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/128380
"My most heartfelt condolences go out to Vincent and his family." letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cr,cle News, PO Box 5084, (oslo Meso, CA 92628·5084; faxed to 714·751-6685 Of emoi ed to edilar@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reAect the position of Cycle News, Inc. letters should not exceed 200 ~ words, aod all ore subject to editing_ Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's nome, address and daytime phone number... Editor. f------------------------'""C:-...... Wishing Vincent Well Along with the thousands upon thousands of people in the riding and racing community who have been excited and entertained by the talent and magnetism of Vaclav "Vincent" Haskovec, Pirelli Tires adds our strongest, heartfelt wishes and prayers to Vincent for a full recovery from his injuries. As they say in his Czech Republic home, "Prejeme vam skore uzdraveni," or "Wishing you get well, soon." The tragic irony of his accident should not be lost on any of us: that his team owner, the man who pro-actively championed the cause of rider safety with the creation of the Roadracing World Action Fund to buy and provide air fence for the nation's racetracks, should have one of his team's riders fall victim to a barrier of Armco fronted by a single stack of old, hard, car tires. Pirelli urges everyone to aid the Roadracing World Action Fund, PO. Box 1428, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531 or go to http://actionfund.Roadracingworld.com./ Rick Menapace via the Internet Wishing Vincent Well II M4 Performance Exhaust wishes our friend Vincent Haskovec the best of luck and a speedy full recovery from the injuries he sustained at Infineon Raceway on May 14. Vincent is an amazing person who touches everyone and everything he participates in with an enthusiasm for life. We urge all of Vincent's friends and fans to continue to keep him in their thoughts and prayers as he works hard to recover (you can e-mail your messages of support to getwellvincent@gmail.com), and to remember to support organizations like Roadracing World Action Fund, that work so hard to increase rider safety and prevent serious accidents like the one Vincent suffered last weekend. Brooke Martin via the Internet Wishing Vincent Well III I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was at Infineon Raceway when Vincent Haskovec crashed in the FX race. We waited all weekend to hear a report on his condition and, as in most cases, the longer the wait, the worse the news. I do not know Vincent personally, but what I do know is, he is a breath of fresh air in the AMA paddock. I will never forget his incredible first win at Road Atlanta and his subsequent parade through the paddock. ''''merica!" he yelled over the PA system. Then he smoked everyone at Daytona this year in Superstock on Pirelli tires. His podium interview had the entire paddock laughing and smiling; the recording should be broadcast across the Internet - it was that cool. No racer should suffer a serious injury, but this one is especially tragic. My most heartfelt condolences go out to Vincent and his family. I wish him a speedy recovery. Donny Schmidt Suomy USA Soft-Barrier Outrage I think it is utterly unconscionable that in this day and age of soft barriers that the AMA, the track, and the promoters couldn't provide soft barriers at all points of the track. Maybe if the AMA would not sanction events unless soft barriers were used at all possible impact areas, the promoters and tracks would get their sorry act together. They should all be ashamed of themselves for allowing an incident like this to happen when soft barriers are now so widely available. To put up a soft barrier after the accident is simply insulting. Steel and tires may be fine for cars, but the human body is a little different. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Vincent Haskovec, his family and friends for a speedy and successful recovery. Jeff Krueger Raleigh, NC Not Happy Thanks for saving me the $45 I would have spent to renew my subscription by printing "State of Fear and the Energy Crunch." If I want to hear mean-spirited rantings from the political right, I can tune into Rush Limbaugh or watch Fox News for free. What did this article have to do with motorcycles or racing? David Bauer Cincinnati, OH The Longest Yard We just recently read your editorial about Kellen Winslow, and I thought that perhaps I ought to make sure that you'd followed up on the story and learned "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey says. It seems that Winslow had become enamored of a group of stunt riders called the Starboyz, and that's what got him really enthused about sportbike riding. In case you don't know who the Starboyz are, just do a web search. The bottom line is that they are a bunch of sportbike riders from around the Akron, Ohio, area who came to fame by doing their stunts on public highways, in traffic, and eluding the police in the process. I personally had one of them ride past me on 1-77 north of Akron, pull the front wheel up, and then proceed to wheelie out of sight at highway speed in traffic. This week, three of the local television stations did pieces on the Starboyz during their late-night news, I suppose to keep our children from being exposed to the dangers. I will give them kudos about being talented riders, and for finally taking their "show" on the road, so to speak, to racetracks and drag strips instead of the public highways, but I still have a problem with them holding schools to teach people how to do the stunts that they perform. What you probably didn't read in the media was that when Winslow crashed, according to the word on the streets around here, he was attempting a "stoppie." Really smart for a novice, huh? Anyway, I guess this whole episode just goes to show that just because you can do one thing really well, and have lots of money, doesn't mean that you should consider yourself an expert at other things. Dane Leimbach Amherst,OH Wanting Colin I just wanted to say I was a little pissed the other day. Here we have Colin Edwards, who puts in a very fine ride to finish third in MotoGp, and is passed over by the MotoGP television folks in the postrace interviews. Come on, guys, we can do better than that. I can find the points totals in Cycle News. America wants to hear from its MotoGP stars. At least we have the great coverage in Cycle News to find out what was said. Keep up the great work. Scott Chavers Chino Hills, CA AMA Road Racing The "In The Wind" comments from the road race team managers were interesting. I'd like to offer my opinion as to which classes should be run. I think we should have three main classes at every national: IOOOcc Superbike, 600cc 5upersport (open to factory teams and also allow 750 Ducatis), and 600cc Novice (open to riders without national experience). In addition, each National could offer a support race of a different kind. For example, back east, where they still run "national" dirt track races, they could have a points-paying race for the dirt track racers. Let them change tires and handlebars and run a 10- or 12-lap sprint. There may be fans out there who remember when the Grand National Championship included road races (with guys like Roberts, Nixon, Rayborn, etc.). Other Nationals might run a Thruxton Cup or a 600cc race (another one!) for top racers of other disciplines (motocross, dirt track, enduro, cross country, etc.). I don't know how you would get the racers to do it, but I think you'd have a lot of interest if you had Carmichael, McGrath, Stewart, Reed, Carr, Pearson, Watts, Kiedrowski, Hatch, etc., racing each other. Or perhaps a race for retired racers. It seems like half the former road racers are running racing schools. Let them show that they still know what they're talking about. Monte Phoenix Winnemucco# NV CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 1,2005 5