Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden, winner of all three 2003 AMA Superstock races held so far, has been assessed a 20-point penalty and has been fined $2000 by AMA Pro Racing for illegal modifications to his Superstock Kawasaki ZX-6R.
Official results from the May 4 AMA Pro Racing event at Infineon Raceway were released Wednesday and list Hayden as receiving a 20-point penalty for “a technical violation,” but the penalty stems from a violation during the AMA event at California Speedway in Fontana, California April 5.
“They (AMA Pro Racing technical staff) did a teardown. They actually impounded the bike after Fontana and didn’t do the work until Infineon because of the Pro staff schedule,” Kerry Graeber, AMA Pro Racing Vice President, Director of Communications told Roadracingworld.com Wednesday. “There was some illegal machining done to the cylinder head area…some material removed from the combustion chamber.”
In addition to the 20-point penalty, Hayden was fined $2000 but was allowed to keep all of his three race wins. “They (AMA Pro Racing’s Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice, Technical Manager Rob King and Road Race Series Operations Manager Ron Barrick) discussed it and made the decision based on what they felt the relative advantage that he got was and felt the 20 points and the fine was sufficient (punishment),” said Graeber.
Asked if the AMA Pro Racing staff reviewed the sanctioning body’s history of fines and penalties versus violations in determining Hayden’s punishment, Graeber said, “They did. They looked at the history, and Ron (Barrick), again, made the determination that based on his assessment of what they would have gained from this modification, if you will, that this fine and this point penalty was sufficient.”
A quick review of past violations and penalties at AMA Pro Racing road racing events would seem to contradict the AMA’s position on the current situation in Hayden’s favor.
For instance, Ben Spies, then riding for Attack Suzuki, had all of his points (32) taken away when his GSX-R600 was found to have “an illegal intake modification” after his second-place finish in the Superstock race at California Speedway in 2002.
In 2000, privateer Chuck Chouinard was stripped of his second-place 750cc Supersport finish and points at New Hampshire International Speedway when his Suzuki GSX-R750 was found to have material removed from the valves.
In contrast to AMA Pro Racing’s tendency to deduct points and issue fines rather than disqualify riders for violations, FIM disqualified Fabien Foret when a non-homologated rear axle (100 grams lighter) was found on his Honda CBR600F4i in post-race technical inspection following his World Supersport race win at Lausitzring last season. Jamie Whitham, seventh place, and Paolo Casoli, 10th place, were both immediately disqualified when their Yamahas would not start with the starter button following the same race.
A phone call seeking comment on the penalty against Tommy Hayden had not been returned by the Kawasaki team at post time.
Current 2003 AMA Superstock Championship Point Standings Following Infineon Raceway:
1. Tommy Hayden, 91 points, 3 wins
2. Adam Fergusson, 85 points
3. Vincent Haskovec, 84 points
4. Tony Meiring, 76 points
5. Jason DiSalvo, 71 points
6. Jimmy Moore, 67 points
7. Josh Hayes, 66 points
8. Chris Caylor, 64 points
9. John Haner, 55 points
10. Jordan Szoke, 54 points
11. Mike Ciccotto, 51 points
12. Chris Ulrich, 49 points
13. Jeremy Toye, 38 points
14. Matt Furtek, 37 points
15. Lee Acree, 32 points
16. Alan Schmidt, 31 points
17. Eric Wood/Rich Conicelli/Brian Stokes, TIE, 29 points
20. Steve Rapp, 27 points
More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
AMA PRO RACING CONFIRMS TEAM KAWASAKI RIDER TOMMY HAYDEN PENALIZED
Pickerington, Ohio – At the conclusion of the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock race at California Speedway on April 5, 2003, AMA Pro Racing impounded cylinder heads from #22, Tommy Hayden and #56, Tony Meiring, for further investigation. This inspection was completed Sunday May 4, 2003 at Infineon Raceway (the next round in the series). Tommy Hayden’s cylinder head was determined to have minor machining in the combustion chamber. A penalty of 20 points and a $2000 fine were applied. Tony Meiring’s cylinder head was found to be within specification.