PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced that Dal Smilie of Helena, Montana, has been elected to the position of Chairman of the AMA Board of Directors; Andy Goldfine of Aerostich, Croft Long Of Kawasaki, and Ken Sutton of Harley-Davidson have been re-elected to serve as corporate members of the AMA Board of Directors; and Jon-Erik Burleson of KTM has been appointed as a corporate member of the AMA Board of Directors. Smilie replaces previous chairman Rick Gray of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who declined to seek another term as chairman in order to serve his local community as mayor. Burleson was appointed by the AMA Board of Directors to fill the seat vacated upon the recent death of Rod Bush. Goldfine, Long, and Sutton were elected during the annual meeting of AMA Corporate Members, held on Saturday, February 18, in Indianapolis. The AMA Board of Directors consists of 12 members. Six individual Directors are elected by the general membership in their respective regions and serve three-year terms. Six corporate Directors are elected by the corporate membership and serve two-year terms. The AMA Board of Directors meets four times a year. The American Motorcyclist Association: rights. riding. racing. Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 270,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN.

Torrance, CA: For more than 30 years, American Honda has maintained a seat on the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Board of Trustees. Unfortunately, recent actions taken by the AMA have caused American Honda to question its continued participation on both the AMA Board of Trustees and the Paradama (AMA Pro Racing) Board of Directors. Ultimately, American Honda has made the decision to vacate both seats on these boards effective immediately. Ray Blank, American Honda Senior Vice President, has served on the AMA Board of Trustees since 1989, and on the AMA Pro Racing board since Paradama’s reorganization in the late ’90’s. No Honda representative will take Mr. Blank’s place. During the time representatives from American Honda served in AMA board-member capacities, the company played a significant role in many positive changes that have taken place in motorcycle racing; the rise of Supercross as a mainstream sport; improvements in rider safety across a broad spectrum of professional motorcycle racing classes; the building of Paradama as a solid business entity within the AMA organization; and sponsorship growth to a level that now supports more full-time professional motorcycle racers than ever before. American Honda has supported the Paradama concept since it was conceived as a means to create a profitable corporation to fund a vision of what AMA racing should become, and what an AMA non-profit organization could become–a million member organization that fights for motorcyclists’rights, advocates keeping land open for responsible off-roading and maintains a vital Washington presence. Recently, however, conflicting interests within the AMA organization have caused a division of ideology and a blurring of the vision that American Honda has always supported. Recent issues, including the departure of dedicated individuals from AMA Pro Racing and its inability to stand by its own rulebook with regard to recent Formula Xtreme considerations, have been particularly alarming. Honda believes the rulebook is a sanctioning body’s most important asset. When a governing body violates the sanctity of its rulebook, it loses credibility with everyone associated with racing–the teams, the riders, the sponsors and, most importantly, the fans who rely on sanctioning bodies to create racing environments which ensure fair, balanced and exciting competition. Honda believes the AMA and other sanctioning bodies must be responsible for coordinating the efforts of all participants to ultimately benefit the sport. Honda also believes that all manufacturers, through technical committees, must participate in, and collaborate on, development and harmonization of technical rules for each class of competition. American Honda will continue its corporate AMA membership and will continue to support the AMA’s all important, industry efforts in the areas of land use, riders’ rights and the many other positive programs the organization spearheads. American Honda will continue to compete in AMA sanctioned racing, and will continue to utilize its resources to build the sport and support more riders and teams. Today, Honda offers unprecedented support throughout the AMA professional paddocks. Most importantly, Honda remains committed to providing new opportunities for customers to enjoy and race Honda products, and for fans to share in the unique passion and excitement of motorcycle racing.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) today announced changes to the organization’s structure designed to increase the Association’s effectiveness in its core mission of promoting motorcycle “rights. riding. racing.” The changes, which were announced following the February 17 meeting of the AMA Board of Directors, will create three new standing committees of the Board — Rights, Riding and Racing — each designed to focus on one element of the AMA’s mission. These committees will consist of Board members and other experts who will meet at least twice a year for the purpose of strategic planning within each core area. “The AMA is the leading voice of American motorcyclists in a wide variety of areas,” said AMA Board Chairman Rick Gray. “We are at the forefront of efforts to defend the rights of motorcyclists. We create riding opportunities through our calendar of more than 1,000 sanctioned road-riding events each year. And we are the largest motorcycle racing organization in the world, with a yearly schedule of more than 3,000 races at the amateur and professional levels. “This new structure allows us to use the expertise of our Board of Directors most effectively,” he added. “By allowing these committees to work on the Association’s long-term direction in each of these critical areas, we can be more responsive to the interests of all AMA members.” The AMA Board consists of 12 members, half elected by individual AMA members from six regions of the country, and half elected by the AMA’s corporate members. The new committees will be in addition to the Board’s existing Executive Committee and Finance Committee. Assignments to the new committees will be made in the coming weeks by the Board chairman. The American Motorcyclist Association: rights. riding. racing. Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 270,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN.

AMA ANNOUNCES NEW RULESMAKING COMMITTEES FOR PROFESSIONAL RACING

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — As part of its overall reorganization unveiled today, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced the creation of a new rulesmaking procedure for its professional-racing programs.

Direction for the AMA’s professional road racing, motocross/supercross, flat track, supermoto and hillclimb programs has been in the hands of a single AMA Pro Racing Board. That Board will be replaced by independent working committees that will propose equipment standards and rules for on-track competition. Proposed rules would then be ratified by the AMA Board of Directors.

“The goal of this new structure is to allow the Association to be more responsive to all of the groups with an interest in our professional-racing programs,” said AMA Chief Executive Officer Patti DiPietro. “That includes everyone from the manufacturers and team owners to the racers, promoters, aftermarket suppliers and fans.”

The size of these committees will vary depending upon the racing discipline. Each will include one representative from every AMA corporate member manufacturer with a motorcycle homologated for competition in that discipline. In addition, the AMA president will appoint enough other members of the committee to assure that the manufacturers cannot constitute a majority.

In motocross racing, for instance, six manufacturers — Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki and Yamaha — currently have motorcycles homologated for AMA professional competition. The AMA president will appoint at least seven other Motocross/Supercross Committee members, who could include racers, promoters, aftermarket manufacturers and others with an interest in the sport.

These committees will hold at least one formal meeting every year, although it is anticipated that additional, informal meetings may take place more often. Working with representatives from the AMA Pro Racing staff for that discipline, committee members will develop racing rules and equipment standards that will be sent to the AMA Board of Directors.

The AMA Board will have the power to accept or reject the committee’s recommendations, but it will not be allowed to alter those recommendations. A veto by the AMA Board will require support by a supermajority (nine members of the 12-member Board).

Rules that are approved by the AMA Board will not go into effect for at least a full racing season, so that riders and teams will have time to develop their programs. Modifications to rules that are required during the course of a racing season will be handled by an executive committee consisting of chairmen elected by members of each committee. Those rules will apply only for the current racing season. As is the case now, emergency rules changes, if necessary, will be implemented by the AMA Pro Racing staff.

“We are creating a system designed to increase the transparency of the rulesmaking process for AMA professional competition,” said DiPietro. “By opening up these rulesmaking committees to all parties involved in our racing programs, we will make sure that everyone’s voice is heard on these important issues. And we will make public all written reports from the rulesmaking committees to the AMA Board, so that anyone can monitor the process of creating new racing rules.”

Rules for amateur competition run by AMA Sports will continue to be made by the AMA Congress, which brings together representatives from AMA recognized districts across the country each year. As with the new rulesmaking committees for professional racing, the AMA Congress sends its recommendations to the AMA Board for ratification.

The American Motorcyclist Association: rights. riding. racing. Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 270,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN.

More, from another press release issued by AMA:

BACKGROUNDER: AMA ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES Q & A

-Why is the AMA announcing these changes in structure?

We want to more effectively use the expertise of the members of the AMA Board of Directors while increasing responsiveness to all parts of the motorcycling community.

-What are the structural changes to the AMA Board?

The changes will create three new Board committees devoted to the three core parts of the AMA’s mission: rights, riding and racing. These will be in addition to the Board’s existing Executive and Finance committees. These committees will be composed of existing Board members and may also include outside experts in an advisory role.

-What are the responsibilities of these new committees?

They will be responsible for setting the long-term direction of the Association in those areas, while AMA staff and other groups work on implementation of those long-term decisions.

For instance, in the area of professional racing, the AMA is creating new, independent rulesmaking committees charged with developing equipment standards and on-track rules for road racing, motocross/supercross, flat track, supermoto and hillclimb competition. Working with AMA Pro Racing staff, those independent committees will focus on racing rules, while the AMA Board Racing Committee will focus on long-term strategic planning for the Association’s racing series.

-Who do the new professional-racing rulesmaking committees report to?

The rulesmaking committees will be independent entities charged with developing rules in conjunction with the AMA Pro Racing staff. They will send their proposed rules to the AMA Board’s Racing Committee for review and recommendation. The Racing Committee will forward the proposed rules to the full AMA Board for ratification. The AMA Board Racing Committee will not be directly involved in the rules-development process.

-Who will serve on the new rulesmaking committees?

Committee sizes will be variable. Each committee will include one representative from each AMA corporate member manufacturer with a motorcycle homologated for competition in that discipline. In addition, the AMA president will appoint enough other members of the committee to assure that the manufacturers cannot constitute a majority.

In motocross/supercross racing, for instance, six manufacturers-Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki and Yamaha-currently have motorcycles homologated for AMA professional competition. The AMA president will appoint at least seven other Motocross/Supercross Committee members, who could include racers, promoters, aftermarket manufacturers and others with an interest in the sport.

-How long will those rulesmaking committee members serve?

Terms for rulesmaking committees will be three years. However, if a manufacturer no longer has a motorcycle homologated for that type of competition, it will lose its committee position even if the term has not expired.

-Can AMA Board members serve on rulesmaking committees?

Members of the AMA Board cannot also hold positions on the rulesmaking committees. An AMA corporate member could have a representative elected to the AMA Board and could have representatives on the rulesmaking committees, but the individual who serves on the AMA Board cannot serve on any of the rulesmaking committees.

-How will new racing rules be adopted?

Working with the AMA Pro Racing staff, the rulesmaking committees will develop proposed racing rules and equipment standards that will be sent to the Racing Committee of the AMA Board of Directors for review. The Racing Committee will forward the proposed rules, with its recommendations, to the full AMA Board.

The full AMA Board will have the power to accept or reject the committee’s proposed rules, but it will not be allowed to alter those proposed rules. A veto by the AMA Board will require support by a supermajority (nine members of the 12-member Board).

Rules that are approved by the AMA Board will not go into effect for at least a full racing season, so that riders and teams will have time to develop their programs. Modifications to rules that are required during the course of a racing season will be handled by an executive committee consisting of chairmen elected by members of each committee. Those rules will apply only for the current racing season. As is the case now, emergency rules changes, if necessary, will be implemented by the AMA Pro Racing staff.

-At what point will racers and fans be able to learn about new rules proposals?

All written recommendations from the rulesmaking committees to the AMA Board will be made public.

-Will these new rulesmaking committees determine rules for AMA amateur competition?

No. Amateur competition rules will continue to be developed by the AMA Congress, which includes representatives from AMA recognized districts. As with the new rulesmaking committees for professional racing, the AMA Congress sends its recommendations to the AMA Board for ratification.

AMA THANKS PRO RACING BOARD FOR SERVICE

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Board Chairman Rick Gray today thanked the members of the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors for their service to the organization. The single Pro Racing Board is being replaced by a group of rulesmaking committees that will each focus on a single racing discipline.

The Pro Racing Board has been in existence since 1994. It currently consists of Chairman P.J. Harvey, along with members Cary J.C. Agajanian, Ray Blank, Mike Buckley, Paul Dean, Jeff Nash, Kevin Schwantz and John Ulrich.

“These individuals have volunteered their time and effort for years to help improve the AMA’s professional-racing program,” said Gray. “Much of the progress we have made in gaining wider exposure and recognition of our sport is directly attributable to their contributions.”

In coming weeks, the AMA will announce the members of the new committees that will develop equipment standards and rules for AMA pro competition in road racing, motocross/supercross, flat track, supermoto and hillclimb.

The American Motorcyclist Association: rights. riding. racing. Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 270,000 members. The Association’s purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN

(Roadracingworld.com Editorial Note: Blank and Ulrich remain members of the Board of Directors of the AMA, the parent organization of AMA Pro Racing.)

Tom Tunstall is delighted to confirm that he will be racing in the World Supersport Championship in 2006 onboard the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Honda. Tom, aged 27, from Huddersfield enjoyed one of his best season of racing in the highly regarded British Supersport Championship in 2005. On the strength of his results along with his World Supersport wild card performances at Brands Hatch and Silverstone he has received increased backing from his sponsors Hardinge Bridgeport Machine Tools and Ice Valley Natural Mineral Water. This has enabled him to become a full time professional motorcycle racer, live his dream and race a full season in the world championship. “It’s a dream come true to be a full time rider competing at this level in a world championship.” explained Tom. “I’ve ridden as a wild card in a number of World Supersport events and have achieved strong results and a lot of attention from the media. We’ve proved we can be competitive at the UK tracks so now I’m well up for the challenge and can’t wait to start racing on some of the best circuits in Europe and the rest of the world.” he continued The 13 round season gets underway in the Middle Eastern desert of Qatar on 23rd to 25th February before heading to round two at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit in Australia. The team, once again backed by sponsors Hardinge Bridgeport, the global machine tool company and Ice Valley the fastest growing mineral water brands in the UK, have only been able to complete a single days testing on the new 2006 bike at Cartegena in Spain due to poor weather, but are optimistic about their fourth coming season. “It would have been nice to have got more time on the bike before we had to ship them to Qatar, but the combination of bad weather and an early start to the season, meant we couldn’t test as much as we’s have liked. I’ve ridden a CBR600RR for the past two years, so at least I know what to expect from the bike and with help from the Ten Kate Racing engine developers I’m confident we can be competitive.” explained Tom. Tom and the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Honda team are set to receive additional support from the title winning Ten Kate Honda engine tuners after building a strong relationship over the past two years. Ten Kate produce are arguably the best Supersport bikes in the world and have won the last four World Supersport titles and Tom will be able to benefit from their knowledge of engine development and bike set-up throughout the course of the season. Tom will be the only British entrant in to the World Supersport Championship in 2006, which will guarantee him prime coverage on British Eurosport television in addition to national and regional press. The World Supersport Championship runs alongside the prestigious World Superbike Championship, which received over two billion television viewers and a million spectators in 2005. For further information on the teams racing activities and photographs please contact. Tom Tunstall on [email protected] Rider Profile Age: 27 Date of birth: 21st June Height: 1.80m Weight: 70kg Marital Status: Single Nationality: British Place of birth: Huddersfield, UK Home: Denby Dale Occupation: Motorcycle Racer and Turbocharger Development Engineer Hobbies: Cycling, Running, Supermoto, Gym 2006 Calendar February 25 Qatar Doha March 5 Australia Phillip Island April 23 Spain Valencia May 7 Italy Monza May 28 Great-Britain Silverstone June 25 San Marino Misano July/ 23 Czech Rep, Brno August 6 Great-Britain Brands Hatch September 3 Netherlands Assen September 10 Germany Lausitz October 1 Italy Imola October 8 France Magny-Cours October 22 South Africa/ Tba

MAD MAX MONSTER WINS AT CHICAGO SHOW Cupertino, CA – Monster owners from throughout the upper Midwest braved freezing temperatures this past weekend to show their creations before a huge crowd at the Chicago round of the Ducati Monster Challenge. Chris Platzer hauled away top honors with the narrowest margin of victory in the two-year history of the Monster Challenge. Platzer, from Eagan, Minnesota, and Bill Keros, of Commerce Township, Michigan, presented bikes that were polar opposites. At show’s end, Platzer’s creation eked out a scant two-point victory of the 122 possible points available from the judges and public voters. Nearly 1,100 individuals cast their votes for a “People’s Choice” winner, and the crowd agreed with the judges when they narrowly voted Platzer’s bike best of show. Without the aid of sophisticated power tools and machining instruments, Platzer built aluminum bars, grips and fenders that gave the bike a look as if it was direct from the set of a Mad Max film. The scaled and layered front and rear fenders made some call the 1996 M900 the “Lizard Monster.” “I don’t have any sophisticated tools at all,” said Platzer, “so I mostly used hand drills and saws to make the fenders, grips, head and tail lights, bars and turn signals. It was a long trip down here and even if I hadn’t of won, I had a great time. Going to dinner with the other owners and Ducati staff Friday night was a blast!” offered the obviously elated Platzer. Keros presented a 2005 S4R that was as different as one could possibly imagine, and between the two machines the huge Chicago International Motorcycle Show crowd saw just how diverse the Ducati Monster can be. Keros created a bike that was highly refined and extremely powerful, featuring a two inch stretched frame powered by an extensively modified, nitrous enhanced motor. A massive 7.5 inch, 210mm wide rear wheel and exceptional paint scheme attracted crowds all weekend. Cycle World and Road & Track Editor at Large Peter Egan was one of the three contest judges charged with crowning a winner, and summed up his reaction to the collective bikes when he said “I’d love to just go out and hear the rattle and boom of these bikes and go on a ride with the guys.” “There are some great bikes here, and the scaled bike won out for me because of the personal touches, immense amount of time he put into it and the creativity he showed. It’s amazing that he made most of those parts himself with little more than a drill and saw. That bike makes me smile,” added Egan, who gave a slight nod to Platzer’s “Lizard” Monster over the stunning machine built by Keros. John Margiolas, creator and moderator of SportBike.Net, went the other way, giving Keros a very slight edge over Platzer. “I love the story behind The Lizard Bike,” said Margiolas, “it’s an awesome interpretation of the Monster, which is simply beautiful to begin with. But the powerful visual statement and incredible workmanship on the other bike gave it the edge. Man, these are both amazing bikes, and the rest of the entries are great as well. This is a tremendous way to show off the Ducati Monster,” added Margriolas. Taking the third spot was a 2001 S4 owned and built by Ben VanderKinter of Green Bay, Wisconsin. VanderKinter’s bike featured a one-off airbrush painting of a shark’s head and gills and also grabbed the attention of the crowd. Coupled with the one-of-a-kind paint job, his bike sported a serious riding side, with lightened flywheel, full spaghetti exhaust system and Superbike vented front fender. VanderKinter summarized his Monster by saying, “this is the first bike that I’ve owned that has a life of its own! It’s 100% fun to ride.” Platzer and his bike will join the winners of the previous six rounds of the Monster Challenge at the event finals at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama in April. The next round of The Ducati Monster Challenge will be held February 24-26 in Montreal, Quebec. The winner of the finals will receive a 2006 Ducati Monster S2R 1000 and the second place finisher will win a trip to a Moto GP race. Third place will receive a $1,000.00 Ducati Performance gift certificate.

Yamaha GMT94 rider David Checa will miss the opening rounds of the 2006 Supersport World Championship after breaking his wrist in a testing accident on Wednesday. The Spaniard had only completed a few laps at the Albacete circuit in his homeland when he crashed the YZF-R1 he is due to race at the Le Mans and Bol d’Or 24 hours endurance races alongside his supersport commitments. “David is very disappointed,” commented team owner Christophe Guyot. “He can’t understand why he lost the bike but he has kept his iron will. He knows that even if he has to miss a few races there will be a lot more opportunities to prove how well he can race with GMT throughout the season.” With doctors recommending a four-week lay-off, Checa will miss the Qatar and Australian rounds of the Supersport World Championship, due to take place on February 25 and March 5 respectively. David is planning to return to the saddle for the Le Mans 24 hours race on 22-23 April. As this clashes with round three of the Supersport World Championship, Checa’s first race outing on the R6 is expected to be at the Monza race on May 7.

AMA SUPERMOTO CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED PICKERINGTON, Ohio (February 17, 2006) AMA Pro Racing released the schedule for the 2006 AMA Supermoto Championship today. The nine-event season will begin on April 29 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and conclude at a gala, season-ending finale planned for Nov. 4 at the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif. Along the way, the championship will visit a variety of new and returning tracks. AMA Pro Racing Supermoto Series Manager, Todd Eagan commented on the 2006 calendar, “This year’s schedule is an interesting mix of stand-alone races combined with events held in conjunction with existing, high profile AMA Championship races. In addition to tying into three AMA Superbike events, we’re thrilled to be adding a race at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the home of the Detroit Pistons, and a double-header event in Denver.” The Denver event replaces the event formerly held in Copper Mountain, Colo., and was moved in the hopes of generating increased attendance and awareness. Eagan also noted the possibility that another event may yet be added to the schedule. “We’re still in negotiations with a couple of additional venues but didn’t want to hold up the schedule any longer,” added Eagan. “If either of these additional events develop the way we expect them to we’ll issue an updated calendar.” The 2006 AMA Supermoto Championship Schedule is as follows: Date, Location April 29, California Speedway – Fontana, CA June 3, Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI June 10, USA International Raceway – Shawano, WI June 17, Miller Motorsports Park – Tooele, UT July 8, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI August 26-27, TBA – Denver, CO (double-header) October 14, Music City Motorplex – Nashville, TN November 4, Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA About AMA Pro Racing AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.