From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

AMA PRO RACING REWARDS DONATONS TO MEDICAL CENTER WITH SUPERPASS

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – AMA Pro Racing today announced an opportunity for American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) members to receive an all-access SuperPass, granting entry to every event on the AMA Pro Racing calendar, in exchange for a $2500 donation to the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center.

The custom-built Asterisk Mobile Medical Center is used throughout the THQ AMA Supercross Series and AMA Motocross Championship events as a quick-response assessment and treatment facility. The center is fully staffed by medical personnel, and relies almost exclusively on donations to cover operational costs.

“Every dollar we raise from AMA members will go directly towards the operation and maintenance of the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center,” AMA Pro Racing Director of Safety and Logistics Hugh Fleming said. “Our goal is to not only help maintain the high level of medical treatment afforded by the center, but also to reward those AMA members who make a donation with special VIP-type access at the races.”

“This is a great way for racing fans or companies to get an inside look at all forms of AMA Pro Racing events and at the same time help the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center with its mission to provide on-site medical care for the racing community”, said Dr. John Bodnar, Director for the Medical Center and trackside physician for the Supercross and Motocross Series.

In addition to supporting safety efforts in racing, AMA members who make a $2500 donation to the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center will receive an AMA Pro Racing SuperPass, good for entry to over 70 AMA Pro Racing events nationally. This includes race and pit access to the THQ AMA Supercross Series, AMA Motocross Championship, AMA Superbike Championship, AMA Supermoto Championship and AMA Flat Track Championship. Other benefits include a plaque and recognition by AMA Pro Racing on its website.

For further information on the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center or to make a donation, call Hugh Fleming c/o AMA Pro Racing at (614) 856-1900 extension 1281, or email [email protected]

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

HAYDEN LOOKING FORWARD TO RACING BACK HOME IN AMERICA

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Feb. 4, 2005) — In a recent news release issued by AMA Pro Racing on the combined MotoGP/AMA Superbike event Nicky Hayden was inadvertently left off of the list of returning U.S. MotoGP riders. It was a simple editing error and AMA Pro Racing regrets the mistake. Hayden, the 2002 AMA Superbike Champion, is obviously one of the big reasons many fans are looking forward to the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 8-10, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The combined MotoGP/AMA Superbike event promises to be one of the biggest motorcycle racing events ever held in America. It’s been nearly three years since Hayden raced in the U.S. and he’s happy to be finally coming home to perform in front of home fans. Of the four American riders currently competing in MotoGP he is the only former AMA Superbike Champion. We caught up with the 23-year-old Hayden, who is also the youngest rider ever to win an AMA Superbike title, this week when he was home in Kentucky between a heavy schedule of a pre-season testing with the Repsol Honda squad. Larry Lawrence, the author of the original news release, confessed to Hayden his mistake of inadvertently leaving him off the Laguna Seca release. Hayden laughed and was very gracious in accepting Lawrence’s apology.

Nick, what’s it going to mean to you to come back and race in America?

I’m super excited about coming back. It’s going to be a big honor to race the GP here in my home country. I think the home fans here are hungry to finally have a GP.

How about the decision to bring the U.S.G.P. back to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca?

I love Laguna. It’s a great location for the fans and I’ve done well there in the past. If you’re going to bring a lot of people from around the world to America you really couldn’t pick a better place. I’ve heard a lot of work has gone into bringing the track up to MotoGP standards and hopefully all that work by Dorna and the track and everyone else involved will pay off.

How strong is the support for an American round among the GP regulars?

People are pumped about it. I think it’s going to be a huge weekend. When I was in Malaysia it seems like the whole paddock is excited about coming to America. We go to a lot of countries that people don’t look forward to going to I guess as much as America. There’s a lot of racing history here and a lot of mystique about running at Laguna. This country has produced so many of the great riders over the years too. The mechanics and others riders stop me and want to know about Laguna and how far it is from different places. I think a lot of people plan on sticking around or coming early to do some sightseeing.

Do you think America can match some of the other host countries of MotoGP in terms of general interest from racing fans and the media?

I think so. I’ve heard the ticket sales are already strong. People watch some of our national races on TV and think that there aren’t many fans of motorcycle racing. I know sometimes television doesn’t do it justice and I’ve told those guys [his fellow MotoGP racers and team members] that some of the AMA races are pretty big. I think when they see the kind of crowd that shows up at Laguna that they’ll know that we’re into it just as much as most of the other countries we go to. Another thing that American fans should love is getting to see the GP bikes up close and in person for the first time. They’re pretty trick and the sound, the acceleration and braking, everything makes these bikes really neat to watch.

What do you think of the idea of combining a MotoGP with an AMA Superbike Championship round?

I think it’s going to be good for the GP guys to get to see how strong AMA racing is firsthand. I mean they see it on TV, but they’ll probably be surprised at how much talent there is in this country. And for the fans it’s a win-win situation. With all the AMA classes they’re definitely going to get their money’s worth.

Do you think the American riders will have a bit of an advantage at Laguna Seca since they’ve raced and tested there so often?

To be honest, with the level of the riders in MotoGP it won’t take them long to learn the track. But maybe if it rains leading up to race day, that might give us a bit of an advantage. Laguna’s not the easiest track to learn for sure and maybe a little bit of knowledge of the track will make a difference.

Will you guys be testing before the MotoGP? No our team isn’t and I haven’t heard of any other teams testing there, plus the series has restrictions on testing at certain tracks that host a GP so I doubt that there will be any going on. But like I said, these guys are world class riders and we raced for example at Qatar last year and everybody was up to speed pretty quick, so not having testing shouldn’t be a problem.

Do you have any idea what the lap time difference between the GP bikes and the AMA Superbikes might be?

I’m not real sure to be straight up. Not a lot probably. I mean you know Laguna doesn’t have a lot of long straightaways or anything like that where the horsepower is going to make a big difference. If I had to guess I would say a second and a half or maybe two seconds.

When you found out Laguna Seca was going to be on the schedule did something in the back of your mind say that might be a good place to earn your first victory?

Well to be honest any place to get my first victory would be pretty incredible (laughs). There’s going to be a lot of emotion for all the American riders racing a MotoGP in their home country. For me I’m going to have to put all that aside and go out and do my job.

How about being able to race on the same weekend on the same track with your brothers again?

Oh yeah, that’s going to be fun. Whenever all the family gets to come together at the track with all our friends it’s a great time. There’s a lot of my buddies here in America that have never got to see me race in a MotoGP event, so that’s going to be fun as well.

To watch Hayden, Edwards, Hopkins, Roberts and the rest of the MotoGP stars such as Valentino Rossi along with AMA champs like Mat Mladin and Miguel Duhamel together on the same track on the same weekend call 1-800-327-SECA or (831) 648-5100 or visit the website www.laguna-seca.com .

From a press release:

JR goes to town

RIZLA SUZUKI British Superbike Champion John Reynolds will be going to town this weekend – London town to be exact – to visit the London Motorcycle Show at the Alexandra Palace.

Reigning Champ JR will be spending most of his time on the Suzuki stand meeting visitors and signing autographs. His 2004 Championship winning Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 is also on display and he is looking forward to being reunited with it.

JR will be at the show between 10am and 6pm on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of February. It is his last public appearance before he tests the new Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000K5 at Valencia in Spain on February 18th and 19th.

New for 2005 Rizla Suzuki racer Scott Smart will make his riding debut for the team at Valencia. Scott attended the London Show last weekend and was overwhelmed by the support from his fans for his move to Rizla Suzuki.

JR said: “I always enjoy going to town and the Ally Pally Show is a great opportunity to meet the London fans of Rizla Suzuki.

“I’ll warn the fans now though, if they start talking about testing the new bike, I’ll probably never shut up, it’s all I am thinking about at the minute.”

From a press release:

Dorna founds the MotoGP Academy

Dorna Sports, rights owners to the MotoGP World Championship, has created a new project called “MotoGP Academy” to train riders from different nationalities so that they can participate in MotoGP in the near future.

The most promising young riders from Europe have undergone a selection process and six of them have been offered the chance to take part into a complete programme directed by former rider Alberto Puig, current Telefónica Movistar Honda Team Manager in the 250cc class. Puig has a broad experience in projects of this sort, including those which have enabled the discovery and development of talented riders such as Dani Pedrosa, Toni Elías, Casey Stoner, Chaz Davies and Julián Simón.

There are two separate work areas that the riders will put into practice both in their home countries and in Spain: psychophysical and sports. The psychophysical development will be carried out by specialists who will plan a work routine, with a daily preparation programme, as well as additional aspects such as improvement of languages. The selected riders will live in a residence for top-level sportsmen in Barcelona during the several stages programmed in Spain. This residence is equipped with outstanding facilities and has a highly experienced team of doctors and sports physiotherapists.

The sports preparation will consist of winter motocross and supermotard training in different tracks. In addition, the riders will participate in the 2005 Spanish Championship (CEV) in the 125cc category with Honda RS, and will have the chance to participate as wildcards in some of the races of the 2005 World Championship.

A technical structure will be supporting the riders. It is to be directed by highly reputed professionals with experience in MotoGP, such as Alex Batlle -who spent six years in the World Championship with men such as Crivillé, Barros and Capirossi- and Juan Martínez -who collaborated along Doohan and Rossi as a suspension engineer and is currently Sete Gibernau’s crew chief in the World Championship. Former rider Raúl Jara will be in charge of the sports coordination.

The six selected riders are:

– Joshua Sommer, age 15, Germany, Red Bull Rookies to MotoGP Champion
– Meik Minnerop, age 15, Germany, 4th in the 125cc German Championship
– Bradley Smith, age 14, Great Britain, 4th Aprilia Superteen
– Daniel Webb, age 13, Great Britain, 2nd Aprilia Superteen
– Ion Garrido, age 16, Spain, Movistar Junior Cup Champion
– One more Spanish rider from the Movistar Junior Cup, to be selected soon.



The two Spanish riders take part in the MotoGP Academy as a continuation of their participation in the Movistar Junior Cup, and will race under Movistar colours.



And now, a reader’s reaction:


FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I assume the press release regarding the camp for riders to assist their move into MotoGP didn’t mention which U.S. riders were reviewed in their process. In my eyes DORNA always seems to have a view limited to Europe, especially Spain and Italy, unless it involves a large check coming their way. I was a little surprised to see the inclusion of German riders.

I guess they’re STILL afraid of American and Australian riders. Check me if I’m wrong but I believe the Italians already have a couple of good riders entered in MotoGP next season…

Gary Hilliard
Dover, Delaware

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I work for Family Powersports a Suzuki-Kawasaki dealership in West Texas. I put one of our bikes on eBay (a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600). Someone copied all of our information (including contact phone number!) and posted it on this website www.searchmotorcycle.com. They changed the location, (from West Texas to New York), price, (from $6,600 to $2,000) and model (from 600 to 750).

I have sent this site numerous e-mails and have heard nothing back from them. If you look thru this website it is full of “unbelieveable deals.” I am still getting calls from people who actually believe they can buy a perfect 2004 GSX-R750 for $2,000. Please be careful when dealing with anyone on this site.

Luis A. Rios
Family Powersport
San Angelo, Texas

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Former racer, race promoter and congressman Wes Cooley has been found guilty of fraud and ordered to pay millions in restitution, according to news reports.

Cooley is the father of two-time AMA Superbike Champion Wes Cooley, who last October was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame located at AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio.

Read about the elder Cooley’s latest troubles here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/10807813.htm

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI AND XEROX ANNOUNCE NEW WORLD SUPERBIKE PARTNERSHIP

Bologna (Italy), February 3rd, 2005 – Ducati Corse announced today that it will take part in the 2005 World Superbike Championship with a new title sponsor, Xerox. The announcement was made today during the international media launch of the team in the Ducati factory in Bologna, Italy.



The deal, which will initially run for two years, will see the team renamed Ducati Xerox Team. The partnership marks Xerox’s second year in World Superbike sponsorship. Xerox, who were introduced to the world of Superbike racing in 2004 with Stefano Caracchi’s satellite Ducati NCR team, are now aiming for the very top through their association with the Championship’s most successful protagonists.

The Ducati Corse factory team has dominated the sport in recent years, winning five of the last seven World Riders Championships. Ducati Xerox Team enters 2005 as the reigning champions in both Constructor and Rider Championships. Briton James Toseland and Frenchman Regis Laconi finished one-two last year with a total of 28 podium finishes including 10 race victories across the 11 round/22 race season.



Commenting on the sponsorship, Richard Wergan, Head of Marketing Communications for Xerox Europe said: “Ducati has a rich legacy of producing winning teams and bikes which perform to the highest standard. They also have a dynamic and unrivalled image, and so a Xerox partnership with a brand such as Ducati – both demonstrating technological innovation and high performance – is an extremely desirable one.

“World Superbikes is one of the most exciting and fastest growing motor sports in the world and sponsoring the number one team is highly appropriate for a market leader such as Xerox,” he said.

“World Superbike continues to be vitally important for Ducati and we have demonstrated that with our commitment over the years, even when the championship has been going through a less healthy period” declared Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. “Now we are very pleased to welcome the return of our traditional competitors to the championship because it again offers us the possibility of showcasing our racing products against world-class opposition on a level playing-field.

“Racing is in Ducati’s DNA and World Superbike is essential for the development and evolution of our production bikes. When we race and win, we know that the spin-off from racing will eventually be felt throughout the entire Ducati production range.

“This year it gives me great pleasure to welcome the new partnership with Xerox, who become our new title sponsor. Xerox and Ducati are both leaders in their respective fields, both are internationally-renowned, highly successful and enthusiastic companies and we are sure that the new Ducati Xerox Team will be a force to contend with in the championship” he concluded.

The 2005 World Superbike Championship will be held over 12 rounds beginning in Doha, Qatar on February 26. The Championship will cross three continents before culminating at Magny Cours, France October 9. The first European race of the season will be at Valencia, Spain on April 24.

From a press release:

SPANISH SHAKEDOWN FOR WINSTON TEN KATE HONDA

The Winston Ten Kate Honda team today completed a three-day initial test at the Almeria circuit in southern Spain in preparation for this year’s World Superbike and World Supersport championships.

As well as being the first time the four-man team has taken to the track in its new Winston colours, the Almeria test also represented the first opportunity to test Ten Kate’s winter development of the Honda CBR1000RR and the new CBR600RR, which has been heavily revised for 2005.

Cold weather restricted testing time on both machines but Winston Ten Kate Honda team manager, Ronald ten Kate, declared himself happy with the three-day exercise.

“For the supersport team we have two new riders in Katsuaki Fujiwara and Sébastien Charpentier,” he said. “We also have some new mechanics and, of course, the new CBR600RR. All these new ingredients are mixing well together already.”

He continued: “We’ve worked hard on the CBR1000RR superbike over the winter, but it’s been evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. Last year was a development year with Chris Vermeulen but we were competitive towards the end of the season. I think that Chris and now Karl Muggeridge, who tested in November, have found that the overall package has been improved in certain key areas.

“We now head for two more days testing at Valencia,” concluded ten Kate, “where we already have some data on both bikes from last year. Hopefully the weather will be warmer and we will get a much clearer idea on how our preparations for the season are going.”

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Pikes Peak International Raceway is for sale but that will not impact motorcycle racing at the Fountain, Colorado speedway in 2005.

That’s the word from a track spokesman, who said racers and fans should expect “status quo” during this coming racing season.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.