.vOICES·
letters to the editor
Amma's weekly motorcycle newspaper
VolumeXXXll
Sharon Clayton, President
Michael Klinger, Publisher
Editorial
Paul Carruthers, Editar
Kit Palmer, Associate Editor
Donn Maeda, Associate Editor
Scott Rousseau, Associate Editar
Mark Hoyer, Milnaging Editor
Laurel Allen, Editorial Assistant
Godspeed, Rodney
In 1976 I was 15 years old and the worst
Advertising
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Rhonda Crawford, Western Ad Coordinator
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Marketing &: Promotion
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New Media Development
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Oassified Ads
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Mahala
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W~ ~dlffnON
Printed in U.S.A. '
4
flat tracker in District 7 history, riding
an ancient Kawasaki 100 while quickly
getting used to being lapped by little
girls on 80cc Yamahas. One day, Rodney
Fani.s, who was only 13 - yet an obvious
future great - took it upon himself to
teach me the fine art of "pitching it into
a turn." After one particularly embarrassing heat race, Rodney motored up
on his minibike and simply told me to
follow. We got to the_edge of a big dirt
field and once again he just told me to
follow.
Well, 15 minutes later I was no
longer just a rider, I was a racer! Rodney
went on to bigger and better challenges
and I never got lapped again.
Rodney, thanks for the memories and
the lessons. Godspeed.
Nick Taylor
Owings Mills, MD
c"f)'rishr" Cydo N..... Inc.199S. Tn~ N....
....... U.S. r_Offico. AD"""
When are the AMA and the dirt track
promoters going to wake up and smell
the coffee? I am a rookie Expert dirt
tracker. Therefore, since I don't have my
80 points to be a GNC Expert, I am limited only to racing in regional and amateur events. The only big races I can participate in are the 600cc Nationals (4)
and the Grand Nationals (2).
You would think that after the number of entries at the LaSalle, illinois,
round of the Grand National Championship, that more promoters would lean
toward the 600cc class. You don't realize
how many 600s are out there. A 101 of us
can't wait to see the schedule for next
year so we can shoot for racing in a
Grand National.
Look at the entries for the Devil's
Bowl race in Dallas, Texas. Could you
have imagined if that were a Grand
National with 600s instead of 750s? A lot
of us, and I mean a lot, can't afford a
750. The AMA always talks about going
back to grassroots racing, but instead of
adding water to the 600cc class they
plant a new seed with 250s and 883s. I
think the roots are a hell of a lot stronger
with 600s than with 250s or 883s.
Hey, promoters, why don't we have
a couple of Grand National half miles
with 600s and see what kind of entries
you get? I'll be willing to bet it would be
double of what the 750 entries would be.
I know I'd be there.
Randy Deeke
Belleville, IL
Blue flags
I've gone on record in the past as
being in favor of using blue flags at
AMA road race Nationals, so I must
agree in principle with Mike Hale's
statement following qualifying at Road
America.
I learned about the nuances of blue
flagging from Colin Leaker of the South
Australian Aag Marshall's Association. I
met him in turn two at Laguna Seca during practice for the 1988 U.S. GP.l never
got to use those skills again until 1993,
when I returned to Laguna Seca for the
GP, at which Colin served as Chief
Course Marshall. Believe me when I tell
you that blue flagging is not as easy as it
looks when done by an expert. The fiveyear layoff did nothing to enhance my
skills.
I have discussed the matter (of the
AMA using blue flags) with Dick Jalbert, vice president and training officer
of the u.s. Marshalls, who has pointed
out certain logistical problems that
would make implementing the procedure a bit more difficult than Hale anticipates, least for organizations with little or no experience in blue flagging. A
big problem is manpower. Many of the
flag stations at Loudon are currently
done by one person, whose attention
must be directed downstream toward
the apex and the crash zones. Proper
blue flagging would require another
flagger to monitor incoming traffic. Jalbert feels, quite rightly, that often times
we are already spread too thin to spare
the manpower, especially during Friday
qualifying, when many corner workers
are still at their real jobs.
On the West Coast, USARM, which
does both bikes and cars, would probably implement the procedure with minimal difficulty, given a good worker
turnout, since the car people do blue
flagging anyway. Situations similar to
these probably exist at other venues.
The bottom line is simple: if the riders want more and better comer working, they need more and better corner
workers. We sure don't do it for the
money (the GP pays $1000 for three
days). And the GP was a veritable corner worker magnet, able to provide the
luxury of numerous qualified workers,
as
willing to do whatever it took to be
there.
AMA ationals, on the other hand,
rely on the local help to staff th,j! event.
When the circus is coming to town,
there's no need to travel across the
country to see it. Consequently, personnel must be somewhat more frugally
allocated. Perhaps we could begin with
blue flags at select locations rather than
in every turn.
So, yes, I agree with Mike Hale that
the blue flag is a valuable tool when
properly used. But with corner worker
burnout and natural attrition, plus a generallack of familiarity in the U.S. motorcycle racing community, it may not be as
easy to implement as he believes.
But if we do ultimately choose to
blue flag, I believe it will be a win/win
situation. The racing will be closer; and
it will also be safer.
John M, O'Connor
Alton,NH
Stump speaks
I want to thank each and every person
who donated money to help me at the
Dayton, Ohio, Old Time Newsies event
and at the Lima, Ohio, Grand National.
My progress is going very well,
although somewhat limited by my halo.
I'm well ahead of where the doctors felt
I would be at this time. If everything
goes okay, I plan to return to racing at
Daytona next year. I want everyone who
has called, sent cards or visited me
while I was in the hospital to know how
much I appreciate their support.
I understand how very fortunate I
am, not only to be recovering, but also
for all the wonderful friends and dirt
track fans that have been behind me.
A very special thanks to my clad and
his fiancee, for allowing me and my
family to move in with them until I am
able to get back on my own.
Then to Thiel's Wheels in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, for supporting a raffle to
help with my expenses, a huge "thank
you."
Scott Stump
883 National Champion
Marion, Ohio
Letters to the editor should be sent to
Voices, Cycle News, P.O. Box 498, Long
Beach, CA 90806-0498, faxed to 31014276685 or e-mail.editor@cyclenews.com.
Published letters do not necessarily
reflect the position of Cycle News, Inc.
Letters should not exceed 200 words
and all letters are subject to editing.
Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should
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daytime phone number ... Editor.
INSIDE' .: .. '
I fssue 128, July 19, 1995
FEATURES
ROAD RACING
French Grand Prix
Australian WSB
_
6
10
RIDING IMPRESSION
1995 Kawasaki GPZllOO
DEPARTMENTS
DIRT TRACK
Lake Odessa Half Mile
AMA Amateur DT Nat'Is
14
22
MOTOCROSS
World MX Report
Team Green Youth Nat'Is
EVENTS
RESULTS
LEADERBOARD ._ _._..•..__._••••_
18
26
CALENDAR
WANT ADS _••__
20
LOOKING BACK
.28
..35
36
.38
_
COLUMN
PROJECT BIKE
Honda CR25O _
24
44
_
_
_
_...59
..59
ON THE FRONT COVER
Michael Doohan wins in France. Troy
Corser and Carl Fogarty split wins at
Salzburgring. Photos by Gold & Goose.
Mix'n'match project Honda CR250.
Photo by Kinney Jones. We ride Kawasaki's red sled. Photo byIoe Bonnello.
