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/128013
ti o n s a lo n e d o n o t ca use accidents . Alt ho ugh th ere' s an obvio us inheren t danger in the sport, there exists an outsi de fa ctor th at affects / inc reases th e d an ger of this sport - the condition of the tracks . I have too often heard the words of racers - "the track was terrible." These racers d riv e thousands of miles every season to ride on unsaf e ra ce trac ks. I am screaming for the AMA and es pe cially the promoters to d o som ething to . ensure adequate track prepar ati on . And thi s doesn 't mean w a tering it on ra ce da y - it means weeks of work. I am begging you, Chri s Agajanian, to get those tra cks read y for the race . I can't bear anymo re tra ged y - a nd neither ca n the rest of the dirt track racing family . Kristine Poi se rs-Alb ers Berwyn, IL Worth every cent My wife and I just re turned from the Spring field Mile where we attended the H all o f Fa m e race a nd th e G rand Na tiona l Cha mpionship round . For the seco nd straight year, we traveled almos t 2000 miles to see this even t and agai n it ~ was wo rt h every mile a nd gallon of gas . This is w itho u t a d oubt the best raci ng we've eve r seen. The people responsib le for bo th race programs shou ld be running "How-To" cli nics for promoters and officials o f AMA racing. These folks u nd er sta n d that the racers are the program . Hats off to the IMDA for their abili ty to run a sm oot h "on tim e" event, treat eve ryo ne fa irly , an d still manage to be bo th frie ndly and courteous. And who jus t two shor t yea rs ago wou ld ha ve thou gh th a t G NC co m petitors w ou ld eve r ha v e a $100,000 p a y d a y ? Dave Despa in, with the capable assistance of his cas t of a thousa nd, mad e tha t hap- : pen. Thanks jus t d oesn' t seem to be adequate for w ha t these people have d one for the racing comm unity. Thanks, Dave Despain, for being a grea t p rom oter and one who loves our spo rt. Look for u s next Labor Day if yo u happen to be in Springfield . We'll be the early ones with the sm ile on ou r faces. Join u s a nd yo u' ll find a g rea t tr ack, su perb racing and anot her well-run progra m. This event can only grow bigger and better. Again, thanks everyone for yo ur efforts. Dave an d Su e Jordan Jack so nville, FL Everyone 's a poet A Bel ian said we're all yellow-bellied g But I think his knees are jelly. To be one of the greats You gotta win in the States Like Albertyn, Bayle alld Tortelli. Rip G riffen kar brad @ com aol. U.S. GP kudos Th e Ll .S, GP a t Budds C reek was a n even t u nlike any other. The tra ck , th e race, and the people, were outstanding. I wa s extre mely proud to be there to b a ck e ve ry Am erican r ider in thei r endeavor to make Stefa n Everts eat his own word s. Seeing our coun try's flag bein g waved in fer vent fa shi on w a s impressi ve in itself. Th e world came to ou r doorstep in anticipation of finally claiming the title "world's bes t." Thanks to every Ameri can rider ou t there, that d idn' t happen . Ry a n H ug hes a n d Ke v in W in d h am showed speed equal to anyone on the track . You co uld te ll w here Ryno and Kevin we re on the track at all times as the fan s erupted in cheers eve ry tim e they raced pas t them in pursuit of excellenc e. The sound of cheers echoed as if I were at a foo tball stad ium watchin g the "hu ma n wave" occu r. Ryn o p ut in a fantas tic ride in fron t of his home cou ntry and fans, ending a gr eat seaso n abroad . Every American mo tocro ss fan owes a d e bt of a llegian ce to eac h Ame ri ca n rider who ventures ov erseas to follow their dream. As a kid growing up with the likes of DeCoster, Wol s in k, Wei l a nd Ev erts invadi ng ou r shores for the Tra ns-Am Series, I wasn' t su re w ha t to expect out of tod ay's crop of interna tiona l talent. Back then it was the United States clawin g for the s hot a t the "world 's best" title. Now, 20 some years later, it is 1976 all ov er aga in but th is tim e we a re on top. Ralph Benhart Motox@visLnet Fences and such Let m e see if I u nd e rs ta nd th is co ncep t: If a road racer hits a steel cyclone fen ce and is i n ju re d d u rin g a ro a d ra ce, it' s co nsidered crim ina l n egl igen ce aga ins t th e p rom ot ers a nd the track ow ne r. If a d ir t tracker (i.e, To by Jor gensen) hit s a s teel cy clo ne fence an d gets in ju red during a race, they hold u p the race until they can re-erect it so another racer may p oten tia lly hit it? Am I m issin g so me thi ng here? Steven Ho lt Antioch, CA KTM vs. YZ I've been a longtime, di e-hard supporter of Cycle News, bu t I've got to say that I wa s very d isappointed in your KTM 125 test . With verv little offered in the way of actually describ ing th e ac tua l performance of the bike, the author instead chose to repea ted ly wo nd er wh y Shan e Watts wou ld chos e to rid e this bike (ans wer: because he kicks everyone else's ass on it and it increases KTM's market share in the class). Bu t the real capper was to compare the bike (unfavo rably, I could tell) to Rodney Smit h's highly modified RM125 and to a YZ125 which, acco rd ing to the au thor , Shane .can be turned into a competitive off-road mo un t for "only a few rhousan d dollars." Okay, g uys, ti m e fo r fu ll journalis tic disclosu re: The KTM 125 and YZ125 se ll for vir tually the sa me price. Therefore, if you choose to bu y a YZ and sink a few thou sand do llars in to it to make it com pe titive in the off-road scene, the KTM purchaser will either (a) be su bstantially better off economically or; (b) sink a like amount in to the KTM an d kick the YZ's ass. There, print that and next time d on ' t let so meo ne who appare ntly hold s a financial in tere st in Yama ha write your tests. Kevin Connor Kevin Connor@servallgroup.com The au thor ill question, Matt Freeman, wasn't available for comment. He was playillg his Yamaha piano, right before headin g off to ride his Yamaha water vehicle. He has, however, sold his Yamaha guitar in an effort to save up for both a Yamaha snowmobile and a Yamaha stereo system... Editor . Mother 's Day Right ins ide my Cycle News I see that in all their wisdom the AMA has d ecided to ru n the opening round of the AMA Na tio na l Motocross Cha m p io ns hip a t Glen He len Raceway in 2000 - on Mo ther's Day, aga in! As a somewhat cons isten t con tr ibu tor to Cycle News, I spend nearly every Watts aboa rd h is GNCC-ISDE w in nin g KTM 125 ElXC . wee kend at the race trac k doing wha t I love. When the big guns finally come to Sou thern California, I'd like to see them ru n. My wife is one tru ly understan din g woman (rem ember, I'm go ne a ll th e time), but she tends to draw the line on Mother's Day . There have been nu merous lett ers to the ed ito r in pa st years abo ut the dissatisfa ction o f the AM A's sch ed u li ng of thi s race. Thi s leads me to believe that: 1) The AMA just p lain doesn' t care; or 2) No on e in th e AMA with any d ecis io n -mak ing ca pab ilf ty r e a d s Cycle Neuis. G reg Robertson Palmdale, CA Letters to the editor shou ld b e sen t to Voices, Cycle News, P.O . Bo x 50 84, Co sta M esa, CA 92628- 5084 , faxed to 71 4/751 -66 85 o r e-maile d to e dito r@ cycl e ne ws.com. P u b lish ed letters d o n ot n ecessa ril y refl ect the pos ition of Cy cl e News, Inc. Le tt e rs s h o ul d not exceed 200 wo rd s and a ll lett ers are su b ject to editing. Anonymous lett ers will not be con sidered for p ub lication. All le tte rs sho uld cont ain the w riter's name , addres s and day ti me ph on e number... Editor . m m m .,; "" ]: E li QJ en 7