Who's Got Jordan? Honda And HRC? Suzuki And Yoshimura?
The motorcycle industry is abuzz with conflicting groups of sponsors thinking they have successfully negotiated a deal with Michael Jordan's AMA team for 2005.
Among the contestants:
American Honda (including the automotive division) and HRC, with Ben Bostrom as lead rider.
American Suzuki and Yoshimura, with Jason Pridmore as lead rider.
And these are only the ones we know about.
Similarly, agents for the Jordan operation have approached up to four riders for the second slot in the team, alluding to a lucrative payday that at most only one of them will ultimately reap, and refering to Suzuki Superbikes on Dunlop tires with Pridmore as the lead rider.
Good luck.
I don't think even the team will know until it's all done.
Gemini doesn't know what the deal is for next year for them as of yesterday, either.
No one knows at this point.
I won't even begin to speculate. I've seen how many times things have changed on the team from last season. I can't imagine all the scenarios going on right now.
Jordan did ride DUCATI's Motogp bike...was that a hint?
I think Jordan has hired Safety First Racing for next year and Super Dave Rosno is going to be the head rider with Larry Denning as the back up rider.
Umbrella girls will feature the Chicago Bears Honeybears cheerleaders!
EXCLUSIVE! Jordan signs K3 on an MV for WSB!!! ;)
...then you had better GTFOH ASAP or you will be SOL. ;) ;D
So this means Jordan's team will not be a "privateer" team - right?? ??? He'll probably just be joining an existing team?
QuoteSuper Dave Rosno is going to be the head rider with Larry Denning as the back up rider.
Now that would be interesting. Larry Denning spanking the AMA pro's left and right. How many track records does Denning hold now? Like 5 or 6?
Jordan deal is done.
http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/scripts/NewsInsert.asp?insert=11018
If the graphics stay the same way they were proposed to be when I saw them, they will be, umm, very attention-grabbing. :D
I suppose this means Tez and Pridmore. Might be some decent finishes.
Good! let's shake things up in the design department. ;D
Another Dunlop team ? :( ;)
With Tez and Pridmore on Gemini prep'd GSXR's on Dunlops...
I was hoping to see Jordan have a team that was capable of winning or at least running up front...
Maybe next year
Even though it's fun to speculate what's in the works. Nothing has been clearly stated how the team will be arranged and whom the riders will be.
Have fun speculating, but I bet everything you've heard as we've read it is far from what the team will actually become next season. If Jordan wants to win, and Yosh is getting involved with FACTORY support, who knows how things will actually come together. I bet Nate R won't even know for some time to come and he's in the Gemini shop all of the time.
I've held my tounge on this subject for a year and a half. Seems like lots of people want to play yenta on this subject. What is it about Michael Jordan that makes everyone an expert about what his next move should be? I guess the man can't think for himself?
People hack on Tez as a rider undeserving of this opportunity. Tez has skills. Is he the best? No. But he has skills. Is he marketable? Holy shiznet! Handsome, articulate, quotable, personable, he can ride, and he's black. It's like a marketers dream come true. Jordan is no fool. Tez is a damn good investment.
I realize that because Tez is my friend, I have a biased view of all this. But look at it logically. Black people have been getting the short end for 500 years. Jordan is very successful, and maybe the most successful black man in the world. Why wouldn't a guy in his position want to have some fun, make some money, and open doors for black people all at the same time? And why wouldn't Tez be perfect in that role?
The bottom line is that it ain't nobodies business but MJ's. People line up to talk $#!% about the whole situation, but I think it's all centered in jealousy. Nobody looks the least bit intelligent, proud, or even credible when they're sneering about the "inequity" or the "inadaquacy" of the Jordan effort.
So get over it! Sit back and enjoy the show.
K3...seriously...thetttle down, Beavis!
Those who "get it" will get it, and those who don't should be ....well just use that active imagination of yours and put it in a book. :o ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) (Oh no I di'n't!)
K3 ... K3, you've definitely got the sentiment right, but even some of your facts are off. There are more successful black people. MJ is just one of the few that wish to get into motorsports. Let's just hope things get better for everyone and that MJ get's what he wants from his investment.
QuoteI've held my tounge on this subject for a year and a half. Seems like lots of people want to play yenta on this subject. What is it about Michael Jordan that makes everyone an expert about what his next move should be? I guess the man can't think for himself?
People hack on Tez as a rider undeserving of this opportunity. Tez has skills. Is he the best? No. But he has skills. Is he marketable? Holy shiznet! Handsome, articulate, quotable, personable, he can ride, and he's black. It's like a marketers dream come true. Jordan is no fool. Tez is a damn good investment.
I realize that because Tez is my friend, I have a biased view of all this. But look at it logically. Black people have been getting the short end for 500 years. Jordan is very successful, and maybe the most successful black man in the world. Why wouldn't a guy in his position want to have some fun, make some money, and open doors for black people all at the same time? And why wouldn't Tez be perfect in that role?
The bottom line is that it ain't nobodies business but MJ's. People line up to talk $#!% about the whole situation, but I think it's all centered in jealousy. Nobody looks the least bit intelligent, proud, or even credible when they're sneering about the "inequity" or the "inadaquacy" of the Jordan effort.
So get over it! Sit back and enjoy the show.
Well written! Thumbs up! I sometimes wish I would see MJ somewhere to tell him how much cooler I think he is for sponsering Tez.
I've only stood on the sidelines while Tez was talking to one of my buddies down at Gateway about 3 or so years ago. I thought Tez was cool then and funny as hell.
I just hope Tez gets a chance to ride again this year.
QuoteK3 ... K3, you've definitely got the sentiment right, but even some of your facts are off. There are more successful black people. MJ is just one of the few that wish to get into motorsports. Let's just hope things get better for everyone and that MJ get's what he wants from his investment.
Well, I never claimed to be an authority.... Sorry everyone. I just hate people hacking on the whole Tez/Jordan thing, and I always smell a bit of veiled racism when they do. It just pisses me off when people talk %$#@ about my friends!
I'll be quiet now....
IMO, Jordan has every right to provide a ride to whomever he wants, whenever he wants. He's in the enviable position of having the resources and sponsorships to field riders at his leisure.
I think sponsoring one of his buddies (Tez) is just fine provided he's able to qualify to run at the AMA level (which he has). It's pretty clear that MJ is involved in the sport because he's taken a genuine interest in it and thoroughly enjoys the road-racing scene, and likes to ride himself, point being he does it for the fun of it, and not for commercial gain, though that will probably present itself too.
Now that he's decided he wants to be more competetive, I think it's great for the sport and hope that it will lead other potential sponsors & team owners to get involved. The media will follow and things could really take off from there.
I see no reason why he can't have a couple of speedy veteran AMA racers and still help out the new guys at the same time.
Sean? In MY opinion, if you count MJ's money, his utter dominance in his chosen field, and the love that millions and millions of people worldwide have for him, Jordan may be the most successful PERSON since Elvis. That's kinda where I was coming from on that.
My take is that MJ gets bored fast and quits when things don't work out so easy. Case in point is his baseball and golf careers.
I am afraid MC racing is just going to be another short blurb in his biography and when he gets out the scene in a year or two because of whatever reason, sponsors will look at and relate MC racing opportunities as failures.
K3,
Like I said, I appreciated your sentiment. In sports circle MJ indeed attracts a lot of attention, good and bad. However, I don't believe a lot of the statements that are made on this forum insinuate closet racism. I think it's more that people don't understand his qualifications. You've raced for several years and could probably put together a good team if you had his money. Would you make better decisions than MJ in your first season running your team? Possibly because of your experience in racing and motorcycle circles. Could you do the same thing with respect to basketball? Nope.
Sometimes I think people are simply questioned about their qualifications, sometimes not so simply. No amount of questioning we may have on this forum will ever sway a man like MJ because I really don't believe those question raise to the level that will deter MJ mettle, especially not with the people he has in his inner circle.
I don't know where I want to take this, but simply thanks again for the sentiment.
I dunno K3, I guess I'll throw out the comment that I personally don't see or think it has anything to do with racism.
Tez gets the attention because we all know him. From there, he gets more attention because he's associated with MJ. MJ gets the attention as he's a name known around the globe.
We all do a lot of speculating & throwing advice around to each other.
I guess my only 'issue' is when people turn things into a racism issue solely because there's a person of color (or religion) involved.
JeF4y,
I agree.
Chris, looking back, there's really been no racism or jealousy present in this thread. Are you confusing us with WERA? :o ;) It's cool, but don't cry wolf before the beast is in the door. :P
I too have gotten sick of people talking about the team sucking.
The goal for this past season was reached, and WELL exceeded.
As far as what's known at Gemini? What was on RRW doesnt sound finalized to me. Sean's right about when we will find out the full extent of everything. Probably be a while.
FWIW: I don't work for Gemini anymore. I got laid off in Early October. We've been slower this summer, and there wasn't enough carbon work to need me, especially now that the race season is over, we have another person available.
Without Tez, would MJ still be riding around with no knowledge of this sport?
Who ripped on Tez? I guess I missed that post - or was it from different sources other than this board? It seems to me that he has done quite a bit in the last couple years.
I guess my little vent had more to do with the way I've seen the situation treated in the media, and heard it discussed in person.
As for the racism part, I've got a little story. When Tez and his buddy Reese first started racing at Blackhawk, they were the only brothers at the track. I'd started racing just a weekend earlier, and was know only as "the corner worker who's trying to race." I hooked up with Tez and Reese because we all were running out of the same little bike shop.
I was there from the day they took Learning Curves, and I haven't forgotten the comments that were made, or who made them. Being the white guy, I accidentally stumbled into a bunch of conversations that would have stopped cold if Reese or Tez would have walked by. I've seen that little curl of the lip, and the hardening of the eyes. I know what it sounds like when a man says one thing, but he's thinking another.
As a writer, I'm one hell of an observer of human nature. I catch the subtlties, and I REMEMBER. Maybe that makes me a bit more sensitive to certain issues than most people would be.
Sorry!
QuoteI catch the subtlties, and I REMEMBER. Maybe that makes me a bit more sensitive to certain issues than most people would be.
Sorry!
It's everywhere though, so let the ignorance pass without eating you up.
QuoteIt's everywhere though, so let the ignorance pass without eating you up.
Thanks Jeff. Good advice.
Since this thread has turned into a race topic as well, I would just like to say that I am proud to be a part of CCS. I have lived all over the country and have experienced racism in my lifetime several times. I must say that the folks Ive befriended within this organization are definitely the model of society's diversity in action. We live the same mission and walk a variety of paths, but we do more than just get along - we thrive.
You all are definitely family to me.
race topic on a race forum... just where it belongs ;D ;D ;D
It's nice to get along...
Quoterace topic on a race forum... just where it belongs ;D ;D ;D
It's nice to get along...
Get a Life, Jeff!
Ummm.... Tez wasn't the only one reaping the benefits of MJ's involvement, Pascal Picot and Jason Pridmore were presented with opportunities this last season too! :)
QuoteI guess my little vent had more to do with the way I've seen the situation treated in the media, and heard it discussed in person.
As for the racism part, I've got a little story. When Tez and his buddy Reese first started racing at Blackhawk, they were the only brothers at the track. I'd started racing just a weekend earlier, and was know only as "the corner worker who's trying to race." I hooked up with Tez and Reese because we all were running out of the same little bike shop.
I was there from the day they took Learning Curves, and I haven't forgotten the comments that were made, or who made them. Being the white guy, I accidentally stumbled into a bunch of conversations that would have stopped cold if Reese or Tez would have walked by. I've seen that little curl of the lip, and the hardening of the eyes. I know what it sounds like when a man says one thing, but he's thinking another.
As a writer, I'm one hell of an observer of human nature. I catch the subtlties, and I REMEMBER. Maybe that makes me a bit more sensitive to certain issues than most people would be.
Sorry!
I certainly, totally, full heartedly agree with you on this one. So much is unwritten and unannounced but uttered quitely in the shadows. Did you happen to catch the racism thread on WERA where I got pretty much nailed a board and have eggs thrown at? :D
but thats just how things are, I have come to learn.
I just wanted to say that once MJ entered the motorcycle arena and Tez is associated with it they both are fair game for rumor mills and silly season speculation. I have seen the same statements made about , almost every factory rider in the last ten years.I think they are fair game just like all the other big names in the race business.Jim
Yeah, what Jim said.
I find if funny that lots of people think there's a whole of of Michael Jordan's money in this.
Come on...
If Michael is really interested in something, he makes some calls, and the money flows from companies that want to be associated with him. Regardless of whether he has success or failure, the money will flow. Where's the risk for MJ?
Good decisions don't even have to be made.
Hey, I'm just on the sidelines, but, in my general experiences, I can see some pretty poor decisions being made in, on, and around things in the camp.
How's that relate to all you club guys out there?
Well, did you ask for sponsorship from someplace?
You've got companies in the motorcycle industry stumbling all over each others feet trying to get in on this swing. You're probably not going to get much when all the money goes to one team or another vs your big discount off of retail.
But racing used to be about winning and doing really well, not always about a marketing campaign before you showed something of value.
The speculation will continue.
As it should.
That's what they want.
You've got people in that organization putting both feet in their mouth about things. Hey, any press is good press right...LOL!
Wow Super Dave!
On the other side...
I think MJ does really think this is cool.
Baseball is something he can do. Hey, he actually made it to the big leagues...minor, but how many people ever did that?
He's ridden a motorcycle. He's tried to go faster. He's ridden with some pretty impressive people now. He has a working understanding about the mental atributes of a professional from his own experiences and from being around people of other professional sports.
What I do see is that the American press does not seem ready to embrace his current endeavour. Little things here and there, but no burst by his sponsors or any media outlet...I guess we're still thugs on bikes yet to the general media.
I'd be curious what MJ noticed when he was in Europe. Some one got a line to MJ? Might be more beneficial for MJ to have a team in Europe.