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/128082
from all over the world competing on the tra ck at the same time... Whew! Here 's one person from Florida who will spend the money to go to Laguna if they combine the ra ce s - one th a t doesn't even g o to Daytona anymore because tha t event has turned into a yawner compared to the old days. Norman Smyser Slromin1@tampabay.rr.com. Wor ld Superbi ke guys vs. AMA Superbike guys. Hmmm, let me think. Okay, bring it on, boys. Dean Siegrist d ms iegrist @juno.com Bad idea II Ladies a nd gen tleman, pl ease. We've attend ed eve ry World Cha m p ions h ip ever held at Laguna Seca Raceway and have enjoye d them immen sely . Do not me ss w ith a good thi ng . I don' t know w h ich type of ra cin g I p refer, AM A Nationa ls or Wo rld Su perbike, si nce they are eq ually as exci ting to watch. If we're going to spend an extra $25 to $35 per ticket, we want our money's worth. Imagine - a full National program on Saturday plus a full World Su perbike program on Sunday, with the top AMA riders thr own in. I think I just died and went to heaven. Pete Cordts West Covina, CA Now we're trash This is the firs t yea r I have ha d a subsc ri ption to Cycle News an d it w ill be m y last. Wh en I received my Octob er 20 co py (Iss ue #41), I was as to nis hed to see someone o n p ro ba tion for d ru g ch a rges (Jeff Ernig) o n th e co ve r fo r win ni ng a ra ce . Ye t you gave C h r is Carr no recognit ion for winning his second AMA Grand ational Championship. J If thi s is th e w ay you d o busin ess, any rem aining co pies I receive will go di rectly to m y recycle bin . At least there they might go to so me good use. Allan Curtis SI. Charles, M O 40 minutes In su pport of the letter from Rob Green regar d ing the curren t length and sty le of motocross in the U.S., I have to say tha t the type of racing now being held her e is not build ing U.S. rid ers to be ab le to co m pe te in the tradition a l s ta g e of world-class motocross. Wh ile th e current fad for Supercross ma y bri ng the kid s to watch , th e ques tion sho u ld be "are we living up to the philosophy of motocross?" It has gone from naturalterra in tracks to ma n-made jumping ex hibitions that are nothing but sprint races . In the past, mot ocross was billed as the second most ph ysically demanding sport in the world, second only to professional soccer. But we would be hardpressed to make th at a rg u men t now . O ne jus t has to watch the Am erican performance in the Motocro ss d es Nations to see that American rid ers ca n no lon ger co m pete at world-class-level motocro ss. As mentioned by another reader, the level of co m petit io n in th e U.S. is no longer at the level it was 15 or 20 years ag o . 1 blam e this on the emergence of Supe rcross and its "spectacular jumps " and showboating a t the expense of true mot ocross skills . The skills required to ru n a 45-m inute-plus-two-lap moto are no longer co nsidered as importan t as long as a rider can get "big air." Let's leave th e s hows to th e Xtreme Games an d bring back the soul of motocross. John Pratt Toledo,OH And another atural te rrain tracks with their 40mi nute-plus-two-laps fo rma t was th e grea test. It definitely separated the men fro m the boys. There needs to be mo re races on these.types of tra cks - with out Su percross-s tyle o bs t a cles. There is nothing like racing outdoors. When the Supercross races first started, th ey m or e closely resemb led outdoor tracks, and they weren't too bad . To day's Supercross is r eally borin g beca use there are no good battl es go ing on . And Arenac ross? Ge t real. Let's get back to th e great ou td oors - big tracks and lon g motos. Russell Place Buellton, CA Godspeed, Paul Recently my frie nd and racing buddy, Pa ul Crumli ng (Mr. Pro Plates) passed away. Alth ou gh the wri tten word is no t my best trait, I am co mpelled to w rite my thoughts a nd feelings in Paul's honor. As I think back through the years, it ta kes me to the early 70s, a time when neith er Paul nor m vself w er e o ld enoug h to d rive . We both had to rel y on others to get our equipment to the race tra ck , and s o meh o w w e also got there. As the 70s were winding down, our friend ship developed and ma tured . It was aro und this time th a t we started traveling toge th er, along with m y yo u nge r brot her and Scott As hway. It was th en th at th e numb e r - p l a te idea s ta r te d . Pau l's fat her is a n a r tist a n d Paul h ad th e "cool" pl at es . Before lo n g , h is father was mak ing them for all of us. As tim e took us int o the '80s , traveli ng to g eth e r beca me mo re im por ta nt. We all had gotten our Pro licenses and tha t meant we had to travel fart her to ge t to the Pro races. As Paul' s a rtis tic talents develo ped, he st arted making number plates a new way. He mad e them so that the n umbe r wouldn't get worn off at the gravel tracks. As I remember that was the start of Pro Plates. Will we get to see the lik es of Nori yuki Haga (41) and Paul's innovations in the Aaron Slight (111) do ing batt le wit h AMA reg ulars li ke Eric manufactu ri ng of numbe r Bostrom (91) when the co mb ined AMAlWortd Superblk e plates, awa rd pla tes an d weekend comes to Laguna Seca In July? trophy plates se t him apart from everyone else. Hi s work was a rt. The time and effort he In closing, I would like to express my took to ma nufacture every p lat e b y cond olences to Paul' s family. I think I hand and to unyielding quality control can speak for all of us in say ing thanks, set his work apart from the others. From Paul. for all your hard work. the locals to the Pros , Paul made them Steve Heiser all look good . racer7a@aol.com Although Paul's illness limited h is / I involvement in racing, he did return to the loca l fla t tracks th is s u m mer. He rode his XRlOOO and at his last race he rode a Cham pio n-framed Hon da 250. Alt hough most of th is lett er was written before Pa ul's funeral service, this paragraph was not. I wo uld like to publicly thank all the people from the racing community who attended his fun eral service. I would like to list your names individ ually, bu t you and I bo th know w ho you are and th a t' s all that matters . It's because of people like you that make this spo rt great, and it's wh y I'm proud to be a part of it. Letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle N ew s, P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084, faxed to 714 /751-6685 or e-mailed to editor@ cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily ref lect the positio n of Cycle News, Inc. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all are subject to editing. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contai n the w riter' s name, address and da ytime phone number... Editor. en en en .£ '" .8 E ~ o Z 5