Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Motorcycle Performance’s Ed Key was the star of the day Friday at the Championship Cup Series (CCS) Race of Champions (ROC) at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.

Riding a 98-horsepower, 303-pound Suzuki SV650 on Pirelli tires, 49-year-old Key won the GT Lights, Thunderbike and Lightweight Formula 40 winner-take-all National Championship run-offs, bringing his career total to 16 road racing National Championships.

In the red-flag-interrupted GT Lights race, Key battled with Stephen Servis early on before pulling away to win by two seconds. Key got through traffic better in the crowded Formula 40 Lightweight eight-lapper to beat Williams Harley-Davidson’s Randy Rega. Key’s final win of his first-ever race day at Homestead came in Thunderbike over Harding Harley-Davidson/Buell teammates Dave Estok and Bryan Bemisderfer, who were closing fast when the checkered flag fell on the eight-lap sprint.

“I knew those Harley boys would be coming. Estok and Bemisderfer are excellent riders,” Key told Roadracingworld.com. “I knew I had to get out front early and keep my head down the whole way. I don’t know if I could’ve beat them had they started on the front row with me, but a win’s a win.”

Other race, and National Championship, winners Friday included: Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell, who beat Robert Jensen and Marco Martinez in the 30-minute, 18-lap GTO enduro; Harwell’s teammate Jeff Wood over Michael Himmelsbach and Martinez in the wet GTU competition; Zambrana Performance’s Steve Wenner in 125cc Grand Prix over Scott Coccoli and Tom Swager; BCM Ducati’s Michael Dube over Antonio Caparros and Kevin Weir in Ultra Light Superbike; JR Transportation’s Joe Ribeiro in Formula 40; and Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp, who broke the motorcycle lap record for the 2.2-mile road course at Homestead en route to winning the red-flag-interrupted Unlimited Supersport 8-lap sprint on a GSX-R750 equipped with Michelin DOT-labeled tires and set up to run in Sunday’s horsepower-restricted Formula Sportbike race.

The Race of Champions continues Saturday at Homestead with more CCS National Championship run-offs and qualifying for the Formula USA National classes.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

F-USA officials today announced that Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp broke the official motorcycle lap record at Homestead-Miami Speedway during practice Thursday, turning a transponder-timed 1:26.368 lap at an average speed of 92.117 mph.

Rapp used his 2004 Suzuki GSX-R750 AMA Superstock bike and DOT-labeled Michelin Pilot radial tires to break the old record, which officials said was 1:26.37.

Rapp rode on the Homestead-Miami road course for the first time on Wednesday, during a Team Hammer practice and school day at the track, which is located in Homestead, Florida.

From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN IN GOOD SPIRITS FOR SEASON FINALE

The Ducati Marlboro Team comes to Valencia for the final race of the year following a morale-boosting Australian GP. Loris Capirossi scored a storming third-place finish at Phillip Island, the team’s first podium result of the year, to put the Italian-based crew in optimistic mood for Valencia. Team-mate Troy Bayliss also enjoyed a strong ride at his home GP and comes to Spain hoping for another good result.

“We come to Valencia with smiles on our faces,” says Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “It seems like our season started at Phillip Island, so now we can only hope to finish it really well at the final race. It’s been a challenging second year for us in MotoGP – we’ve never stopped working and the bike has been getting better all the time. After improving the engine and chassis midseason we lacked a little luck until we got to Australia, where we were back where we are meant to be – on the front row and on the podium. We also stayed on to test at Phillip Island, acquiring plenty of information that will help our winter development work as we work towards building our 2005 MotoGP bike”.

Valencia is one of the slowest tracks in MotoGP racing, but that doesn’t make it an easy venue for riders and their engineers. “Valencia is a very strange track – very stop-and-go in character,” explains Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “Engine rideability and traction are the crucial performance factors. And there are some very tricky sections – like the final fast left, which riders tackle with full throttle and very little load on the rear tyre as they crest the brow of the hill. We don’t plan to alter the engine mapping for such a tight and slow circuit – we prefer that our riders stay familiar with the bike’s behaviour from one track to another, so they know exactly how it reacts.”

CAPIROSSI OUT TO BUILD ON AUSTRALIAN SUCCESS

Loris Capirossi looks forward to Valencia, hoping to repeat the podium finish he achieved at the track this time last year. In buoyant mood after his brilliant ride in Australia, the Ducati Marlboro Team man is determined to score another strong result that will give him momentum into the crucial winter testing season.

“It’s been a tough year but we have never stopped fighting and we keep learning and moving forward,” says Capirossi. “The Phillip Island race gave us some reward for all that work, it was like a new beginning for us and hopefully we can again fight up front at the last race. Valencia is such a strange racetrack. It’s like a go-kart track which makes it very tough on a MotoGP bike. It is all about slow corners and short straights, so I don’t really enjoy it on a MotoGP bike, I think it’d be a lot more fun on a 125 or 250. I really prefer fast and technical circuits, like the last two we’ve been to in Australia and Malaysia, they are fantastic to ride on a MotoGP bike.”

BAYLISS AIMS TO END SEASON ON HIGH NOTE

Troy Bayliss has already raced to victory at Valencia – when he was competing in the World Superbike series for Ducati Corse – so the Ducati Marlboro Team rider knows the fast way around the tight little Spanish circuit. This time the Aussie will be aiming for a good result to end the 2004 season.

“I’ve always enjoyed myself at Valencia,” says the 2001 World Superbike champion. “I’ve had some good times on a Ducati Superbike there. But the place is much more difficult on a MotoGP bike, simply because you’ve got so much horsepower and there’s so little room to use it at Valencia. It’s pretty much all tight little slow-speed turns, so you never get to even use full throttle for more than a couple of seconds at a time, until you get around to the start-finish. We had a good test session there at the end of last year, so we hope we can carry some of that into the final race of the season”.

THE TRACK

Valencia is the second-slowest circuit in GP racing with an average lap speed of just 154kmh, marginally faster than Estoril. Most of the track’s corners are slow, in-and-out turns, grouped closely together, this unusual layout affording spectators a mostly unobstructed view of the entire circuit – a real rarity in the world of motorsport. It’s an immensely physical circuit with riders afforded little rest between
bouts of heavy acceleration, braking and cornering.

This weekend Valencia hosts its sixth Grand Prix after featuring on the World Championship calendar for the first time in 1999. The circuit is one of several recently created in Spain, where motorcycling racing is the nation’s second most popular sport, after football. The venue is officially christened the Ricardo Tormo circuit, in honour of the late Spanish rider, a former 50cc World Champion.

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS

LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 31 (April 4, 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 215 (45xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Valencia 2003 results: Grid: 3rd. Race: 3rd

TROY BAYLISS
Age: 35 (March 30, 1969)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 32 (31xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Valencia 2003 results: Grid: 10th. Race: 7th

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Mladin earns 2004 AMA Pro Racing SPEED Channel Athlete of the Year nomination

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 22, 2004) — Mathew Mladin, the newly crowned AMA Superbike Champion, has been nominated for the 2004 AMA Pro Racing SPEED Channel Athlete of the Year Award. This marks the fifth time the 32-year-old Australian has been nominated for the prestigious award. Mladin was named Athlete of the Year in 2000.

Mladin recently completed a record setting season in AMA Superbike. He not only earned a record fifth AMA Superbike Championship, but scored eight wins in 2004 and became the all-time wins co-leader in the history of the series, sharing that honor with Miguel Duhamel, each with 32-career AMA Superbike victories. Mladin also earned four pole positions this season and extended his lead in the record books in that category.

“This was a difficult title to win,” Mladin said. “I credit our team for working hard and ultimately giving me a very competitive motorcycle.”

Mladin started the season by claiming a third victory in the Daytona 200 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. He went on to establish a solid early lead in the series with four-straight wins by following up his Daytona victory with wins at California Speedway (sweeping the doubleheader in Fontana) and Infineon Raceway. After winning a round of the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama in mid-May, Mladin went through a six-race drought before rallying to score a win at Mid-Ohio and then sweeping the Road Atlanta doubleheader to put a vice-like grip on the series standings.

Mladin’s 2004 championship gave Suzuki its eighth AMA Superbike title.

Mladin came to the U.S. in 1996 after winning his home Australian Superbike Series in 1992 and later suffering an ill-fated campaign in the 500cc World Championship Grand Prix on the Cagiva squad. He said he’s found a second home here in America and looks forward to many more seasons of success.

“I enjoy living in the States and have a lot of fans over here,” Mladin said. “I most certainly do not believe you have to be world champion to be successful. I have a good shot at winning more races and championships and winning keeps me excited and motivated.”

The AMA Pro Racing SPEED Channel Athlete of the Year Award is the highest honor that can be bestowed on an AMA racer. The list of past winners is a who’s who of motorcycle racing with former recipients such as Bob Hannah, Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Scott Parker, Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael to name a few.

The 2004 AMA Pro Racing SPEED Channel Athlete of the Year will be announced at the 30th annual AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet to be held at the Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, on Sunday, Nov. 14. Contact Cyndi Freeze-Cain at (614) 856-1900, ext. 1232 for more information on the banquet.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Suzuki did not maintain possession of the suspect second set of forks used on racer Chris Peris’ 2004 GSX-R750 during last weekend’s World Cup races at Road Atlanta, having sold the bike (with its forks) to a local racer who took the machine home Sunday and was asked to return the forks and shock for inspection Wednesday.

After taking apart the second set of forks and inspecting the internals, G.M.D. Computrack’s Ken Soignier declared them illegal, later retracting that judgement when he realized the fork internals had been compared to the internals from a 2003 GSX-R750, which uses a different shim stack.

Soignier told Roadracingworld.com today that he also inspected the first set of forks, at the track, and stated that the forks had been fitted with a preload ring with an inner shim, a upgrade part. According to Soignier, he was asked by World Cup technician Vic Fasola to inspect the fork internals without knowing whose bike the forks had come from or who had worked on them.

Soignier confirmed that possession of the second set of forks was lost between sale of the bike and return of the forks to his shop in Atlanta.

The controversy started when Peris’ tuner-for-the-weekend Max McAllister was accused by Suzuki World Cup official Cliff Nobles of sliding a pair of forks under the side of the circus tent that World Cup competitors were pitted under at Road Atlanta. In fact, McAllister said today at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he openly walked into the tent with the forks in his hands and didn’t know that he wasn’t allowed to take the forks to his trailer to work on them. McAllister said he was not trying to cheat and did not try to hide the fact that he took the forks off site. McAllister also said that he did not add any parts to the forks and that all he did to the shock was bleed it.

The story is evolving as more information becomes available.


See related post:
10/22/2004 Updated, Corrected Post: Forks Used By Canadian Chris Peris In Suzuki World Cup Races Were Legal After All

From a press release issued by Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca:

RESERVED GRANDSTAND, INDIVIDUAL SUITE PASSES AND CAMPING SITES ON SALE MONDAY, OCT. 25, FOR 2005 RED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX

MotoGP World Championship Returns to the USA July 8-10, 2005


MONTEREY, Calif. – While thousands of fans have been snapping up general admission tickets and paddock passes for the long awaited return of the MotoGP World Championship to the United States next year at the 2005 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, they have to wait until Monday, Oct. 25, to purchase reserved grandstand seats, camp sites and individual suite tickets.

Beginning at 8 a.m. (PDT) on Monday, Oct. 25, fans can call the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca box office at (800) 327-7322 to purchase those items. Via the telephone is the only way to make a purchase on Monday, Oct. 25. All remaining tickets, camping and suite tickets will be available online at www.laguna-seca.com beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26. There is no limit on the number of general admission tickets, reserved grandstand tickets or paddock passes, but there is a limit of eight per person per phone call for Premier Pit Row Suite, Turn 3 Paddock Suite, Turn 2 Suite and Flagroom tickets.

General admission ticket prices range from $15 for Friday only to $90 for a three-day ticket. Reserved grandstand seating is $10 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday, with a choice of either the Turn 4 or Turn 11 grandstand. Children 12 and under receive free general admission. Everyone regardless of age must have a grandstand ticket to sit in the grandstands.

A limited number of paddock passes are available for $25 and are good for all three days. (Separate admission ticket is required.)

Fans can choose from four different individual hospitality options including Premier Pit Row Suite, Turn 2 Suite (located rider’s right at the exit of Turn 2), Turn 3 Paddock Suite (located rider’s left at the exit of Turn 3) and Flagroom (located between Turns 4 and 5). These individual hospitality options include general admission, reserved seat, closed circuit television, souvenir program, preferred parking, paddock access and food and beverage. Some include pit access and other amenities. Complete details are available below.

Camping options include a very limited number of reserved sites, along with non-reserved sites including Priority Camping (rider’s right at Turn 11), Wolf Hill (motorcycles only, located rider’s right between Turns 6 and 7.) and Archery Range (located at the bottom of B Road.). Fox Hill and Archery Range sites are $30 per night. Priority Camping is $150 for three nights (Thursday–Saturday). All non-reserved sites are in open/unimproved areas and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Sunday night camping is available through the Monterey County Parks Department. All campers must have an admission ticket for the duration of the event.

Fans may also purchase an escorted Parade Lap around the 2.238-mile circuit for Saturday only for $20. (Separate admission ticket is required.)

A limited number of motorcycle preferred parking passes for a paved lot are available for only $25.

The 2005 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, July 8-10, featuring the return of the MotoGP World Championship to North America for the first time since 1994, is sponsored by Red Bull and Yamaha Motor Corp. USA. Information on support races for the event will be released soon.



RED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX
JULY 8-10, 2005

TICKET, CAMPING AND HOSPITALITY PRICING


PREMIER PIT ROW SUITE (3-day ticket) *$495
– General Admission and Paddock Access
– Pit access during specified times set by Dorna (must be at least 18 years
of age)
– Preferred parking pass
– Climate controlled dining area
– Assigned seat in the shaded exterior viewing area
– Multiple televisions with live feed
– Private restroom
– Hospitality on Saturday and Sunday consisting of breakfast, lunch,
beverages and wet bar
– Souvenir program

PADDOCK SUITE – TURN 3 (3-day ticket) *$425
– General Admission and Paddock Pass
– Pit access during specified times set by Dorna (must be at least 18 years
of age)
– Assigned seat in an elevated suite overlooking Turn 3 with closed circuit
TV
– Preferred parking pass (specify automobile or motorcycle)
– Hospitality on Saturday and Sunday consisting of breakfast, lunch and
beverages)
– Souvenir program

TURN 2 SUITE – (3-day ticket) *$375
– General Admission and Paddock Pass
– Assigned seat in an elevated suite overlooking Turn 2 with closed circuit
TV
– Preferred parking pass (specify automobile or motorcycle)
– Hospitality on Saturday and Sunday consisting of breakfast, lunch and
beverages)
– Souvenir program

FLAGROOM – BETWEEN TURNS 4 & 5 (3-day ticket) *$290
– General Admission and Paddock Pass
– Preferred parking pass (specify automobile or motorcycle)
– Canopied tent with closed circuit TV (open Saturday and Sunday only)
– Hospitality on Saturday and Sunday consisting of buffet style breakfast,
lunch and beverages
– Assigned grandstand seat, choice of either Turn 4 or Turn 11
– Souvenir program

GENERAL ADMISSION**
– 3-Day $90
– 2-Day(Sat/Sun) $75
– Friday $15
– Saturday $40
– Sunday $55

PADDOCK PASS – Limited availability (3-day) $25
Does not include admission

* Advance purchase only. Not available at the gate.
**Prices listed at advance price. Gate ticket prices higher.


RESERVED GRANDSTAND SEAT (choice of Turn 4 or Turn 11. Regardless of age, everyone occupying a seat must have a grandstand ticket) Sat. $10/Sun. $15

PARADE LAP – Ticket to ride (Saturday only) $20

MOTORCYCLE PREFERRED PARKING (limited) $25
Red 2 lot (paved)

CAMPING (3 nights Thursday-Saturday)
– Premier $275
Reserved Area, Hook-up and/or Track View
– Reserved $225
Reserved Area Non-Hook-up

PRIORITY CAMPING – TURN 11 (3 nights – Thurs-Sat) $150
Automobiles or Motorcycles Open/Unimproved Area, First Come/First Served

GENERAL CAMPING (per night) $30- per night
– Fox Hill – Between Turns 6 & 7 (motorcycles only)
– Archery – Located at bottom of “B” Road (automobiles or motorcycles)
Open/unimproved area, first come/first served

All persons in campsite must have admission ticket. Children 12 and under free except where noted above. Admission and camping sold separately. Prices are listed at advance price.

ALL ORDERS ARE FINAL
NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES

From a press release issued by Jamie Stauffer’s publicist:

Stauffer to decide

Jamie Stauffer is yet to finalise his plans for 2005, following his clean sweep of the three Supersport support races at Phillip Island last weekend.

The Team Kawasaki Australia rider is leaning towards staying Down Under with TKA, but is still considering some offers to return to the US.

“There are a couple of things we’re looking at in America, but it would have to be the right bike and package for me to consider it,” said Stauffer. “Going back to the states is my ultimate goal, but it would be nice to win some championships here before I make my move.”

Stauffer’s confidence has been buoyed by his hot late season form, thanks to on-going development with new bikes in a new team.

“Winning the last three Supersport races of the year was a great way to finish the season, and I’m happy to stay with Kawasaki because I think we have a good shot at the Superbike and Supersport championships next year.

“We’ve still got some sorting out to do with the Superbike – getting it to drive off corners better and finding some more top-end – but the basic package stops well and turns in well. I’m confident the team and I can take it to the next level and mix it with the Hondas, Yamahas and Suzukis.

“The new Kawasaki 600 looks really good, and I believe we can develope it and be even more competitive in the Supersport championship.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Chris Peris found himself at the center of a controversy during last weekend’s Suzuki World Cup Finals at Road Atlanta when his tuner-for-the-event Max McAllister removed the forks from the GSX-R750 issued to Peris, took them to his Traxxion Dynamics trailer, and worked on them, installing what Suzuki officials said were non-standard parts. Machines ridden by participants in the World Cup Finals are supplied by Suzuki and are supposed to be identical, with stock suspension. Changing fork springs and fork oil levels is allowed by Suzuki World Cup rules, however.

But the determination of whether or not the forks were actually legal was clouded by the use of one of McAllister’s competitors to examine the forks in question and the fact that the same competitor later declared a second, replacement set of forks actually used by Peris in the World Cup races to be illegal, then reversed himself and said that shim stacks in those 2004-model forks had been compared to the shim stacks in 2003 GSX-R750 forks in error and were in fact legal.

Sorting out what actually happened has proven difficult due to conflicting stories, changing stories and the refusal of some key participants to comment.

Whatever the case, the allegedly illegal forks were detected and replaced prior to the start of practice and were never used on the racetrack.

Peris’ participation in the event in the first place was somewhat unusual, since he did not qualify to participate under American Suzuki guidelines and he has spent most of the 2004 season racing in the U.S. with Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki under a one-year (2004 AMA season) contract. Told Chris Peris wasn’t eligible to ride at the Suzuki Cup Finals because he rode for a U.S. support team sponsored by Suzuki, Chris Peris’ father Fernando Peris wrangled him a ride as part of the Suzuki Canada team for the Suzuki World Cup, based on the few 2004 Canadian races Chris Peris participated in.

Chris Peris attended the races at Road Atlanta with his father, who hired McAllister as Chris Peris’ designated mechanic for the World Cup event.

This year’s Suzuki World Cup event was hosted by American Suzuki and was held in conjunction with the annual WERA Grand National Finals. WERA officials ran the races.

After World Cup official Cliff Nobles said he saw McAllister sliding the forks under the side of one of the big circus tents World Cup participants were pitted under (prior to the actual races), the forks were confiscated by Suzuki officials, dis-assembled by Kent Soignier of G.M.D. Computrack (a Traxxion Dynamics competitor) and declared to contain non-stock parts. At that point, Peris was issued a new set of unmodified forks, which McAllister installed. Suzuki officials later said that McAllister had attempted to modify the bike’s stock shock, but had damaged it while trying to take it apart, and replaced it with a stock shock he borrowed off a Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School instructor’s bike after telling school officials he needed it to replace a damaged customer’s shock, without revealing that it was for a Suzuki World Cup rider. (Stock shocks are not designed to be dis-assembled for service, and the shock in question actually belonged to a European rider whose mechanic brought it to the Traxxion trailer for revalving without revealing it was for a World Cup bike until after it was broken.) McAllister’s World Cup mechanic’s pass was subsequently confiscated, in effect banning him from the World Cup section of the paddock. Peris used the second set of issued forks installed by McAllister in the actual Suzuki World Cup races.

(A week before the World Cup event, McAllister left a phone message for the manager of an AMA team, seeking to buy a set of stock 2004 GSX-R750 forks. The team didn’t have any forks for sale, and McAllister subsequently bought a set from a salvage yard. But those forks were for a project unrelated to the GSX-R World Cup Final and are now installed on a Buell racebike.)

After Peris crashed out of the first Suzuki World Cup race and DNF the second, American Suzuki officials sent out the replacement forks and shock from Peris’ bike for inspection by G.M.D. Computrack’s Kent Soignier, who told Roadracingworld.com Thursday morning that the second set of forks had been revalved (each leg using the stock piston but a modified shim stack) and that the shock had been opened and the oil replaced, modifications that are illegal under Suzuki World Cup rules. Soignier called back Thursday afternoon–after the original version of this post appeared–and said that he had been in error, that the shim stack had been compared to a 2003 stack by mistake, and that in fact the cartridges in the 2004 forks used by Peris had been taken apart but had not been modified in any way.

Chris Peris denied knowing that McAllister made illegal modifications. “He told us that what he wanted to do to the forks was legal,” Peris told Roadracingworld.com, “and that he had to take them to his trailer because that’s where he was set up with all his tools.”

Pat Alexander, Manager of the American Suzuki Motor Corp. Sports Promotion Department, declined to make any official comment on the incident.

Contacted by Roadracingworld.com, McAllister initially replied via e-mail, “American Suzuki’s comment is ‘no comment,’ and I have been told, so is mine. I ain’t getting into this mess. It will go nowhere.”

McAllister later issued the following statement, via e-mail:

Official Statement:

The scrutineering at the World Cup was as strict as you can imagine. The racing on Sunday demonstrated that no one had a performance advantage. Hats off to the Chief Inspector.

There was some question about a set of forks I built, and they were confiscated by the officials. The World Cup Officials did not DQ Peris and they did not move him back on the grid. I think that demonstrates the magnitude of this “ordeal”. To eliminate any further doubt, they offered Peris the chance to remove the next set of components I built on his bike as a form of amnesty. He refused, in spite of guaranteed teardowns on Sunday.

Chris Peris’ integrity should not be called into question in this matter, as he is completely unaware of anything technical about how motorcycles are prepped to race. He only knows how to ride the wheels off of them. He is a fine young man with a bright future as a racer, and I hope none of my actions cast any shadow over him.

My apologies to the Suzuki Motor Corp for bringing any question about sportsmanship to such a great event.

Sincerely,

Max McAllister


WERA officials say they will no longer do business with McAllister and that he will not be allowed to set up as a vendor in the WERA paddock, but that he has not personally been banned from the WERA paddock. “We’re just not going to take any money from him to vend at our races, and the same thing for the rulebook ad,” said WERA Operations Manager Sean Clarke. “If somebody wants to hire him to work on their forks at one of our races, that’s another thing. But we’re not going to do any type of business deal with him at all.”