Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

VOICCs "lf they marketed the race properly, the idea would be to have more sPectators than racers anyway!" Not Happy With Scott? I hope you recommend Michael Scott to somebody needing a weather reporter. Scott has all the attributes. He's totally out of sense with reality (he could be the SEI''1A man of the year) yet totally focused on the bottom line (who advenises). So despite Ducati showing best practice results at Jerez, Scott doesn't even notice that, other than to say Sete Gibernau moved from Honda. Just like last year, noting that Honda won rhree races, whrle never mentioning Ducati won two - while Suzuki and Kawasaki never won anything- Why only mention two of the big three in MotoGP? Never mind that Yamaha has only won races with Valentino Rossi aboard (it is not the bike, iust ask Colin Edwards). The real- ity is that only Rossi (whatever he rides - Yamaha or Honda) and Ducati win races at the MotoGP level with a few examples of Nicky Hayden, with his lone victory at Laguna, and Marco Melandri, who tied the iniured Lo.is Capirossi for victories). So as the laugh of all time, Scott, in his sponsor mode. predicts about everything wrong. Sure, Vale is a sure bet, as he is beyond the Yamaha, but to overlook Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoher as top five finish- ers instead of dark horses? Yes it is about assured that Capirossi was a winner type, but one never would get that from Scoft's previous write-ups, So the big news is, when will Cycle News get a reporter who reports the scene - and not their preiudice? Scott is a good guy, no doubt, like most of those bubbly women on the Weather Channel. The question is: Does Scott look that good? lf not, dump him for the good- lookinS one, or at least a person who has raced and understands racing- Scoft is pr€t- ty obviously clueless. P€te, Eonn€r Since Mr. Bonnet inconectly referred to Cycle News MotoGP correspondent Michoel Scott os Scott Russell (the fire-time Doytono 200 winner?) throughout his ,ette/i we're not sure het the ore who should be telling us thot Scott is clueress... Editor Not Happy \ /ith AHRMA LoYerage Your AHRMA Daytona coverage was disap- pointingly superficial. Eill Swenson N. Spr,ngltel4 YT The Pace Car ln reference to Henny P.ay Abrams' com- mentary about the AIYA safety-car debacle at Daytona. I would say that the safetT car is a good idea. Have a professional driver like in NASCAR, have a paramedi< onboard, and have them linked to race directors by radio. The safery car works very well in Fll'4 events and could work well here as well. There would be no confusion as to what the rules say or what rider to pick up on restarts. And in the event of a flrst-corner cmsh there could be instantaneous medical aftention. Mr. Barrick should not be in that car at all - or if he is, he is the one who should have the radio and be in contact with the others to tell the driver who to pick up on the restart. I also think it could have been a Sreat 200 ifthe right rider had been led to the restart. Rolph Wdtten Supe or, Wl Helping A Friend Another Gatorback event has come and gone, and I find myself again looking back on not only the latest event, br.rt also over the last 30 yea6 of tl.aveling to Florida and motorcycle racing. I guess this has become a pilgrimage to racinS, and to continued tra- ditions. The Garorback National was a malor happening for many MX fans. Unfortunately, it met its demise some years back, and the event is still greatly missed by many. But during one of those Gainesville trips I was fortunate enough to witness a vintage- motocross demonstration- I have now been hooked on AHRMA for l5 years. I can honestly say that AHRMA revital- ized my love for the sport ofmotocross and motorcycling in Eeneral. The AHRMA national leading up to Daytona Bike Week has done much to fill the void caused by the cancellation ofthe Gatorback National. But, more importantly, my love for riding was renewed by AHRMA, along with the most important aspecr of ridin8 motorcycles in the flrst place, the development of many new friendships. Now one of those friends needs our help. You may have seen us with the bi8 smiley faces on our jerseys riding in forma- tion on Sunday. One of the riders is Carl Mabery a longtime AHRMA supporter. The smiley face is his daughter Carlye's favorite character, and the ieGeys weTe worn to keep her rn our thoughts. Carlye was seri- ously iniured in a recent car accident. She is now at home, but is incapacitated due to her injuries, Carl and his wife are now tak- ing care of Carlye full time, and her recov- ery will be long and challenging. lcannot imagine what the last few months have been like for the Mabery fam- ily, nor what the future holds, but their unwavering love for Carlye, and incredibly positive attitude, should be a model for all o{ us. Even when Carl called me to tell of his plans for our Gatorback fun ride this year, his a$itude was amazingly upbeat, even with all that was happening in his per- sonal life, I am sure that he would also admit to how important his participation in AHRMA has meant over the years, espe- cially at this diflicult time. This year's event was another one for the ages, with beautiful weather, perfect race conditrons, and the opportunity ofsee- ing all of my wonderful AHRMA friends, Elut now, I cannot stop thinking of visiting with the Mabery family. I hope that we can. as an organization, come up with a way to help these wonderful people. Their needs are great, ?!s is their love for the spon of motorcycling, AHRIYA, and especially Carlye. I am unsure what to do, but I know that many people expressed an interest in the smiley-face ierseys we were wearing at Gatorback. l'4aybe we could offer these to other riders and friends, with proceeds con- tributing to a fund to help the Mabry family. lf anyone has any other ideas please call, Robert Leimerttoll Yio tha lnternet Daytona World Superbike? Dan Henry's letter (Voices, lssue #12) struck a chord with me. when he won- dered if the Daytona 200 will ever mean anything €ain, I couldn't help but think iust how right he was. Havin8 been relegated to second-tier sratus via the AMAS goofy class structure and the manufacturers cherry pickinS classes or not participatin8 at all ffamaha Superbike), Daytona becomes a big non-event to me. The other issue is the track itsell Has someone put some thought into the layout? Turns one through three are a dangerous- looking ioke lined with Armco. The rest isn't a lot better as it relates to viewing the event on TV Yawn. As a World Superbike event, the race would once again Sarner signifiGnce on the world stage, bring great talent to the United States. and could be run as a dou- ble-header with the AMA Superbike series. iust like Laguna. Who knows? l"laybe even some of the Bike Week Harley folks might show up if they advertise the umbrella Sirls! So les ask the Flammini guys to

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