Americans want to win a MotoGP Championship they are going to have to take a different route than previous. They need to get to Europe when they are young and ride the 125 or at minimum the 250 classes and be successful. I think there are few Americans racing in MotoGP this year that are as good as the crop of 250 riders like Pedrosa, Stoner, Elias. As the season progresses it will be interesting to see where Nicki, Edwards, Hopkins and now Perez match up against these new MotoGP rookies.
Permalink
Filed under: 
Both Chris Burns & James Ellison took WCM berths for the experience and also, I suspect, because no-one else would. I think they both saw it as a way of showcasing their abilities in front of the main men in motorcycle racing and for James Ellison, it appears to have worked as he’s now landed a factory Yamaha. Albeit on Dunlops. I’m sure your Jason Perez is doing it for similar reasons and good luck to him.
MotoGP must be the worst place to race at the moment. So many world class riders fighting for mediocre mid table obscurity on bikes that just aren’t up to it. That’s ‘Hopper’s’ main problem, the Suzuki just ain’t good enough. Every time they sort something, Yamaha and Honda move the goal-posts.
I’m not sure that 250 is still the best route to MotoGP from an experience point of view. It is from a sponsor point of view though because you are racing in front of the big teams week in, week out and it’s more likely you’re going to catch their eye than if you’re racing in a domestic championship. It also helps to be Italian or Spanish and I don’t think that’s going to change too much.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the big class goes to 800cc. We could suddenly see Superbike riders being ignored in favour of their Supersport peers.