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/128226
nally reported that his spleen had been removed, but that wasn't the case, according to Tim Saunders, the team's media and promotions manager. "He's really, really looking forward to getting back to riding," Saunders said. "I got an e-mail saying he doesn't have to use the wheelchair any more." Saunders said Moore will join the team at the Suzuka 8-Hours, where they'll be contesting two different classes with two different teams. "He wants to ride in Virginia [on August 30-311," Saunders said. "Whether he can or not is an entirely separate issue." In other Corona news, Saunders said that Australian SuperMoto Champion Mark Avard will be riding for the team in the next round of the AMA Red Bull SuperMoto Championship at South Boston Speedway August 27. Avard finished third at Long Beach last weekend on the Pacifico SuperMoto Suzuki, the only Suzuki in the main. He may ride the rest of the series, if only the AMA would announce the dates and venues. Two-wheel racing was the main topic of discussion at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 26, but it wasn't AMA, the German Grand Prix or World Superbike at Brands Hatch. All that a number of riders and team personnel wanted to know about was the Tour de France. On Saturday morning, Yoshimura Suzuki's Rich Doan ran back and forth between his Jamie Stauffer's pit and his transporter, where he was watching a live feed of the race on the Outdoor Life Network. Yosh's Mat Mladin was keeping up with it. though Saturday's crucial time trial came during final Superbike qualifying. Others with the bike bug were American Honda's Miguel DuHamel, Kawasaki's Dan Fahie, Eric Bostrom's crew chief who suddenly had a lot of spare time on his hands after Bostrom's withdrawal, American Honda's Merlyn Plumlee, Ben Bostrom's crew chief, and Dunlop road race manager Jim Allen. Erion Honda's Jake Zemke, the winner of the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, was fined $2000 and docked five points for an equipment violation, according to team owner Kevin Erion. Because the team didn't run a television camera during the Supersport race, they were obligated to add a three-pound weight ballast. which they didn't do, according to AMA road race manager Ron Barrick. "It's not a weight issue," Barrick said. "There's no weight mini- mum in the class, There were a group of riders in Superbike and Supersport that were designated to carry cameras. If not carry cameras were designated to carry dummy weight." Barrick wouldn't disclose the penalty, saying that it had to go through proper AMA media channels and would be released on the AMA website on Monday, But he did say the severity of the penalty was based on the violation not being "performance enhancing, They were fined a few points," he said, Kevin Erion said that they were never informed of the need to carry the weight and that the AMA had scrutinized Zemke's Honda CBR-600RR several times. "My opinion is that we were never informed, and we felt that Jake's bike's been through scrutineering many times this year, never had the weight on the bike, and weren't informed we had to," he said. Erion said there was a supplemental rule on the AMA website, not in the rulebook, stating that they needed to have this weight, if selected, according to a list compiled by the AMA. According to Erion, the AMA's technical manager Rob King had the list, though King doesn't attend every race. The AMA claims they've given weights to the teams, according to Erion, but he said no one on their team knows of their existence. Because Zemke isn't in the championship hunt, the points don't severely affect him, though Erion wasn't too pleased about paying a $2000 fine. Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, will close for nearly three weeks in August, as the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course is to be repaved, according to information released by the track. Repaving will begin immediately follOWing the NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals on Monday, August 4, and is expected to be completed by August 20. The $ 1 million project will include repairing and stabilizing the existing pavement. adding new drainage to eliminate seepage problems and repaving those portions of the road course that have not been resurfaced over the last two years. The track will be resurfaced with polymer-modified asphalt that is designed to withstand the constant usage - lnfineon Raceway features 340 days of on-track activity each year, Segments of track already repaved over the last two years . Turns 4-5, 9-10, 12-1 and the Chute - will not be repaved. "At the core of everything we do is one of the world's most challenging racing circuits," said Steve Page, lnfineon Raceway president and general manager. "With the completion of this new track surface, we'll offer a road racing facility MARRIED: Craig A. Erion, the president of Two Brothers Racing, to his longtime girlfriend, Monica de la Garza Bynum. on July 19, in Santa Ana, California. Motorsports freelance journalist Clement Salvadori performed the service. SIGNED: Freestyle Motocrosser Myles Richmond has selected Action Sports Management as his exclusive management agency. that is second to none." The track repaving comes on the heels of the extensive three-year modernization plan that has transformed the facility into one of the premier road-racing, drag-strip and entertainment venues in the coun· try, according to the release. Some of the improved amenities fans have experienced include a new permanent grandstand at start/finish, hillside terraces around the perimeter of the raceway, underground pedestrian tunnels, a 16turn go-kart facility, a new system of shuttle roads, and a new drag strip, complete with a 660-foot concrete launch pad and permanent separation of the road course from the drag strip. There have also been several safety improvements, including increased runoff at virtually every turn, and pit stalls to accommodate a 43-car starting grid, Awards Banquet on Saturday, November 22. The AMA Supermoto Grand Championship Program will run under a ProAm format designed to complement AMA Pro Racing's Red Bull Supermoto Championships. Eight classes of competition will be recognized: Pro-Am SuperMoto Prestige - unlimited displacement single-cylinder machines with unlimited modifications except for mandatory wheel size of 16, 16.5 or 17 inches, minimum age 16; Amateur Open Expert unlimited displacement single-cylinder machines with unlimited modifications, minimum age 14; Amateur Vet Open unlimited displacement single-cylinder machines with unlimited modifications, minimum age 35; Amateur Middleweight - single cylinder machines with maximum displacement of 450cc (2- or 4-strokeJ, otherwise unlimited modifications, minimum age 14; Amateur Lightweight - single cylinder machines with maximum displacement of 125cc for liquid-cooled 2-strokes, 300cc for liquid-cooled 4strokes, 250cc for air-cooled 2-strokes, and 400cc for air-cooled 4-strokes, otherwise unlimited modifications, minimum age 12; Youth Super Lightweight: Single-cylinder machines with maximum displacement of 99cc (2-strokeJ or 230cc (4-strokeJ, otherwise unlimited modifications, ages 12-15; Mini Motard - fourstroke single-cylinder machines with maximum displacement of 159cc, otherwise unlimited modifications, minimum age 12; Stock Mini - single-cylinder machines with maximum displacement of 65cc (2-strokeJ or 125cc (4-strokeJ, original crankcase, cylinder and heads and original bore, stroke and displacement must be retained, no modifications are allowed to stock air box, suspension, exhaust or chassis, ages 9-13 and 14+. The opening event in the 2003 AMA Western Supermoto Championship Series will be August 2-3 at Pat's Acres Racing Complex, located in Portland, Oregon's historic Charbeneau District. The Eastern Series will be launched on August 23-34 at Beaver Run Motorsports Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania. The top 35 finishers in the point standings from the AMA Eastern and Western Supermoto Championships will be guaranteed entries to the November Grand Championships and will be seeded into heat races based on those standings. Additional entries may be accepted to a maximum of 70 per class for the Grand Championships and will be gridded behind the seeded riders_ According to his publicist, motocrosser Chad Reed has signed a one-year endorsement contract with Slim Jim meat snacks, a brand of ConAgra Foods, Inc. "I think it's a great opportunity to be involved with Slim Jim," said Reed. "If you look at the involvement they have had with action sports and with Dave Mirra over the past seven years, I am excited to be involved on that same long-term level." The agreement includes promotional appearances, logo exposure on Reed's helmet and Reed's name and likeness. Slim Jim's partnership with Reed solidifies its vested interest in the overall action sports category. "Chad Reed and supercross are the perfect partners for the unique flavor and personality of Slim Jim," said Scott Eckert, vice president of marketing for ConAgra Foods Snack Foods Group. "Chad's competitive spirit and riding style mixed with the adrenaline-driven action and individuality of supercross make this an exciting endorsement and great complement to Slim Jim's action sports programs." AMA' Sports, in cooperation with AMAchartered promoting organizations Supermoto USA and Supermotard USA. has announced its inaugural AMA Supermoto Grand Championships. The 2003 AMA Supermoto Grand Championship program will encompass five events culminating in the November 22-23 Grand Championships at Xplex Motorsports Racepark in Las Vegas, Nevada. AMA Supermoto Grand Championship action will begin with the two-round AMA Supermoto Championship Series promoted respectively in the Eastern and Western states by Supermotard USA and Supermoto USA. Those series will determine AMA Sports' 2003 Eastern and Western Supermoto Champions and will also serve as qualifying events for the AMA Supermoto Grand Championships. The AMA Grand Championships will be part of a festive motorcycling weekend in Las Vegas that will also include the final round of AMA Pro Racing's Red Bull Supermoto Championships and the AMA Sports Awards Banquet on Friday, November 21, and the AMA Pro Racing eye I e Motorcyclists are invited to join top riders on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Bike circuit on a cruise from lnfineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, to Pyramid Brewery and Alehouse in Berkeley, California, on Saturday, August 2, for" Pro Stock Bike Night." Defending three-time Pro Stock Bike champion Angelle Savoie, current points leader Geno Scali and Steve Johnson are all tentatively scheduled to participate in the 35-mile ride, which will be escorted by the California Highway Patrol. The event is part of the FRAM Autolite Nationals weekend at Continued on page 100 n e _ s AUGUST 6, 2003 3 o o J !\ J , -, J J ] ] !\ J '" u '1 u !\ , u o n J n '"----' 'l U\ ( , I LJ o LJ ,-.. u J n U 'I U G o o o J CJ