Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly.•• Mladin Ready For The 200 I efe nding AMA Superbike Champ ion Mat Mladin and his Y oshimura Suzuki team took full advantage of nea r-perfect weather conditions to r ecor d so me of the fastes t lap times the team has achieved at California Speedway in Fontana , California, Fe bruary 17, in a tes t that concluded the te am's pre-season schedule. "The test we nt very we llfor us, D as we had a com binatio n of great weather plus a bunch of new stuff to try on the bike, w hich all worked out at the end of the second day," said Mladin in a release from his publicist. "It's always good to have som e things to check and evaluate with the bike, and that's what we did here. Showa, our team's suspension supplier, also had a bunch of new things to try that at the e nd of the seco nd Mat Mladin at speed and hoping to defend his title. day saw us turn a flat I:2S lap, the that has not take n ou r focus away from and I'm confident that they are heading in fastest we 've been arou nd her e o n a race the right direction ." winning the cham pionship again." tire on the GSX-R I000. Although he will race in the Daytona 200 Ti res have been a controversial top ic in "Ou r lap times started com ing toge ther recent months. with all of t he tire manufacafte r ear lier saying that he wouldn't, Mladin after lunch on the second day. Prior to that turers w orki ng overt ime to ensure t hat rem ains outspoken on the subject . we were just do ing ou r normal ro uti ne of their produ cts can cope with the de mands "I still feel the same way about Daytona checking th rough the new stuff, see what "What I can say is that I will be racing a Superbike there this year in the 200 but will be planning our race according to the conditions." - Mat Mladin wo rked and then put it all toge ther. I'm happy with w here we e nded up. This year with the new rule changes, we willbe down a bit on speed, it' s something that we knew would happe n, so to counter that, the team is working hard at getting the chassis package as best we can. We know we can ge t arou nd at a quicker pace while not having the best top speed, as that's what we had to do when we ran the old 7S0. The rules may have changed slightly from last year, but objects - they had to create a seamless brand experience and establish a powerful emotional connection between viewer and subject matter, the AHA says. In addition, exhibit designers had to achieve this objective through innovative visuaJ elements and materials. These criteria were especially we ll met by the "He roe s of Harley-Davidson, presented by Progressive Motorcycle Insurance" concept and design team, which included Mark Mederski , executive director, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum ; Ed Youngblood , exhibit curator; William Mahon, exhibit and flxture designe r; and Dean DeShetler, pr incipal of DeShetier Design, graphic and exhibit des igner. O ne exam ple of the team's approach to engaging exhibit visitor.; is the full-size replica placed on them by the current batch of high-pe rformance IO cc mot orcycles that OO co mpete in bot h the Superbike and Supe rstock classes in the AMA Championship. "Tires have bee n a proble m lately, but I know that Dunlop have been wo rking hard to get the ir product right for us to use," Mladin said. "We have worked very close ly with them in developing the new tires, and I know ther e is still a way to go w ith this, of the backyard shed and worksho p of founde rs William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, located near the exhibit entrance. Complete with period too ls and machinery, including a 2S00-pound engine lathe and drill press on loan from the Henry Ford Museum, the structure was constructed from lumber speciallymilled to 19th century specifications. "O ur mission for this exh ibit was to bring Harley-Davidson's 100-year journey to life through the stories of the people and personalities who have played important roles in the company 's ride to success," said Mark Mederski, executive director, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum . "The machines , artifacts and memorabilia were all selected to illustrate and support their stories, which is a ve ry nontraditional as I did whe n we were there in December last yea r; the only thing is that I may have said a few things in the heat of the mome nt that I shouldn't have had. What I can say is that I will be racing a Superbike there this year in the 200 but will be planning our race acco rding to the cond itions. The title of 'Mr. Daytona' doe sn't do anything for me. What I'm he re for is to win championships. There are 18 races in this year 's cha mpionship, and that is only one of them ." approach to exhibit design ." Meder.;kipoints out that while many transportatlon -therned museums have extensive collections of rare machines, few create exhibits that consider the hardware secondary to the people associated with the products. "Heroes of Harley-Davidson, presented by Progressive Motorcycle Insurance" opened in February of 200]. The exhibit, the largest ever in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame's history, provides an introduction to the men and women who contributed sweat, inspiration , innovation and passion to build an American icon. Open to the public through the end of 2004 , the exhibit has also been featured on national television, including on The Travel Channel and CBS Sunday morning news. www.cyclenews.com The Women's Auxiliary of Motoc ross/Supercross announced derails of the Jaso n C iarletta Memoria l Fund , which will benefit the Asterisk Mobile Medical Unit and Motor RacingOutreach. It was the Ciarletta family's desire that all monies collected be split equally between the two. The Jason Ciarletta Memorial Fund is a onetime fund, and all proceeds from the fund will be presented to the recipient organizations at the supercross banquet in May. Donations can be sent to: Women's Auxiliary of Motocross/Supercross, c/o Pro Circuit, 2771 Wardlow Avenue , Corona, CA 92882 . Checks should be made payable to "Women's Auxiliaryof MX/SX," and "Jason C iarletta Fund" should be written in the memo of the check . For more informatio n on the Women's Auxiliary of Motocross & Supercross, contact Denise Conroy-Galley at 412/980-2]]6, or bye-mail at tractionent@comcast.net , or contact Shirley Short at mxsxauxiliary@aol.com. Fans can now gain access to celeb rate in Victory Lane through a newly announced rewards program, acco rding to Intemational Speedway Corpora tion . Race fans visiting International Speedway Corporationowned motorsports facilities can tu m purchases into ticket and mer chandise savings, be hind-the-s cenes track tou rs and other exclusive race experiences . The Intem ational Speedway Race Rewards Visa allows cardho lders to earn 2 percent back in the form of LA.PSTM for every dollar spent on qualified Race Reward s purchases with the card. Q ualified facilities include Daytona Inte rnational Speedway, Talladega Super speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Richmo nd Internatio nal Raceway, Californ ia Spee dway, Kansas Speedway, Phoenix Inte rnational Raceway, Hom estead-Miami Speedway, No rth Carolina Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Watkins Gle n Inte rnational and Nazaret h Speedway. "This rewards program is an easy way for fans to get behind the scenes where not many oth er peo ple get to go," said ISC vice president of sales and market ing Paul Phipps. "We' re excited to offe r this unique and exclusive opportunity to our fans." Fans can earn two LAPSTM for every dollar spe nt on qualified purchases and one LA.PSTM for every dollar spent anywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Use LA.PSTM toward the purchase of tickets and merchandise or save LAPSTM to earn access to special race experiences like celebrating in Victory lane or going beh ind the sce nes on a VIP tou r. For more information, call 800/84]-S940. VP Racing Fuels Inc. has reach ed an agreement to be a contingency sponsor for AHA Prostar Drag Racingfor 2004 . As the official racing fuel of AMA,VP is posting $SO to winners and $2S to runners-up in every Prostar class. CYCLE NEWS . MARCH 3, 2004 9

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