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/128209
8 o Continued from page 3 c c o o " VP Racing Fuels has reached an agreement with New Hampshire International Speedway to service all nine LRRS/CCS (Loudon Road Racing Series/Championship Cup Series) events in Loudon this season, including the Loudon Classic Formula USA event in June. The complete line of VP motorcycle fuel products, as well as sales and technical support, will be on site from '-' the start of practice through the conclusion of each event at Loudon. VP Racing is a contingency sponsor for AMA. Formula USA and LRRS/CCS, and has posted more than $38,000 in 2003 contingencies for LRRS/CCS. Supercross legend Jeremy McGrath was spotted in the pits at the STTARS SuperTT Supermoto races at California Speedway during the AMA Superbike weekend. The seven-time AMA Supercross and former AMA 250cc MX National Champion competed Saturday and Sunday aboard his Hot Wheels KTM 520S)(. "I'm having fun," the 31-year-old McGrath said on Saturday. "' felt a lot better in the last session I did than I felt earlier. We had too much air in the tires. You're supposed to have about 21 or 22 pounds in each tire, and we had, like, 30. We were sliding around all over the place." On Sunday, McGrath wound up being a major player in the Open class, battling with fellow fonner Supercross champ Jeff Ward for the distance. Aboard another KTM., Ward put his Supennoto experience to good use (remember, he competed in the original Superbikers events at Carlsbad), barely beating McGrath to take the win. White Brothers' Supermoto ace Steve Drew finished third. Afterward, McGrath held his guard when questioned as to whether or not he would become a regular fixture at the Supennoto races and whether or not he would compete in the AMA Red Bull Supennoto Series. "I'm just here for fun," McGrath said. "If I like it, and if it is something that I might want to do, then we'll talk about that later. This is really low-key, and there's no pressure at all. It's so fun. It's pretty slick in the dirt with no knobbies. My biggest thing is just getting to " L C o o o o o o o o o o o c Longtime Tul-aris development racer and track record holder Steve Johnson has handed off the Tul-aris GP bike to AMA Supersport and Superbike racer Robert Jensen, according to the team. Jensen first tested the Tul-aris earlier this year and has committed to racing the Tul-aris at select Formula USA, CCS and CRA races. ~ tions Department's Washington, D.C.. office are working to get $3 million for an in-depth motorcycle crash study written into legislation now being considered for reauthorization by Congress: the Transportation Equity Act for the 21 st Century (TEA-21l. The new crash research would involve detailed at-thescene study of at least 1000 crashes to find out what goes wrong for riders. Motorcyclists are urged to contact their federal lawmakers and to thank them if they signed the Green letter supporting motorcycle crash research. For those lawmakers who didn't sign the Green letter, motorcyclists are urged to ask them to support the research and to contact Chairman Young expressing their support. Motorcyclists can urge members of their congressional delegations to support funding for a comprehensive motorcycle crash study by sending a message through the AMA Rapid Response Center at www.AMADirectlink.com. Octagon Motorsports, the organizer of the AM Superbike World Championship, has announced that it will again host the Yamaha R6 Cup dUring the German Round of the World Superbike Championship at Oschersleben, May 30 to June 1. This is the third year that Yamaha Germany and the Superbike World Championship have hosted the race. "We are able to provide the ideal platform for Yamaha Germany and welcome the value that this race brings to the event and its fans. We look forward to the ongoing development of this partnership with Yamaha in years to come," said SBK president Paolo Flammini. The AMA reports that 62 members of _ Congress have joined U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-Wisconsin) in asking the House leadership to support a comprehensive study of the causes of streetbike crashes. In mid-March, Green asked his colleagues to sign a letter addressed to U.S. Representative Don Young (R-Alaska), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, urging him to support a comprehensive, in-depth motorcycle crash study to find ways to prevent crashes. The last such study - "Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures," commonly called the" Hurt Report" (after lead researcher Harry Hurtl - was done more than 20 years ago. "With motorL,. cyclist fatalities increasing 50 percent in just the last five years, the time to act is now," the members of Congress said in the letter. "Initiated in 1976 and completed in 1981, the Hurt Report remains the benchmark of motorcycle crash research and, sadly, the only such comLJ prehensive study ever undertaken in the ( \ United States." Rider-training and motorist-awareness programs are just a couple of the efforts to improve motorcyclists' safety that were prompted by the Hurt Report. Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations, and his staff in the AMA Government Rela- The AMA wams motorcycle and ali-terrain vehicle riders nationwide that cashstrapped states may try to raid funds earmarked for rider safety programs to balance their budgets. In fact. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) has already asked her state's legislature to eliminate Michigan's Motorcycle Safety Education Program and the Off-Road Vehicle Safety Education Program. She eliminated the programs from her proposed Fiscal 2004 state budget. which was recently sent to lawmakers for consideration, according to the AMA. "Michigan motorcyclists and ATV riders must act now to prevent the loss of these valuable programs," said Imre Szauter, AMA legislative affairs specialist. "And riders in other states need to keep a close watch on their lawmakers to be sure that their safety programs aren't threatened as well. We understand that several states are considering cutting their motorcycle safety programs as part of their efforts to balance their budgets." In Michigan, the AMA urges motorcyclists and ATV riders to contact the governor and their state lawmakers n C (J " 108 APRIL 16, 2003' cue I • n _ vv s where I can trust the tires to where I can lean on 'em. It's so different from dirt. Sometimes you just feel like, 'There's no way that I should be leaning over like this,' but they stick. I have to get over that men" tal wall, but otherwise I feel okay. I'm diggin' it." to tell them that the safety programs are self-supporting - paid for through fees collected from motorcyclists and ATV riders. And since the govemor's proposal would eliminate the fees collected to support the programs, the state would see no money savings. Michigan riders can easily send messages to their government officials asking them to keep the rider training programs by using the StateWatch section of the Rapid Response Center at the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com. Riders in other states are encouraged to check out what issues face them by going to their state in the StateWatch section of the Rapid Response Center. The 10th annual Team Chicago Free Roadrace School at Grattan Raceway has been postponed due to an ice storm in Michigan. With two blasts of ice and one inch of snow in one 48-hour period, the weather delayed the opportunity for new motorcycle road racers to participate in this annual event. The weather was so severe that the Saturday event could not be held over to Sunday. The school will be delayed one week to Saturday, April 12. Students who pre-enter this school will again be able to take this school for no charge. Those who did not pre-enter and may still want to participate in this school can sign up by being at Grattan Raceway before 8 a.m. on April 12 and paying a $25 fee. School will begin at 8 a.m. with the track walk followed by the five classroom and three on-rack sessions. For more information, call Grattan Raceway at 616/691-7221. Aprilia USA will be providing demo rides with the dP Safety School at the upcoming dP sessions at Buttonwillow Raceway on April 14 and at Infineon (Sears Pointl Raceway on April 25. This is an opportunity for riders to sample some of Aprilia's motorcycles while receiving instruction from Aprilia AMA 250 GP Champion Chuck Sorensen. In a victory for the U.S, Forest Service and off-highway vehicle advocates, Scott Rousseau Chief U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy entered an order on March 27 dismissing a legal challenge to vehicle access on the Clearwater and Bitterroot National Forests, according to the BlueRibbon Coalition. The suit was filed by the Montana Wilderness Association and other organizations and claimed that the agency had illegally improved vehicle access to Fish Lake in the Clearwater Forest and had illegally allowed vehicles wider than 40 inches on Forest trails. Several access advocacy groups intervened in the case on the side of the Forest Service, including the BlueRibbon Coalition, Montana and Idaho snowmobile associations, Clearwater Road and Trail Advisory Board and local riding clubs. The case was argued before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leif B. Erickson, who issued a recommendation on November 12, 2002, which was adopted in full by Judge Molloy. The order finds that the Forest Service followed the law and proVided a reasoned basis for its management of vehicle access, according to BlueRibbon. Judge Molloy observed that while the Wilderness Association "would like to see more emphasis on 'maintaining wilderness character' and less emphasis on 'motorized use,' it is not up to the court to tell [the Forest Servicel how to balance those interests. That Plaintiffs disagree with [the Forest Service's] ultimate conclusion does not grant the court authority to second-guess an agency decision." "We are quite pleased with this judgment," stated Paul Turcke, a Boise, Idaho, attorney who represented the OHV groups. "There are varied and deserving interests seeking enjoyment in the Idaho and Montana backcountry which' can accommodate one another. Those wishing to avoid motors can venture to the more than 7 million acres of Congressionally-designated wilderness in these two states, while others hoping to enjoy a backcountry experience but lacking the time or physical ability to travel in wilderness can enjoy legally-approved motorized access to non-wildemess areas. The dynamic and controversial balance between these opportunities requires public input and should be forged by the agency, not federal courts." eN