Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Mid-Ohio Date To Move With the announcement that the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix will be moved to what is traditionally the start of its motorcycle week at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Mid-Ohio Leno To the Art of the Motorcycle has also announced that it will move its date to most likely Jay Leno will soon be welcoming guests to the Orlando Museum of Art's exhibition, "The Art of the Motorcycle," on view January 22 through July 23, 2006. Leno, the host of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," is confirmed as the narrator for the audio tour guides for the exhibition. Based on the exhibition that opened in 1998 to record crowds at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, "The Art of the Motorcycle" explores the motorcycle as both cultural icon and design achievement and offers a thought-provoking challenge to conventional assumptions about art and popular culture in the modem age. It was organized by Wonders, The Memphis International Cultural Series, in association with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York. When Lena was approached to do the audio guide for the presentations in Memphis and Orlando, he "thought it would be a cool thing to do. Not all art has to hang there - sometimes it can roll, explode and make noise," Leno says. He compares motorcycles to the back of a watch, "because all the mechanical parts are exposed to see." Lena's personal collection occupies three footballfield-size warehouses and includes approximately 80 cars and 80 motorcycles. Lena is constantly working on his collection in his spare time at home and routinely drives cars from his collection to his studio. He is also a promoter of the mechanical crafts through his columns in Popular Mechanics and his educational activities. Lena recently auaioned off a Harley-Davidson Road King signed by his celebrity guests to help raise money for the victims of the tsunami that affected South Asia, "Jay Lena's enthusiasm for these bikes makes the audio guide tour both entertaining and informative," OMA curator Hansen Mulford says. "I think our visitors will enjoy learning more about these extraordinary bikes from someone who is as enthusiastic about them as Jay Lena." The Acoustiguide recorded tour also features the voices of actors Dennis Hopper, Jeremy Irons, Lauren Hutton and Laurence Fishburne, according to the museum. the end of June in order to accommodate Laguna's change. "We're going to move," said Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course president Michelle Trueman-Gajoch. "For two rea- sons, we have to. It would be silly to try and go the same weekend [with the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days event]. There are too many vendors and suppliers that are splitting their difference between the two events, and we would probably come up on the short end of that. It's always a compromise because of the distance between the two races, even with the weekend off, getting everybody here and getting everybody setup. With vintage motorcycles on the front end, the manufacturers make a huge commitment to that as well. We're going to move it, but we haven't quite sorted out where it's going to go - probably the latter part of June. It's about SO-SO right now. We wanted to have the dates sorted out for this weekend, but in order to move these two events, we have to move two other events. And then finding spots for them in their schedule... that's been complicated as well. We're really having to change our full schedule in order to accommodate it." Trueman-Gajoch would like to make the announcement as quickly as possible. "I would think that certainly in the next two to three weeks. unless something else comes at us that we're not aware of," she said. "We've got the word out to the other sanctioning bodies. For some of them, it's a good thing, because they've always wanted aJuly date. But it's only going to be for one year, from what I understand, as far as them moving the Laguna date, because of television and conflicts with World Cup soccer. It's not just as simple as moving it. As far as the event goes, it's certainly mature enough that it will withstand moving it. We just want to make sure we don't pick a window where we have rain. We looked at the first couple of weeks in August and the last few in June. The August problem is the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis: that could impact our attendance. We don't want to go against that. I don't like causing confusion, but it's a necessary evil, and it was never really not an option as far as moving it." 8 AUGUST 3,2005 • CYCLE NEWS New Trials Group Formed A new organization has been formed to promote the sport of motorcycle trials in the United States - the U.S. Motorcycle Trials Association (USMTA). According to the USMTA, the group will work with the AMA, the North American Trials Council (NATe), local and regional clubs, event organizers and sponsors to increase the visibility of motorcycle trials and encourage participa- tion at all levels. The founding corporate members include the five U.S. trials motorcycle importers (Beta, Gas Gas, Montesa, Scorpa, Sherco), Trials Training Center, International Trials Schools, Extreme Riding Entertainment (ERE) and Trials Competition Newspaper. The USMTA focus will be to demonstrate to other motorcyclists and also non- motorcyclists that motorcycle trials is fun way to learn motorcycle skills and a great sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime, according to the USMTA. A first initiative is to develop a comprehensive directory of places to ride, clubs to ride with, dealers and instructional material for organizing rid- ing opportunities. Another will be to organize a "Trials Expo" at National and World Championship events to introduce people to the sport. According to the association, the USMTA will also work with the AMA to develop updated guidelines to assist clubs and individuals in promoting, organizing and conducting trials riding events and competitions. The United States Motorcycle Trials Association is open to all motorcycle trials enthusiasts, dealers and clubs. Membership information is available via association's website at www.usmotorcycletrials.com.

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