Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Yates Suspended The AMA responded qu ickly to the I Aaron Yates/Anthony Fania incide nt that took place in the late stages o f the Daytona 200, the sanctioning body suspending Yates for one race meet and fining him $5000 . In announcing the penalty, AMA Pro Racing road race manager Ron Barrick stated that Yates' behavior after the two collided at the end of the race was completely unacceptable. ';'\fte r carefully rev iew ing the tapes and reduced by 50 percent if Yates enters an anger management trea tment program , approved by AMA Pro Racing, prior to re turning to compe tition. "Physically assaulting a fellow competitor cannot be tolerated under any drcumstanee," said Barrick. "This penalty should indicate how seriously we are taking this matter." Barrick also noted that AMA Pro Racing cont inues to investigate the circum stances surrounding the actions of each rider 's crew members following the incident . crash are the reaso n we are issuing the fine The AMA:s suspension and fine weren't Yates' only penalties. Suzuki announced on March 8 that it had fined the Yo shimura Suzuki rider $25,00 0 for ac ting in an "unspo rtsmanlike manner w hile representing Team Yoshimura Suzuki." "I understand the frust rat ion that Aaron and suspension." was feeling, ,t said M el H arr is, vice president interviewing the corner workers and both Mr. Yates and Mr. Fania, we have concluded that the contact that resu lted in both riders crashing was an unfortunate racing incident w ith neither rider specifically at fault," said Barrick. "H ow ever, Yates' actions after the Televisio n videotape, interviews with the of ASMe's Moto rcycielATV Ope ratio ns. riders and inte rviews with corner workers "This was the second consecutive year confirmed th at Yates kicked and headbutted Fania immediate ly afte r the cras h, acc ording to the AMA. Wh ile it was impos - where he wou ld have had a podium finish at the Dayton a 200 if circu msta nce s hadn't intervened. Despite that frust ration , cooler "This penalty should indicate how seriously we are taking this matter," - Ron Ba r r ick sible to discern what each rider said during heads must preva il in pro fessional racing sit- the exchange, it was apparent that Fania was attempting to wa lk away from the altercation, the AMA said in its press uat ions . We at Suzuki feel that the fine is app ropriate for the conditions." Virtually all of Yates' personal sponsors release also issued statements on the situation, on the incident , released on Tuesday, March 9. Barrick confirmed that Yates' AMA license is suspended for a period of one AMA Superbike race meet; spe cifically the California Speedway event scheduled fo r April 2-4, 2004 in Fontana , California . Yates will not be permitted to compete in any of the races that make up that event. Barrick also sta ted that the $5000 fine cou ld be none of wh ich were in support of the Georgian's behavior. Earlier, Yates had issued an apology via e-mail that read: "Racing has extreme highs and extreme low s. It almo st see ms like there's no in-between when you race at the level that I do . For me , afte r racing 170 grueling miles, I realized that I had a chance to win the race . With about eight laps to go , I came up o n so me lapped riders. I set up to pass, using t he same racing line tha t I'd been using o n this part of t he track all day - in bo th the 200 and in the 600 SuperSpo rt race. I came th rou gh o n the brakes o n the out side, and in my per iphera l vision I saw a ride r sta nd his bike up. So I got on the bra kes harde r and stood my bike up a bit to give him some roo m. But I was running out of racetrack . We we nt down and were slid- ing toward the wa ll, and I was honestly thinking that I was going to break both o f my legs. Thankfully, the impact was so fter than I'd anticipated. I got up thinking tha t I'd raced 49 laps w ith eight left to go , and a second-place finish in the Daytona 200 was down the drain. I couldn 't be lieve that this was actually happening. But I never had any intention o f hurting anyone. The last thing that I want is for people to get hurt at the track. Th is is not the way that I wanted to look back on Daytona '04 . And this is definitely not what I want the race fans to think o f when they think of me . I'm just so sorry that the w hole incide nt ever happened. And I'm sorry if my actions offended or d isappointed anyone." tions of t he DRE. - Bike Wash: A stand will be provided w he re parti cipants ca n have their motorcycles washed by young assistants. Yo u will also be able to immortalize this uniq ue moment and send your pictures to your friends via MMS. - Beach Area: For participants who enjoy sports, an area of the paddock will be outfitted for bea ch sports, including beach soccer and beach volleyball. There will also be a genuine Mexican bar where you can enjoy colorful cocktails in a relaxed atm osphere with coo l music. - Tours : Three types of tours w ill be organ ized in collaboration w ith Curve e Tomona, which will visit the mo st beautiful areas of Emilia Romagna, specially des igned for ride rs w ho enjoy ex plo ring the w o rld on their motorcycles . A range of ticket options are available, and all partici pants who reserve their week tickets (o f any type) April 18 w ill qualify for a lottery for 100 guest place s at a d inner with th e official Ducat i Co rse riders. Registration and further information about the even t is available at the following web add re ss: www.wdw 2004. co m. www.cyclenews.com Frank Esposito, president of Global Moto rspo rt Group Inc., is the new chairman of the Motorcycle Industry Co uncil's (Mlq Aftermarket Co mmittee . Esposito replaces Do n Emde, pres ident of Don Emde Produ ct ions. The Aftermari

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