Former World Superbike rider Ben Bostrom has been handed a wildcard entry to this weekend's United States MotoGP. Reports and rumors that Ben Bostrom would make a wildcard appearance at Laguna Seca had emerged late Saturday night at the Sachsenring MotoGP race, with the peerless Italian website GPOne.com the first site to break the news.The rumors quickly gained traction, as it became clear there was a large PR push behind the American, and now, Bostrom's participation has been confirmed for … However their decision has been made and unfortunately for me, it becomes more of a side show than a serious effort. Read about our approach to external linking. All they care about is that motorcycle riders are talking about them and seeing their logo on TV. It's clear that LCR put finance in front of lap times in this instance, but that's just as much a part of racing as 'exploiting loopholes' in the rules. Eboz showed flashes of brilliance making that ZX-7R go around the track like it was on rails. I like him he writes well, will he be dead last maybe, Simo, or RDP might crash he probably won't he might get lapped. On the other hand, watch few videos of him and you'd agree his PR value, specially when he is not riding. A cynical move that illustrates money and the 'now' takes precedent over encouraging young talent and the future.. Don't get me wrong..Ben's a good lad, but he's had his day which was more than ten years ago. He'll generate buzz in the U.S around a sport that does not see much air time like no euro rider could. His fittness is not in question.

Still, I'd like to see him try. The goal of the wild card is not to bring outside fans into MotoGP. Laguna could have been a perfect time to get Marquez on a Honda, albeit a year-old one, to see what he could do. The kid was MotoGP Rookies Cup World Champion last year and he's from California, so the race at Laguna Seca would truly be a home race. He is a class act - plus he used to date Lee Ann Tweeden. Bostrom will also race, as usual, in the AMA Superbike class. Not sure what happened to both but I definitely expected more from them. Can he put some guys behind him? But let's not pretend that putting Bostrom on a bike when there are already 3 Americans in the race that are leagues better than him somehow generates more publicity for the race than there would have been without Bostrom on a bike. (ben spies did that on the Rizla bike a few times remember???). I'd put the over/under line at 60% of 125 and Moto2 riders who are on the grid purely because they can scratch a check, or their personal sponsors can scratch a check to a team. Sure, but relative to the GP guys, not so much. They are PR opportunities plain and simple. They'd be as well tapping up Schwantz, Doohan or Lawson. I have been following the boz brothers for a while. Definitely in over his head. It is, as you alluded to but ignored, to bring the attention of current MotoGP fans to LCR Honda. Bostrom had been offered the ride after negotiations between LCR Honda and their sponsor, Rizoma. Bostrom rides and writes for Cycle World magazine so this wildcard ride guarantees LCR 4-6 pages of coverage in a highly read magazine in a market they would never be able to reach otherwise. What I hope it does is put some money in the pocket of the LCR team, as I know they need it. But unfortunately age does matter in this sport with few exceptions. I'm going to get on the GP bike and put it as close to the front as possible. I'm interested to see if Ben out places Elias... either way, the writing is on the wall for Tony unfortunately.