A WSMC racer died when the driver of an Oldsmobile turned left in front of his streetbike in Hollywood last Thursday afternoon. Mgrdich “Magoo” Fidanian, WSMC Expert #491, of Glendale, California hit the car when it turned left in front of him. The car driver was a 59-year-old man who was turning into a parking lot. According to police, Fidanian, 26, was riding a 2006 MV Augusta F4 1000. He died a short time after being transported to the hospital. R.I.P.
Over 200 motorcycle road racing Champions are coming to compete at Daytona International Speedway October 21 23 for the 22nd Annual Race of Champions. Each year Daytona welcomes the finest riders from Championship Cup Series regions all over the country. More than 200 riders who have won regional class championships will come to prove that they are the best. Fans can expect to see the brightest regional stars rub elbows at speeds exceeding 170 miles per hour as they try to claim a 2005 CCS National Championship. . The Championship Cup Series has already crowned many regional champions. Overall Champion in the Florida region is Darren Luck. Jonny Moore is the overall winner for the Great Plains and Midwest region. The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions share Nate Kern as an overall winner. Kern has nine class championships for the 2005 season. Kane Lasky is the overall champion in the Southwest region. Championship Cup Series, the nation’s largest sportsman level motorcycle road racing organization, will share the track with Formula USA offering up the chance to see some of tomorrow’s stars looking to move up from the CCS ranks to the Formula USA Championship Series. Each Formula USA weekend brings $90,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs between four premiere classes. Combine that with the CCS cash and prizes, and the racers will be competing for over $200,000 in cash and contingency prizes. The Race of Champions will mark the end of the 2005 season for Championship Cup Series and Formula USA Championship Series alike. This has been a banner year for Arclight Suzuki’s Jeff Wood who is poised to take home an unprecedented triple crown Championship in the Formula USA series. Wood is the point leader for SportBike, Formula SportBike and SuperBike classes. Dave Estok of Millville and Wildwood Harley Davidson Buell is also close to securing a championship in the Formula USA Thunderbike class Tickets for the event can be purchased at the gate. A weekend pass for spectators will be $35 at the gate. For more information visit www.ccsracing.com.
KAWASAKI’S PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER RECEIVES WIMA USA 2005 IMAGE AWARD JAN PLESSNER HONORED FOR DEDICATION TO WOMEN IN MOTORCYCLING IRVINE, Calif. (October 17, 2005) – The Women’s International Motorcycle Association U.S.A., (WIMA) honored Jan Plessner, Public Relations Manager at Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. with their “2005 Image Award.” The WIMA U.S.A. Image Award is presented to women who are dedicated to the sport of motorcycling, and pave the way for future generations with their positive attitudes. The award was presented in Las Vegas, Nev. at the banquet dinner for Femmoto, an annual “all women” track day event which Kawasaki co-sponsored. “Jan Plessner was chosen to receive the 2005 WIMA USA Image Award for her significant success in demonstrating the great things of which women riders and racers are capable,” said Alice Sexton, President of WIMA USA. “No other motorcycle brand has shown the continued commitment to women riders as has Kawasaki.” When asked how it felt to receive such an honor, Plessner replied, “It’s an incredible feeling to have everyone you respect and care about share in something so special. I am very fortunate to be working for such a leading-edge company within a thriving industry, which I truly love.” Plessner, who has worked in the motorcycle industry for 16 years, has been instrumental in helping raise awareness for women in motorcycling in a variety of roles and events. Kawasaki recently hosted a weekend ride and track day for women motorcycle journalists in conjunction with the AMA Superbike Races at Infineon Raceway. Not only is she a positive role model for women in motorcycling, she continues to increase awareness and encourage women that they too can ride a motorcycle. Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) markets and sells at wholesale Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft, utility vehicles and power products through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers, with an additional 8,400 retailers specializing in power products and general purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with more than 350 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters. Kawasaki’s tagline, “Let the good times roll.™”, is recognized worldwide and the brand is aggressively carrying its heritage of leading-edge power, performance and exhilaration into the 21st century. Information about Kawasaki’s complete line of recreational products and Kawasaki affiliates can be found on the Internet at www.kawasaki.com.
Purse Payout Roadracing World 250/50 Willow Springs Raceway Rosamond, California October 16, 2005 1. $3500 2. $3000 3. $2500 4. $2200 5. $2100 6. $2000 7. $1800 8. $1600 9. $1400 10. $1200 11. $1100 12. $800 13. $750 14. $650 15. $575 16. $500 17. $425 18. $350 19. $300 20. $250 21st-30th: $200 31st-40th: $100
Purse Payout WSMC Toyota 200 October 16, 2005 1. $50,000 2. $30,000 3. $10,000 4. $5000 5. $3000 6. $3000 7. $3000 8-18th: $2000 19th-29th: $1500 30th-40th: $1000
PHOENIX RIDE FOR KIDS® SETS NEW RECORD, SAN DIEGO FIRST-TIME EVENT SCORES BIG! Arizona and California motorcyclists came out strong on Sunday, Oct. 16, as they joined Ride for Kids® events in Phoenix and San Diego. Their fundraising efforts on behalf of kids fighting brain tumors contributed $221,184 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s medical research and family support programs. The Arizona skies filled with sunshine as more than 500 motorcyclists, fundraisers, patient families and volunteers gathered at the Glendale Arena in Glendale for the ninth annual Phoenix event. The police-escorted riders toured the winding back roads of the stunning desert landscape before returning to the arena for the moving Celebration of Life program. There they honored four young brain tumor survivors for their courage and perseverance””Tanner, 5; Shelby, 9; Bryce, 11; and Logan, 12. The children were joined on stage by Steve, an adult survivor of a childhood brain tumor. Other special guests included Glendale city councilman Phil Leiberman and GWRRA executive director Don Brock. Dr. Michael Berens of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) thanked the motorcyclists for their fundraising support, saying, “Your contributions are key to the success of our research.” Bryce’s mom, Charlene, said, “We need all of your help. Because of you, PBTF’s support of research will help us find a cure.” The Phoenix event raised a total of $180,840. Scott and Mary Jo White, who started the Nikki’s Hope foundation after a brain tumor took their daughter’s life, were the top individual fundraisers with a total of $85,000. The top club was Nikki’s Hope with $86,000, followed by the Tucson Red Riders (HRCA), whose members raised $12,636. The customers of Western Honda raised $90,934 to make it the top motorcycle business. Roger Phillips of Tucson was the winner of a brand-new Honda motorcycle donated by American Honda Motor Company. Special thanks went to Phoenix’s task force leaders””Edie and Dave Hewitt and Clark Roushey, along with the dedicated task force members and day-of-event volunteers, for hosting a wonderful event. On the California coast, more than 200 people came out to Mira Costa College in Cardiff for the first annual San Diego Ride for Kids®. Thunder, lightning and gully-washing rain didn’t stop the police-escorted riders from enjoying a trip through the scenic countryside northeast of the city. Afterward, they took part in the Celebration of Life program with several young brain tumor survivors, including Jordan, 6; Sidney, 7; Steven, 11; Leo and Stephen, 15; and Bayleigh, 16. Also on hand were several adult survivors, including Michelle, Jennifer, Esmeralda, Jonathan, Samantha and Erin, the older sister of Ride for Kids® “star” Leo. Erin told the crowd that they had “awesome hearts,” and Bayleigh said, “What you’re doing here today really is a life and death choice, for me and all the others here.” Dr. Eduardo Serna, who rode in the event, thanked his fellow motorcyclists for raising money for research into childhood brain tumors. Special guests included Charlie Keller of the Honda Rider’s Club of America. The total raised in San Diego was $40,344. Top individual fundraiser honors went to Cliff and Rebe Philip of Temecula, Calif., who raised $8,250. The top club was GWRRA CA Chapter 1N, whose members brought $16,078, and the customers of Escondido Cycle Center raised $15,176 to make it the top motorcycle business. Louis Vanderveen of Los Angeles won the grand prize, a brand-new Honda motorcycle. Heartfelt thanks went to task force leaders Patricia and Richard Hinrichs and visitation leaders Louis Vanderveen and Edel Albright, along with the hardworking task force members and day-of-event volunteers, for putting together a superb first-year event. Proceeds of the events fund the medical research and family support programs of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Since 1984, the national Ride for Kids® program and PBTF have supported childhood brain tumor research and family support programs. Programs include free literature about brain tumors, two national newsletters, the Informed Parent & Survivor Internet Conference series and college scholarships. Thanks to the thousands of caring and generous motorcyclists and motorcycle dealers who have supported the program since its inception, PBTF has become the world’s largest non-governmental source of funding for pediatric brain tumor research. The next Ride for Kids® events are on Oct. 23 in Lafayette, La., and Nov. 6 in Dunnellon, Fla. For more information about the Ride for Kids® and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, please visit rideforkids.org or pbtfus.org, or call (800) 253-6530.
LORIS CAPIROSSI RETURNS TO ITALY WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CLINICA MOBILE Bologna, Monday 17 October 2005 – Following his discharge from Melbourne’s Cabrini Hospital, Loris Capirossi left Australia and after a flight lasting almost 28 hours, including 24 in the air, with stopovers at Dubai and Rome Fiumicino, finally landed at Rimini airport at 14.45 today, Monday 17 October. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider was immediately transferred to Imola hospital in an ambulance and will be personally assisted by Dr. Claudio Costa. Clinica Mobile doctors had judged that Loris should return to Italy as soon as possible so that he could be assisted directly by Dr. Costa. However, without a chest drain, the internal bleeding around his right lung, caused in the spectacular crash at the end of Friday’s free practice session, could have prevented him from flying for another 15-20 days. An eventual reopening of the unhealed injury during the flight could have caused the lung to come away from the wall and collapse. Loris was permitted to return to Italy with a chest drain attached, which would have allowed the lung to remain in position in case of sudden cabin de-pressurization. The courageous Italian rider was accompanied during the return flight by Dr. Massimo Corbascio from the Clinica Mobile, who has been following racing for more than thirty years and who has considerable experience of this type of injury. Capirossi will remain in Imola Hospital for at least four days, where he will be constantly kept under observation to avoid any complications that might prevent the injury from healing up correctly. “The return flight went well, and that’s good news” declared Claudio Costa, who was at Rimini airport to meet Loris and who organised his transfer to Imola, “considering the fact that it was the longest ever flight made by a rider with such a serious injury. Loris made a brave decision to return home with a chest drain attached instead of waiting a few more days. I was not worried however because I knew he was in the hands of expert and competent people. Loris will stay a few days at Imola, where we will try to prevent the development of any complications and help bring about a natural healing of the lung. Hopefully I can help to wipe out the sadness I can see in his eyes, a sadness caused by pain but also by the disappointment at seeing his season come to an early end. For sure we won’t see him race in Turkey but I would like to think that, as he has done on other occasions, our courageous Loris can hope to return before time, in this case at Valencia”. “We have finally arrived in Italy and now I can try and recover as quickly as possible” said Loris, accompanied by his wife Ingrid, on landing at Rimini airport. “My return to Italy was perfectly organized by Ducati, and now I can’t wait to remove the drainage tube, which is causing me a lot of bother, and begin the healing of the lung. I know I am in good hands and I would like to thank all the Clinica Mobile medical team, Dr. Corbascio, who accompanied me to Melbourne and throughout the flight home, and Dr. Costa, who was waiting at the airport ready to take me to hospital and organize my stay there. It was really a bad crash, probably the worst one of my career, but these things can happen. Only when I arrived at the hospital and when they started to tube me up, did I realize how serious it was: it was really painful. Of course I don’t know when I will return to racing; if it were that simple, I’d remove everything and leave for Turkey immediately but it’s too early to make plans”. Claudio Domenicali, managing director of Ducati Corse, immediately went to Imola to convey the greetings of the entire company and to wish Loris all the best for a rapid recovery. “Loris was involved in a horrific crash and we were all alarmed, I just had to be there to meet him on his return to Italy, and so that I could personally check on his condition” declared Domenicali. “I also wanted to demonstrate that we are all close to him at this difficult moment. From a sporting point of view, it was a shame that he was not able to race in Australia and will not be able to compete in Turkey, I am sure that he would have ended the season with some great results and would have had a good chance of achieving his aim of finishing runner-up in the world championship. However the only thing that counts now is that Loris completely recovers and gets his strength back so that he can return to racing, when the doctors allow, with all of his determination and incredible desire to win. I am convinced that he will do so soon, because Loris is someone who never gives up”.
Rich Oliver wins the third annual Roadracing World 250/50! Mystery School owner Oliver retrieved his 2003 Championship winning Yamaha from storage to win the Willow Springs event by 26.204 seconds, lapping up to third place. With help from Keith McCarty, Bob Starr and Jeff Jones from Yamaha USA, Ed Sorbo from Roadracing World Magazine, and 250 racer Bruce Lind he was able to find enough parts to run the machine one more time. Oliver comments, “I had a great time getting on track again after a year layoff, it felt awesome to race at Willow Springs! I really have to thank my long time mechanic Robert Ward for another outstanding performance. He has a knack for getting our Yamaha TZ running incredibly strong every time he works on it. We also had an intern with us, former Mystery School Pro Camp student Greg Johnson, who flew in all the way from upstate New York. He did a great job helping us with the pit work and bike maintenance. “I had a nice rhythm going on Friday in practice, it seemed that my bit of extra Mystery training paid off as I felt stronger and smoother on the bike than last year. I was able to produce the correct lap times in just 8 laps, last year it took me a lot longer to get going! “On Saturday we had some small engine problems in qualifying, we had damaged three carbon fiber reed petals in the morning warm up, so the bike lost its low end power and would barely start up. There wasn’t enough time to fix it before qualifying, but we were able to get the pole position by just half a second over young gun Bradley Adams. “Sunday in the race I got a good start, and rode hard for the first 10 laps, building up a lead over Michael Montoya and Mark Watts. The last 10 laps I just tried to get through traffic safely and take care of my Dunlop tires, as Willow is mostly right hand turns and they wear on that side a bit more. There were 41 riders in the event! “I have to say a special thanks to Roadracing World’s John Ulrich and the entire staff of Willow Springs for putting on such a great 250 Grand Prix race.” This year’s effort was sponsored by Rich Oliver’s Mystery School, Yamaha USA, Dunlop Tires, Shoei Safety Helmets, Micron Exhaust, Kushitani Leathers, Supertech, Motorex USA, LE Engineering, Cytomax, Drive Systems USA, Paint by Sabatini, Ferodo, Wilson’s Motorcycles, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, and Frenotech. The next events on the schedule for Oliver are Shoei University Seminars in El Paso, Texas on October 18th and then the next night in Las Cruces, New Mexico on October 19th. Then he welcomes the staff from Trackdaz Riding School for their Two Day Instructor Camp on October 22nd and 23rd. For more information about Rich Oliver’s racing career, there is a new on-line biography here: http://www.richoliver.net/RichOliverBio More, from a press release issued by Kenny Kopecky: Kenny Kopecky, WSMC #27 Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Round 10 / Toyota 200 Oct. 15-16, 2005 Rosamond, CA On a windy and sometimes wet event weekend San Diego’s Kenny Kopecky again swept three WSMC Twins sprint classes to extend his class and overall points leads at Willow Springs Raceway. The sprint races on Saturday were an exercise in caution as gusting winds caught out several racers in a variety of crashes, and caused delays in the event program. Kenny said “We’re always happy to get through the windy days out here, happy to run at a reduced pace and save ourselves and the equipment as much as is possible. Our Ducati Oceanside/Dunlop/Suomy/Maxima/Z supported 749R and 999R ran flawlessly once again and I hope we’ll have a nicer weather condition at the November meet so we can really let them fly!” In Sunday’s 4th annual WSMC Toyota 200 mile road race Kopecky had a strong ride on the only Ducati in the field. “This was a special event for us, as Ducati North America provided our team with a 999R streetbike. Ducati Oceanside installed our larger capacity 749R fuel tank on it along with the 749R bodywork and our stock wheels with some Dunlop slicks, changed the gearing and we went racing. The bike ran strong from start to finish and the stock brakes and suspension performed fantastically in the trying conditions”. While problems have arisen with scoring at Willow Springs and have prevented any preliminary results Kopecky knows the team performed great and is very happy to have participated in the event. His only previous 200 mile race experience was running in the Daytona 200 in 1988 and 1991. Kenny adds “The start was wild with the wet track, but Balz Renggli and Paul Lima set up some cut slicks for me and I was definately more confident then I would’ve been had I started on full slicks. We kind of snuck around some of the guys off the start and after Montoya crashed in turn 5 we were in 8th at the end of the first lap. As some faster riders came up to speed we only lost a couple positions and ran our two-stop strategy to perfection. I’m very proud of the work the Ducati Oceanside guys did and really want to thank all of them and Ducati North America for giving us with the finest Twin on the racetrack!” The next WSMC road race at Willow Springs is Nov. 18-20, 2005 and Kopecky can clinch the 2005 WSMC Overall Championship with a few more strong races at that event. “I always said at the beginning of the year our goal was to be top 10 overall one more time in my club racing career at Willow. We’ve already met all of our other goals with our multiple class Championships, so God willing we’ll exceed expectations of getting into the top 10…we’ve been at or near the top all year and the end of the long season nears”.
Complications with his broken left hip could end the racing career of Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell, the 2004 Formula USA Formula Sportbike Champion. Harwell broke and displaced the top of his left femur in a crash during practice for the WERA National Challenge Series races August 7 at Summit Point Raceway, in Summit Point, West Virginia. “Everything was going to plan (with my recovery) until yesterday,” Harwell told Roadracingworld.com October 14 at the WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta. “The doctor said there was a line on the X-ray that didn’t look right. If everything would have looked good, they would’ve taken my screws out. Instead, they gave me a CT scan and found that the femur is still cracked, and if I put too much weight on it, it could snap the screws. “So now I’m pretty much starting over again from zero. I have to keep weight off of it and put a bone stimulator on it. And there’s still a chance I may have to get a hip replacement. We’ll have to wait until I can get the screws out to know if I will have to get the (hip) replacement.” Harwell said a hip replacement would end his racing career, because “they (replacement hips) only last so long, and you can only get a couple of them. I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Vesrah Suzuki racer and team owner Mark Junge will race a GSX-R1000 in the All-Japan Superbike Championship finale October 30 at Twin-Ring Motegi in Japan. “We had plans to do the Suzuka 8 Hours this year,” said Junge, a multi-time WERA National Champion in sprint and endurance racing. “But when my dad (Chris Junge, who was a key member of the Vesrah Suzuki pit crew) died this year the plan fell through. Mr. (Aki) Tamura (President of Vesrah) set aside a budget to do a race in Japan, so we came up with a new plan.” Junge, who tested in the rain at Motegi in 2001, will test again at Motegi this week in preparation for the race. He will be accompanied by his wife Nancy Junge and crew chief Tony Pogue.
A WSMC racer died when the driver of an Oldsmobile turned left in front of his streetbike in Hollywood last Thursday afternoon. Mgrdich “Magoo” Fidanian, WSMC Expert #491, of Glendale, California hit the car when it turned left in front of him. The car driver was a 59-year-old man who was turning into a parking lot. According to police, Fidanian, 26, was riding a 2006 MV Augusta F4 1000. He died a short time after being transported to the hospital. R.I.P.
Over 200 motorcycle road racing Champions are coming to compete at Daytona International Speedway October 21 23 for the 22nd Annual Race of Champions. Each year Daytona welcomes the finest riders from Championship Cup Series regions all over the country. More than 200 riders who have won regional class championships will come to prove that they are the best. Fans can expect to see the brightest regional stars rub elbows at speeds exceeding 170 miles per hour as they try to claim a 2005 CCS National Championship. . The Championship Cup Series has already crowned many regional champions. Overall Champion in the Florida region is Darren Luck. Jonny Moore is the overall winner for the Great Plains and Midwest region. The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions share Nate Kern as an overall winner. Kern has nine class championships for the 2005 season. Kane Lasky is the overall champion in the Southwest region. Championship Cup Series, the nation’s largest sportsman level motorcycle road racing organization, will share the track with Formula USA offering up the chance to see some of tomorrow’s stars looking to move up from the CCS ranks to the Formula USA Championship Series. Each Formula USA weekend brings $90,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs between four premiere classes. Combine that with the CCS cash and prizes, and the racers will be competing for over $200,000 in cash and contingency prizes. The Race of Champions will mark the end of the 2005 season for Championship Cup Series and Formula USA Championship Series alike. This has been a banner year for Arclight Suzuki’s Jeff Wood who is poised to take home an unprecedented triple crown Championship in the Formula USA series. Wood is the point leader for SportBike, Formula SportBike and SuperBike classes. Dave Estok of Millville and Wildwood Harley Davidson Buell is also close to securing a championship in the Formula USA Thunderbike class Tickets for the event can be purchased at the gate. A weekend pass for spectators will be $35 at the gate. For more information visit www.ccsracing.com.
KAWASAKI’S PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER RECEIVES WIMA USA 2005 IMAGE AWARD JAN PLESSNER HONORED FOR DEDICATION TO WOMEN IN MOTORCYCLING IRVINE, Calif. (October 17, 2005) – The Women’s International Motorcycle Association U.S.A., (WIMA) honored Jan Plessner, Public Relations Manager at Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. with their “2005 Image Award.” The WIMA U.S.A. Image Award is presented to women who are dedicated to the sport of motorcycling, and pave the way for future generations with their positive attitudes. The award was presented in Las Vegas, Nev. at the banquet dinner for Femmoto, an annual “all women” track day event which Kawasaki co-sponsored. “Jan Plessner was chosen to receive the 2005 WIMA USA Image Award for her significant success in demonstrating the great things of which women riders and racers are capable,” said Alice Sexton, President of WIMA USA. “No other motorcycle brand has shown the continued commitment to women riders as has Kawasaki.” When asked how it felt to receive such an honor, Plessner replied, “It’s an incredible feeling to have everyone you respect and care about share in something so special. I am very fortunate to be working for such a leading-edge company within a thriving industry, which I truly love.” Plessner, who has worked in the motorcycle industry for 16 years, has been instrumental in helping raise awareness for women in motorcycling in a variety of roles and events. Kawasaki recently hosted a weekend ride and track day for women motorcycle journalists in conjunction with the AMA Superbike Races at Infineon Raceway. Not only is she a positive role model for women in motorcycling, she continues to increase awareness and encourage women that they too can ride a motorcycle. Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) markets and sells at wholesale Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft, utility vehicles and power products through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers, with an additional 8,400 retailers specializing in power products and general purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with more than 350 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters. Kawasaki’s tagline, “Let the good times roll.™”, is recognized worldwide and the brand is aggressively carrying its heritage of leading-edge power, performance and exhilaration into the 21st century. Information about Kawasaki’s complete line of recreational products and Kawasaki affiliates can be found on the Internet at www.kawasaki.com.
Purse Payout Roadracing World 250/50 Willow Springs Raceway Rosamond, California October 16, 2005 1. $3500 2. $3000 3. $2500 4. $2200 5. $2100 6. $2000 7. $1800 8. $1600 9. $1400 10. $1200 11. $1100 12. $800 13. $750 14. $650 15. $575 16. $500 17. $425 18. $350 19. $300 20. $250 21st-30th: $200 31st-40th: $100
Purse Payout WSMC Toyota 200 October 16, 2005 1. $50,000 2. $30,000 3. $10,000 4. $5000 5. $3000 6. $3000 7. $3000 8-18th: $2000 19th-29th: $1500 30th-40th: $1000
PHOENIX RIDE FOR KIDS® SETS NEW RECORD, SAN DIEGO FIRST-TIME EVENT SCORES BIG! Arizona and California motorcyclists came out strong on Sunday, Oct. 16, as they joined Ride for Kids® events in Phoenix and San Diego. Their fundraising efforts on behalf of kids fighting brain tumors contributed $221,184 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s medical research and family support programs. The Arizona skies filled with sunshine as more than 500 motorcyclists, fundraisers, patient families and volunteers gathered at the Glendale Arena in Glendale for the ninth annual Phoenix event. The police-escorted riders toured the winding back roads of the stunning desert landscape before returning to the arena for the moving Celebration of Life program. There they honored four young brain tumor survivors for their courage and perseverance””Tanner, 5; Shelby, 9; Bryce, 11; and Logan, 12. The children were joined on stage by Steve, an adult survivor of a childhood brain tumor. Other special guests included Glendale city councilman Phil Leiberman and GWRRA executive director Don Brock. Dr. Michael Berens of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) thanked the motorcyclists for their fundraising support, saying, “Your contributions are key to the success of our research.” Bryce’s mom, Charlene, said, “We need all of your help. Because of you, PBTF’s support of research will help us find a cure.” The Phoenix event raised a total of $180,840. Scott and Mary Jo White, who started the Nikki’s Hope foundation after a brain tumor took their daughter’s life, were the top individual fundraisers with a total of $85,000. The top club was Nikki’s Hope with $86,000, followed by the Tucson Red Riders (HRCA), whose members raised $12,636. The customers of Western Honda raised $90,934 to make it the top motorcycle business. Roger Phillips of Tucson was the winner of a brand-new Honda motorcycle donated by American Honda Motor Company. Special thanks went to Phoenix’s task force leaders””Edie and Dave Hewitt and Clark Roushey, along with the dedicated task force members and day-of-event volunteers, for hosting a wonderful event. On the California coast, more than 200 people came out to Mira Costa College in Cardiff for the first annual San Diego Ride for Kids®. Thunder, lightning and gully-washing rain didn’t stop the police-escorted riders from enjoying a trip through the scenic countryside northeast of the city. Afterward, they took part in the Celebration of Life program with several young brain tumor survivors, including Jordan, 6; Sidney, 7; Steven, 11; Leo and Stephen, 15; and Bayleigh, 16. Also on hand were several adult survivors, including Michelle, Jennifer, Esmeralda, Jonathan, Samantha and Erin, the older sister of Ride for Kids® “star” Leo. Erin told the crowd that they had “awesome hearts,” and Bayleigh said, “What you’re doing here today really is a life and death choice, for me and all the others here.” Dr. Eduardo Serna, who rode in the event, thanked his fellow motorcyclists for raising money for research into childhood brain tumors. Special guests included Charlie Keller of the Honda Rider’s Club of America. The total raised in San Diego was $40,344. Top individual fundraiser honors went to Cliff and Rebe Philip of Temecula, Calif., who raised $8,250. The top club was GWRRA CA Chapter 1N, whose members brought $16,078, and the customers of Escondido Cycle Center raised $15,176 to make it the top motorcycle business. Louis Vanderveen of Los Angeles won the grand prize, a brand-new Honda motorcycle. Heartfelt thanks went to task force leaders Patricia and Richard Hinrichs and visitation leaders Louis Vanderveen and Edel Albright, along with the hardworking task force members and day-of-event volunteers, for putting together a superb first-year event. Proceeds of the events fund the medical research and family support programs of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Since 1984, the national Ride for Kids® program and PBTF have supported childhood brain tumor research and family support programs. Programs include free literature about brain tumors, two national newsletters, the Informed Parent & Survivor Internet Conference series and college scholarships. Thanks to the thousands of caring and generous motorcyclists and motorcycle dealers who have supported the program since its inception, PBTF has become the world’s largest non-governmental source of funding for pediatric brain tumor research. The next Ride for Kids® events are on Oct. 23 in Lafayette, La., and Nov. 6 in Dunnellon, Fla. For more information about the Ride for Kids® and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, please visit rideforkids.org or pbtfus.org, or call (800) 253-6530.
LORIS CAPIROSSI RETURNS TO ITALY WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CLINICA MOBILE Bologna, Monday 17 October 2005 – Following his discharge from Melbourne’s Cabrini Hospital, Loris Capirossi left Australia and after a flight lasting almost 28 hours, including 24 in the air, with stopovers at Dubai and Rome Fiumicino, finally landed at Rimini airport at 14.45 today, Monday 17 October. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider was immediately transferred to Imola hospital in an ambulance and will be personally assisted by Dr. Claudio Costa. Clinica Mobile doctors had judged that Loris should return to Italy as soon as possible so that he could be assisted directly by Dr. Costa. However, without a chest drain, the internal bleeding around his right lung, caused in the spectacular crash at the end of Friday’s free practice session, could have prevented him from flying for another 15-20 days. An eventual reopening of the unhealed injury during the flight could have caused the lung to come away from the wall and collapse. Loris was permitted to return to Italy with a chest drain attached, which would have allowed the lung to remain in position in case of sudden cabin de-pressurization. The courageous Italian rider was accompanied during the return flight by Dr. Massimo Corbascio from the Clinica Mobile, who has been following racing for more than thirty years and who has considerable experience of this type of injury. Capirossi will remain in Imola Hospital for at least four days, where he will be constantly kept under observation to avoid any complications that might prevent the injury from healing up correctly. “The return flight went well, and that’s good news” declared Claudio Costa, who was at Rimini airport to meet Loris and who organised his transfer to Imola, “considering the fact that it was the longest ever flight made by a rider with such a serious injury. Loris made a brave decision to return home with a chest drain attached instead of waiting a few more days. I was not worried however because I knew he was in the hands of expert and competent people. Loris will stay a few days at Imola, where we will try to prevent the development of any complications and help bring about a natural healing of the lung. Hopefully I can help to wipe out the sadness I can see in his eyes, a sadness caused by pain but also by the disappointment at seeing his season come to an early end. For sure we won’t see him race in Turkey but I would like to think that, as he has done on other occasions, our courageous Loris can hope to return before time, in this case at Valencia”. “We have finally arrived in Italy and now I can try and recover as quickly as possible” said Loris, accompanied by his wife Ingrid, on landing at Rimini airport. “My return to Italy was perfectly organized by Ducati, and now I can’t wait to remove the drainage tube, which is causing me a lot of bother, and begin the healing of the lung. I know I am in good hands and I would like to thank all the Clinica Mobile medical team, Dr. Corbascio, who accompanied me to Melbourne and throughout the flight home, and Dr. Costa, who was waiting at the airport ready to take me to hospital and organize my stay there. It was really a bad crash, probably the worst one of my career, but these things can happen. Only when I arrived at the hospital and when they started to tube me up, did I realize how serious it was: it was really painful. Of course I don’t know when I will return to racing; if it were that simple, I’d remove everything and leave for Turkey immediately but it’s too early to make plans”. Claudio Domenicali, managing director of Ducati Corse, immediately went to Imola to convey the greetings of the entire company and to wish Loris all the best for a rapid recovery. “Loris was involved in a horrific crash and we were all alarmed, I just had to be there to meet him on his return to Italy, and so that I could personally check on his condition” declared Domenicali. “I also wanted to demonstrate that we are all close to him at this difficult moment. From a sporting point of view, it was a shame that he was not able to race in Australia and will not be able to compete in Turkey, I am sure that he would have ended the season with some great results and would have had a good chance of achieving his aim of finishing runner-up in the world championship. However the only thing that counts now is that Loris completely recovers and gets his strength back so that he can return to racing, when the doctors allow, with all of his determination and incredible desire to win. I am convinced that he will do so soon, because Loris is someone who never gives up”.
Rich Oliver wins the third annual Roadracing World 250/50! Mystery School owner Oliver retrieved his 2003 Championship winning Yamaha from storage to win the Willow Springs event by 26.204 seconds, lapping up to third place. With help from Keith McCarty, Bob Starr and Jeff Jones from Yamaha USA, Ed Sorbo from Roadracing World Magazine, and 250 racer Bruce Lind he was able to find enough parts to run the machine one more time. Oliver comments, “I had a great time getting on track again after a year layoff, it felt awesome to race at Willow Springs! I really have to thank my long time mechanic Robert Ward for another outstanding performance. He has a knack for getting our Yamaha TZ running incredibly strong every time he works on it. We also had an intern with us, former Mystery School Pro Camp student Greg Johnson, who flew in all the way from upstate New York. He did a great job helping us with the pit work and bike maintenance. “I had a nice rhythm going on Friday in practice, it seemed that my bit of extra Mystery training paid off as I felt stronger and smoother on the bike than last year. I was able to produce the correct lap times in just 8 laps, last year it took me a lot longer to get going! “On Saturday we had some small engine problems in qualifying, we had damaged three carbon fiber reed petals in the morning warm up, so the bike lost its low end power and would barely start up. There wasn’t enough time to fix it before qualifying, but we were able to get the pole position by just half a second over young gun Bradley Adams. “Sunday in the race I got a good start, and rode hard for the first 10 laps, building up a lead over Michael Montoya and Mark Watts. The last 10 laps I just tried to get through traffic safely and take care of my Dunlop tires, as Willow is mostly right hand turns and they wear on that side a bit more. There were 41 riders in the event! “I have to say a special thanks to Roadracing World’s John Ulrich and the entire staff of Willow Springs for putting on such a great 250 Grand Prix race.” This year’s effort was sponsored by Rich Oliver’s Mystery School, Yamaha USA, Dunlop Tires, Shoei Safety Helmets, Micron Exhaust, Kushitani Leathers, Supertech, Motorex USA, LE Engineering, Cytomax, Drive Systems USA, Paint by Sabatini, Ferodo, Wilson’s Motorcycles, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, and Frenotech. The next events on the schedule for Oliver are Shoei University Seminars in El Paso, Texas on October 18th and then the next night in Las Cruces, New Mexico on October 19th. Then he welcomes the staff from Trackdaz Riding School for their Two Day Instructor Camp on October 22nd and 23rd. For more information about Rich Oliver’s racing career, there is a new on-line biography here: http://www.richoliver.net/RichOliverBio More, from a press release issued by Kenny Kopecky: Kenny Kopecky, WSMC #27 Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Round 10 / Toyota 200 Oct. 15-16, 2005 Rosamond, CA On a windy and sometimes wet event weekend San Diego’s Kenny Kopecky again swept three WSMC Twins sprint classes to extend his class and overall points leads at Willow Springs Raceway. The sprint races on Saturday were an exercise in caution as gusting winds caught out several racers in a variety of crashes, and caused delays in the event program. Kenny said “We’re always happy to get through the windy days out here, happy to run at a reduced pace and save ourselves and the equipment as much as is possible. Our Ducati Oceanside/Dunlop/Suomy/Maxima/Z supported 749R and 999R ran flawlessly once again and I hope we’ll have a nicer weather condition at the November meet so we can really let them fly!” In Sunday’s 4th annual WSMC Toyota 200 mile road race Kopecky had a strong ride on the only Ducati in the field. “This was a special event for us, as Ducati North America provided our team with a 999R streetbike. Ducati Oceanside installed our larger capacity 749R fuel tank on it along with the 749R bodywork and our stock wheels with some Dunlop slicks, changed the gearing and we went racing. The bike ran strong from start to finish and the stock brakes and suspension performed fantastically in the trying conditions”. While problems have arisen with scoring at Willow Springs and have prevented any preliminary results Kopecky knows the team performed great and is very happy to have participated in the event. His only previous 200 mile race experience was running in the Daytona 200 in 1988 and 1991. Kenny adds “The start was wild with the wet track, but Balz Renggli and Paul Lima set up some cut slicks for me and I was definately more confident then I would’ve been had I started on full slicks. We kind of snuck around some of the guys off the start and after Montoya crashed in turn 5 we were in 8th at the end of the first lap. As some faster riders came up to speed we only lost a couple positions and ran our two-stop strategy to perfection. I’m very proud of the work the Ducati Oceanside guys did and really want to thank all of them and Ducati North America for giving us with the finest Twin on the racetrack!” The next WSMC road race at Willow Springs is Nov. 18-20, 2005 and Kopecky can clinch the 2005 WSMC Overall Championship with a few more strong races at that event. “I always said at the beginning of the year our goal was to be top 10 overall one more time in my club racing career at Willow. We’ve already met all of our other goals with our multiple class Championships, so God willing we’ll exceed expectations of getting into the top 10…we’ve been at or near the top all year and the end of the long season nears”.
Complications with his broken left hip could end the racing career of Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell, the 2004 Formula USA Formula Sportbike Champion. Harwell broke and displaced the top of his left femur in a crash during practice for the WERA National Challenge Series races August 7 at Summit Point Raceway, in Summit Point, West Virginia. “Everything was going to plan (with my recovery) until yesterday,” Harwell told Roadracingworld.com October 14 at the WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta. “The doctor said there was a line on the X-ray that didn’t look right. If everything would have looked good, they would’ve taken my screws out. Instead, they gave me a CT scan and found that the femur is still cracked, and if I put too much weight on it, it could snap the screws. “So now I’m pretty much starting over again from zero. I have to keep weight off of it and put a bone stimulator on it. And there’s still a chance I may have to get a hip replacement. We’ll have to wait until I can get the screws out to know if I will have to get the (hip) replacement.” Harwell said a hip replacement would end his racing career, because “they (replacement hips) only last so long, and you can only get a couple of them. I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Vesrah Suzuki racer and team owner Mark Junge will race a GSX-R1000 in the All-Japan Superbike Championship finale October 30 at Twin-Ring Motegi in Japan. “We had plans to do the Suzuka 8 Hours this year,” said Junge, a multi-time WERA National Champion in sprint and endurance racing. “But when my dad (Chris Junge, who was a key member of the Vesrah Suzuki pit crew) died this year the plan fell through. Mr. (Aki) Tamura (President of Vesrah) set aside a budget to do a race in Japan, so we came up with a new plan.” Junge, who tested in the rain at Motegi in 2001, will test again at Motegi this week in preparation for the race. He will be accompanied by his wife Nancy Junge and crew chief Tony Pogue.
