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/128330
" I bet both fans were real ly happy!" I Leners 10 the ed;tor ,houk! be senl to Voke" Cycle New" POBox 5084, Coste Meso, CA92628-5084; foxed to 714-751-6685 or emclled 10 ed;tor@cycIeneW'-COfn_PubH,hed leners do notnece,sor;/y reflect the position of Cycle New" lee. L eners mould not exceed 200 words, and all ore subjecl to editing . Anonymous letters will not be consi ered for publication. d All leiters should contain thewriter's name, address and doytime phone number... E ditor. The Roundtable I just finished reading the second installment of Time for Change , the excellent interview conducted by Henny Ray Ab rams w ith Mat Mladin, Miguel Duhamel , Jason Pridmore and Eric Bostrom. Thei r concern about safety is real, and it is a shame that it falls on the de af ears of the AMA, race promoters, man ufacturers , and track owners. I have been going to Daytona for over a decade and have worked as a corner marshal and have witnessed so me pretty horrific crashes up close and picked up some hurt ride rs. One t hing t hat was not discussed in the intervi ew as a poss ible solution is the need to mobilize t he fan base to write letters , ma ke phone calls, o r wh atever it ta kes to suppo rt ou r riders in this cause. Ne xt year when I att en d Dayto na (if it happ e ns), I will carry a sign that says "Fix t he Track." cle In fact , Cy News sho uld print up a bunch of T-shirts w ith "Fix the Trac k" on them and se ll t hem at cost to the t ho usands of concerned fans. Tha t would ce rta inly help se nd a me ssage abo ut t he clear and present danger that riders face at unsafe tracks. He ll, wh y wa it till Daytona? Print the shirts now and get t hem to t he nex t race! Race fans, let the powers-to- be know t hat w e want them to "Fix the Track." I'll take three in X L, please . Tom Catron Na shville, TN The Roundtable II I be lieve t hat I have just wit nessed an act of brave ry: Four professionals at the to p of their sport speaking openly against a sanctioning body that is risking the lives of the riders who make it famous . This by being at best indifferent - or at t he worst, criminally negligent. Shame on the AMA for not listening and he lping this sport to become what it cou ld be . There is a reason t hat it has been so difficult to get the FIM to race in America - the bulk of tracks here are unsafe! But don't lose sleep - the racetracks are still open for bus iness . Now, if we can find someone gullible enough to ride on them . Oh, wa it! We have the AMA that is willing to risk the lives of its riders - like cattle. I, too, love Daytona, but lose the banking and make the track safe enough that the FIM guys might return - now t hat's a race. Kudos to Du hamel, Mladin, Bost rom and Pridmo re for taking a very brave stance in the face of o bvious indifference . 4 JUNE 3D, 2004 • So, AMA, how much blood will it take to get your attention? Tom Tracey Bartlett, IL Why No MX? Why is there not an AMA Outdoor National Motocross in the mid -South and Southeast? Why would the AMA continue the outdated way s of marketing th e greatest sport on earth? The closest race to north Texas is over 1200 miles away in Minnesota. Look at w hat NASCAR has done. The biggest reaso n NASCAR has grown as big as they are is because th ey have moved west into the untapped markets. I know there can only be so many races. NASCAR has had to make hard an d unpopular de cisions , like dropping races in ar eas t hat have suppo rt ed t he ir sport from the beginning, but it's what's best for t he sport. There are huge ma rkets that t he AMA is not ta king advantage of. The 2005 mo tocross schedule has to show growth, o r the y will be respo nsible for st unting motocross for years to come . T he fans/tracks/ mo ney is w aiting - why wou ld t he re not be changes? M ichael Scott Dallas, TX Watch Your Sound To all motorcyclists: watch your rpms w hile in Mont e rey, California. Don't be fooled by w hat appears to be a radar gu n! Th e Monterey Police De part men t has purchased de cibel meters fo r ta rgeting and ticketing motorcycles that produce a de cibe l rea ding of 95 or highe r. According to Officer Olso n of the Mon terey PD, officers have been trained to use the equipment. However, they are currently waiting for the Wo rld Superbike races, scheduled lo r July 9- 1 I at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, to imple ment and e nforce the 95-decibel limit. O ffice r Olson went on to say that Mo nterey 's 95 decibel limit is nonaggressive compared to some cities , which start to enforce and ticket at a decibel reading o f 92 or higher. The World Superbike and AMA races held at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway have been a strong so urce of economic V itality for Monterey County. Thanks to racing fans, since 19S7 SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsu la) at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway has been ab le to raise more t han $ 10 m illion fo r local char ity and civic groups. Each year, an estimated 100,000 fans travel to Mo nterey fro m all corners of the world - they come to watch their favor ite CYCLE NEWS motorcycle racer bang elbows for a w in and sometimes tum ble down the famous Corkscrew while trying . Those are race fans who bring big money to spend o n hotels, restaurants and at local businesses. When the races are over and the track is empty, racing fans can st ill be fo und eating o n Fisherman's Wharf, shopping on Cannery Row, or kayaking t he coast. While the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a sure stop for most, other's go Lovers' Point, Pebble Beach or Big Sur - st ill spending big money. Like many California cities , Monterey is in a financial crisis; however, targe ting a specific group of people is not the way to fix any city's financial problems. With 100,000 racing fans coming to tow n, so me might th ink th e City of Monterey has found a new source of generating income. Joe Cubbage via the Internet Speedway Cover Hey, you finally put a Speed wa y bike o n the cove r. I bet bo t h fans were re ally happy! T. Hoffman via the Internet What Luck This is a letter t hat I have mean t to write every year for the past five years, and usually it w o uld be addressed to t he AMA. Ho w eve r, after reading Mr. Ballinge r' s complaint of having too many races to choose fro m in a weekend in his home state, I t hink I can hit two birds with one stone. To Mr. Ballinger I can o nly respo nd with : Boo frea kin' hoo! You poor deprived man! I live in the great sta te of Texas, and wh ile we like to claim we have everything you co uld ever need in life, what we do no t have and have not had fo r years is any type of AMA national race - ot he r tha n a supercross in Dallas and in Ho usto n, w hich thankfully is mo re than, say, Mississippi or New Mexico gets. Regard less, I feel the need to show you how blessed you are. My father and I many times have made the journey to Springfield, Illinois, for the mile, and now we can travel about that same distance fo r a "close " Superbike race in Alabama . Both are around 700 miles, give or take SO miles, so with that basis I want you to know that you are within 700 miles of: Five o ut of I lAMA Superbike races; nine out of 12 AMA MX Nationals; and 17 40th Anniversary out of 19 AMA Flat Track Nationals! To bring up that you are also blessed to be able to go to th ese races on a 200 I RC51 while I do not even own a motorcycle wou ld be just plain "w hining," and I want to save that for the AMA. I hope at least a few AMA racing board members will read th is and ta ke notice. If you look at the AMA schedules across the board , there aren't any Motocross, Superbike, or Flat Track Nationals in Te xas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska , New Mexico, Montana, Idaho , the Dakotas... The list goes on and on . Could someone from the AMA ex plain why th is is? Out of 48 states (sorry Alaska and Hawaii, I have to be reasonable here) the numbers are : I lout of 48 states have Supercross (and of t he 16 races two states have six of those!) ; nine o ut 48 states have MX , Supe rblke and Flat Track Nat ionals. Please work on future schedules. I know it may be in 2006, '07 o r '08 before t here are changes, but it is just plain insane to ke e p it at the pres ent site s year after year. Put tracks o n a rotating schedule where one year t hey get a race an d the next year a new state and track w ill have it. O n a positive end ing note, what I am thankful for is Cycle News and the ir hard work bringing t he "outside sta tes" details o n all forms of racing. Wit ho ut you we would be in the dark. Keep up the go od w ork. Chip Clark Dallas, TX Tom Cates R.I.P. It is with dee p regret th at this lett e r comes for the passing of the motorcycle industry's friend and longtime supporter Tom Cates. He was always there w ith advice and support fo r anything motorcycles, especially dirt track. I fee l it was o ne of his passions. I also dee ply regret t hat I will be unable to show my respects for Tom at the K&N Memorial in Riverside (California) because I, along with many others, will be attending round fou r of the WCVDTS at the Ventura Outlaw Short Track on June 26 . I am tru ly so rry to have to miss this special event and will be dedicat ing the Del Mar ST in honor of Tom Cates. We will be sure to include Tom in our memorial lap for Jack Hateley at Ventura and share in a moment of silence as well. Tom Cates'memory and wh at he meant to the sport of motorcycle racing will live on fo rever. Godspeed , To m! Say "hi" to the rac ers in the sky for us! Eddie Mulder via t he Internet