Aaron, Eric, Nicky.
These three guys are proving to be the most interesting riders of the season.
May 19, 2002
Aaron Yates
Here's a guy who never complains and always rides hard. As we watch the media focus on Mat Mladin's problems, Aaron Yates goes quietly about riding the wheels off of his superbike, all the time while pretty much dominating the 600 Supersport series. I don't think anyone has mentioned that he's been the top Suzuki finisher in every superbike race except for the second race at Fontana when the bike let him down.
Aaron strikes me as a guy that would probably benefit greatly from a ride overseas somewhere, be it World Superbike or the UK. I think he's in a bit of a rut. He's been in one place too long. How tantalizing is the thought of him on a factory Ducati or Honda? He'd ride it as hard as anyone.
Eric Bostrom
Eric Bostrom seems to be learning a lot and riding with a huge amount of confidence. The beginning of the year didn't look good at all, it looked like his confidence wasn't there. After riding in a few WSB rounds where he has been racing hard for position and hasn't had the same expectation as he has in the AMA series, he looks better than ever. Remember Ben Bostrom's return to the AMA at Willow Springs 2000? Same thing here.
Once again, it's obvious that Eric needs a real bike. It hurts to say it because inline four superbikes have always been my favorite. However, the rules aren't fair anymore. Ducati would probably do well to open up a spot next to Ben and hire Eric. Every race would be a race within a race as we see the Bostrom brothers push each other to new heights.
There has been mention of Eric testing the Kawasaki GP bike. This is a bittersweet opportunity as far as I'm concerned. He needs to move to another level for sure, because the Kawasaki superbike is pretty much at the end of it's useful life. However, the thought of not seeing a competitive battle between the Bostrom brothers on superbikes is a real loss for the sport. It's unlikely that both brothers would end up in GP on bikes that were competitive with each other. Superbike seems to be the best opportunity to get them together. Anyone listening?
Nicky Hayden
Nicky Hayden is starting to look like the greatest young American talent since the 80's. In the 90's, we really only have one rider that started out young and has gone on to great success, Colin Edwards. Nicky seems to be poised to outdo Colin and rise to the legendary ranks of Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Scott Russell, Fred Merkel, and Freddie Spencer.
I am tantalized by the thought of this young and successful AMA rider that isn't able to compete against the best in the world yet. Hopefully this year we can see Nicky ride in the World Superbike race at Laguna Seca to show everyone what he can do. Winning the AMA race last year was a big signal to the international portion of the paddock that America has more champions on the way. His string of wins this year (and at the end of last year) are more proof that we have a great one on our hands.
One thing that really bothers me about Nicky, and about sportsmen/women in general is the interference of religion upon sport. I've never heard Nicky "praise the lord" as much as I have this year. I think this could be detrimental to his international career because the Europeans tend to frown on this kind of behavior. I certainly don't begrude anyone of practicing their religion (peacefully!), however, I don't think it should show up in public life as much either.
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