Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

By John Ulrich

This is my personal opinion, and mine alone. It does not reflect the official opinion of anybody else or any thing else. Just me, a guy who has been around AMA road racing since 1973.

A spectator walking through the paddock at a typical AMA National might be forgiven for wondering where the price tags are–the place often looks more like a used-car lot than a serious racing series paddock.

In theory, there are parking restrictions, but often riders, mechanics and managers get stickers or hang-tags that allow them to park in the paddock, and they line up rental cars and personal vehicles next to their trucks and awnings.

I’m not talking about the privateers working out of their pickups and vans, I’m talking about the mechanics, managers and riders for teams with semi-trucks who apparently can’t stand to walk in a couple hundred feet from the parking lot.

Kawasaki’s awning was flanked by Tommy Hayden’s Cadillac Escalade and Roger Hayden’s black van last Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park. Cars were parked at each end of Yoshimura Suzuki’s two semi-trucks and in-between as well.

Yamaha’s fleet of cars in the paddock at Fontana would have filled three lanes of I-10 at rush hour.

Why go to the trouble of running a team out of a nice semi-truck (or semi-trucks) with big attached awnings if you’re going to surround them with rental cars?

AMA officials were among the worst offenders at Infineon, filling up a big space adjacent to tech inspection.

Parking restrictions are actually enforced at Daytona and Laguna Seca, and the semi-truck sections of the paddock areas look really good by comparison to the paddocks at Infineon and Barber.

I’ve been trying to do a one-man campaign on this by talking to AMA Pro Racing officials, team owners and managers, but so far the only ones who seem to have paid any attention are the guys who run the Ducati Austin team and the Michael Jordan team.

Pikes Peak International Raceway has an excellent parking area set up behind the paddock, and this weekend’s AMA National would be a great time to start to clean the cars out of the paddock. Here’s hoping the riders, mechanics and managers there can manage to park in the parking area, and walk from the parking area to their semi-trucks.

Either that, or put some window stickers on the assembled cars, so we know where to start the negotiations…



And now, some reader reaction:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail

Here, here on paddock clean up. These are professional races. I may be a bit spoiled because the very first motorcycle road race I attended was the 1993 U.S.GP, but honestly, something must be done.

Fans pay $25-$35 for the privilege of walking through the pits to see the bikes, their heroes, glorious colors and pageantry of AMA racing, only to find a more expensive version of a club race. I for one do not want to peak behind that curtain. Privateers I can understand, but Factory Teams have no excuse.

It’s difficult to take friends or a girlfriend to the races to get them pumped about the sport as much as you are when it looks like a big damn swap meet.

See you at the OC Fairgrounds!

Trent Davis
AFM #912
Placerville, California