Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127564
eGUEST EDITORIAL
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By Henny Ray Abrams
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n reporting on the 250 GP race at the
inaugural AMA National Championship Road Race Series meet at
Phoenix International Raceway I found
myself somewhat confused by a disturbing turn of events. During Sunday
morning's practice a number of riders
discovered the unsettling truth about
the danger of that otherwise splendid
facility. The banked oval turns three and
four, dangerous enough in the best conditions to warrant serious consideration,
turned somewhat lethal when wet.
Riders tiptoed around, aware that at racing speeds they would have little warning and less margin of safety before
careening into wet hay bales, or worse,
the unprotected concrete wall on turn
three's entrance.
Sensing the severity of this situation,
some of the 250cc riders, after having
huddled privately, got together and took
their concerns to the AMA referee, who,
they had hoped would relay those concerns to the highest authorities. Following
that, they took a grid sheet through the
paddock and asked anyone who agreed
with them that the track was unsafe to
race on in the rain to sign by their name.
If the riders who made the original decision were asked, they would point out
that, given their experience, they thought
that racing in such conditions was nothing but dangerous. And they were right,
of course, though it would take a crash on
the very first lap of the Harley-Davidson
Twin Sports race for the AMA to come to
the same conclusion these racers had
reached hours earlier.
But a curious thing happened late on
Sunday afternoon. The riders most
responsible for educating their peers
were, in their own words, "called on the
carpet. Made to feel like an amateur."
And for what?
What these riders did was fulfill their
contract with humanity. They knew
nothing good could come out of an
alleged race. They knew people would
get hurt, machinery would be
destroyed, and the fans, what few
braved the elements, would be turned
off in their first exposure to the sport we
all cherish. Yes, the AMA sold the promoter a package, but it didn't include
hourly helicopter rides for the injured,
though it may have seemed that way at
times. And the package included riders
racing, not trying not to hurt themselves
or be hurt by others.
No one can blame the promoter for
this flaw. From all aspects, he could not
have been more responsive or accommodating and the AMA would do well
to find more like him to promote their
races. While waiting to see a movie in a
Phoenix theatre I was pleasantly surprised to see the screen filled with an ad
for the race, something I've never seen
before anywhere in the world.
Following the race he was ecstatic with
the photo finish that Doug Polen and
Pascal Picotte and Scott Russell provided and gave every indication that he
could not stage another motorcycle race
soon enough.
But the track is simply not safe, wet
or dry, and if there is any question
about that you need only ask Donald
Jacks, who blew an engine and hit the
unprotected wall headfirst at well over
100 mph, "just" breaking an arm, or
Larry Pegram, who fell in Jacks' oil shattering a femur and jeopardizing his dirt
track season, or Kel Davidson, who
escaped mostly unscathed. Jimmy Filice
watched the crash at trac1