Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

9ROAD RACE Su erbikeSeries: Final Round • ~ . 1 lSC am By Henny Ray Abrams MEXICO CITY, MEX, NOV 7 t wasn't exactly the ending tha the' d hoped for, but Muzzy Kawasaki's Scott Russell claimed the World Superbike title in his first year of trying when the FIM cancelled the final race after a successful riders' boycott due to unsa fe track conditions on the Autodromo International Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. Troubl e had b een building all weekend: problems with the track, with cu stoms, and with getting th e machinery and equi pment into the coun try cast a darkness on the even!. The final straw came on Saturday aftern oon after a number of riders, includ ing Russell and Roche Ducati's Carl Fogarty, Russell's only title competition, inspected the track and found it woefully lacking. "Me and Scott went out in the car and halfway down the straight we looked at each other and sa id, 'No way/''' Britain's Fogarty said. "It's up to me isn't it? But the stuff you don't notice on a bike, you notice in a car. It means I lose the world championship. I had hopes of winning, now there's no f-ing hope." "We 're not racing," Russell said, after the boycott meant that he had won the title. "There's just no track control: How can they hold a race? There are little kids in the field down there; there are three baseball games on the edge of the track; there are soccer games; there are kids walking in the run-off areas. It's o ver. We've been up and down too many times." After Saturday morning's untimed practice, when Russell's teammate Aaron Slight nearly hit a stray dog .on the circuit, and Russell almost hit a car that was about to pull out on the track, all of the riders signed a letter stating they believed the tra ck was unsafe. Changes were promised for the afternoon practice, but, according to various riders who in spected the track, none were made and the majority of the riders chose not to take part in timed practice lat e in the afternoon . Eight riders went out for the 50-minute session, two m ore th an a r e need ed for a World Superbike race to be held. But the FIM dec ided at a jury meeting on Saturday night that it would be cancelled as a World Sup erbike race. " Basically, it said we wouldn't rid e I 8 (Left) Scott Russell was declared the 1993 World Superbike Champion when the Mexico City round was cancelled. Riders boycotted the event due to what they felt were unsafe track conditions. (Below) Brit Carl Fogarty, who was one of the riders who initiated the boycott, finished second to Russell in the series point standings. unless the condit ions improved," Russell said . "We're not at the Isle of Man." That the boycott facilitated the title was something that didn't bother the Georgian. "I was going to w in it anyway," said Russell, who needed only a fifth place finish in either o f the two races had Fogarty won both. " I wanted to win it here. I was fast est in practice." The final point cou nt for the 13 race series has Russell with 378 .5 and Fogarty with 349.5. New Zealander Aaron Slight, Russell's Muzzy Kawasaki teammate, e nd s th e season third with 316. Though the circui t has hosted internation al motorcycle races in the past, this was the fir st time a World Superbi ke race had been he ld her e and the circuit and the organizers failed mi ser - ably in meeting world championship standards. Customs problems caused delays inmachine and tire delivery and also prevented the Fast by Ferracci team from entering the country. After being stuck at the border, along with a Dunlop truck and a Muzzy Kawasaki truck, Ferracci's crew headed back home, leaving Doug Polen and Pascal Picotte without bikes. Had their bikes arrived, they would have faced numerous perils once on the 2.49-mile track which is built in the middle of a municipal recreation area. Soccer balls flying errantly onto the track, stray dogs, joggers, un supervised traffic, and ba seball games all conspired to make this the worst world superbike race ever attempted. In the end, all those forces also brought about its demise. Rog er Edmondson, who heads the AMA's road race program, served as the FIM Jury Presid ent here for the fir st time. He agreed with Russell that the riders' safety could not be assured. , "With a facility this size, there is no gua ran tee something can 't happen, " he said. "It's a d ifficult situation and I can appreciate the riders apprehension and concern." " I can 't speak for the FIM because this is the first time I'm the president, but the riders have to make up their own minds. When r iders conspire together, that's another matter." The problems began well before the race started. The Muzzy, Dunlop, and Ferracci trucks arrived on Monday, November 2, to cross the border a t Laredo, Texas. They had been assured by the organizers that they would get a police escort for the long trip to Mexico City. Dennis Smith , who was driving the Dunlop truck from their West Coast headquarters in Torrance, California, met with a customs broker on Monday and was told to wait. The customs agent allegedly told Smith that he would be bringing a letter from Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari which would guarantee their entry. On Friday, the Ferracci truck left, leaving Polen, who was already in Mexico, without a ride. "I don't understand why," Polen told the English language newspaper "The News" after being asked why his truck was turned away . "Madonna ( who is giving a concert in an area on the inside of th e circuit on Friday, November 12 ) uses half of my t railer for her equ ipment, and all her other trailers ha ve been allowed to en te r the country." Several teams were told that American

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