Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Ganson) You need to ask the AMA that question. Is it suicide for the AMA to proceed with their own supercross series? Ganso n) Well, let's go back to the first question. I do n't know if it's suicide or no t but I would question the AMA's concern of all the en tities involved: Riders, mechanics, sponsors, ma nufacturers . Sche d uli ng events on top of each other in an op en ly competitive nature does create difficulty for everyone and it would escalate difficulties dramatically. Who at the AMA do you think needs to read this interview? Who do you need to communicate your feelings to? (West) To be honest, I don't know. I don't kno w who at the AMA has go t thei r feet on the ground. I wo uld think tha t the Board of Tru stees would have the future of the sport and the AMA at hea rt. But right now , I'm not sure who needs to read this . . Have communications completely broken off? (West) There 's been some letters back and forth between the Mickey Thompso n Entertainment Group a n d Tom Mueller, but I'm not sure they made an y progress. . Already, here's a situation where, in an effort to compete against supercross, the AMA has already violated condition s tha t we established over the years. That being, that increases in the schedules , changes in travel, all of that has always been brought before the advisory board prior to those actions being taken. Now , I can tell you for a fact that the AMA , by increasing the outdoor sch ed ule, has violated th at process. They haven't talked to the advisory board. But ha ve they act ua ll y expanded the sched u le or are th ey just ex pl oring other venues? (West) I understand that those commitments have been made. Is that not true? Do you know? Do I know? No, I don't know. I've heard that phone calls have be en made to discuss the interest of holding new Nationals, bu t no one here has seen any new races that have been put on the schedule or an ything. You said yourself that they d id not talk to an yone on the advisory board. But I gotta tell you, there' s a new or d er at the AMA . It is not the same AMA that we all helped build over the las t 20 years. I'm confused. I met wi th Ed Youngblood in February and told him that I was totally confused and frustrated, that I did n't know what the problem s between us were. After all these years of working together, wh y is it now that we can't? Why would they gamble with supercross, the most successful racing program ever, ov er a profit situation? To me that doesn't make sense . It's a new order at the AMA - it's not the same deal. One last question: How might things ha ve been different if the late c.E. Altman, your close frie nd and fellow promoter, were still around? He always seemed like the one who wanted to hold the AMA and the supercross promoters together. (West) I don't th ink that things wo uld have been much d ifferent if C E. we re still a ro und, because C E. w as there back in February when we met with Ed Yo u n g b lo od and Tom Mu eller in Cincinnati. After that meeting we both came away knowing that we were faced with some serious problems. CE. recap ped that meeting for us and sent it to the other promoters. The basis of the recap was that something was there (in the AMA) that just didn't meet the eye. There was a h idden a ge n d a somewhere. D Now Available Through Cycle News Video Theater 1994 WORLD SUPERBIKE SERIES Round #4 - ALBACm, SPAIN (#404A) Just when it seemed that Scott Russell was well on his way to tuming his attempt at repeating his World Superb ike title into a one-man show, disaster struck in Spain . As over 25,000 Spanish fans watched in the tropical heat, the American champ saw his lead in the point standings cut drastically as he slid into the gravel in both races . Brit Carl Fogarty wasted no time in capitalizing on Russell's misfortune , taking control of both legs of the day's racing on his factory Ducati. . Spain saw a lot shaken up in the status of the World Superbike Series up to and during this round. Top-three contender Giancarl o Falappa suffered serious injuries in a practice crash the week before the event...Honda's Aaron Slight was stripped of points he received at the BritiSh round due to an FIM ruling on the illegality of his race fuel...and Carl "Froggy" Fogarty finally found the combination he needed to put his Ducati atop the podium for a run at the series title. 47 minutes from Motovideo . To Order Videos, Call (31 0) 427-7433 - Charge to ~ 0' 0' ,.....; C'l" ,.....; l-< QJ .g .... u o 25

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