Yamaha's '07 SnoCross Team Results and speculation

[VX1R]

It's been kind of quiet recently with not much talk of the race results from the Sno Cross team. It looks like after the Lake Geneva race last weekend that the final season points show Robbie finishing in 13th and Yugi in 21nd in the Pro Open class.

From a strictly marketing standpoint it looks like Yamaha got everything that they were hoping for when Robbie took a huge win at Brainerd back in December. After that the rest of the season was a lot tougher for the Boss team, especially with not making the finals at the Winter X games with all of the TV exposurse of that event.

I thought that the Boss team did a great job considering the weight disadvantage they had with the sled. Starting with a whole new program like they did against the quality of the rest of the competition they finished pretty respectably. The other teams have been doing this for a long time and I still think that by winning one final as the Boss team did was huge.

Does anyone care to speculate on what we'll see from Yamaha next season on the Sno Cross circuit?

 

[2002 viper]

I would like to see Robbie finish in the top 5 and come 3rd in the X-games. They just need time,This season was a test and tune season.

 

[GP292]

I believe that Yamaha will be running in the pro stock class and the pro open class next year due to the changes in motor size from 440 to 600 cc in the pro stock. I assume this means that other teams will be running Yamaha's. This will speed up the learning process on what needs to be changed on the sleds to make them more competitive.

 

[Laban]

It's going to be really interesting to see how they will do in the stock class.. They're going to be running in the 600 class in Sweden also which i'm really looking forward to.

 

[pro116]

In the stock class though are you allowed to remove weight.And will yamaha have to run the same sled that is sold to the public?If they have to I don't think they will fair too well in the stock class.

 

[RJH]

 

[VX1R]

VX1R – can you post some pics of your Phazer – I get dizzy trying to follow the slide show.

Click on the links for some pics on the 2-stroke site:

http://www.totallyamaha.net/forums/show ... hp?t=36869

http://www.totallyamaha.net/forums/show ... hp?t=33933

Looks like a Phazer but it's actually a SRX in disguise.

 

[MR.HAPPY]

How long is Robbie & Boss signed for???

They said on TV during the X games that Robbie said he had a 50 lbs disadvantage over everyone else!

I posted weeks ago that I didn't think that was very smart of Robbie to say on TV!

50 lbs sounds about right too!

I was on the stock Nytro at a show & doing my stand up and lean test to pull the skis from side to side, it didn't feel too light!!!

BR

 

[Srxspec]

They had a learning season and started off in a hole behind everyone else. Poo, Doo, Cat all had a notebook full of tuning information from previous years (even if they have changed the design of the sled slightly, they still had tuning information from track to track). Yamaha will continue to succeed and move forward. There were 3 or 4 races this season where Robbie had bad luck and got tangled with a racer and broke a part due to it or got shoved off the track! Also the 50 lbs dis-advantadge that Robbie claimed to have is on the exagerrated side. The package is there, just needs some more time on it! Boss Racing signed a 2 year contract so they have next season with Yamaha yet as well. Also if Yamaha runs the FX Nytro in the stock class as well it will help with more track time and tuning notes that they can possibly share between the sleds!

 

[MR.HAPPY]

Allen, So if things don't start looking better fast in next years season Boss will probably be up the road?

BR

 

[Srxspec]

It depends how you rate their performance this year. For a team starting from scratch I say they did pretty darn good! Can they improve? Yes!

In qualifying at 9 races they had the following finishes:
1st - 3
2nd - 6
3rd - 2
4th - 6
5th - 4
6th - 2
7th - 3
8th - 1

In the finals they had some unfortunate luck with broken parts or getting knocked off the track and had finishes of 1, 9, 11, 13, and 15th twice. They DNQ'd (did not qualify) at four races total (including the opening weekend at Duluth). The biggest thing they did do is establish a baseline and a book full of notes for next season! Racing a first year sled is tough!

 

[welterracer]

i thought it was kind of funny how at the beginning of the year they said the sled was as light if not lighter than the other sleds.. and later on when robbie was getting frustrated he slipped up and told the camera crew that they were fighting with a 50lbs weight disadvantage.. LOL

If you watch him race it definitily looks like he is fighting the weight in the corners more so than the other sleds..

THe sled does have an amazing holeshot advantage !

Hopefully after next year robbie still sticks with yamaha .... otherwise i think he might change brands and actually badmouth yamaha once he doesnt work for them..

 

[Yamahnator]

I watched him at Verona. In first heat race he took 2nd behind Tucker, but he led most of the race. In the second he took first. Then in the finals he somehow went off the track, not sure if he got pushed or what but he got black flagged and basically sat out the rest of the race. He was looking good and it wouldn't have been a suprise to me if he had taken a podium in that race.

 

[MR.HAPPY]

Frustrated is not something a racer, a true winner will put up with long!

Yamaha can not let this drag out too much longer!

They better stop talking testing & start talking winning!

It would help with sales too! Noone outside of the Yamaha camp takes this effort too serious!

BR

 

[minks_698]

Yamaha has one qualified racer in Robbie going up against the world of established teams, machines, and racers. They also have the disadvantage of dealing with Japan to get the latest "works" development parts. How many of us actually expected even one win this year???
The boss racing team is setup to run a 3 man team. Also, former Ski-Doo racer steve taylor? has been testing for the team in Canada. (thats from the latest issue of SNO-X mag)
I would love to see Yamaha send Yugi back over the pond - (he does great over in Japan) and hire another QUALIFIED real Pro racer compliment Robbie. MOST semi-pro racers are faster than Yugi!
A 3 man factory team would be great, but next year I wouldn't be suprised if it is just another pro-open only effort. They need more time to fully develop a production racer - expect than in 09. Just my guess.