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/128349
"In many of our hearts, Wayne Rainey will always be number one." letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cr.c1e News, PO Box 5084 , CostoMeso, CA 92628·5084; faxed 10 714·751-6685 or emai ed 10 editar@cyclenews.cam. Published letters do not necessarily refl ct the positionof CycleNews, Inc. L e etters should notexceed 200 words, and allore subjectto editing. Anonymous letterswill not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number... Editor. The Hamel Story I would like to thank Scott Rousseau for his story regarding Danny Hamel (Issue #42 , October 27). T hose of us who had the pleasure of knowing and wo rking with Danny have a void in our hearts to this day. I always viewed Dan ny as unstoppable, almost as tho ugh he had an "S" on his chest and cou ld not be harmed . I knew it was dangerous in Mexico but was naive to think it was only dangerous for lesse r riders. I am sure Danny's family and friends are proud to know he is still so well remembered and respected. He had a special character not found in many people. As you mentioned, Danny was very strong. One of the first times I worked with him was to test/break-in a new race bike at Team Green's favorite test area "C amp Rock Road," in Luce rne Valley . Danny went on the first ride of the day for about 20 minutes. When he returned to the truck there were large black marks on the new, side number plates . I asked what had happened to the bike and Danny re plied, "Nothing." One of the other team riders took me off to the side and advised that Danny regu larly "spurs" the rear of the bike back into position . I was surprised w hen I looked carefully at the "spur" marks and amazed at how muc h force he must have used in th is riding technique. Danny was his own steering damper! For fut ure tests, I fitted use d plastics. It is no mistake that Danny was such a good rider and person. As the old saying goes , the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Roge r and Marcia Hamel are the "tree" and the reason that bo th David and Danny Hamel are so exceptional. David Pyle Casta Me sa, CA Wayne's World After reading the interview with Wayne Rainey (Issue #43 , November 3), a few things come to mind. Valent ino Rossi may be the most talent ed ride r eve r, even com pared to the likes of Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini. However, in many of our hea rts , Wayne Rainey w ill always be number one . Some people re me mbe r whe re they we re w hen Kennedy was shot. I re mem be r w here I was wh en I heard of Wayne 's t ragic acc ident. Rolling into Laguna Seca just days latte r and seeing billboards pro- claiming "It's Always a Rainey Day in Monterey" seemed prophetic. Who can forget the black cloud of dismay that hovered over t he track that weekend? Now Moto GP is returning to Laguna Seca. Does anyo ne doubt tha t Wayne somehow had a hand in this? Rumors have Wayne and Eddie Lawso n flying around the track on their shifter karts . I just can't wait . T hanks , Wayne . W. Kilday via t he Int ern et Schedule Woes After rev iewing the 2005 National Motocross schedule, I am once again disappointed in the AMA's lack of resolve at trying to hold events that re present the major areas of our great country. Why is it tha t the northeast gets another six (!) Nat ionals th is year? What about the sout heast and south-central areas of the country? My wife and I try to attend at least one outdoor event every year, but it's probably not going to happen again until we can find an event that will require less than a thousand miles of driving, as we live in Atlanta. I know the AMA is tight with the Coombs folks, but how lo ng will this continue? Maybe Davey Coombs can buy a track in Te nnessee and keep t he mono poly alive. Colorado? Yeah, t hat 's a huge market. John and Sa ndy Trissel via th e Internet E. Boz Rules I have recently ret urned from a dea ler show in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in which the main att ract io n was Eric Bostrom. I have to say, the first th ing I thought when I heard Mr. Bostro m was going to be the re, and do a st reet ride for that matter, was why? I mean, he's just barely finished a race season and must be looking forward to a little time off before testing begins . Then I t hought, "Who am I to question such things?" And I got my happy self on down the re. I have to say that Mr. Bostrom is overflowing with t he essence of cool. Never hurr ie d , he spoke to everyo ne who approached him. He even apo logized for his having to leave du e to ot he r ob ligations. Seriously, Eric Bostrom apo logized to me . In my mind he w ill always be EBOSS, and now t hat means Mr. Bost ro m to me . Fred Schaelier via the Internet No Pastrana Fan result, to res tart his bike . At th e encour- After learning of Travis Pastrana's part icipation and su bsequent injury in t he English Beach race, I can see how serious he was when he said he was 100-percent age ment of t he race officials sta nding there at the finish line , he was urged to focused on 2005 Supercross. Based o n his level of com mitment to date, after recovering he will proba bly be scheduling some riding time at Castillo Rancho so he can practice his 200-foot leaps again before Anahe im. Micha el Rigdon via the Inter net ment of the race officials, t he racer re mounte d his mot o rcycle and finished No Girls? I recently contacted the offices of the National Motosport Association to ask abo ut the addition of a Girls' Mini class and a Woman's motorcycle class to its 2005 Las Vegas World Minis and 2005 Ponca City events. I was told , and I quote: "Girls are too much trouble." I pointed out that NMA is the on ly racing organization in the USA that still excludes females from its events. What makes this so frustrating is that I've made th is same call to NMA for three years in a row now and have go tten t he same word-for-word response: "Girls are too much trouble ." have a daughter w ho races motocross, so I am obviously biased , but am I the on ly one who th inks t hat NMA is wrong? I hope not . Peter Golden via th e Interne t have his mechanic see if he cou ld start the bike and did . Again, w ith the e ncourage- the race in seventh place. Following t he race , Mr. Wo ods was penalized two laps for outside (o utside of the pit area) assista nce , I was to ld. It se ems to me t hat something is wrong wit h this picture. The race officials should have to ld t he rider he would have to push the motorcycle back to the pit area for any type of assistance which was wit hin 15 yards - or pe rhaps o ne of them should have helped him restart his motorcycle, since ap parently that is not co nsidered outside assistance . But to e ncourage the rider's pit crew to attempt to restart the bike, knowing fullwell that the action was illegal and would resu lt in some sort of pena lty, is a travesty. It seems highly illogical to me tha t these participating officials shou ld advise a rider to perform an act that wou ld result in a penalty en forced by these self-same officials. Where does this injust ice stop? O fficials are present at all sporting events to en sure, through th eir control, that these sorts of problems do not occur. Mr. Woods was taken to t he shed and punished for somet hing t he officials co ndoned . If, for the sake of "fairne ss," something needs to be done , penalize the have been a sports enthusiast, both as poor fellow one position (which a Kawasaki rider was pe nalized ea rly on in t he season for outside assistance, moving participant and spectator, for 48 of my 53 years. I attende d the WO RCS Series round at Glen Helen as a birthday gift. I was abho rred to witness something I him back only one position) instead of two laps fo r an occ urrence t hat was a direct result of a charge by at-s ite (and with in hear ing distance) race officials. would have neve r imagined would be condoned in any sa nctioned sporting event. I stood amazed as t he scene I wa nte d to see if the officials had become so mewhat more sensi ble. Not o nly did I see (via t he Internet) that Mr. Wo ods finished in 18th place , I also found Glen Helen WORCS unfolded be fore me . On e of t he ride rs, his name was Nat han Woods, was at the time in seve nth place . As he ap proached th e w hiteflag area for t he final lap, he appeared to sta ll his motorcycle w ithin 15 feet of he was the current leader of the ser ies. Someth ing de finite ly do es not ring true with t his picture , and I await a re ply from race officials as to the ir "make the rules as we go" attit ude . w here I stood. As I stood th ere watching and liste ning, he att em pted , wi th o ut Templeton. CA www.cyclenEWs.com Brent Watson CYCLE NEWS . NO VEMBER 10, 2004 5