Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Two memos concerning the question of Thursday practice sent to AMA Pro Racing staffers, the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors and the AMA Board of Directors over a 16-month period have produced no response. The memos were backed up by petitions signed by 135 AMA Pro Racing riders, crew members and team owners, to no avail.

The memos, written by John Ulrich, follow; note the dates:

Memo to AMA Pro Racing and AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors
From John Ulrich
November 9, 2000

The Question Of Thursday Practice

AMA Pro Racing staffers are quite open about their desire to eliminate Thursday Practice prior to AMA Nationals, and they have already placed restrictions on who can and cannot participate.

The reasoning is that restricting and ultimately eliminating Thursday practice participation reduces costs to competitors. But in actual fact the restrictions now in place make it more difficult for riders not affiliated with full factory Superbike teams to be competitive, and eliminating Thursday practice altogether will make this situation worse, for more riders.

The theory behind the current restrictions is that factory teams do not want to spend the money to participate in Thursday practice, and cannot trust one another to simply make a deal to not participate in Thursday practice. Instead of restricting factory team riders as a class or restricting name factory team riders, the current restriction applies to any rider who is in the top 10 in 600cc Supersport or Superbike points. The result of this, for example, was that in 2000 John Hopkins could not participate in Thursday practice at Sears Point, a track he had never raced at, because he finished ninth in the restarted 600cc Supersport race at Daytona. Because the race at Sears was cancelled, Hopkins was then precluded from participation in Thursday practice at Road Atlanta, and couldn’t even lead students around (on a stock GSX-R600 streetbike) during the Team Hammer Advanced Riding School held there on Thursday.

At several times throughout the last two seasons, riders without factory rides have showed up in the top 10 places in 600cc Supersport points, examples being Brian Parriott and Josh Hayes in 1999 and Hopkins and Jake Zemke in 2000. The inclusion of such riders in the net cast by this rule was an unforeseen consequence of a flawed rules enacting process that did not allow general comment on rules prior to their enactment.

Beyond that, AMA Pro Racing should not be making rules tailored to reducing costs for a select, privileged few, i.e., factory teams. In the past two weeks, two factory teams have held exclusive test sessions, Suzuki at Daytona and Honda at Willow Springs. Honda also tested two weeks prior to the 2000 AMA National at Willow Springs. Non-factory teams cannot afford to conduct independent tests and must rely upon Thursday practice to set up their bikes and get their riders up to speed.

How important is Thursday practice? According to Jimmy Moore, the fact that he was able to participate in Thursday practice prior to the 2000 AMA National at Willow Springs made him competitive for the 750cc Supersport win there. My own experience with young riders–including John Hopkins, Ben Spies and Chris Ulrich in 2000–is that they often struggle to come to terms with their set-up and riding in time for the main event EVEN WITH THURSDAY PRACTICE, and that they tend to be lost without it (at tracks such as Brainerd, which hasn’t held Thursday practice in recent years).

AMA Pro Racing staffers often cite the cost of Thursday practice to individual riders, saying they cannot afford it. What this means is that AMA Pro Racing is pandering to the factory teams at one end and riders with no money (i.e., riders without successful programs) at the other end, ignoring the mass of riders and independent teams in the middle.

On top of their ability to independently rent tracks for testing and practice, the factory teams (Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda and Harley-Davidson) have formed a cartel to rent tracks on a cooperative basis for pre-season and in-season testing. The catch is that not only does participation in such tests cost each team $5000-$7500, the factory teams usually will not allow participation by non-cartel members at any price.

Other objections raised by AMA Pro Racing staffers to Thursday practice include a lack of standardized track prep and staffing (haybales, cornerworkers, ambulances), insurance coverage, and a lack of set-up access for TV crews. But in fact, the Thursday practices held (by Team Hammer, Inc.) prior to the 1999 AMA Nationals at Road America and Willow Springs and the 2000 AMA National at Willow Springs included haybales, cornerworking staffing, three ambulances and $10,000 rider medical insurance coverage, and, when asked, full cooperation with AMA Pro Racing staffers regarding requests to accommodate TV crews and their set-up needs. Setting minimum standards and asking for cooperation makes more sense than eliminating Thursday practice.

Eliminating or restricting Thursday practice penalizes the vast majority of riders and teams participating in AMA Pro Racing to benefit a tiny minority, i.e., factory teams which are willing to hamper everybody else to suit their own wishes. Thursday practice is not mandatory. Nobody is forced to participate. Any factory team that has blown its testing budget in stand-alone tests should be free to not participate. On the other hand, anybody who wants and needs to participate in Thursday practice should be free to do so.

If reducing costs for factory teams is a legitimate goal of AMA Pro Racing, restrict off-season testing. Don’t penalize non-factory riders and teams and reduce their chance to be competitive by restricting or eliminating Thursday practice in the name of saving factory teams some money.

I urge you to eliminate the current restrictions on Thursday practice and to reject any move to eliminate Thursday practice altogether. If you think I’m the only guy who thinks this way, feel free to contact Larry Pegram of Competition Accessories Ducati, Chuck Warren of Arclight Suzuki, Gary Ricci of Ricci Motorsports, Steve DeCamp of Hooters Suzuki or James Siddall of Team World Sports, who all support this petition.

Memo to AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors and AMA Board of Directors
From John Ulrich
June 20, 2001

Enclosed please find:

1. A copy of the program for the AMA Superbike National at Road America, which I produced. You may find the story on the history of AMA Superbike informative.

2. A print-out of a roadracingworld.com posting from June 20, 2001.

3. A photocopy of the original petition referenced in the above. I would especially like to point out to Mr. Harvey that Brian Turfrey and Michael Hannas of PJ1/Team Turfrey have signed said petition, and I would like to point out to Mr. Tuttle that several Buell engineers he may know have also signed it. Mr. Harvey and Mr. Tuttle may wish to speak to them directly to verify their position on this.

The point is that, contrary to what AMA Pro Racing staffers have been saying, there is actually widespread support–and a recognized need–for Thursday practice in the paddock. I didn’t find everybody in the limited time I was able to devote to this at Loudon, and I expect a similar result when I try to cover the rest of the paddock at future events.

Currently, AMA Pro Racing staffers have taken the position of Greg Esser and Ed Sorbo, two hobbiest 250cc Grand Prix racers who say they lack the time and money (Esser) and the money (Sorbo) to participate in Thursday practice, along with the position of the vastly experienced Tom Kipp, who knows every track, can quickly set up a machine and doesn’t need Thursday practice.

That leaves the majority of paddock dwellers–the guys and teams between the Kipps and the Esser/Sorbos–ignored. The guys and teams trying to build a career or a program, to get sponsors, to compete effectively against factory and factory-supported teams. It is wrong to continue to ignore the majority, and to simple state that Thursday practice is gone, no discussion, no input, too bad, get out of here.

I urge you to do the right thing, and stop the elimination of Thursday practice. I stand ready to help solve any problems associated with the continuation of Thursday practice.

(Note: Ed Sorbo has since changed his mind and says he is now in favor of Thursday practice.)

June 20, 2001 Roadracingworld.com posting:

Non-factory Team Owners, Riders Say They Want Thursday Practice To Continue At AMA Nationals

The following petition was circulated through the paddock on Sunday morning at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire during the AMA weekend 6/14-17.

The petition was circulated in response to statements made by AMA Pro Racing Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick and AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice that there will be no Thursday practice in 2002.

According to Vanderslice, Thursday practice costs too much money and riders can get set-up and practice time by attending club races held at the same racetracks prior to AMA Nationals. Vanderslice has also claimed that there is plenty of official AMA practice on Friday at Nationals

The petition read: “Non-factory teams and riders need Thursday practice to set up bikes and get up to speed. The cost of arriving a day early for Thursday practice is far less than making a special trip to a club race or participating in private testing, which is not available to most riders and teams. We want Thursday practice to continue. AMA Friday practice is not enough.”

Chuck Graves (Team Owner, Graves Yamaha)
Geoffrey Maloney (Team Owner, GP Tech Yamaha)
Chuck Sorensen (Rider, GP Tech Yamaha)
Simon Turner (Rider, GP Tech Yamaha)
Shane Clarke (Mechanic, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki, former rider)
Landers Sevier IV (Team Owner, Corona EBSCO Suzuki)
Carry Andrew (Crew Chief, Corona EBSCO Suzuki)
Jimmy Moore (Rider, Corona EBSCO Suzuki)
Mike Ciccotto (Rider, Hooters Suzuki and Hal’s Performance Buell)
David McIntyre (Rider, Dilligaf Racing)
Keith Perry (Crew Chief, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki)
Grant Lopez (Rider, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki)
John Hopkins (Rider, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki)
Chris Ulrich (Rider, roadracingworld.com/Vesrah Suzuki)
Jerry Wood (Rider)
Eric Wood (Rider, Team Owner, Keystone Learning Systems Racing)
Thomas Montano (Rider)
Bob Meiring (Father and tuner for rider Tony Meiring)
Poncho Rangel (Crew Chief For rider David Ortega)
David Ortega (Rider)
Scott Greenwood (Rider)
Mike Fargnoli (Crew Chief, Hooters Suzuki)
Vincent Haskovec (Rider, Corona EBSCO Suzuki)
Peter Kimball (Rider)
Michael Niksa (Rider)
Daigoro Suzuki (Rider, Vesrah Suzuki)
Dean Mizdal (Rider)
John France (Rider)
Charles Chouinard (Rider)
Richard Stanboli (Team Owner, Attack Suzuki)
Sean Lindseth (Mechanic, Ricci Motorsports)
Keith Sims (Mechanic, Ricci Motorsports)
Gary Ricci (Team Owner, Ricci Motorsports)
Stephen G. DeCamp (Team Owner, Hooters Suzuki)
Tripp Nobles (Rider, Tilley Buell)
W. M. Wadsworth (Team Owner, Tuner for Tyler Wadsworth)
Becky Wadsworth (Team Owner, Mother of Tyler Wadsworth)
Paul Richey (Team Owner, Tuner for Owen Richey)
Owen Richey (Rider)
Jim Lester (Rider)
Mike Cusano (Rider)
Jon Sweeney (Rider)
Mike Martire (Rider)
Tom Fournier (Rider)
Alan Gardner (Rider)
Frank Madden (Rider)
Joan Holske (Crew Chief for Chris Holske)
Peter Kates (Rider, owner, GMD Computrack Boston & L.A.)
Jim Barry (Owner, Barry Motorsports)
Michael Barnes (Rider, Hooters Suzuki)
Paul Hopkins (Rider)
Chris Holske (Rider)
Dale Seaton (Rider)
Jimmy Filice (Rider, Corbin Yamaha)
James Siddall (Team Owner, Corbin Yamaha)
Mike Himmelsbach (Rider)
Bill Ormerod (Rider)
Roland Williams (Rider)
Darian Polach (Rider)
Mike Gallagher (Rider)
Charles Sandoz (Rider)
Terry Galagan (Team Manager, Hal’s Performance Buell)
James Winter (Buell Motor Co.)
Henry Duga (Buell Motor Co.)
Gary J. Stippich (Buell Motor Co.)
Joshua R. Wilson (Buell Motor Co.)
J.R. Jones (Buell Motor Co.)
Perry Melneciuc (Rider, Sun Sports Yamaha)
Justin Blake (Rider)
Gus Holcomb (Rider)
Chad Healy (Rider)
Chris Decelle (Rider)
Dave Schweitzer (Rider)
Brian Turfrey (Team Owner, PJI Team Turfrey)
Michael Hannas (Rider, PJI Team Turfrey)
Rich Oliver (Team Owner, Rider, Team Oliver)
Tyler Wadsworth (Rider)
Jeffrey Nash (Team Owner, Rider, AMS Motorsports Ducati)
Adam Vella (Rider)
Chris Pyles (Rider)
Beth Walters (Crew Chief for Chris Pyles)

At the July 20-22, 2001 AMA Mid-Ohio National, another petition was circulated through the pits. The petition was headlined “Petition To AMA Pro Racing To Continue Thursday Practice, And To Remove All Restrictions On Thursday Practice.” In smaller type above the signature lines, the petition read, “Non-factory teams and riders need unrestricted Thursday practice to set up bikes and get up to speed. The cost of arriving a day early for Thursday practice is far less than making a special trip to a club race or participating in private testing, which is not available to most riders and teams. We want Thursday practice to continue. AMA Friday practice is not enough.”

Copies of the petition circulated at Loudon and the petition circulated at Mid-Ohio were then sent together with copies of the above memos to members of the AMA Pro Racing and AMA Boards at the end of the 2001 season.

There has been no official response from AMA Pro Racing.

The names of persons who signed the petitions, and their affiliation at the time they signed the petitions, appear in a related post.