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/128399
RI~ PPIR S cratch the Pikes Peak International Raceway round off the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship. The Fountain, Colorado, facility has been sold to the Rocky Mountain Speedway Corporation, a subsidiary of International Speedway Corporations, track officials said at a news conference late last week. "I'm shocked," PPIR president Rob Johnson said. "I didn't think this was going to happen. This carne out of nowhere. There is no question this is an emotional time for all of us who have worked so hard to make PPIR a success. This is a loss for Colorado motorsports." The plans call for ISC to shut down the track on October 3 I. Then any assets will be sold off and the track will be leveled. ISC plans to sell the I2oo-acre site, but with the stipulation that it not be used for any motorsports-related activities. The announcement shouldn't have come as a surprise to motorcyclists. The race, first run in 1997, never caught on with road-racing fans, and very few of the riders will be sad to see it go. With a 1.31 S-mile roadcourse squeezed inside the one-mile oval, it made for long, exhausting, tire-abusing races, especially in the Superbike class. One rider who may lament its passing is Eric Bostrom. Bostrom won six times at the track, including the past four years. His first win came in 1998 on a Kawasaki, which he rode to victory again in 2000, 2002 and 2003. The victory in 2004 was his lone win for the Ducati Austin team, and he repeated that success this year. Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin will be happy to see it go. For the past three races at PPIR, Mladin has been forced to pit for a rear-tire change. He also had rear-tire problems in 2002. And he wasn't the only one who wore the rubber off the tires. ISC, which owns Daytona International Speedway and California Speedway among its I I properties, will ask NASCAR to move the PPIR round of the Busch Series to Martinsville Speedway in 2006. PPIR lost its 2006 IRL date a few weeks ago. The AMA has made no announcement about a replacement race. The loss drops the number of Superbike races from 19 to 18, and for the support classes from I I to 10, depending on the choice of supports, races for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix/AMA Eric Bostrom is one rider who won', be happy to see Pikes Peak International Rac_ay weekend. Speculation in Colorado demolished. Bostrom won six times at the Colorado racetrock. newspapers is that this isn't the end of racing in build a track in Aurora, west of Denver, fIVe that to continue. Moving it would only help Colorado. In fact, it appears to be quite the years ago, but a concerted campaign to us with that. Our schedule is open. We'll oppoSite. There is some belief that ISC will know more when there's more conversaderail the project succeeded. purchase, or has purchased, land closer to tion with our president, Steve Paige, and In its Friday press release addressing the the Denver area to build a more fan-friendly, theAMA." sale of PPIR, ISC didn't disciose any plans for multipurpose racing facility. PPIR never the Denver area Barrick also let on that a schedule caught on with fans for a variety of reasons. change might be forthcoming. According to both AHA road-race manOne reason was its distance from Denver, ager Ron Barrick and Infineon Raceway's "There may be an alteration in the and another was traffIC. Little thought was schedule because of the removal of Pikes John Cardinale, there's a good chance that given to track access, and for the larger Peak," Barrick said on Monday, October 3. Infineon Raceway will move its date and take events - though not for the AMA race - enterthe vacated spot opened up by the demise of "The one that we're looking at is Infineon ing and exiting the track could take hours. PPIR. Raceway. We had rain three races in a row, The speculation is given some credence by "We've had some rain for our events," so we're looking at having Infineon moved the stipulation that the owners of the PPIR Cardinale said. "Moving the date to later in to the spot that Pikes Peak [had]. We'll put site can't develop it for motorsports. May would be good for us. The AMA event out a revised schedule." Events of the past five years lend it an is a great growth event for us, and we want Hemry Ray Abrams extra measure of Credibility. ISC tried to Herfoss Docked, Fined News learned at the final AMA Supermoto round in Reno, Nevada, that the AMA has docked Troy Herfoss two points and fined him $250 from the Nashville round after it was deemed that Herfoss had cut the course during the Supermoto Unlimited feature. The decision obviously didn't sit well with Pacifico/GP Husqvarna team owner Paul lima. '~fter the race, Darryl Atkins came to the AMA and said that Troy had cut the track and acted like it was something intentional," Lima said before the Reno race. "What happened was that Micky Dymond and a lapper banged bars, and Troy thought that they were going to collect each other. In Troy's opinion, the lapper was out of control, so Troy straightened up his line and ended up cutting one of the tires and passing the lapped rider, who was 10 seconds a lap slower. He didn't pass any of the guys who were racing for the lead, but they complained to the AMA about it, and without any protest being filed, the AMA looked at it and docked Troy. So I got a phone calion Thursday by the AMA, saying that they Cycle 10 had docked him and fined him $250. Nobody gave us any paperwork. [AMA Supermoto manager] Todd [Eagan] said that he had notified Troy about it after the race, but regardless, we're going to appeal it, because it's bullshit. Troy would have passed the lapper anyway, and he didn't gain us a position. Atkins actually gained five lengths from that incident. I think that it's just KTM's way of trying to gain anything they can to make their chances for the championship better, and AMA is letting them do it." Eagan presented the AMA's version of the Herfoss incident this way: "It was a tough call. Herfoss essentially cut the course, and we do document all the OaOBER 12, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS course-cutting incidents. After the race, I go and watch the videotape, and in this case we had it on tape. We looked at the footage and docked him a lap and fined him. There was no protest, but how we did It was no different than any way we would look at someone cutting the course. He did it on the second-to-last lap or close to it, and normally our policy is to give a stopand-go penalty, but there was no way to do that in this case." Eagan said that the AMA would hear an appeal filed by Pacifico/GP Husqvarna, but that, "I've already informed them how it would go. If they want to appeal it, that's fine. We'll entenain it." In light of the outcome of the Reno Supermoto Unlimited race, it is unlikely that an appeal will be filed. Scott Rousseau Troy in action 0' theHerfoss finale in series Reno, Nevoda.