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/128316
"I'm not a Mladin fan, but that w as brilliant!" letters 10the editor should be senlto Voice" Cycle New" PO Box 5084, Co,to Me"" CA92628-5084; foxed to 714-751-6685 or emoiled to editor@cy<:lenew$.Corn. Published lellen do notnece'''''ily,enect the position of Cycle New" Inc lellers shccld not exceed200 . word" ondoilore subject to ed;fing. Anonymou' Ietters will not be considered for peblicofion. .. A1llellers ,hould contoin thewri er', nome, oddressond daytime phone number... E . t ditor """"..r-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Race Distance Where's the AMA when it comes to regulating the Supercross main events race times? I attended Daytona , where the mains were in the 22-plus-minute range, and then you look at the St. Louis times at 12 and 16 minutes, respectively, which barely competes with our amateur local motocross races across the USA Ifwe're trying to maximize the cred ibility of this series, it needs to be mo re con sistent . The AMA Pros are the best in the nation, but the start of the race is becoming the most strategic component and doesn't allow the "endurance factor" to come to fruition. This situation is also not fair to the fans who spend the same money at Daytona as St. Louisand get a substantially shortened main race. We should be using "race time" - not unlike AMA motocross and keep this great sport consistent. George Stephensan " via the Internet Picking On Suzuki? Why is it that AMA seems to be picking on Suzuki? Most recen tly, it was the rule change of making Suzuki slowe r beca use it was too fast. I guess that Ducati and Honda are the o nly ones allowed to go fast er than anyone else . Next , Aaron Yates gets suspen ded for three races in one race weekend while the supercross riders with real fistfights only get a onerace suspe nsion. Did Gra nt Langston even get punished fo r trying to run over the Honda rider with his mot orcycle at the Atlanta Supercross? Or, what about the othe r riders who engaged ina flStfight?All of them raced at Daytona. Has Miguel Duhamel ever received a penalty for losing it? What about when Anthony Gobe rt nailed jamie Hacking in the head. I always hear of Mat Mladin and Yates getting fined, but these other guys get off. Pe rsonally I think eve ryone loves to , see a bit of action in sports. How ever, I do agree with fair punishmen t. It is a bit obvious that AMA is not a Suzuki fan. The AMAneeds to be careful wit h favoritism in road racing. In essence, its suspension of Yates from the Fontana races punished Suzuki, not Aaron . Fair punishment wou ld have been to fine Aaron and possibly suspend him from one Superbike race - not a 600 race . I think the AMA has complete ly overlooked the goal of punishing the rider for his actions. The message it has sent is that these factory teams need to be careful about what the ir riders do. The goal should have been to punish the rider for his actions in order to set an example for all the ot her riders to think before they react. I do not think the AMA should 8 MARCH 24, 2004 • overlook the incide nt completely. It should direct its punishme nt toward the person responsible for the incident . The way it stands , the AMA was trying to remove a Suzuki rider who had a great chance at winning the championship. Was this to make room for a Honda or Ducati rider? Loo ks kind of like the AMA might have some favorites of its own! Jay Leverette via the Internet Mladin's Rope-A-Dope Reme mbe r the "ro pe-a-do pe " that Muhammad Ali use d to beat Geo rge Frazier? Well, in looking back over the course of even ts at Dayton a, it looks like Mat Mladin took a page o ut of the rope-ado pe handbook. "It's just anothe r race." "The re are 18 races in the season, and this is just one." Mladin had every one believing that he was just go ing to take whatever points came his way and go o n to the next race. The n Mladin and the Yosh team blew off of the starting line, ran a hot enough pace to make sure that the Honda boys used up their tires , and won the race with a three-stop stra tegy. I'm not a Mladinfan, but that was brilliant! Someone shou ld let Speed Channel in on the fact that you can w in Dayto na with a three-stop stra tegy. They were saying that it "could not be do ne" - right up to the end of the race. I guess David Sadowski got "ro pe-a-do ped" too! John Stevens via the Internet The Janklow Case The AMAnee ds to find out who the judge was that sentenced Janklow an d do eve rything it can to make sure that he/she does not get re-ele cted. A boycott of the Sturgis Rally wouldn't be a bad idea either. Also, Aaro n Y ates fights like a suburban third grader. If Eric Bostrom would have bitch-slapped him at the Laguna Seca World Superbi ke race last year, it would have bee n understand able , but Yates ' actions we re totally uncalled for. Dan Jendre Eartman. WI The Janklow Case II I have been reading all the letters on the janklow conviction and how everyone, including the AHA seems to be outraged by the sentence. I have an idea how everyone can show the ir displeasure with the state of South Dakota - boycott Sturgis! That's right, don't attend the annual event in Sturgis, South Dakota. Put your money and your partying where your mouths are! If the AMA is truly offended by the sen- CYCL E N EWS tence, why don't they cancel the race in Rapid City, South Dakota, and replace it with a race ina more motorcycle-friendly state? A boycott and race cancellation would be a perfect example of "money talks and B.S. walks." It would be interesting to see who would be walkingand who would be talking. Eric Gilbert via th e Internet Everts' Titles With all de served kudo s concern ing Stefan Everts' seven championships, I feel one point in particular should be noted. Wh ile seven World Champ ionships is an extra ordinary feat, I fee l it equ als about three of Joel Ro bert's championships. Why, you ask? Simple enough : Everts' cha mpio nships, while amazingly commendable, were not won racing week in and week o ut against the best riders in the wo rld. In Robert's day, the FIM World Motocross 250 and 500cc cham pionships we re whe re the best of th e best raced. It isn't that way now, no r has it bee n since Robert and Roge r DeCoster quit racing. Back in the late 1970s and early '80s, a shift of the top talent pool from the FIM Championships to AMA National Championships became quite apparent . When Bob Hannah started his run, the USA became the place to race. Nobody will ever come from Euro pe to the USA and win seven National Championships. Howeve r, I can think of multiple riders fro m the USAwho could make that career on the world circuit, given the desire . joel Robert not only won against the very best in the world, every year of his cha mpionships, he decimated the com petition with speed and style that totally co ntrad icted his conditioning regime n and lifestyle. He was that good. If Stefan Everts wou ld like to put himse lf in the "rare air" of Robert , pe rhaps he should come to the USA, wh ere the best now race , and w in a few Nat ional C hampionsh ips. I wish him luck, and congrats on his impend ing fathe rhood. TIm Buck Cincinnati, OH Fania/Yates Etc. Although it is unfortunate that Aaron Yates had the acddent with Anthony Fania. the w.rt I saw it on Speed was that it was Yates' fault. He came up from belhind, and no matter if that was his normaJ lineallday long, Fania did not and oould not have known it was Aaron and that was his line. Fania was wide , and Aaron had room on the inside. Saying all this, I believe that American Suzuki did the right thingin fining Aaron. Now I believethat they should give the money to Fania for the damage that was inflicted on his bike. 40th Ann iversary I don't agree with co mments that I read that are attributable to Fania's fathe r where he believes Yates' license should be revoked and he shou ld never race again. I hope this was just a statement made in the heat of the moment. I also don't believe that assault charges should be filed either it's racing, and the racers have a lot of frustration when this type of thing happens . I hope that cooler heads prevail and the correct and just punishment is handed down and this incide nt is then behind them and the rest of us (the fans).. Steve Brantingham Ho urton, TX Bast Article Thanks for the great article on Mike Bast. Having the privilege of helping Mike in the pits during the 1970s and occasionally in the '80s, your desc ript ion of Mike was right on. Mike wouldn't take an aspirin the day of a race as he thought it might affect his reflexes and therefo re affect his racing. No on e liked to win mor e than he did, and his "rail-hugging style" didn't make some of the fans happy, but it sure won a lot of races . I saw Mike a little over a year ago , and other than a little age and wrinkles in the face, he looked in shape to win the Friday night main at Costa Mesa. Howie Wan Bakersfield. CA Steel Shoe Fund I'm writ ing to you about the Steel Shoe Fund three-hour endurance ice race (Issue #6, February 18). Being a recipient of support from the Stee l Shoe Fund myself, I wou ld like to say a few words to the competitors and the perso n who started it. It was nine years ago that I was permanently disabled due to a fal l from a tree stand during the November dee r hunt in Wisconsin. Facing lifelong challenges and obstacles, let alone mounting hospital bills, I received phone calls, cards and lette rs from fellow racers of alldisciplines wishing me the best, and a check from the Steel Shoe Fund to help with my bills. How do you thank these guys? I lived through my o rdeal. Many racing frie nds have n't. Hopefully, the Stee l Shoe Fund will grow and grow but will neve r need to be used. But thanks to all the riders past, present and future for their su pport. It's a great thing that they do. And thanks to Gordy Lunde Sr. His compassion for people is unwavering, and his love for the sport and the riders is so greatly appreciated. Stephen Champ ine via the Internet Champine was a professional dirt tracker in AMA District /6 from 1980 -1995. He held AMA nalional number 94 for twa years...