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/128353
"Write about current champions and the factories that support them." letters 10the editor should be sent to Voices, Cyde News, PO Box 508A, Coste Meso, CA92628-5084; faxed to714-751-6685 or emailed 10edilaJ@cycienew, _cam_Published letters do notnecessarily reflect the position of Cyde News, Inc. Letters should nol exceed 200 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ..-_ _ ... words, and allare subjectto editing. Anonymous letters will not be consideredfor publication. Allletters should contain the writer's nome, address and daytime phone number... Editor. No Fan of Savoie First, I want to start by saying that I'm an avid reader and su bscriber of Cycle News . It's a great pu blication. That be ing said, in regards to your article on Pro Stock bike rider Ange lle Savo ie (Issue #47, December I), frank ly, it made me sick! Andrew Hines beco mes the youngest champion in the SO years of NHRA and Harley-Davi dson takes its first championship, and not a word on these accomplishme nts. That's disgraceful! At Pomona, at the final round whi le wa lking around the pits at 9 a.m. on Friday, I fo und Andrew Hines wrenching on his bike all by himse lf, with no one around - the mark of integrity and true desire. The same was also tr ue of Craig Treble, Karen Stoffer and Fred Camarrena. All are individuals I have personally raced with and against and can tell you they are true sportsmen and women of the highest caliber who earned every break they have gotten. They were availab le for pictures and autographs as well as willing to bench race and represent their sport to the highest sta ndards. I never saw Savoie out of the trailer. Harley- Davidson's involvement in Pro Stock racing has brought more interest to this form of racing than anything tha t has happened to this class in the last decade, and I don't care if it's an Ariel Square Four or a Zundapp, if you do something to bring interest to motorcycle racing, it should be recognized. Yet not one w ord was written about Andrew Hines or Harley- Davidson . Pitiful! Instead of giving recognition to an individual who on ly rides and the n cries on the return road about anyt hing that doesn't go her way, wri te about true champ ions and give the tr ue recognition t hey deserve. Also, this article was abo ut a "w hiner 's" 1999 and 2000 season. That's old news who cares? Write about current champions and the facto ries that support them. Mike Baldewicz Hes peria, CA Riverside Blues I have ridde n on nume ro us riding t rails and raced at seve ral of So uthern Ca lifornia's racetracks over the past 30 years. The ridiculo us ord inance pro po sed by some newly transplant ed reside nts in Rive rside Co unty (Ca lifo rn ia) to limit (virtua lly eliminate) riding o n private pro per ty is a great th reat to our freedo m to ride and practice motoc ross. Rive rside and San Be rna rdino have long been a have n for riding mot ocross . A 100- mile st re tch alo ng the 15 freeway from Victorville to Temecula has at least tenfold the number of amateur and professional motocross racers who call t he local area home than pro ba bly any ot her 100-mile stretch of highway in the world. Counties across the nation w ill watch what comes of this prepos terous ordinance. W here is the AMA at in organizing the "Epicenter of Motocross" to fight this ordinance? How abo ut some fo rm of organized campaign (petitio n, literature, etc.) at the Anaheim Supercross to be sponsored or organized by the AMA?Has Cycle News been silent on the issue? Organize and fight the pro posed violation of property owners' rights and give more press to this incredibly ridicu lous ordinance that is proposed . Robert M cCoy Riverside, CA Setting It Straight To se t t he re cord straig ht , 1 am a Travis Pastrana fan due to his outgoing personality, lack of tattoos/piercings and his unbelievable talent. I am not , however, a fan of someone saying one t hing and do ing another like Pastrana did when he men tioned he was committed to the 2005 Supercross season. It is my bad though for giving him the benefit of the doubt tha t he was maturing and finally 100-percent committed to racing. Instead of coming into 'OS healthy as promised after taking off '04, Pastrana will be at the Anaheim opener injured just like he was two years ago . Some things never change. Michael Rigdon via the Int ernet Spy vs. Spy British spy Alan Cathcart has cleverly revealed t hat t he Austrians are experimenting with "heavy fuel" again. In his secret message, disguised as a test of the new KTM Supermo to 950 (Issue #45, Nove mb e r 17), the diffe rence between fue led-up and em pty ta nk weight is 253 po unds for 4.4 gallons of gas! Keep up the good work, 00 7.5. Steve Kulesor Highland, NY Can't blame Alan for that. It was our screw-up when it came to liter-to-gallon conversi ons... Editor Wanting Different Support I'd like to respo nd to C huck Fairchild's letter in Cycle N ews (Issue # 46) , "Mot oGP And... ," by saying that I and many others fee l ro bbed by no t getting the Grand Prix support classes ove r here. I can't help but wonder if t he AMA had anythi ng to do with that happening. I have seen the 125s and 250s in person twice in Brazil, and having watched the support races o n t he MotoGP website (www.motogp.com) . I can safely say that the fo rme r is every bit as exciting as t he Moto GP class by virtue of the e quality. There was even a tie at one race t his year! And it isn't uncommon for five bikes to finish with in the same second . Ho wever, if they do not want to bring it, here is my warped and biased solution. I'd like to get your reader's opi nions on this: Let's have the Moto GP class as the headline r. Then, let's have the AMA send the Superstock bikes , w ith the to p AMA riders in t he Superbike classes o n the lite r bikes as well . In essence, Mat Mladin, Alex Gobert, Tommy Hayden , Miguel Duhamel and , yes , even Mr. Hodgson would all be condensed into the same grid - all riding liter bikes of some sort for a factory-fi lled support class on bikes that are rela tively equal. (Mat wi ll stillw in!) Third, let' s open with a U.S. Amateur Championship Series - say the top two from the AFM, WERA, OMRRA, etc. to fill a grid of support racing as well. That wo uld give local talent a chance to shine on the world stage. Fun, eh? Then we could give away a date with an um brella girl from Brazil or Italy for everyone who takes part in th is survey! Okay, maybe next time . For now, just do the survey. Thanks for the time . M ichael Jame s Chandler, AZ No Respect? It is impossible for me to understand how the FIM feels in a posit ion of strength where it can fine its top riders while at the same time refusing to pay them for their performances. The fact tha t a rider of Stefan Eve rts globa l popu larity and internatio nal re spect w ould embroil himse lf in a ride r 's strike sho uld speak volumes about t he seriousness of the situatio n. The lead ership at the FIM shou ld all go and have their heads examined. Imagine t he state of Eur opean motocross today if Everts would have joined t he exodus to Ame rica like David Vuillemin. C had Reed , Se bast ian To rte lli, Greg Albertyn... and the list cou ld certainly go on . Th ose were hea dliners wh o are now lost to the FIM. But Stefan st ayed and carrie d the to rch, brou ght the se ries resp ect fro m aroun d the world, and gave th e yo ung guns a legitimate reason to stay an ex tra year - their chance to race a leg- www.cyclenews.com end . So, in return fo r all of th is, w hat does he receive for his years of continued support - fines and pro bations? What a bunch of fools the FIM must truly be. Hey, Stefan, if yo u have n't jumped on the "I hate Ame rica" bandwagon, you are more t han welcome to come and race in o ne or more of o ur cham pionshi ps. I'd be t someone wou ld eve n pay you "show up" money just to have you here. As fo r the rest, I tho ught to be professional motocross the re had to be a payout. He ll, anybody can pay to race. I do it all the time. As a matter of fact, t he 30-Plus class at one of my local tracks is a mo ney moto. The last t ime I rode it, I made enough back to pay the whole family's entrance and race fe es. Apparently, that is more money than anybody will be paid by the FIM for racing in their so -called "Wo rld Championship ." T. Teno Pleas ure ville, KY Less and More I'll give you a sensible idea because the Bostrom brothers' solut ion to lappe rs isn't fair as far as paying the slower lappers on a sliding sca le according to their qualifying times to stay home. No way ; denying any rider the o pportunity to prove and continue to improve themselves under real race conditions isn't fair. It makes more sense to pay the top riders to stay home allowing everyone else a shot at the cham pionship . No, I have a better idea learned from the few years I competed as a profession al roa d racer at say t he Daytona 200 . Have everyone qualify as usual and then impound the bikes until the Sunday race, then reverse the order. The fastest qualifier gets the slowest mac hine and its last starting positio n, second fastest rider getting the next slowe st machine, etc. Now let the real racing begin! Sure it's dange ro us pass ing slower rid ers , but don't you to p ra ce rs reme mb e r back on how da nge ro us it was t ry ing to win races o n a pr ivate e r 's inferio r mac hine? Co mplain, complain... now I sou nd like an old lady instead of a for me r racer. So rry if I offended any old ladies , but maybe me and the Bost ro m bro t hers shou ld have kept o ur mo uth 's sh ut? Gary Scott via the Internet Scott won t he AMA Grand N ational Champi onship in 1975 . Fortunate ly. he was never a promoter or Q sanctioning body... Editor CYCLE N EWS • DECEMBER 8 ,200 4 3