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/128338
By CHICANERY HENNY RAY ABRAMS The New Daytona 200 ~SHINGTON, D,C . (April 14, 1865) The White House a n n o u n c e d that President Abraham Linco ln thoroughly en joyed tonight's performance of " O ur American Cousin ," a three act farcical comedy b a sed on a lou tish American's attem pt to enter English high society. Judging by his reacti o n, the presid ent w a s especially ta ken by the high-spiri t ed performance of Laura Keene in th e difficult role of Asa Tranchard. Addi t ionally, halfway t hro ug h Act III, Scene 2 , during a particularly humorous line reading, President Lincoln was shot to death by a deranged gunman . That's how the death of our 16th president would have been announced if crafted by the wordsmiths at AMA Pro Racing. It was the only conclusion to be reac hed after reading the latest dispatc h from inside Fortress Pickerington. Having me ntioned in its latest bulletin that the class st ructure for the 200S AMA Chevrolet Supe rbike Championship wou ld be unchanged from this year, something it had suggest ed in an ea rlier notice, AMAPR tacked on: "Additionally it was , annou nced that the 2005 Dayto na 200 will feature Formula Xtreme machinery." Huh? What comes to mind is the delusionalIy op timistic pimple-poc ked teenage r who springs wha t he's convinced is a clever diversion by lining the check-out coun ter with an archaeologist's random cache: to othpaste, a squirt gun, jujubes, paper plates and, oh yea h, a 12-pack of Trojan Magnums that wouldn't fit if he wrapped the Little General in three Ace bandages and a burrito supre me. Did they think we wouldn't not ice? Did they think we'd be so enrapt ured by the not ion of two mode ls of motorcycle racing in nearly ident ical and redundant classes for the second year in a row that we 'd miss the fact that they'd turned the Daytona 200 into a Honda advertis ing exercise? I thought the six factory Superbikes in this year's race would be the all-time low. Co uld you eve r have imagined that t he 2005 Daytona 200 would have less factory participation than the 2003 Tunica Short Track? Not only will they have re duced the factory field to two - jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel - or three - if Honda has the good sense to re-sign the res urgent Ben Bostrom - but they' ve managed to get rid of at least two mo re manufacturers and likely a third. Suzuki says they won't take part , and Ducat is run 200 co nsecutive miles as often as Marlon Brando . We can't expect Aprilia to join the under-sized fun since it's all they can do to get to the races to explain why they aren't at the races. So the prem ier race's "go rgeous mosaic," a term of inclusion coined by former New York City mayor David Dinkins to desc ribe the ethnic diversity of the greatest city on the planet . is now as monochromatic as a NASCAR beer line. The change to expensive litt le Superbikes for one race was pushed throu gh without being discussed by the road race advisory board, the most rep resentative grou p in the paddock. Not that AMAPR ignores its voice or that of the riders. Riders w ho want to co mme nt on w hether aftermarket for k braces should be perm itted o r w hether pit crews should be required to wear fi re suits and goggles during refueling can offer their brief comme nts on the doub le secret handshake we bsite. But changing the premier class for what some consider the biggest road race in America? As ou r esteemed vice pres ident, Dick Che ney, said to Senator Pat Leahy during the Senate class photo, "Go f&%$ yo urself." In an earlier pres s re lease , AMAPR wrote: "Scott Hollingsworth, AMA Pro Racing C EO, co nfirme d that 1000cc Superbi kes w ill remain the premier class in the Championship." just not in the sport's biggest race . The event trumpeted as America's most prestig ious motorcycle race will now be run with a small, but undetermined quantity of suppo rt-class mo to rcycles and w ill be, barring the reversal of the eart h's rotation, a walkover for American Hond a. Is it any wonder the consensus of the paddock is that Hond a runs AMA Pro Racing? Maybe Honda did know so mething wh en it too k its por cine 600 o ut of Supe rspor t and usurped the new and improved Formul a Xtreme class. That it was a year before the Daytona FX 200 was maybe just a happy coincidenc e , like Clinton's DNA on Monica's blue dress o r the blood in O.].'s Bronco. O r maybe not. Ifit walks like a duck and talks like a duck and finishes seventh like a Due... Y they' re playing by the rules. But es, who's making the rules? Ce rtainly not a broad rep resentation of the major manufactu rers. The number of se nior exe cutives of japanese manufacturers on the Pro Racing Board numbers one . Can you guess which co mpany he re pre se nts? AMAPR is sensitive about this point, as they should be . Perception is often as impo rtant as reality and, in this case, the perception is clear. "I think from a per ception perspective , I think it's important that we look at the situation," Hollingsworth said during a roundtable discussion with Cycle News. This year' s Daytona 200 w ill be as pre dictable as the air quality at a chili cookoff. And probably less noisy. With only 17 FX sta rters and 15 finishers in 2004 - I3 on the lead lap - it means Dayton a's dream of 80 motorcycles droning on as endlessly and meaninglessly as the AMA Road Race Technical Rulebo ok will rem ain just that. Imagine privateer 600s go ing 67 times around the new, safety-fi rst - but you didn't hear that from Daytona or the AMA - configuration. (In their defense, they'd be foolish not to enter the 200 if it offers the biggest purse .) The nonfactory 600s - read all but three - will be blowing up like disenfranchised Iraqis or getting passed mor e often than a fat chick at a nudist camp. But it w ill make playing follow the leader a lot easier. First clue: red bikes. Second clue: terminal velocity 25-mph faster than the grid-fillers that make up row s two through w hatever. Third clue: - www.cyclenews.com lots of raised middle fi ngers, the prefer red form of communication for the chosen few wh o wish to signalto the gridfil lers that they stop blocking the preordained path of the Red from the gree n to the black and white checker s. Then a champagne shower, a few gro up phot os, and the postrace press conference w here the w inners w ill do their best to ignore the questions and wo rk the less-thanmelodi c mac hine nam e, Hond a C BR600RR, into their answers. Q uestio n: When you lappe d t he fourth-place fi nisher for the sixth time, do yo u remember w hich corn er it was in? Answer : My Honda CBR600RR ran grea t all day long thanks to my crew : junior, Beavis, Hitos hi, Homer, Cartman and, of course, AI. Q uestion: Having built an impressive lead, do yo u think it was a bit cocky to take a shower and get your blond highlights to uched up during your second pit stop ? Answer: My Honda CBR600RR ran great all day long and my hair grows fast , just like my Honda CBR600RR. I really didn't nee d the showe r, but it was as fast as one of my tire changes, thanks to junior, Beavis, Hitoshi, Homer, Cartman and, of course , AI. Question: Can you explain why in the Superbike race , a class that has mo re than three factory entries, you lost sight of the leade r very early on and won't see him again until the check-in line for the flight hom e on Sunday? Answer : My Honda C BR600RR... I'm sorry. What was the quest ion? eN - - ,. CYClE NEWS • AUGUST 25, 2004 107