Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... O ff-road race r John Beal was seriously injured while racing motocross at H annegan Speedway, near Bellingham, Washington, on July IS. Accord ing to Mike Hurlbert, the RPM racing team owner, the Gas Gas rider broke his nec k and initially suffered some paralysis, Hurlbert added that Bea l has since regained feeling in his lower extremi ties and can now move his elbows and knees, and doctors are hope ful that he'll be able to walk soon . Beal is a two-time ISDE rider and is a regular on the World O ffRoad Champ ionship Series. For more infor mation and to monitor Beal's progress, visit www.SonicBeal.com or www.offcentermo- torspo rts.com . A t own hall·style m eeting that was to be he ld in conjunction with the Mid-Oh io round of the AHA Chevrolet Superbike Champ ionship has been postponed according to AMA Pro Racing. A new date has not yet been determined. Open to AMA Pro Racingcredential holde rs, the meeting will provide attendees with the opportunity to make comments or ask ques tions of repre sentatives from the AMA Pro Racing boar d of directors and staff. It is hoped that the meet ing can be resche duled for one of the two remaining AMAChevrolet Superbike Championship rounds (Road Atlanta, Sep te mbe r 3-S or Virginia International Raceway, Septem ber 17- 19). Kerry Graebe r, AMA Pro Racing vice president, directo r of Mazda Raceway For Sale? Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is up for sale for as little as $ 1SO. That' s the cost of a 4-by-8-inch communications, said the meeting was con ceived to facilitate a mo re open dialogue commem orative brick, w hich be tween the organization and crede ntial holders. "We see this meeting as an op por tu nity for our board and staff to inte ract directly with those holding an AMA Pro Racing hard card [credential]," said Grae ber. "Over the past co uple of years, we've the tr ack is se lling to raise mo ney for the "Steps to the Corkscrew " fund-raising program , benefiting the circuit's Imp rovem ent Fund. "Fans fro m all over t he world can now put their personal sta mp o n th is worldfamou s facility as we build a brick pathway that will start at tu rn 10 and end with the creation of an 80-foo t by 100-foot the patio ove rlooking Co rkscrew," said Gill Campbe ll, ge neral manager of Mazda dramatically strengthened our communications efforts, and this is an extension of that effort." Sched uling conflicts among key participants is the reason the meeting is being Raceway Laguna Seca in a press resched uled , according to Graeber. The AMA Pro Racing board of directo rs is com prised of the following: PJ. Harvey (chairman), Cary Agajanian, Ray Blank, Mike Buckley, Paul Dean, Jeff Nash, Rob Rasor, Kevin Schwantz, John Ulrich and Roger re lease. W erner Jr. Graeber said an announcement "We have so many diffe rent will be made as soon as a new date is forms of racing out here - determined. Supe rbike, Histo ric, C ham p Car, Amer ican Le Mans and dozens of motorcycle and car clubs. But they all have one t hing in com mon - the conti n- ued financial viability of the track. Proc eed s are going to the SCRAMP Imp rovement Fund , a SOI(c)3 non-profit foundation we 've esta blished to acce pt do nations," Campbell explained. "The mo ney will go to the continued upgrad ing of spectator and racer amenities and to making the necessary track improvem ents to pre serve this world- renowned circuit." Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is conside ring the viability of hosting the 200S U.S. GP With Barb er Moto rsports Park dropping ou t, it's America's last ho pe to host a rou nd of the 200S MotoGP Wor ld Championship. But the financial constraints are consider- able. Improvements to bring the 2.2-mile circuit up to GP spec are expected to run close to $2 million. Ope rating expenses for the GP are esti- mated at $3.S million. Dorn a has red uced the sanctioning fee , but it will still be in the million dollar range . That sort of money isn't easy to come by. The track was dealt something of a blow by the size of the crow d at last we eke nd's AMA/World Supe rbike meet. Th ough FGSports , the Wor ld Superbi ke prom oter, issued a crowd cou nt of 93,000 for three days, very few seaso ned observers tho ught the number was viable, given the scarcity of spectato rs on the hills and by th e Corkscrew, and by the less than full grandstands. The track 's only reven ue from the GP would be gate recei pts and concessions. It receives nothing from title sponsors hip or te levision moneys. That goes to Dorna. So the track nee ds to bolster atten dance or find other means of revenue. In come the bricks. Bricks can be ordered in three sizes, a standa rd 4 by B-inch brick is $1SO, an B by B is $2S0 and a 12 by 12, w hich can also include a logo, is $SO O. Fans can also purchase replicas of their bricks, complete with felt bottoms and com memo rative plaques. for their home or office. A 4 by B re plica is an additional $SO and an B by B replica is $7S. No replica is offered for the 12 by 12 brick. Installation on the new "Steps to the Co rkscrew " patio and ascen ding pathway begins following the 2004 race seaso n. More information is available by calli ng 1B77-4CORK SCREW o r going online to www. laguna-seca.com. www.cycienEWs.com The AMAapplauds an announcem ent made by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Vene man that may give off-highway motorcyclists and all-te rrain vehicle riders a new opportunity to protect mu lt iple. use recreation on almost 60 millionacres of national forest, accor ding to a release issued by the AMA. Sec re tary Veneman, whose department oversees the U. S. Forest Service, announced a new plan for deve loping rules to govern activities in so -called roadle ss areas in national forests and grass lands. While the almost 60 million acres is called roadless, it contains thousands of miles of dirt roads and trails used by motorcyclists, all-terrain vehicle users, horse riders, hikers and ot hers . Under the new plan, governo rs would work w ith fed eral officials to make rules regulating the roadless areas in their Continued on page 9 CYCLE N EWS • JULY 28, 2004 7

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