FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: It’s real easy to blame Tucson Police Department for the loss of Mr.Thompson’s truck and trailer, but the story is much deeper then that. Mr. Thompson was very much to blame for the theft himself, leaving your vehicle unlocked, unattended with the motor running is a crime waiting to happen. Furthermore, Mr. Thompson should be aware that “I-10 and 22nd Street” is a 30-minute drive from the Mexico border. You know, the border without a fence or any real security. Vans and trucks are stolen from that section of Tucson quite frequently, driven into Mexico, loaded up with drugs and people, then driven back into the USA. IMO Mr. Thompson is very lucky to get his truck back, and I hope that in the future he uses better judgement and is more aware of his surroundings. Due to the close proximity to the Mexico border, Southern Arizona leads the nation in car thefts. You should let your readers know this, and warn them to never leave the keys in the ignition and doors unlocked. Also, it’s a good idea to look for a hotel a bit off of the highway, as thieves/smugglers stake out the ones on I-10. Eric Balderston Former CCS Racer Tucson, Arizona Roadracingworld.com Editorial Note: Nobody blames the Tucson Police Department for the theft; their indifferent reaction to the theft and what could be seen as attempted murder or at least assault with a deadly weapon and their implication that Thompson was involved in drug trafficing and/or prostitution is what came into question, in addition to their public info officer hanging up on a reporter trying to give them a chance to comment on the controversy. A crime victim being a dumbass doesn’t make them less a victim. In our experience we have found that police officers often treat young guys differently than they treat, for example, middle-age guys, and we also have found that people who are not local and are traveling on the Interstate tend to not be up to speed on which parts of a city are closer or farther from the border. This just in from the Roadracing World phone message center: From a phone message left at 8:58 p.m. Friday, November 3: “This is Sgt. Mark Robinson of the Tucson Police Department. I am one of the Public Information Officers for the department and I am reading a story on Roadracing World and I will give you a comment on it. We did not hang up on anybody from Roadracing World, that is an inaccuracy.” Roadracingworld.com Editorial Note: We know when we’ve been hung up on, although the female officer we reached (after following P.D. phone system instructions on how to reach “a public information officer”), explained the situation to and asked for a comment was obviously not Robinson. Our request was followed by an audible “click,” several minutes of dead air, and then a dial tone. Immediately following that incident, we sent the following e-mails, at 4:48 p.m. and 5:16 p.m. November 3, respectively, to Sgt. Mike Hammarstrom of the Tucson Police Department and Andrew Greenhill of the Mayor’s office, and waited around the office for another hour for a response; other than the phone message left by Robinson four hours later, we were not contacted via phone or e-mail reply: Dear Sgt. Hammarstrom: We are seeking comment from your department regarding the theft of motorcycle road racer Ben Thompson’s truck and trailer at I-10 and 22nd St. this morning. The theft and our previous attempt to obtain comment is covered in a series of posts on our news website, as linked below. FYI Thompson is a well-known professional motorcycle road racer and he has regularly been covered by our website and our print magazine. John Ulrich Vice President, Editor ROADRACING WORLD PUBLISHING, Inc. Mr. Greenhill: Our efforts to get a comment from a police department spokesman regarding the carjacking of motorcycle racer Ben Thompson and his subsequent experience with the Tucson P.D. have encountered a dead end. ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=27541~ If anybody from the the city of Tucson wishes to comment, please contact me at 951-245-6411 or respond to this e-mail address. Thank you. John Ulrich Vice President, Editor ROADRACING WORLD PUBLISHING, Inc.

World Superbike rider Yukio Kagayama raced to victory in the final round of the Japanese Superbike Championship at Suzuka on Sunday as Suzuki clinched the series Manufacturer Championship. The GSX-R1000-mounted Alstare Suzuki rider formed his own team “JK Suzuki with Bright Logic” for the race, which was his first home championship appearance since 2002. Said Kagayama: “The World Superbike Championship season is over and I wanted to ride for Japanese fans in Japan. Thanks to the great effort of Mr. Tsujimoto and so many volunteer people, my team was organised. My bike is almost the same as normal but I wanted to show my best ride to the Japanese fans and also ride for fun.” Going into the event, Yoshimura Suzuki with JOMO rider Atsushi Watanabe held second place with a chance of lifting the title, but, after setting pole position, mechanical problems forced him to retire after just four laps. Kagayama, who started from fifth position, shot into the lead ahead of Suzuki MotoGP test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi (Yoshimura Suzuki) and Watanabe. On the fourth lap, Akiyoshi passed Kagayama with Watanabe two places further back until he was forced to retire. With five laps remaining, Kagayama passed Akiyoshi on the final corner and then Akiyoshi passed him back, but as the Suzuki duo played cat and mouse, Honda’s Shinichi Itoh slipped by both of them to take the lead. Kagayama passed Akiyoshi and Itoh all together at the chicane with two laps to go and Akiyoshi followed him through to take second. He then took the lead from Kagayama but on the final corner Kagayama got by to win by just 0.1 seconds. With Watanabe on the sidelines, the title went to Itoh with Watanabe second and Akiyoshi fourth. Superbike Results: 1: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 2: Kousuke Akiyoshi (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 3: Shinichi Itoh (Honda CBR1000RR) 4: Tatsuya Yamaguchi (Honda CBR1000RR) 5: Katsuyuki Nakasyka (Yamaha YZF-R1) 6: Takeshi Tsujimura (Honda CBR1000RR) 7: Shogo Moriwaki (Honda CBR1000RR) 8: Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 9: Osamu Deguchi (Honda CBR1000RR) 10: Yoshiki Konishi (Honda CBR1000RR)

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

The Tucson Police just called me and they found my truck! Apparently two Mexican guys were doing burnouts in a church parking lot and a neighbor called the cops. They ended up just locking the truck and leaving it there. The police said it looks like there was no damage at all and everything appears to still be in the truck.

The trailer is still missing but hopefully they’ll find that as well considering the idiots apparently stole it for a joyride. I’ll let you know whenever I find anything else out.

Thanks a lot for all of the help. I really appreciate it. The cops had a little different attitude today after getting all the press and e-mail. Ben Thompson Houston, Texas

More, from an e-mail sent to Tucson’s mayor:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Your Honour, Please have somebody on your staff read the following links from Road Racing World magazine: ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=27540~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=27541~ 

 I am a Canadian amateur motorcycle racer. My wife is a physician. We travel extensively in the USA, for my hobby, her career, and for vacations. We are considering moving to the ‘States within five years. The State of Arizona is at the top of our list. 

However, we are both dismayed to have read: about professional racer Ben Thompson being a victim of a violent crime in Tucson; and, the apparent lack of interest displayed by your police department. 

Sincerely, 

Major Steve Bem (retired) 

Dr. Janice Legere 

Dundas, Ontario, Canada

More, from another e-mail sent to Tucson’s mayor:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Sir,

If this is how people are treated in Tucson. I for one will not be visiting, nor will I thinking about retirement in your area.

Sincerely,

Trevor Heath 

Port Orchard, Washington

More, from another reader:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

It’s pretty obvious that the Tucson Police department are extremely well-trained individuals. I hope the mayor is happy with the publicity. By the way, the Citizen Police Advisory complaint web page is ~http://www.tucsonaz.gov/cparb/complaint.html~.

The mayor is Bob Walkup (and take my truck) and his e-mail is [email protected] . I just dropped him a note.

Laurence Owen

OMRRA, Retired 

Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada

The final race of the MotoGP season in Valencia, which saw 25 year-old American Nicky Hayden claim the MotoGP World Championship following a crash from five-time champion Valentino Rossi, saw MotoGP audiences reaching record highs to top off an incredible season of racing in the world’s premier motorcycling race series. The season has seen growth across most networks broadcasting the sport this season, and the figures at the thrilling Gran Premio bwin.com de la Comunitat Valenciana bear testament to that improvement. For the season’s culmination in Italy, a new viewing record was set for Italia 1, the Mediaset-owned channel which broadcasts MotoGP. A massive 8,850,000 viewers coupled with a 48.25% share represents the highest amount of spectators ever recorded on the channel, breaking the previous record of 8.446 million from MotoGP’s Catalunya race in 2005. Spain also saw a good turnout, TVE revealing that 3.35 million had tuned in to Sunday’s action, with a peak of 4.8 million towards the end of the MotoGP race, overall a 36.7% share. TVE could also boast positive figures during the 250cc race, where Jorge Lorenzo claimed his first world title, with 2.1 million watching the race live, a 36.2% share. In Britain, 1.4 million race-fans watched the exciting events unfold at Valencia on the BBC, representing a 15.5% share, whilst in Austria a share of 7.5% represented a new record high for the 12-3pm slot on the ATV channel. With Nicky Hayden claiming his first title, there were also positive signs from viewing figures back home in the USA, with cable channel Speed recording a 54% increase in figures compared to the same race in 2005.

A mere 22 days after the final race of the 2006 AMA Superbike season, factory teams were back on track testing machinery in preparation for the 2007 season. Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom and Jason DiSalvo tested their new 2007 YZF-R1 Superbikes at Daytona International Speedway October 24-25. “The test went better than I thought it would,” said Yamaha Team Manager Tom Halverson. “The CCS guys were there running the old course configuration, so the AMA portion of the infield was green and really, really slippery when we got there. So to get the times we were getting with a brand new motorcycle was really impressive. Top speed was good, too.” Because the new YZF-R1 is so similar in external dimensions and ergonomics to the 2006 model, Yamaha did not have to sacrifice a day — or an entire test, as is common practice, to set the handle bar, footpeg and seat positions on their new bikes. The team simply set the controls of the new bikes like those of Eric Bostrom’s and DiSalvo’s 2006 Superstock YZF-R1s and started testing. Still, the team plans another test, probably in northern California, before heading back to Daytona for the annual Dunlop tire test in early-December. As soon as Yamaha moved out of Daytona, American Honda pulled in for two days of testing (October 26-27) with factory riders Miguel Duhamel and Jake Zemke, Erion Honda’s 2006 AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Josh Hayes and the Rockwall Honda’s Ryan Andrews. The Honda teams primarily worked on their new 2007 CBR600RRs, while American Honda’s factory men continued working with the engine management (a.k.a. traction control) systems on their CBR1000RR Superbikes. Honda hopes to squeeze in another test on the West Coast before the Dunlop tire test. Kawasaki’s first test of the off-season is scheduled to happen at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama, in November. This will mark 2006 AMA Supersport and Superstock Champion Jamie Hacking’s debut as a Team Green rider and as Roger Hayden’s teammate. In addition to Hacking’s acclimation to the team, Kawasaki’s time at Barber will be its first opportunity to try its new, 2007 ZX-6R Supersport machine and to continue development on its ZX-10R Superbikes. Kawasaki also hopes to hold a second test before going to Daytona in December. Yoshimura Suzuki held its first test of the new season, a one-day test, November 1 at Willow Springs in Southern California. The outing had two goals. First, new-to-the-team Tommy Hayden needed to start developing his relationship with his new crew and get familiar with his new bike. And 2006 AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies and six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin needed to get shakedown runs on their new, 2007 GSX-R1000 Superbikes before the team headed to Sepang, Malaysia in November for the first real test of the new machine. Yoshimura Suzuki hopes to conduct a third test in America before going to the Daytona Dunlop tire test.

WERA racer and U.S. Marine Luke Wikle, 20, of Huntsville, Alabama was injured by a explosive device that detonated while he was on a foot patrol in Iraq. Wikle suffered shrapnel wounds in one thigh and is recovering in country. Luke Wikle is the eldest son of racer Luther Wikle and his wife Libby, and is the older brother of WERA racer Russell Wikle. Read about it here: ~http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=37300344&MyToken=5041826a-26be-459f-bcba-d3940ca0e401~

Reached by phone at 1:29 p.m. California time today and asked to comment on charges that officers took an hour to respond to the car-jacking of racer Ben Thompson, and then didn’t believe Thompson was car-jacked, a Tucson Police public information officer hung up on Roadracingworld.com . We’ll take that as a “No comment.”

Racer Ben Thompson was car-jacked in Tucson, Arizona at 8:30 a.m. local time, a thief taking off in Thompson’s blue 2004 Ford F150 Lightning, VIN #2FTRF07324CA74217, which was pulling an enclosed 5×8-foot U-haul trailer full of stock motorcycle parts and bodywork. The incident occured in the parking lot of a Super 8 motel located at I-10 and 22nd Street. Thompson was en-route from San Diego to Houston when he pulled in front of the hotel’s entrance to drop off his room key. “It was less than 10 seconds and this guy jumped into my truck,” said Thompson, “and started pulling away. I jumped in front of the truck and he hit me, and I flew off the side of the fender. He had a sharp turn he had to make to get out of the parking lot and I got in front of him again and he hit my knee. Then I jumped up and grabbed onto the window and was hanging on and he accelerated out onto the roadway and started swerving until I was thrown off and rolled across three lanes of traffic. I stood up, all bloody, and nobody would even stop to help me.” Thompson said that police officers who responded to the incident didn’t believe him, including Officer Galaida. “I’m obviously beat up, the guy hit me like three times, they showed up like an hour later after I saw three different police cars drive by and tried to wave them down. When they showed up they asked me if I was involved in any drug deals or prostitution to lose the truck. Asked me what I was really doing here, why I was in the area. I had called and told them within two minutes of the thing happening where the truck was going and then they showed up an hour later and asked me what the truck looked like. “Then the last thing they said to me was, ‘Let us know if you somehow find your truck.'” The truck has Alaska plates and the trailer has Oregon plates; more information will be posted when it becomes available. Thompson qualified on pole for the final AMA Superbike race of the season, at Mid-Ohio, and finished the race in 13th.