Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The AMA Superbike race postponed to today at VIR was in question, and the race actually running depended upon the results of negotiations between AMA Pro Racing officials and track management.

The track’s contract with AMA Pro Racing included television coverage of the event. The Chet Burks Productions crew, which produces TV coverage for Speed Channel, packed up and left the racetrack Sunday night.

The course used by the AMA was actually rented for the day by Keith Code’s California Superbike School, under a pre-existing contract. Code agreed to let the AMA race run this morning.

A tentative schedule for the event is as follows:

9:15 a.m. Superbike Race 2
10:00 a.m. 250cc Grand Prix
10:30 a.m. Formula Xtreme

The paddock has thinned out considerably, with many riders having left.

Two big questions are circulating the paddock today:

Why didn’t AMA officials run the Superbike race yesterday when they had the chance, instead of running the 600cc Supersport race in the Superbike TV time slot?

What is the total economic impact of Chris Peris losing the oil drain plug on his CBR600RR and oiling down the racetrack in a short wet-track practice held immediately before the Supersport race was scheduled to start?