Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Springsteen a nd Don Vesco in th e March even t. Accord ing to a p ress release from BMW, the riders who particip at e in the BMW Battle of the Legends are selected exclusively by AHRMA. "Since AHRMA cannot accomo da te all of the many mo torcycling champions who are qualified to be racing Legends, it has initia ted a rota ting pool system to select participants. Those Legends sitting out the Daytona ma tchup will be cons idered for participation nex t year." The man not being inv ited back to this yea r's event is former AMA Superbike National Champion Reg Pridmore. Although Pridmore hasn't said anything regarding being d ropped from the Legends event, his son - current road racer Jason Pridmore, says his father, "loved doing the race." Ironically, Pridmore and his CLASS racing school recently ended their relationsh ip with BMW. BMW has also announced that they will sponsor the United States debut of the Britis h European Am e r ican Racing Series (BEARS) race at Daytona during Camel Motorcycle Week. And just when yo u thought BMW was all through with anno uncements, there comes word tha t they - along wi th Forbes , Inc. - will present Day tona International Speedway owner Jim France with a BMW 75RT-P police motorcycle on Friday, March 10 during Camel Motorcycle Week. Stop the presses: Suzuki has finally announced that they have signed Th om as S te ve ns, Do n ald Jacks and Fred Merkel to the ir road racing team for the 1995 season. WERA has released a ten tative schedule for the 1995 Form ula USA Series. The six-race series is scheduled to kick off at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamo nd , California, on April 14-16. The series then heads to Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, for the first of the Trip le Crown events on May 19-21. The third round is scheduled for Grattan Raceway Park in Grattan, Michigan, on June 23-25 with round four sla ted to run in conjunction with the World Superbike Series race at Laguna Seca on July 21-23. Rounds five and six will be held at Portland Internationa l Raceway in Portland, Oregon, on Augu st 25-27, and at Roa d Atlanta on October 13-15. R.P.M. Exclusivas, S.A., the promoters of the D ucados Open Se ries , has announced its 1995 road race schedule. Th e Spanish series is set to begin in Albacete on February 26, the week after the IRTA Grand Prix test session at Jerez. From there the championship moves to [arama on March 5 before taking two months off and resuming on May 14 in Calafat. The following two rounds will be held at Catalunya on June 4 and July 2 w ith the final two rounds taking place on October 15 and October 22 at Jerez and '[ararna, respectively. More information is available from Vic Monllau in Barcelona, Spain at 34-3-431-5533. According to the FIM, the 100-horsepower power limit for motorcycles which was proposed by the European Commission, but rejected by the European Parliament and the FIM - has been Crisis hits U.S. SURerbike·racing, A n all-out crisis stru ck U.S. Superbike racing on December 15 when Roger Edmondson announced a preliminary schedule for his North American Superbike Series (NASB); a schedule that included two of the crown jewels of AMA Superbike racing - Mid -Ohio and Road America. The AMA has since acted quickly, meeting with the major manufacturers in Los Angeles and pronoun cing their intention to go forward with a 1995 series one that appea rs likely to use several new even ts at un tested facilities. Edmondson announced his schedule, along with the addition of noted motorsports attorney, David Atlas, to his team, in a press release that.contained the startling news that five of the established AMA road race p romoters had jumped ship to NASB - Phoenix International Speedway (March 19), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (june 4), Road America (Iune 11), Brainerd International Raceway (Iuly 16) and Road Atlanta (September 17), in addition to the two events slated for Daytona International Speedway (March 5 and October 22). Edmondson also announced that his series would consist of the following classes: Superbike, 250cc Grand Prix, 125cc Grand Pri x, 600cc Supersport, 750cc Supersport, Twin Sports and the Unlimited Team Challenge endurance event. The AMA learned of the promoters' decision at the 11th hour and were taken aback by the development. "We had verbal agreements from everyone but Mid-Ohio," AMA vice president of Sports Marketing, Tom Mueller, said when first contacted on the issue. "We were shocked. We felt we had done everything the promoters had asked us to do." The AMA acted quickly in establishing contact with the four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers in Los Angeles, California, and were given assurances that the AMA series would be supported by the major teams. Mueller and Paradama's Cary Agajanian produced projected schedules for the manufacturers, calendars that included possible races at Heartland Park Topeka in - Kansas, Gateway International Speedway in Illinois, Indiana po lis Racew ay Park in Indiana, and Firebird International Raceway in Arizona - as well as established events like the Daytona 200, the Los Angeles Grand Prix in Pomona, Laguna Seca, and New Hampshire International Speedway. In addition, the schedule listed the possibility of events being held at Sears Point, Seattle International Raceway, Memphis Motorsports Park and Las Vegas. Edm ondson also visited Los Angeles where the manufacturers and the teams' association (AMRT) persuaded the two parties to meet in an effort to reach some sort of agreement that would keep the series from splitting. "The timing is very unfortunate," AMRT president, Ma lcolm Hill, said. "We were beginning to implement plans for the 1995 season, an d it's very late in the gam~ for this to be 'happening. Domip t -series tha t consists of five to six events is notpractical, but we don't cherish the " p rospect of competing at several new, undeveloped with drawn fro m the Type-Approval Directive. The Council and European Parliament have now agreed to joint text w hich does not call fo r a pow er limit as the Commission had originally proposed . "A long battle has now ended, at least for the next two years, during which a study will be carried out in order to collect data on a possible link between engine power and accident rate," the FIM press release stated. "The rejection of the Commission's call for a power limit as part of the TypeApproval is a very important victory for the whole motorcycle world and also for the freedom of choice for individuals." Motorcyclist and stock car racer Joe Weatherly were inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on December 11 in Birmingham, Alabama. Weatherly won the first of his three. AMA Nationals at the 100-mile road race in Laconia, New Hampshire, in June of 1948. In 1950, Weatherly sw itched to stock car racing where his career spanned 16 years and included 24 _ "It's not dead at all," Agajanian said on Tuesday, Januevents. Hopefully, the parties can reach an agreement that will bring us to the conventional events under one sane- ary 3. "I don't want to mislead or give anybody any false tioning umbrella." hopes . We've both agreed to not make any public A meeting took place between Agajanian, Edmondson announcements that would be negative, but I would not and Atlas in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 22, but be telling the truth if I said we were on the verge of somethe positives and negatives that came from the get-togeth- thing. It's not just a case of dotting the i's and crossing the t's like it was with the supercross situation. I will go back er varied from party to party. "David Atlas and myself met with Cary (Agajanian)," to Roger 's attorney in the next day or two. I have no emoEdmondson said. "We were in Los Angeles visting the tion at all in this; I have neither axes to grind or personal manufacturers - Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha. We feelings in the matter. I just want to solve the problem for received a phone call from AMRT's Malcolm Hill asking the manufacturers, the sponsors and the fans. It's not an us if we we re willing to talk to them. It's just like I' ve easy task, but I haven't given up in any wa y. I will say been saying all along - we've never closed the door on the .that we have 70 years of tradition and history here as well AMA and we were willing to talk. All the manufacturers as 200,000 members and the backing of the FIM - and I expressed very clearly to us that they wanted to reunify think that means something. I didn't expect anything to the series. happen this soon because of the holidays, but hopefully "We met in a very healthy environment and both par- something comes in the next week or two that resolves ties approached the discussion with mutual respect. It this . I will say that the AMA is absolutely dedicated to was a very cordial meeting. There was four hours of talk continuing to run a Superbike series with 10 events as and Cary said he would have to speak with his Paradarna they always have and hopefully with the same venues as . board. We expected to hear from him in five working we've had in the past." days, but the holiday may have had something to do with What if the manufacturers stick to what in the past has him not getting back to us yet. Either way the question beeri the accepted norm and race only with the AMA? "I will be answered. I think the next step will be a call from can't answer that," Edmondson said. "The manufacturers Cary to David Atlas . They are both on the meter. They made commitments to support the AMA Series, but that's can make progress, but they can't make a d eal without when it was the only series. "We have an attractive schedule and we can't imagine me. "Remember, they (the AMA) came right out and said, any of the manufacturers wanting to destroy all the hard 'We welcome the competition.' This is not my doing. I'm work tha t has gone into the su ccess of races like Midjust defending myself and no t letting them take some- Ohio. We can't see them wanting to disappoint their fans . The bottom line is they have product they want to sell. thing from me that is mine." Mueller , however, said that while the meeting was There are only a certain number of Na tional-level events "congenial," the AMA were going ahead with their plari ou t there' and we're no t sure that the AMA ' s gen eral to run the series without Edmondson. membership intends to fund a last-minute race series that "There is no arrangement or deal for Roger Edmond- is destined to run in red ink. "As far as the promoters go, we have letters of intent son," Mueller said on Tuesday, January 3. "It 's not even on our agenda for th e next Paradarna board meeting. with the promoters on our schedule. Those letters feature Every bit of planning and finan ce is going into our 1995 terminology that makes them become contracts. I'm dealseries. Cary (Agajanian) said the meeting was congenial, ing with people who keep their word. We've tried to be but he told us to keep moving and creating a new sched- positive or else say nothing. We've presented a very posi ule. He said that no solutions came from that meeting. tive approach to the future of our sport. We've made a Right now we are moving as quickly as we can . There commitment to recycle sanction fees for things such as TV seems to be a lot of excitement. It looks like we could end and an out-of-industry sponsor search. We will be selfup running at Indy (Indianapolis Raceway Park) on June sufficient in running our program." Of those promoters, the most earnest in her support of 4 and do a doubleheader with the AMA ProStar drag raeEdmondson and NASB seems to be Mid-Ohio's vice pres- It) ing folks. "We've heard that sponsors are pulling their commit- ident, Michelle Trueman Gajoch, who was succinct in her 0\ ments from some of these events (the events that have assessment of the situation: "Mid-Ohio is in support of 0\ ,....; committed to NASB). They're saying that if it's not an Roger Edmondson, and we 've shown that by aligning AMA National they don't want to sponsor it. Our door is ourselves with th e North American Superbike Series. wide open. Cary (Agajanian) has gone as far as to give Why? Because I feel Roger's vision represents the best these people (the promoters) his home phone number. As interest of the sport." With Edmondson vacationing during the first week of far as buying a no-compete or bringing Roger (Edmondson) back in - th at's been decided by the board and it Jan uary, his partner Patrick Murphy said on Tuesday, won't happen . It) interesting right now because th at January 3: "We've had no further communication from there seems to be a real pride of ownership ~\th the staff Paradama, We honored the request of the manufacturers here. People are working really hard on makirig sure we to meet with them. Now we 're just waiting to see what happens. " . have a quality series in '95. This will happen." 3

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