EBR Testing at Jennings Dec. 18 and 19

[Scott]

Yates probably offers the best opportunity to do well right out of the gate and the most experience for developmen, so he probably makes sense.

I'd like to see them bring in a young rider who they can build around, but the more I think about that, the more I wonder if I'm thinking too much with a 'football mindset'. With all the rider changes we've seen over the past few years and with the talented Supersport riders we're seeing, it probably doesn't make sense to try to find a rider who will be with you for the next 20 years.

But I'm still also hoping that if it will be May and Yates they can also scrape enough together to give West a ride also.

Also, if it is May and Yates, it could be fun to watch the rivalry with Jordan heat up. How can two former Jordan riders do against 1 former EBR rider? It will be interesting to see.

[Scott]

Thinking about the above point a bit more: There are 32 teams in the NFL, but arguably, most people would say there are probably roughly 10 quarterbacks who can win a Super-bowl. So in the NFL, finding that right player and grooming them and developing them is a long process that requires discipline and long-term investment.

AMA racing has a very different situation. I would say there are roughly 30 riders in various classes of the AMA who, with the right situation on the right team could potentially win a championship. But right now there are 4 Superbike teams: Graves, Yoshimura, Jordan and newcomer EBR who are realistically capable of taking podiums and eventually championships.

There are riders like Zemke, Bostrom, Young, R. Hayden, Disalvo, Rapp, Holden etc. etc. etc. who are unemployed or underemployed and other talented young riders popping up every day.

EBR could probably have 20 riders show up tomorrow if they offered an open audition, so I'm confident that whoever they get will be somebody that they feel can best help them with the goals they've established.