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/128306
letter~ to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cyde News, PO Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 foxed 10 714-75 1-6685 or emoiled 10 edilor@cyclenews.com. Published ; "Did you guys pay any attention to what Stefan Everts did in 2003?" letters do not necessarily reRect the position ofCycle News, Inc. letters should not exceed 200 words, andall are subject to editing. Anonymous letters will nol be considered for publication. ...-=-:-;, All letters should contain the writer's nome, cddree and doytime phone number.. Editor. . Back To The '80s T he hairdo s from Issue # SO we re amaz ing! Mat Mladin on the cove r... What is that , Aust ralian for "girl"? And did you notice the pho to of Jeremy McGrat h getting some coffee at A Day in the Dirt ? Nice mullet! I haven't seen a mullet like that since the Monste rs of Rock concert at Candlest ick Park in 1986. Thanks fo r kee ping the '80s alive and kicking, guys! You ro ck. Bryan Suter Prescott, AZ Where Art Thou 250s? Afte r reading Michael Scott's column on the de mise of t he 2S0cc class in AMA road racing, I was compelled to write this letter. Be ing a fomner racer, both mo to cr oss and road , it's a crying shame that we have to say good bye to the 2S0s. I love two-strokes - I always have. It was a yearly ritual for a dozen or so of us to make the t rek to Loudon , New Hampshire , for the yearly AMA National. We saw the likes of Dave Sadowski, Jamie James, Dale Q uarterley, Jimmy Adamo, Rich O live r... I cou ld go on and on . Another frie nd of mine wou ld say "chamber mus ic," and we'd do ou r rend ition of two-stokes on the pipe. It was silly stu ff, but fun as he ll. T hose were the "good old days." The you ng guys in the sport to day will never know how much they're missing, and that's too bad . I think I speak for every guy or girl out there who has a "two-stoke ro cket " go ride them . Let' s make these guys smell our oil. They will live forever, through us! Dave Bennett ISDE in Forta leza, Brazil. Trying to handle the need s of 49 ride rs is a difficult task at be st , but w he n the majo rity of t hem co me in at th e same tim e. it can get chaotic. First I'd like to than k Cycle News for its daily coverage ove r the Intemet - that was fantastic. To o ur title s ponsors, Arai Helmets, whic h con tinues to supply a helmet free to any qualified ride r, and PJI Lubricants for all its suppo rt . Also thanks to Part s Un limit ed , Thor, Moose, FMF. Alpine stars, Pro C irc uit, Du nlop , Scott Goggles, Moto Tee's, Race r X, Motion Pro and Tita n Industries for the ir support of the hand-picked Trophy team, and finally to Beaverton Honda-Yamaha, which stores, maintai ns, supplies , loads and ships our team container each year. Thank you to our sup port team manager Bruce Wake ly, checkpoint captains Chr is and Diane Hardy, Randy and Shirley Maston , Bob and Tony Agonis, Ch uck Steahly and the Puma family, the Parc Ferme key people Scott and Bet h Neff, Paul Buche r and Pat Noel for all their hard work. And I would especially like to thank my good friends Hugh and Co nnie Fleming fo r t heir hard work in putt ing this year's (and many othe rs) team together. Hugh is ending his ISDE "career" after 24 con tinuous years of be ing the USA's jury re presentative (so me years he fudged when he was the jury president) and co ordinator between the FIM and the AMA - and my buffe r when I got a little excited. I will miss you a lot . Thank yo u, Hugh , and everyone else whom I was not able to list, for all your efforts this year. Nex t st op, Poland 2004. Gun ny Claypoo le vio the Internet Bloom ingt on, IN In Defense Of The AMA W hen I read the Voices sec tion in the De cem ber 10 issue with all the AMA bashing, I just wa nte d to respond wit h one th ing: Thank you, AMA. for all the great things you do for motorcycling. To name a few, how about: the National series ~ supercross . motocross, arenacross, enduros, hare & hound, hare scra mb le s, Supe rb ike , Supe rspo rt , Superstock , supe rmo to, dirt track, hillclimb, etc. Plus the great amateur racing events - at both th e local and nat ional leve l. The re 's also the Motorcycle Hall of Fame and Muse um, Vintage Motorcycle Days and pro te cting our rights to ride . I'm sure I'm missing lots of ot her great th ings the AMA does for motorcycl ists. T hank you, AMA. Jim Squire via the Internet ISDE Thanks Skipping Daytona _ Rider of the Year Did you guys pay any att e ntio n to w hat Stefan Eve rts did in 2003? Ge ez ! Walt Feyling This is your chance to se nd AMA Sports and Paradarn a/Pro Racing a message . If you are like me , the n you do not like the direction they have chosen during the last 10 years. The AMA is just that, an assoc iation made up of memb e rs like you and me moto rcyclists . It is not supposed to be a co rporation with am bitio n, w illing to step on clubs and promote rs wh o have faith fully supported the AMA for year s. Fo r example, AMA Sports has bee n giving our Four-Stro ke National events t o other, non-AMA sancti oning bodies! It is not even supporting its own AMA mem bers, mos t of wh om have supported the AMA for decades. Since Paradama/Pro Racing was forme d, it has never made a profit. No t because of the sanctioning fees that kee p rising, but instead be cause it keeps spen ding (read salaries) beyond the reven ue . Any successful Pacifica, CA business or club must operate w ithin its Kenneth St um pff via the Internet Rider of the Year: Part II I just finished you r exce lle nt inte rview of fourt ime AHA Superbike Cham pion Matt Mladin. My only comment is: Wow, w hat an ego! Rene LaPrevatte Novato, CA Rider of the Year: Part III Mat Mladin is great - he said so in his interview. He also said how angry he is that his talents have been diminishe d by comments made by Eric Bost ro m and Kurtis Roberts. Then he said that if he had the same opportu nities as Valentino Rossi, he could compete with him. But that's different. That's Mat, and Mat's great. Rider of the Year: Part IV I don't know all of your criteria for selecting your Rider of the Year but "class act" and , "no n-crybaby" must not have been a part of it. Your story on Mat Mladin sums this guy up perfectly. Instead of thank yous , we get fou r pages of whining, excuses and slagging of nearly everyone - privat ee rs, Eric Bost rom, motorcycles and even his own team mate! Typical Mladin. Face it Mat, the Yoshimura Suzukis we re a step above this year. An unr estricte d four- cylinder bike of the latest tech won 't be beaten by an equal displacement V-twin or th ree-generation-old ZX-7R that gives up ISOcc. Really other than Dayto na, the RCSI , Mat Mladin's decision to sit out the 200 doesn't surprise me . As much as I love motorcycle roa d racing, Dayto na has always e luded me as to w hy it' s such a big deal. I think it has mo re to do with the name and heritage of the place tha n anyth ing to do w ith modern day Supe rb ike racing. W ith all the accide nts over the past few years, the bo ring layout, and the lack of attendance by the Har ley folks, I think we shou ld just call it wh at it is - "Stu rgis Sou th" - with a few races to ssed in. In fact , I think they should run a NASCAR race and be do ne w ith it. T he place isn't suitable in its prese nt configuratio n to hos t a world-class bike race . There's no question bike week is a cool thing, but I agree with Mladin - there's no reason to run on an unsafe trac k even if they do move it to Saturday and actually have a few peo ple stay to watch after allthe bee r runs out! Laguna Seca just when Eric was coming on. You also dropped out of t he 600cc class a wh ile back after getting your ass smoked every week - just like Jamie Hacking said. Mat, you r titles have been won wit h con sistent, dece nt finishes on good bikes that neve r, ever fail mechanically - not thro ugh riding dominance. T here 's nothing wrong with th is, but it 's not exactly "Ross i-like." Your Rid of the Year should have bee n er Chris Carr - Champion and class-act allthe way. Paul McKen dry Olym pia, WA Robe rt Wahl Gree nwoo d, SC I w ould like to take this op po rtu nity to thank everyone for all the ir har d work at the 14 JANUARY 14 , 2004 • CYCLE NEWS Dear Cycle News Readers has never been a consistent wi nne r ex ce pt when ridden by Supe rman (Nicky Hayde n). Mladin even says that given a few breaks, he' d be Rossi. Mat, you 've bee n gifted two of your title s. In 1999, you couldn't get close enough to Gobe rt to eat his dust until his usual flame-out gave it to you . Th is year, your teammate took out Eric Bostrom at 40 t h Anniversary budget to stay in business. AMA seemingly operates w ith unchecked spe nding. Isn't that w hy California ns recalled Gray Davis? Now is the time to recall the AMA's lead ers and replace them. In ou r region, the Northwest region , it is time to replace t he incumbent and elect C liff Glidden to the AMA Northwest region board of direc tor position. Are n't you tired of seeing millions of your AMA dollars was ted on lawsuits and the lawyers w ho file them? Aren 't you tired of law suits created by the m isdirecti on of our association's current leadership? Isn't it time we put a voice in the AMA's leadership w ho will speak for us, the riders, the racers, the associate mem bers. the moto rcyclists? Glidde n is the pe rson whom we nee d to represent us. I am a 32-year life mem be r of the AMA and District 36, an AMA D-36 off-ro ad congress man, for the last 13 years have served as com petition dire ctor of the Dirt Diggers North Mot orcycle Club (pr omo ters of the Hangtow n 12S/2S0cc Nat ional Motocross), and t he weste rn vice pr eside nt of the National Pro mo te rs Group (N PG). I am a lso an active en duro and a cross country racer. I th ink it's time for a change . The Dirt Digge rs North Motorcycle Club th inks it's time for a change . Most of you think it's time for a change. Your ballot is coming in the Dece m be r issue of the AMA Magazine. Ed Sa ntin via th e Intern et San tin is the competiti on director for the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club... Editor