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/128218
Tortelli will miss the remainder of the AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship after being diagnosed with a knee injury - the result of a practice session mishap in round three of the series at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania. According to Tortelli, the injury will require surgery and will keep him on the sidelines for six to eight months. It is the same knee he injured early in the supercross season CAnaheim IIIl that forced him to miss the remainder of the supercross season. "This is so frustrating," said Tortelli. "I'm feeling very bad right now. I worked so hard to come back, only to reinjure my same knee. It's tough. I want to race so badly. And now I have to go through it all again." In two outdoor Nationals this year (Glen Helen and Hangtown), Tortelli was in 10th place overall. Sobe Suzuki Team Manager Roger DeCoster was equally upset about his fallen rider. "I'm very bummed for Sebastien," said DeCoster. "There's two types of injuries: Ones that you can come back from and ride in pain, the other type you come back from and run the risk of reinjuring yourself andlor making the injury worse. I'm not saying Sebastien came back too early. It's the rider's decision, not the team's decision. But we just have to work together now to get him through this tough time and back to being healthy." Tortelli has yet to set a date yet for his surgery. His ballpark seven-month plan would put him back on a bike just one month prior to the 2004 supercross opener at Anaheim. Reserved grandstand and box seats will be availabie for the AHRMA fiat-track race portion of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, according to a release from race promoters. A limited number of the choicest seats in the covered Ashland County Fairgrounds grandstand, including all of the box seats, have been set aside and can be purchased only in advance from the AMA Membership Services Center at 8001 AMA-JOIN. The cost is $20 for box seats and $15 for grandstand seats. A $2 handling charge will be added to each ticket order. $10 general admission tickets can be purchased at the gate. New Hampshire International Speedway will host the following support races for the 80th Loudon Classic event in addition to the regular Formula USA races: Rising Sun Cycles 250GP $2000 purse: Diablo Energy Drink Can- @@ fifJD[JiJ[JfJ7]@@ Il@ 1l&1!Jx@ IiJDfJUD &17] fifJ@7]@@!?®@@g~ The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has Ieamed.tluJt the CBS News program "50 Minutes II" is expected to air a report about "extreme motorcycle competition" on Wednesday, June 4, at 9:00 p.rn. ET. As the AMA reported in November, a CBS News producer first contacted the AMA In late September, claiming to be working on a "balanced, fair and accurate" segment about "the growth, success and excitement" of AMA Supercross. The AMA cooperated fully, supplying ruIebooks and other background information. Tom Undsay, the AMA's public infunnation director, had two lengthy telephone conversations with the producer - who admitted to knowing little about the sport - to help him gain a working knowledge of AMA competition. The AMA declined his invitation for an on-camera interview. Since then, the AMA has leamed that "50 Minutes II" has contacted numerous others in the industry, including promoters, publishers and competitors. Sources have told the AMA that these inquiries have focused largely on injuries. The AMA also has Am 125 GP - $2000 purse; Super Motard 12-lap sprint; AM GTO/GTU 1Slap sprint; Am GTL 15-lap sprint; EXIJR GTO 15-lap sprint; EX GTU 15-lap sprint: EXI JR GTU 15-lap sprint. The GP races will be run on Sunday with the GT sprints and Super Motard running on Saturday. NHIS will handle the registration for the support races, and riders may pre- or post-enter. All licenses will be honored. Purse races will have a $100 entry, and trophy races will be $50. There will be a test ride of the Super Motard layout on Sunday, June 8, at the end of the regular racing, and everyone is invited (no knobby tires), according to event promoters. Antietam Motorsport Park in Hagerstown, Maryland, a track that has been promoting and running AMA-sanctioned motocross and hare scrambles events since 1968, has been shut down. The track was recently lost due to the sale of the property to a developer by the landowners. All events for the remainder of the year have been cancelled, according to Antietam Motorsports Park. The Pro Circuit race support team is inviting everyone to their pit annual at the 36th annual Mammoth Motocross from June 1g to June 29. Pro Circuit will be glad to answer any questions or help with technical assistance. For more information, call 90917 38-8050. Pit Pro will also be at the Mammoth Motocross with products such as Dunlop tires, VP Fuels, accessories, gear AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Don & Roy's Motorsports in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on June 5 from 7 to 8 p.m. Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom, Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 2621786-3220. become aware of reports that CBS News crews attended a number of events, not all of which were AMA-sanctloned, solely to document accidents and injuries, even videotaping a physician performing surgery on a motocross competitor. "We hope that reports of the program's singuJar focus on injuries tum out to be Wltrue," said the AMA's Lindsay. "Because injuries are a part of any sport, at any level, we recognize that this aspect of motorcycle competition may be addressed in the report. but any mention of injuries would be incomplete without acknowledging AMA Pro Racing's commitment to safety and the specific steps it has taken in this area. "We're confident that we've provided '50 MInutes U' with aU the information necessary to portray AMA competition accurately," Undsay continued, "and we're comfortable with our decision to ·decline the producer's requ.est for an on-camera interview." After the "50 Minutes 0" report airs, the AMA will post its reaction on its website, www.AMADlrectlink.com. and more. For more information, call on eBay. As well as promoting the tournament, the Pramac Group will also give Riders For Health 30 euros (roughly $35) for each goal scored during the tournament. The winning team will be awarded the Pramac Cup - a prestigious trophy specially created for the event and will keep it until next year, when once again it will be awarded to the new winner. Dr. Claudio Costa of the Mobile Clinic and World Cup celebrity Pier Luigi Collina will referee the tournament. 661 1255-51 01. Thanks to donations from Troy Lee Designs, C.L. Simmons, Michael Simmons, Ogio Golf, L.A. Sleeve, theGaragePeople.com, Warrior Custom Golf, Malcolm Smith, California Speedway, MauiJim.com, and numerous professional riders, Glen Helen Raceway continues to benefit the Emergency Trauma Care Center at Lama Linda University's Medical Center, according to Glen Helen. Check out the track's website at www.GlenHelen.com to see the available items on its auction page. The auction closes on June 15. "With over 25 collectible items available through our online auction, we're excited about this opportunity to continue helping the Emergency Trauma Care Center," said Dr. Bud Feldkamp, CEO of Glen Helen Raceway. "We're encouraging fans to place bids by haVing a drawing for 2 complimentary V.I.P. regular session bingo passes for San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. Anyone who places a bid will be automatically included in the drawing." For more information, call Bill Haessly at 909/384-9342. GNCC Racing, a division of Racer Productions and producers of the AMA Grand National Cross Country Series, has announced that Parts Unlimited will be the presenting sponsor of "GNCC ISDE 2003." a project that will provide full support for the 2003 International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) U.S. Trophy Team, which has been dubbed "America's Team." In addition, Thor, Pro Circuit, Alpinestars, Moose, FMF, Dunlop and Scott have Signed on as Gold Medal sponsors of the ISDE effort. "Parts Unlimited likes to say, 'We Support the Sport,'" says Hylton Beattie, Parts Unlimited Motorsports manager. "We can think of no better way to do that than to back America's best offroad racers in their quest to win the ISDE Trophy Team Championship in Brazil." Parts Unlimited's support will go directly to the efforts of America's Team, funding the transportation, logistics and equipment needs the team will contend with while racing for a world championship. The Gold Medal sponsorships will help further defray the costs of' sending America's six best off-road racers to take on the world in Brazil this November. America's Team will also have the product support of Arai, which will provide the National team colored helmets for the Trophy Team and Team USA. "The efforts of qll the GNCC ISDE 2003 sponsors will help immensely down in Brazil," says Jeff Russell, a former ISDE gold medallist and the 2003 Trophy Team manager. "In the past. funding for America's Team has been Tom Morgan of Tom Morgan Racing will be providing personal setup assistance for his engine and suspension customers at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, on selective upcoming Thursdays in June and July. This service is available to those who have had TM R work done in the last 12 months and is available by appointment. For more information, call 909/8893010. The first-ever Pramac Cup, the fourteam five-a-side soccer tournament, will be held at the Mugello Circuit on June 5, the site of the Italian Grand Prix. Four teams will be taking part in the Pramac Cup: riders, press journalists, TV journalists, and supporters of the Riders for Health humanitarian organization. Supporters, meanwhile, can win a place on a team by taking part in a charity auction cue I e n - - - - - - - Continued on page 112 e _ S • JUNE 1 1 ,2003 3 o o o o o B o o o o o o o o o O. o o o o o o 8 o o J J CJ o 8 n LJ n --J J J o o o o R