Who is sofaracer

But, at the same time, remember that you are the senior racing member of that family. So if young Eugene starts blabbing on about "my factory this" and "my factory that", a quick reminder that in any Laverty family game of Top Trumps, the 'MotoGP' card beats the 'SBK' card hands down will gently, but firmly, shut him up.

As a MotoGP rider, you get both the comfy seat and the biggest portion of food at any Laverty family gatherings. It's the law. You are in a great position to have a really good season. Riding an unproven CRT bike, there's no real sense of expectation being placed on your shoulders.

You're not gunning for a factory ride, nor are you desperately trying to hang on to one. You don't have to worry about moving up a class next year or fret about being moved down one. So you can focus on what's really important; riding freely race by race, putting the accumulated knowledge gleaned from every lap you've ever done to the best possible use.

And performing to the best of your abilities, which we both know, are well beyond the standard of 'good enough'. Ride like hell Michael Laverty. Grab that bike by the scruff of its neck and wring it mercilessly. Nail every apex. Don't brake until your testicles disappear into your stomach.

Dive inside. Weave outside. Zig when he zags and zag when he zigs. Rev that thing until the valves beg for mercy, and then show them none. Slipstream slipstream slipstream. Use every tactic, trick, ounce of adrenaline and iota of determination.

Do so relentlessly until you see a guy waving a chequered flag with the zeal of a Belieber with a ticket. Anyone agree? You have stolen my dream. How very dare you. Anyway, I digress. You stole my dream. That's the point. So let's make the most of it… It's not all glamour. The upside, of course, outweighs any downside by a factor of a million to one… Enjoy it.

How do you do this? And do cool stuff… Example? You're going to live my dream this year Michael Laverty, I never will. Tell me it's a good one. Yours Sincerely SofaRacer. Loved every line. Keep them coming. This line got me rolling. Who on Earth would vote this with one or two stars? He lives, eats, breathes motorsport, understands the fans, and respects the political entourage that funds racing. That is why the fans love him. Bluequay 1, posts months. Disastrous 9, posts months. Why is it a bad thing that Stoner is not as committed to 'racing in any form' as some of the others?

He's got to be one of the best, if not the best rider in recent years so who cares what he's like off the bike?

It's arguable that his achievements are all the more impressive if he'd rather be off fishing! Is it because it's frustrating to see someone not be so bothered about a talent lots would kill to possess? Or do you have to be a 'real racer' somehow, to get respect? I'm ambivalent toward him btw, I prefer Rossi but reckon he should have retired too. In fact how annoyed nut Rossi be? Stoner makes the Duc work, then goes and kills on the Honda and f ks off before Rossi gets another crack genius!

Blackpuddin 12, posts months. Anybody else put in mind of 'Fast' Freddie Spencer? He was a genius on a GP bike but somehow always gave you the feeling he would have been happier behind a desk somewhere.

Some people who are blessed with a natural talent don't always 'fit' that talent. Well I won't miss Stoner the man. He's nothing but a moaning little Aussie. But I will miss watching someone who can hang off a bike and tourture the hell out of it in a way I and most others could only dream of. You've got to admire him for that.

It must have been hard for an Aussie to spend all those years as a nomad but it has reaped the rewards. Seems to me that what you call "positively analog" is another name for having your cake and eating it, too. SofaRacer says we need a Pop Svengali.

SofaRacer says we need to plug-and-play boy-band style racers to appeal to teen-aged girls. How is that not changing the sport? Haven't we had a musical chairs atmosphere in the private teams? Isn't it becomming true that whoever brings the most cash gets the ride. I remember reading an interview with Ant West where he said he even offered to put his house up as collateral.

All to no avail, as someone with better sponsors got the ride. For the record, I'm all for attracting the following and the spending power of teen agers But not at the cost of watching Justin Bieber in race leathers. What SofaRacer said is not that we need plug-and-play-boy-band-style racers. He said that we already have the raw commodity: a constantly renewable and renewing source of fit, attractive young men, in various shades of cuteness, to suit all tastes.

The pop svengali is needed to do the marketing, not cultivate the talent. Alberto Puig and Peter Clifford already have that part covered. As I said, there is no autotune for riding a motorcycle. You can't fake it. So you can't pull an ugly-but-talented rider and plug in a cute-but-useless rider, like you can with a boy band.

Teenage girls may be overly concerned with looks and appearance, but they're not stupid. Seeing the cute boy running around 6 seconds off the pace will not cut it with them.

But you don't need to plug in artificially selected youngsters, the youngsters coming coming through on the basis of their talent are already attractive.

This is the thing about athletes. To compete, you have to be extremely fit. That fitness creates a basic physical attractiveness of itself. You can be a brilliant singer, but pale, paunchy, and unhealthy looking. There are no overweight motorcycle racers. In fact, quite the opposite, there are a few which are closer to struggling with anorexia and other eating disorders, rather than obesity.

The raw commodity to sell to young girls is already there. But nobody is monetizing that opportunity.

One rider's manager has already contacted me, with extremely positive results from preliminary market research, inspired by this article. It gives him some leverage when it is time to talk to sponsors. The sport doesn't have to change. The presentation may have to, to accommodate a wider variety of fans than just middle-aged white men.

They could make a start by mixing up the grid girls, adding some fit young men among the fit young women. That variety would help make the sport more appealing and acceptable to a wider audience. I cant see this thing happening. You just need to watch the MotoGP awards every year at the end of the season.

They are all the same, the format hasnt change and the show looks like a north korean celebration. So marketing the youngsters in the lower classes like teenage idols to girls SofaRacer's ideea is great in its simplicity but I cant see it happening under Ezpeleta's reigning. PS1: I am reading your blog for 2 years now, an I admire your writing.

I also sometimes catch you on the event press conferences which I ilegally dl them of torrents. Im from Romania and I have to say that our MGP comentators are broadcasting what they read on your blog.

So you have fans in Romania. Me and the 2 guys commenting on TV. I am courious. Do any of the guys in MotoGP read your blog? If so, do they get upset when you wright something that they dont like? If that's the idea and it sounds like it is , forget it. Just because you don't like marketing targeted at teen girls doesn't mean that there is anything in it that runs counter to MotoGP.

In fact, it looks to me like Rossi has laid the foundation and set the mold for the "poncing about". Look at it this way: you complain about riders getting rides because they bring the most money to the teams. What if sponsors from outside the sport were so desperate to get their name associated with racing that they were throwing cash at the teams. Those teams would no longer be scraping by on the money the riders bring in. These are big, big sponsors. MotoGP has been getting by on half-hearted support for way too long.

Well, really forever if you discount the tobacco era. And the thing is, the change would be so slight that it wouldn't be noticeable to most race fans. Just eliminating the most blatant obstacles to intelligent female spectators would do most of the trick. Of course, there are some team owners who would have to find another way to date brolly girls, but that's their personal problem, not the sport's problem.

Having brolly girls at the races does absolutely nothing to enhance my racing experience. Eliminate them and most fans wouldn't notice after a year, I suspect.

I think you do have to be careful to avoid alienating existing spectators. I hate listening to a DJ spinning dance tunes at the races in the vendor area, and I find it pointless to have concerts at the track on Saturday nights. We gather because we like racing, not because we share musical tastes. Racing, to me, isn't a male sport, isn't a female sport, isn't a black or white sport, isn't Asian or European, isn't British or Australian, or doesn't belong to any of the subcultures into which we as humans seem to delight ourselves into dividing ourselves into.

And it cannot hurt to make it easier for those people who appreciate this sport for what it is to be fully integrated into the fan community. I really like SofaRacer's writing style. He's correct too. If Tiger Woods can sell Wrist Watches and Investment firms to middle aged men, then these young, swashbuckling, fast, courageous, dangerous, handsome, charming, brooding, smiling athletes could sell anything to teen girls.

And boys for that matter. It's LOUD and colorful. They already wear fantastic "costumes", have big shoulders, and leather boots. I am an old man who loves racing because I raced. I love the "Racing". But there is no harm in also acknowledging the series' need to be profitable, and this blatant opportunity.

It's low hanging fruit, in abundance. Take it. I think that even a lot of teenage boys might baulk at the thought of a Bieberesque flavour to MotoGP.

Whilst I agree that the youth market in general is incredibly important, placing most of its appeal in the boy band arena risks far more than alienating a few ageing supporters, who are increasingly being driven out of their own world!

No, he didn't, he just rode past her like she wasn't even there! What an idiot!!!!!!!! Funniest motorcycle related pic in a while. Also makes you realize just how young these kids are. I think there was some falling out between PH and SM about required appearances for her that led to their breakup and likely SM's departure from the paddock.

Is applicable only for what you can do with just one person male or female who is attractive to the opposite sex or same, maybe — attract a lot of young fans and their disposable income. The retail industry is the same — many of them target the young pound as a key market segment. Its psychology. For various reasons including this subject, we could probably get a unanimous vote that Ezpelata needs at least one psychologist.

Will be Talledega Nights in no time then :- I often wonder about Dorna's marketing nous when they by pass something as simple as this. That demographic wouldn't be to hard to corral. I'll even put my hand up to chaperone groups of tenage girls through the rough and tumble world of the MotoGP paddock. Oskar Roo. Posted: Last month. Kreso31 My thoughts exactly! Waste not, want not.

I only raced Sepang twice on a MotoGP bike. No better man for the job! Discuss 11 Likes. JackKennedy14 dbraceservices That was some move on the last lap Jack!

Posted: 2 months ago.