2014-04-06



Last month, the 2014 FIM Road Racing World Championship, better known generically as simply “MotoGP,” opened in Qatar with 91 riders from 20 nations filling the grids of the three classes. Those numbers make the 65-year-old series the second-most-international motorcycle-roadracing championship, second to the Spanish CEV.

This weekend at Jerez de la Frontera, 117 riders from 23 different countries will compete in Moto3, Moto2, and Superbike.

Sixteen years ago, Dorna, rights-holders then of the classic Grand Prix package of 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc machines, two-strokes all, reached an agreement with the Royal Spanish Motorcycle Federation (RFME) to take over that series, which, at the time, catered to three classes: 125cc, 250cc, and Supersport 600cc.

They started by streamlining the rather bulky title of Campeonato de España de Velocidad, reducing it to the initials CEV.

Dorna’s stated objectives were to professionalize, popularize, televise, and provide a national series intended to produce future Grand Prix riders while at the same time maintaining a prestigious national series.

It may not even be correct anymore to characterize the CEV as a domestic series because, following the example of another strong national championship, Britain’s BSB, the CEV will this year, for the first time, hold races outside its homeland. Just as the BSB races in The Netherlands at Assen, the CEV will run all classes at Portimao, Portugal, and on May 18, the CEV Moto3 class will appear at Le Mans as a support class for the French Grand Prix.

The CEV has even changed its name. It is now called the FIM CEV Repsol International Championship. So, how international is the CEV, really?

Very. Only a little over a third of the riders accepted as full-season entries are Spanish—41 of 117 or 35 percent.

American Melissa Paris will ride a Kawasaki ZX-6R in the Superstock 600 division of the combined Spanish Moto2/Superstock 600 field.

The most numerous contingents of non-Spanish riders come from France with nine riders, followed by Italy with eight, and Great Britain and Germany with six each. Most of the remaining nations have two or three riders. Canada, Portugal, and even Kazakhstan have a single rider.

The first Americans to ride in the Dorna-organized CEV were my son, Kenny Noyes (Supersport), and Jason DiSalvo (250cc). DiSalvo returned to the US and went on to strong career that continues today. Kenny stayed in Spain and went from success in the CEV to two full seasons in the Moto2 World Championship and is currently one of the top contenders for the Spanish Superbike Championship riding for the Palmeto Kawasaki team out of Madrid.

Other Americans who have come to the CEV in recent years are P.J. Jacobson and Dakota Mamola (125cc), Jake Gagne (Moto2) and the late Tommy Aquino (Moto2).

The latest American rider to make the move to the CEV is Melissa Paris, riding in the Superstock 600 division of the combined Moto2/Superstock class for the Madrid-based Stratos team.

Several Latin American riders are also competing, the most prominent of the americanos being Venezuelan ex-AMA Pro talent Robertino Pietri. who was eighth in points in 2013 and took two fourths. This season, he has switched from the Calvo Kawasaki team to Palmeto Kawasaki.

Coming in from abroad and beating highly motivated local riders with years of experience on the CEV tracks is a very tall order, but it has been done, albeit only five times. Although forasteros (foreigners) make up 65 percent of the current fields, Spanish riders have won 40 of 45 CEV titles contested during the Dorna years (1998 to present).

The first non-Spanish winner was AMA Pro SuperBike star Martin Cárdenas of Colombia, who won the 2004 Supersport title. The others: Brit Paul Gowland (2007 Supersport), current MotoGP rider and former Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl of Germany (2007 125cc). Another Brit, Kevin Coghlan, won the Supersport title in 2009, and last year, Frenchman Fabio Quartarro took the Moto2 title. And, although he did not win a CEV title, Colombian Yonny Hernandez went from a strong 2009 season in CEV Supersport to two years in Moto2 and then MotoGP, where he currently rides for Pramac Ducati.

Marc Marquez on the grid. To his far right is 1999 125cc World Champion Emilio Alzamora, who has been Marquez’s guiding light.

1. Passport to the world championships
There was a time when all the Japanese factory team bosses kept an eye on the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship. The first time Europeans really took American roadracers seriously was after the showing of the American team in the Anglo-American Match Race Series in Great Britain.

In 1976, Pat Hennen became the first American to win a Grand Prix, and in 1977, Steve Baker was the first American ever to win a world roadracing title—F-750 in 1977. In 1978, Kenny Roberts won the first of three consecutive 500cc titles. Then came Randy Mamola, Freddie Spencer, Mike Baldwin, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, and Doug Chandler.

Meanwhile, American riders were dominant in the new Superbike World Championship. American champions Scott Russell, John Kocinski, Colin Edwards, and Ben Spies also had some success in Grands Prix, especially Kocinski, but so far, no one has won both MotoGP and SBK titles.

Back in the 1970s and ’80s, GP talent scouts had to be aware of what was happening on the Daytona banking, Springfield Mile, and Peoria TT. Australia was also turning out dirt trackers who became world champions on asphalt.

The last of the American dirt-trackers-turned-roadracers to get the call to GPs were Bubba Shobert (whose promising start in the 500cc class ended with a crash at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the 1989 USGP), Doug Chandler (three seconds and three thirds were his best race results; he was fifth overall in 500cc points in 1992) and, of course, number 69, Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP world champion. (Being a Roberts, 2000 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr. was an excellent dirt tracker, but he did not contest the AMA Pro Grand National Championship.)

Statistics don’t tell the whole story, but these numbers don’t lie: Of the 91 riders spread over the three GP classes at Circuit of The Americas, 46 of the 91 riders (50.5 percent) have at least half a season of CEV experience. The most international class is Moto3 (23 of 33 or 70 percent). Moto2 is next (20 of 35, 57 percent), followed by almost-identical MotoGP (13 of 23, 56.5 percent).

For a young rider on the way up, good results in the CEV in Moto3 or Moto2, like a hitting .400 for the Toledo Mud Hens or the Lansing Lug Nuts, can result in a call from “the show,” where underperforming GP riders (or those late on personal-sponsorship payments) are sometimes changed even at midseason. Good results in the 1000cc Superbike class tend to be noticed more in the World Superbike paddock.

Until Dorna acquired the rights to SBK, the 1000cc Spanish series was called “Formula Extreme” and later “Stock Extreme” but now that SBK is a Dorna property, CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta’s idea is for CEV Superbike to become a pathway to that championship, alongside traditional sources of top SBK talent (AMA, BSB, All-Japan, Australian, German, and other national championships).

Unlike the smaller classes, there has never been a foreign champion in the 1000cc class. Spaniards Xavier Forés (Ducati), Carmelo Morales (Kawasaki) and Ivan Silva (BMW) lead into turn one at Albacete. Forés was signed at season’s end by the German Ducati importer and will contest that country’s Superbike series this year.

2. World-class circuits and Grand Prix-level safety
The CEV series consists of nine races for each class held on seven circuits. Each class runs double-header races at two of the seven venues. Five of the circuits—Jerez, Catalunya, Motorland Aragon, Valencia, and Le Mans—are homologated for FIM Grand Prix racing with curbing, curb paint, run-off room, and all garage and medical facilities kept at GP level.

Portimao is an established SBK venue and, since Dorna took over the production-based series, standards are now identical for both world championships. (Jerez and Motorland Aragon also host SBK races.) Albacete has hosted both SBK and World Endurance, and that track is also the scene of the annual one-race European championship.

On circuits of this quality, riders usually walk away or sustain only minor injuries from even high-speed crashes that, at tracks homologated to lower standards for national competition, could result in more serious harm.

An additional benefit of racing at Grand Prix and SBK venues is that riders moving on to world level already have valuable track knowledge at five GP tracks and three SBK tracks. CEV wildcard riders also have this advantage.

3. Professional organization
Dorna’s team of race officials is composed of many men and women who have worked for years in Grand Prix racing and others who are being trained to eventually move up. Riders meetings are held separately in Spanish and English, the two official languages of the CEV.

Everything from timing and scoring to the protocol of the post-race press conferences mirrors Grand Prix procedures. After having some problems over the years with local officials, Dorna now provides a permanent race director, technical director and all members of race direction, so that criterion does not vary from one track to the next. For the most part, corner workers have GP-level experience.

Following the example of MotoGP, riders are sanctioned for “irresponsible” riding and failure to obey flags, but there is sufficient common sense to avoid the “victimless crime” of slight movement without advantage at the start.

A few years back, some local Spanish race directors were irrational and incompetent, but all that has changed now that RFME President Joan Moreta and CEV Director Oscar Gallardo have installed a permanent race-direction team.

Superbike riders sponsored by three importers and two tire companies stood on the final podium of 2013 in Jerez. Iván Silva won on his BMW S1000RR, but the title went to Xavier Forés (Ducati 1199 Panigale) with American Kenny Noyes third on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.
The privateer’s cup went to Francisco Alvis (Kawasaki ZX-10R).

4. Live TV and media coverage
The CEV is broadcast live on two channels in Spain. Both Energy TV and Movistar TV carry the three classes live. The two channels share the Dorna signal and provide their own Spanish-language commentary teams.

And, for the first time, starting this Sunday at the season opener at Jerez, fans around the world in countries where no FIM CEV broadcast agreement exists, can watch the races both live and on demand on YouTube (Watch FIM CEV Repsol - Jerez 2014 on YouTube).

5. Spain
As for the fifth reason that the FIM CEV is a great series for riders from abroad, consider this: There is no country on earth that respects the profession of professional motorcycle roadracer as much as Spain. Unlike so many countries, there is no negative connotation. (Respect for roadracers is such that, when he was living in Sitges, Wayne Rainey found his fame made it just about impossible to get a speeding ticket, although Spanish laws have tightened greatly since the early ’90s.)

The country is beautiful, people are friendly, and weather during most of the racing season is Southern California good—although those late-season events in November can be cold and rainy.

Downsides? There is only a total prize fund of $700,000, and only a very small number of riders are not expected to bring personal sponsorship—anywhere from $40,000 to $150,000 and even more with some of the teams that compete in both the CEV and world championship.

The best-paid Superbike rider in the CEV, if he or she were to win all the races (about $2,100 for a win) and had a salary of $50,000 (today’s top salary), would be just short of $70,000. If that rider were coming from abroad, travel and living costs would be significant.

It is not a championship that pays big bucks, and it never will be as long as Dorna runs it. Dorna’s idea is that the CEV is not a destination but a training ground and departure point for riders moving on to world level.

Meanwhile, while there are lessons to be learned in the CEV (and BSB and Italian CIV), Spain is a long way to go for American riders—you can’t get to Albacete from Illinois in a box van—so if there is to be a roadracing resurgence in the US, it will have to come from within.

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