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/127736
Merrill Vanderslice served as the nonvoting chairman of-the appeals committee and Rob King presented the AMA's written and oral testimony. After discussion, the appeals board voted to reinstate Kipp's points in the 750cc Supersport Championship and instead levied a $5,000 fine. "The appeals board felt that Kipp was riding his motorcycle in good faith," Vanderslic~ said. "The board also recommended that AMA Pro Racing modify its homologation process, to assure that the manufacturers, not the specific riders, are held accountable for such violations." The AMA has announced that tickets are now '!lvailable for its August 11-13 SI. Louis Superbike Classic, to be held at Grattan International Raceway in Fairmount City, Illinois. Tickets are available from Gateway by calling 618/482-5501 with advance ticket prices set at $16 for Saturday only, $22 for Sunday only and $32 for a "Super" weekend pass. Road racer Dale Quarterley is recovering at home from the injuries he suffered in a high-speed crash during a Formula USA race at Grattan Raceway on May 28. Quarterley's most significant injury was to his tongue: "I bit my tongue and it's been sewed up on the sides. The crash was no bargain. I was probably going a good 120 mph when I hit that bank. I watched the (front brake) rotor go out in front of me. I hit the rear brake and laid it on its side as much as I could. The next thing I knew I was waking up in two-foot-high grass and I couldn't breathe. It knocked the wind out of me. I just lay there', but I could move my fingers and my feet. The rotors were just a week old and we checked them Sunday morning and they looked good. I haven't seen the bike yet, but I guess the rotors were in three separate pieces." Long·time Cycle News contributor Larry Lawrence has been named as AMA Pro Racing's Communications Manager. Lawrence, 35, has most recently served as the AMA Superbike correspondent to American Roadracing. "It's a fantastic opportunity to have Larry on board with the AMA Pro Racing team," said Tom Mueller, executive director of AMA Pro Racing. "Larry is well-known in the motorcycle road racing community, and we plan to expand his expertise' into our corporate communications planning, as well as into other AMA Pro Racing properties. Larry has many new, exciting ideas that will benefit our . efforts. He will be a big asset to our program." Former road race mechanic Dave Ray recently had his 1973 Kawasaki H-2 Triple stolen from his shop in Merced, California. "This bike is like a son or a daughter to me; we've been through a lot together," Ray said. The bike was licensed in California with plates 3F1982; frame #H2F 26538; engine #H3F 26657. In addition to the motorcycle, Ray also had tools, machinery and parts stolen from the shop. "They wiped me out," Ray said. "They took literally everything. I have no insurance, no clues..." ~ ~y can be reached at 310/695-9199. e ~ 0\ ..... The Viewfinders M.e. is inviting all N" current and former members to attend a ..... club picnic at Castaic Lake Park in ~ Southern California on July 15. The pic... nic will also serve as a planning meeting -.. for the upcoming Viewfinders GP to be held at Castaic on October 28-29. For more information call 714/739-8633. 2 Kawasakis Te'am Green will provide technical support and will have emergency parts available at both the Ponca City and Loretta Lynn's Nationals. Team Green will also be giving away gift packs to all Kawasaki riders entered at the Loretta Lynn event as well as presenting Kawasaki mountain bikes to the class champions of the 60cc Stock 7-9, 60cc Stock 10-11 and Supermini 12-15 classes. The 1996 KXs will also be displayed at both Ponca City and Loretta Lynn's. Claudio Castiglione, the president of Cagiva Group, has been elected to the position of president of the ANCMA the Italian National Association of Motorcycles, Bicycles, Parts and Accessories Manufacturers. Castiglione replaces Michele Bianchi, who was president of the association for the past 10 years. The North American Super Bike Series (NASB) has announced that it will begin using blue "move over" flags at future rounds of its series. Long used in other forms of motorsports competition, blue flags are used to alert competitors that they are about to be lapped by other riders. The intent is to let these riders know that someone significantly faster is approaching and to direct those riders to hold a steady racing line so the closing riders can anticipate their actions while making a pass. "The motorcycle community is not that large and we've noticed press reports recently that the issue of lapped traffic has become a problem at some racing events," NASB founder RO'ger Edmondson said. "As America's newest championship motorcycle racing series, NASB realized it was high time that this courtesy was incorporated into our sport. I have directed the staff at CCS to also provide blue flags to its corner-workers. The same situation occurs at all levels of competition, from amateur to professional." The next round of the NASB series is scheduled for August 4-6 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Legendary dirt track tuner Spell Thuet and his wife, Maggie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 30. Thuet built dirt track motorcycles for riders such as Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson. The couple were wed in Lynwood, California, in 1945. McGrath banned from Su ercross? A t the July 2 round of the 125/250cc National MX Championship, a ietter written by American International Racing (AIR) director Roy Janson to AMA's President of Pro Racing Cary Agajanian was circulated through the pits. The same letter arrived at Cycle News' offices on Friday afternoon, June 31. The letter concerns the fiasco that took place at the June 10 Las Vegas Supercross, and the five riders - Jeremy McGrath, Doug Henry, Mike Kiedrowski, Brian Swink and Michael Craig - who did not compete, claiming·that makeshift lighting - which was put in place because of a power failure - was unsafe. The most interesting sentence in the letter reads: "Please be informed that until further notice, PACE/SuperSports and SRO Motorsports will not allow admission to those above five individuals for any future U.S. Supercross events." In addition, Janson demanded that the AMA take further disciplinary action with the aforementioned riders. Coincidentally, Cary Agajanian was on hand at Red Bud, and had conducted a number of interviews with a number of riders, team managers and mechanics who were present at the Las Vegas event. When asked if the letter was the motivating factor in said interviews, Agajanian stated that the AMA's investigation was completely separate. "Our investigation of tpe incident was in no way motivated by Roy Janson's letter," said Agajanian. "I consider what happened to be extremely serious. This is without question one of the most serious incidents in the history of the sport. We must be extremely careful about how this incident is researched and how decisions are made. Every aspect of what happened is serious - I'm not singling out the rider boycott - the letter distributed before the race, and the lighting troubles, everything. There are serious implications for the sport. There are a lot of competing interests here, but my primary concern is for the safety of the riders." When asked if the promoters' group was capable of banning the riders from competing, Agajanian replie<;l, "That's a hard question to answer for many reasons. The AMA determines the eligibility and qualifications of the riders, and thusly decides who rides. The AMA is also solely responsible for any fines, diSciplinary actions, et cetera all of these acticms are within the authority of the AMA. I'm not going to speak for them (AIR), but this is our situation. This is a novel situation, that's for sure." Janson was surprised when informed that copies of his letter were in circulation. "What we are hoping for is a resolution to this whole situation," said Janson. "I'd like to sit down with the riders and figure out what it is that's causing the problem. In my opinion, they are taking a very simplistic view of a very 'complex business. What happened at Las Vegas is very damaging. '1 understand that the AMA Pro Racing Board is looking into the situation, and we . (AIR) are hoping that they get to the bottom of the situation. As far as the riders being banned, the way I wrote it, it was 'until further notice.' And of course we can't prevent a rider from entering an event. That is all handled through the AMA. What we were implying was that the five riders would not be allowed on the property at any of the race sites." The schedule change for the upcoming AMA National Championship Road Race Series round at Brainerd International Raceway on June 14-16 that was sent to us by the AMA was incorrect. The HP4 600cc Supersport race will be held first, followed by the Progressive Insurance 883 SuperTwins race, the AMA Superbike National and the 250cc Grand Prix class. The original release had the Harley race going off first, followed by the 600cc Supersport class. Reg Pridmore's Class Motorcycle Schools has joined forces with Honda, according to Pridmore. "We are very pleased to be associated with Big Red," Pridmore said. "Things can only get bigger and better from here on." Class has schools scheduled for Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washington, on August 25 and for Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, on August 28-29 before returning to Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California, on September 11. For more information call 805/933-9936. The Willow Springs Motorcycle Club offices will be closed the week of July 37 as WSMC manager Kenny Kopecky heads to Mammoth Mountain to compete in the NORBA National Mountain Bike Championship Series. Road racer Jason Pridmore is expecting to return to the race track shortly, possibly for the next round of the AMA Superbike National Championship at Braine.rd International Raceway on July 15-16. '1 saw Dr. Ting yesterday (June 26) and I can get the fixator off in three weeks," Pridmore said of the external fixator device that was fitted to his broken leg prior to the beginning of the racing season. "If I don't make Brainerd, I'll definitely be at Sears Point (August 26-27)." The Sound of Thunder Series round at the July 8-9 Commotion By The Ocean event at Carlsbad Raceway has been rescheduled from Saturday (July 8) to Sunday (July 9). The Pro class at the Commotion By The Ocean is open to all sizes of motorcycles and pays a bonus of $250 to any 125cc placing in the top three. The guaranteed payout for the top three is $750 for first; $300 for second, and $250 for third - per moto. The Pros compete on Sunday, while amateurs compete on Saturday. For more infor, The benefit Solo GTO/GTU events held at Willow Springs R~ceway in Rosamond, California, on June 17 to aid semi-comatose racer Maurice Marascio raised $4000. mation, call Racing Enterprises Motorsports at 619/484-1441. World Superbike facts: Heading into the Austrian round of the series scheduled for July 9, Ducati's Carl Fogarty is the all-time leader in World Superbike victories with 28 wins. Fogarty leads Doug Polen (27), Raymond Roche (23) and Giancarlo Falappa (16). Scott Russell is fifth on the list wi th 14 victories. The United States continues to be the country with the most World Superbike wins; the U.S. has 52 race victories with Italy sec. ond on 33 and England third with 31. Ducati remains the most dominant manufacturer in World Superbike racing. The Italian V-twins have won 99 races with Kawasaki's 24 wins putting them second. Yamaha has 23 race wins, Honda has 17, Bimota has won 10 times with Suzuki winning two races. According to Northwest Honda, they are second in the overall WERA Performance Machine/Goodridge National Endurance Series. Our most recent point standings gave only class point standings and not the overall standings, thus . the Honda CBR900-mounted team were slighted somewhat. CORRECTION: The dates listed in a recent Suzuki Dual Sport advertisement were incorrect. The correct dates for the Steamboat Springs, Colorado round of the AMA/Suzuki National Dual Sport Trail Ride Series is September 13-16. For more information call 303/697-8382. eN