Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

o ] rience that I'd like to have," Carr said that he tested the bike for the first time at Roebling Road in Georgia a couple weeks ago, According to him, the time spent on the bike went well. "It [the Aprilial is a damn nice motorcycle," Carr said, "I Just rode a stock one, and it was a ball. I needed the time to get used to iding a road racer again - make sure that I was sticking my knee out going into the turns instead of my foot. I'm going to get to ride it again at Homestead [Florida] or Talladega [Alabamal in another couple weeks," As for his chances aboard the machine, Carr didn't really speculate, "I don't have any great expectations, but I did choose to go to Daytona because I have more laps there on a road racer than anywhere else. The Blackman shop is close to my house. They already have two full-time riders. This is just an opportunity that came along, and if a more full-time opportunity comes from it, then I'll have to look at that. It's just going to be a fun deal." The Daytona 200 by Arai will be televised on race day, Sunday, March 11, on ESPN2, according to the AMA. The broadcast will start at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern). two hours after the race, with a preview show slated to air on Saturday, March 10 from 2·3 a.m., with a rebroadcast to come on Sunday from 56a.m. Continental Tires has signed on to offer a winner-take-all $5000 contingency bonus payout for the seven Illinois Motorcycle Dealers Association C1MDAl rounds of the AMAIProgressive Insurance U.S. Rat Track Championships. At the IMDA rounds. which include both Springfield weekends and two events at the Du Quoin Mile, the system to determine the big winner will be based upon the same points formula currently in place in the series, awarding riders who use Continental tires 23 points for a win, 1g points for second place, 16 for third, etc. In order to qualify for the full point value of the position in which they finish, riders must use Continental tires front and rear. However, half points will be given to riders using only one Continental tire. The $5000 prize will be awarded to the rider with the highest point total after the seventh round, the season finale at DuQuoin, Illinois. "The IMDA are a great bunch of folks, and their passion is Dirt Trackin'," Continental Tires representative Greg Tysor said. "The seven IMDA events are a great mix of track types, with a short track a IT and' miles at Springfied and Du Quoin. We have an all-new rear tire with new compound and casing changes, and we want ] The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth District has severely reduced the damages of an earlier court's decision in the case brought by Roger Edmondson against the AMA, but found in a 26-page decision issued February 2 that there was enough merit in some aspects of the case to revisit some issues. In what has to be considered at least a temporary victory for the AMA, the three-judge panel of the District Court for the Westem District of North Carolina at Asheville reduced an earlier court's judgment of $2,790,000 to $240,000. The court also said that the district court should "reconsider Edmondson's motion for attorneys' fees and disbursements," which means Edmondson could eventually recover $390,965 in attorneys' fees and $40,707.81 in disbursements. Of the 10 points argued before the court on December 5, 2000, the court vacated six of the points and affrrmed four. However, four of the points vacated, including parts of the judgment allowing Edmondson to recover trebled damages on one of the issues and the award for attorneys' fees and disbursements, were to be reconsidered by a lower court, thus leaving the exact amount that Edmondson will ultimately recover still at issue. Edmondson ran the AMA road race program as a joint venture project with the AMA from J 990 through 1994, adding new -classes and bringing renewed interest in the series. The original suit was brought against the AMA in September of 1996 for what Edmondson alleged were a variety of deceptive business practices. On December 30, 1998, the district court ruled in favor of Edmondson, the jury awarding Edmondson $930,000 in actual damages, the amount being trebling [tripled] to $2,790,000. The court also ruled that Edmondson could recover $390,965 in attorney's fees and $40,707.81 in disbursements. The AMA filed a post-trial motion soon afterward, which was denied, and the appeal process followed. The result of the appeal, not surprisingly, sits quite well with the sanctioning body, which issued the following commentary in a statement released on February 3. "We felt, and several internal and external legal advisors agreed, that the facts of this case did not justify the damages assessed in the lower court, so we proceeded with the appeal," said Rick Gray. chairman of the AMA Board of Trustees. "We are pleased that the Court of Appeals listened to our arguments and substantially reduced the damages in this case. "In 1990, the AMA entered into a joint venture agreement with Edmondson that bound us together contractually," Gray noted. "By J993, we realized that we had irreconcilable differences regarding to go back to Springfied and make a good showing.' Tysor also said that Continental would once again be awarding tires at Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series as well. On a competitive note, Greg Tysor, who is AMA National #47, also said that he is hoping to become the first rider to qualify for a GNC main aboard a Suzuki SV650-based flat-tracker. AMA rules currrently allow the productionbased SV to compete in the U.S. Flat Track Series, with bore and stroke changes that pump it up to 750cc. The AMA issued a statement on January 31, concerning the departure of J. Scott Thornton from the presidency of the AMA. Thomton resigned last fall amid questions that were raised about the veracity of his service in the Air Force by an Internet website, phonyveterans.com, which uncovers false claims about military service. The site checked the accuracy of a story Thornton wrote the future of the AMA's road-racing program, and we sought to fmd an amicable end to that joint venture agreement. "The AMA never set out to take anything from Mr. Edmondson without compensation," Gray said. "Indeed, Mr. Edmondson was repeatedly offered a fair value for his consulting services after the end of his business relationship with the AMA, a value that far exceeded the amount of damages affirmed by the appeals court. However, the AMA could not reach agreement with Mr. Edmondson and, when he repeatedly refused those offers, the AMA had to go forward and continue to run its racing series as it had for the previous 70 years." According to the AMA statement, the ruling by the appeals court says that after the negotiations failed, the AMA moved to appropriate the property that was part of the joint venture. It specifically says that the AMA took control of a mailing list owned by Edmondson and interfered with contracts he signed with three racetracks. The total value of those assets is placed at $80,000, and the court has, pursuant to North Carolina law, ordered the AMA to pay Edmondson triple that value as compensation, for a total of $240,000. Still at issue is the value of Edmondson's share of other tangible assets of the joint-venture agreement, including such items as computer and racing equipment. The appeals court ruled that the lower-court judge had made a serious error in the way he instructed the jury to tabulate that value. That part of the lawsuit was responsible for $2_25 million of the $2.8 million total award. The appeals court also completely rejected the lower court's finding that the AMA owed Edmondson a portion of television revenues. "Hopefully, this decision moves us much closer to the conclusion of a case that is based on business dealings which took place many years ago." Gray said. "It is apparent that errors were made by the trustees and staff in the way agreements were structured with Roger Edmondson, in the attempts to negotiate with him and during the litigation. Those actions were misconstrued and played a role in the lower court's original verdict." While the AMA seemed to believe that the judgment was a victory of sorts, Edmondson said that in fact the opposite is true. "There will be a new trial now for one purpose and one purpose only," Edmondson said, "to see how much money they owe me. That's all the jury will have to look at. The worst-case scenario for the AMA has not yet begun. Before, we only had projections on what my business was worth • now we know what it was worth. I'm tickled to death with the result.· No date on the new trial has been released. for • American Motorcyclist." that they claim also appeared on the AMA website www.ama-cycle.org, about his service in Vietnam and found it not to be credible. After filing a Freedom of Information Act Request for his military records, they determined that, although he did serve in the Air Force, he had not served in Vietnam. The website came to the follOWing conclusion: • J. Scott Thornton is a liar, fake, fraud and impostor.' The AMA statement follows: In recent days. questions have been raised on some web sites about the circumstances leading to the departure of Scott Thornton as AMA president last fall. As previously stated by the Association, Mr. Thornton chose to retire dUring a meeting of the AMA Board of Trustees on October 27. As is the case with most employers, the AMA has long had an official position of not commenting publicly on personnel matters, most of which are discussed in executive sessions of the AMA Board. However, because this issue has been raised in a PROMOTED: Mike Vaughn, to chief executive officer of Triumph Motorcycles America. Ltd .. effectively immediately. Vaughn was formerly the general manager/COO of Triumph. Mark BradY wili take Vaughn's vacated position. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Freewheeling Honda in Douglasville. • Georgia, on Feburary 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Team Honda's Ezra Lusk and Sebastien Tortelii as weli as Team Amsoil/Factory Connection's ike laRocco and Branden Jesseman are scheduled to appear. For ore infonnation, cali 770/920-1 033. public forum, the AMA is releasing the following: Mr. Thornton had been hired as AMA president under a one-year contract that began November 1, 1999. That contract called for an evaluation and a decision on contract renewal at the end of the contract period. During this evaluation, questions arose concerning the accuracy of various facts, including those contained in Mr. Thornton's column published in the September 2000 issue of American Motorcyclist that purported to discuss his experiences dUring the Vietnam War. It was of great concern to the AMA Board of Trustees that statements made in the Association's publication be factually correct. The Board's investigation revealed that there were valid questions about the facts in this column. Before the conclusion of the evaluation. Mr. Thornton announced his retirement to the Board. The Board decided to name Robert Rasor. who has been involved in the AMA and its government relation's efforts for 28 years, to replace Thornton as AMA president. Under his leadership, the Association remains focused on continued growth by reaching out to all types of motorcyclists. Yamaha's 2001 YZR500 made a strong debut during the Malaysian Yamaha factory test, held January 2831, according tp Yamaha. Both Max Biaggi and Garry McCoy (Red Bull Yamaha) set the pace during the fourday test - each lapping at 2:06.8. Meanwhile, reigning 250cc World Champion Olivier Jacque came away with a broken right forearm after high-siding the . OPENED: Victorville Motorsports Complex (formerly known as Bad· • lands and Adrenaline) in Victorville, Califomia. by operators Mike Barrett and Lee Saul, who have signed a long-term lease with the land owner. Practice will be held at the facility on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. until dusk. For more infonnation, cali 760/868-5521. .•..............................•••..•................................•..............••..........•............•..................... CUD' e n Continued on page 80 e _ S • FEBRUARY 14, 2001 3 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o J o o o 8 J J J J J J ] 3 J J o o o o o o

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