When the AMA made traction control legal last season the consensus was that the main reason the AMA did so was because they were incapable of policing traction control. Software and sensor-based traction control are very difficult to police because of the complexity of the modern Superbike electronics system.

While US Superbike has essentially thrown their hands up and legalized it, what many consider to be the highest form of motorsport competition in the world has taken a different approach. F1 has banned traction control for 2008.

Rules adopted for 2008 F1 racing reportedly contain this language: No car may be equipped with a system or device which is capable of preventing the driven wheels from spinning under power or of compensating for excessive throttle demand by the driver. Any device or system which notifies the driver of the onset of wheel spin is not permitted.

Indisputably traction control has left an indelible mark on motorcycle racing in the third millennium. While teams and other T.C. supporters fall back to the position that traction control makes motorcycle racing safer, critics pan it for making the visually exciting sport of motorcycle racing now boring to watch, little more than two-wheeled car racing, at times. And the argument that traction control saves money seems dubious at best--several teams are now forced to hire multiple traction control engineers to monitor the systems.

Former WSBK chamion Neil Hodgson found himself reportedly befuddled this year after he tested the latest generation Ducati MotoGP bike. Afterwards, Hodgson said anyone could ride a MotoGP bike today because of the way that traction control and other rider assistance devices have 'dumbed down' the job of a rider.

The key component in the FIA's war against traction control will be use the of a common, FIA mandated Electronic Control Unit (ECU) across all cars. This will allow the FIA to more easily police what software is in the ECU and hunt down code that is providing some form of traction control.

The AMA would have to adopt the same practice if they ever hoped to police traction control, sending all bikes to the grid with a common electronic system.