Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Contrary to the impression created by a recent news story on another motorcycle racing website, Anthony Fania Jr. never followed up with prosecutors regarding assault charges stemming from an incident with Aaron Yates during the Daytona 200 last March, and the case has been dropped.

Cyclenews.com ran a post headlined “8/16/2004 – Fania Files Charges– Anthony Fania has filed charges against Aaron Yates” which created the impression that Fania just filed charges, some six months after the incident happened, when in fact Fania never followed up on his initial discussion with prosecutors.

The post led to a new firestorm of criticism of Fania on various Internet bulletin boards.

Fania, an experienced journeyman racer with several top-15 finishes in the Daytona 200, was being lapped by Yates when they collided and crashed entering the West Horseshoe late in the 2004 Daytona 200. After the crash, Yates attacked Fania, and a confrontation between crews on pit lane followed. Yates was subsequently fined $25,000 by American Suzuki and $5000 by the AMA, was suspended for one race weekend by the AMA, and was put on probation by the AMA as well. Fania was not sanctioned in any way, although his GSX-R1000 racebike was seriously damaged.

Fania, who is currently undergoing treatment for compartment syndrome on both forearms, did not pursue charges because he just wanted to forget about the whole thing, according to sources close to the Fania family.

The post was triggered by an anonymous FAX to Cycle News, which included a July 16 letter from the prosecutor to Fania which basically stated that nothing would happen until and unless Fania provided the prosecutors with videotape, which he has not.

In other words, the post was triggered by a month-old letter that basically told Fania the case was being blown off due to his lack of follow-up.

From a press release:

The USCRA is pleased to introduce Motogiro-USA this year to the vintage motorcyclist. Motogiro-USA is a two-day street enduro / tour for all pre 1968 and like type motorcycles manufactured at a later date with a maximum displacement of 250cc. The AMA Sanctioned event will be held September 18th and 19th at the Plattekill Ski Resort in the town of Roxbury, NY.

Eligibility and rules are kept simple. Riders are given a route sheet (map) and a low legal average speed to travel from a starting point to a finishing point. If the rider has made all his correct turns and not had any delay problems, he should arrive at the finish at his predetermined time and not accumulate any points for arriving early or late. Sections will average less than 100 miles. An AM section and a PM section will be done on Saturday, and one longer AM section will be done on Sunday. There will be some special tests prior to or after each section to test precision riding skills. Special tests will be conducted on a 20 meter course and timed to a hundreth of a second. An example might be to travel the 20 meter course in 9.2 seconds. Penalty points will be given to the rider for arriving late or early at the end of the 20 meter section, stopping, putting a foot down etc. The overall winner of each class will be the person that has accumulated the least number of penalty points during the two days.

Classes are determined by engine displacement. There will be a 65cc class, a 125 class, a 200cc class, and a 250cc class. All motorcycles must be legally registered and insured for operation on the public roads of New York State. All participants must be legally licensed to drive on the roads and be a current AMA member. AMA memberships will be sold at the event.

Awards will be given in each class to the top finishers. All finishers will recieve a finishing award. Additionally, special awards will be given in the spirit of the event and all participants will be given event memorabilia .

Accommodations for those who wish to stay at the ski resort overnight are $10 for a camper and $5 for tent. There are several motels available in the area for those who want more upscale accomodations. Additional hotel information will be forthcoming. The ski lodge offers bathrooms and Porta Johns will be available on campgrounds. There are no shower facilities for those camping but a large pond on site can be utilized for “freshening up”.The lodge has a bar and a food service facility. Go to http://www.plattekill.com/ for more information on start / finish site.

This event is designed as a low pressure, good time touring event. Participants will be given a simple map to follow that will direct them over and through some really lovely country. The course will have route arrows posted at turns where appropriate. The first section on Saturday, will end in historic Cooperstown, New York. There will be time alloted between Saturday’s sections one and two to eat in one of Cooperstown’s beautiful little restaurants or cafes. The second section will start from Cooperstown and end up back at the ski resort. A special dinner is planned for Saturday night.

Pre -entry is strongly recommended for the event and food planning. Entry forms are available at http//www.race-uscra.com./ September 10th will be the pre-registration deadline. Entry fee will be $80 per rider.

Motogiro-USA is slotted to become a regular vintage touring event on the USCRA calendar. It will move throughout the country each year incorporating rural and scenic destinations geared toward the vintage machines and riders.

From a press release issued by Pro Italia:

Pro Italia invites you our 10th annual Italian motorcycle show, Cafe Desmo.

Glendale, CA – Pro Italia, one of the nation’s top dealers of exotic Italian motorcycles, is pleased to invite you to Cafe Desmo, our annual Italian motorcycle show, Wednesday night, August 18th from 5:30pm – 8:30pm.

A summer tradition here at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains, Cafe Desmo gives our customers a chance to show off their beautiful machines as well as share their enthusiasm for Italian motorcycles with others. The collection of bikes will be wide and varied as all makes, manners and years are welcome; from rare timeless classics to wildly custom displays of style and from daily workhorses to the latest polished ride just purchased that afternoon.

Entry is free. There will be classes for classic and modern bikes as well as lots of awards (will you be the furthest travelled this year?) Pro Italia will also be featuring special pricing on selected parts and apparel for this night only.

We feel Italian motorcycles are the most stirring and exciting made today. We cordially invite you to attended Cafe Desmo to see some of these machines from today as well as years past and feel the enthusiasm they generate.

Pro Italia
3319 N Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA 91208
818 249-5707
818 249-3402
[email protected]
http://proitalia.com/

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jason Pridmore will be sponsored by Michael Jordan Motorsports and will carry Jumpman and Michael Jordan Motorsports logos on his Suzukis during upcoming AMA National weekends at Road Atlanta and VIR.

Pascal Picotte has been running Jumpman and Michael Jordan Motorsports logos on his Canadian race machines since he substituted for injured Montez Stewart at Road America in June. But Pridmore–who has been golfing with Jordan several times and recently hosted the basketball icon during a televised session of his STAR riding school at Gingerman Raceway–has the inside line on picking up 2005 season sponsorship from Jordan. Jordan’s team hopes to campaign a works Suzuki Superbike in Jumpman colors.

Pridmore has also been working with the team as a rider coach for Montez Stewart, team owner and manager James Casmay, Jordan and other team affiliates, making time available at the STAR Schools in Colorado, Elkhart Lake, and Gingerman. Private instruction in the classroom and on the track has been included in the sessions.

Casmay recently requested an upgrade of his CCS race license from Amateur to Expert status, after winning several regional races earlier in the season. He finished fourth in his first Expert class race, at Gingerman on the weekend of August 1st.

Montez Stewart, a personal friend of Jordan, will continue to campaign the team’s Yamahas at Road Atlanta and VIR.

From a press release issued by SpeedWerks:

SpeedWerks Expands Shop and Services for its Customers

Dover, DE, August 16, 2004 – SpeedWerks has expanded its shop space to better service its customers and provide additional space to house a shipping and receiving department for their new online store (launching soon). SpeedWerks, located in Dover, DE, in business for almost ten years, has built over 50 championship winning race bikes and has customers who race WERA, CCS, FUSA, and USGPRU, to name a few.

The shop, formerly 2,600 square feet of flex space, has been upgraded with an additional 1,300 square feet—bringing their shop space to almost 4,000 square feet. Adding more space has allowed for a reorganization of the shop’s internal structure, providing more room to add additional services for its customers.

Over the past ten years, SpeedWerks has primarily focused on road racing and street riders, but a growing market in drag bikes, American motorcycles, and bike repairs has prompted the shop to expand its services. SpeedWerks now has a separate area for its dyno, machining and welding services, and American motorcycle mechanic, in addition to the already allocated space for suspension tuning and their current mechanics.

To assist customers with keeping crash repair costs at a minimum, SpeedWerks’ has added a machinist to their extensive list of offerings to provide repairs on items riders may have normally just replaced. Pipe welding and repair, sub-frame and frame repair, and custom-built sub-frame extenders are just a few of services offered. Additionally, with the growing number of American motorcycle riders looking to SpeedWerks as the reputable shop in the area to perform general maintenance and custom work, they have brought aboard an additional mechanic, specializing in these bikes.

The shop expansion has also increased the retail and customer area that showcases products and their favorite race bikes, a Suzuka 8 hour 2-player motorcycle game, and a lounging area for watching motorcycle racing while perusing catalogs and photos from previous SpeedWerks Race Team racing events.

About SpeedWerks – SpeedWerks is an independently owned and operated shop located in Dover, DE, servicing all makes and models of road race, drag, street bikes and cruisers. In business for almost ten year, SpeedWerks has built championship winning racebikes for its customers to compete in WERA, CCS, USGPRU, and FUSA, and the SpeedWerks Racing Team holds numerous championships for themselves, as well. In addition to servicing bikes, SpeedWerks sells apparel, helmets, parts and accessories and more on their website www.SpeedWerks.com. The shop can be reached at 302.672.RACE.

From a press release issued by Proforma:

JIMMY MOORE READY FOR ROAD ATLANTA



Two-time AMA Superstock champion Jimmy Moore is ready for his return to the 2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbikes Series at the upcoming round at Road Atlanta, September 3-5, 2004. Jimmy started the 2004 season as teammate to Jason Pridmore on the No Limit Motorsport Suzuki team, but Jimmy re-injured the same arm he broke at Brainerd in 2003 in a near-crash at California Speedway in April. Following successful surgery by Dr. Art Ting, Jimmy has been rehabilitating his arm in anticipation of his return at Road Atlanta. With the financial woes of the No Limit Motorsports team, Jimmy is joining forces with the Corona Extra Suzuki team, with whom he won back-to-back AMA Superstock championships with in 2001 and 2002.

“I’m ready to go right now,” said Jimmy from his home in Eugene, Oregon. “I just did a OMRRA (Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association) race last weekend on my GSX-R750, and it went really, really well. I got two laps of practice on Sunday, did the heat races, and ended up winning the 750 Supersport race. I did some set-up on the bike, and went faster everytime I got on the track. The arm is not an issue, I didn’t even think about it all weekend. I’ve got a couple of track days coming up before Atlanta, and I’ll keep riding my bicycle and dirt bikes and going to the gym.”

From a press release issued by Matt Myers:

Arclight Suzuki’s Elena Myers wraps up mini amateur GP title.

Stockton California – Under partly cloudy skies with temps in the low 90’s, Arclight Suzuki rider Elena Myers became the youngest female road racer in American history to win the coveted and generally fastest, “Premiere 80GP Expert class”.

In only her first year of full time road racing, 10 year old Elena, who had won the last three 80 GP road races held at the Stockton Motorplex Park, (Home of the SMRRC) wasted no time in securing yet another convincing main event win to assure her of the championship with one round of the series still remaining. Riding her Suzuki RM 85 converted into a road racer, Elena found the chassis and set up of her bike to work just fine even though most of her competitors race chassis bikes or converted Honda RS125/80’s. When asked by the SMRRC race director, “What do you think of all this?”

Elena responded, “It’s been a great first season and I have gained a lot of experience and had an awesome time. I have met and raced against a lot of fast people, grown-ups and kids my age. I can’t wait til next year”!

From a press release issued by Kenny Kopecky:

Continuing to learn and adapt to riding Ducati motorcycles, long-time Willow Springs racer Kenny Kopecky won all three Twins based classes at the monthly WSMC road race meet in Rosamond on Sunday.

“The weather was ideal on Sunday morning and we were able to run significantly faster then the our first two months on the 749R” said Kopecky. “We had a wonderful opportunity this weekend to run a new construction of the Dunlop 208GP A rear tire and after a couple of small adjustments in practice we found the bike was superb in the race!” He won the BOTT Middleweight race by several seconds from class point leader Richy Headley (Duc 749R) and Bob Setbacken (Duc 748R).

Kopecky also had his first ever event weekend on a new 2005 Ducati 999R he just received from Ducati of Oceanside. “WOW! After reading the Roadracing World review of this bike I can understand why they like it – it’s certainly the best bike I’ve ever ridden.” With the only change from stock being gearing and addition of 17″ superstock-spec race slicks, Kopecky was able to win the BOTT Heavyweight and Formula Twins classes ahead of respective class point leaders John-Mark Arechiga (Apr 1000) and Claudio Szyszkowski (Duc 996).

“I’m truly enjoying riding and racing right now, and it’s always a great thrill to run at a fast track like Willow Springs. Our goal in to be in top form for 2005 and we feel great with the progress made this weekend.”

From a press release issued by Nikon Yamaha:

Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team Shines in the Queensland Sun

It was a glorious weekend for the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team at the sixth round of the 2004 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway, Willowbank, on August 13-15 when the team returned to the winner’s circle recording a dominant one-two finish.

Daniel Stauffer claimed the day after a win and a brace of second places while his teammate, Shannon Johnson, scored a victory and a runner-up place to consolidate his second place in the title. Daniel moved within striking distance of third spot in the championship after the pair’s very impressive performances.


“That is undoubtedly the best result of the year,” delighted Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager, Steve Trinder, said. “We always knew we were capable of dominating a meeting to finish 1-2 but not everything has gone our way this year – that’s racing.

“These results confirm what I have always thought about the Nikon Yamaha Superbike riders; on their day no one can beat either Daniel or Shannon.

“Daniel still isn’t fully 100% fit after his shoulder problems and that makes his performances even more impressive considering the strain this track places on the physical fitness of a rider.

“The confidence I had in signing Shannon to the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team has been reflected in his performances of late and all I can see is that he is going to get even better as he continues to improve every time he hops on the Nikon Yamaha R1. In his first full year on a Superbike he’s shown that – like Daniel – he has the talent, commitment and will to win a Superbike championship sooner rather than later.

“The 2004 championship may be away from our grasp but this has given us a inspiration for the final round plus an excellent springboard to work on for next year.”

The early signs were positive as Johnson claimed pole position after dominating all the practice and qualifying sessions to claim the extra championship point with a sub lap-record time. Stauffer was third fastest, also bettering the record.

The times were all the more remarkable considering the gale force winds that lashed the circuit during Saturday’s critical qualifying sessions. Also both riders were struck by viruses in the lead-up to the event; Shannon a severe dose of the ‘flu and Daniel was critically dehydrated.

In the opening race it was the two blue Nikon Yamaha YZF-R1’s that launched off the line in the lead and the pair were never headed.

Stauffer led his teammate, the duo were never more than a bike length apart as they used all their guile to out muscle each other and proved again that there is no such thing as teammates when the race starts.

It was a majestic sight for the team to see the pair so dominant at the front. The opposition had no answer to the pace they set as they led the rest of the field home with a gap of nearly three seconds as Daniel claimed his fourth win of the season with Shannon right behind.

The second leg appeared to be a carbon copy of the first as the Nikon rockets headed into the lead Daniel again just shading his teammate for the first four laps before Shannon muscled his way through.

Their rivals had done some homework between races as the Suzuki’s of Damien Cudlin and Shawn Giles also joined the fray.

Cudlin had gained the lead over Shannon and Daniel but it was all to come unstuck a few laps later.

Heading into the tight Turn Three hairpin, Johnson and Cudlin were millimetres apart arguing the lead but it was too close as they made contact and both hit the deck, sliding off the track into the sand pit.

Daniel was very close to the dust-up and was extremely fortunate not to become involved in the melee. The incident baulked Daniel slightly allowing his rival, Giles, to take the lead.

Although Stauffer closed the gap there wasn’t enough laps left to reclaim the lead but second place aided his points tally.

The third and final leg was a bottler as the pair had a supreme duel as again the earlier incident steeling Johnson for a more enthusiastic onslaught.

The opposition had no answer to the flying Nikon Yamaha duo and the team was never headed at the front of the field, leading from start to finish.

Again Stauffer claimed the lead into the first corner but the pair were that close it looked like there was only one Yamaha as Shannon remained glued to his teammate’s rear wheel.

Daniel appeared to have the race in his keeping but Shannon had been biding his time stalking his teammate hoping for a mistake.

The mistake didn’t occur but in the very last corner Johnson pulled off a determined, yet calculated, passing move to take the lead and win the drag to the line to compensate somewhat for the disappointment of his earlier crash.

It was also a memorable day for the Nikon Yamaha Factory Race Team in the hotly contested 600cc Supersport class when Brendan Clarke put his wretched season behind him to claimed third overall on the day.

Pipped by a whisker for a front row starting position Brendan battled through from each start to claim a second place in the opening leg and backed it up with a seventh and a fourth in the remaining two legs.

Unfortunately, the entire meeting was overshadowed by the tragic accident that claimed the life of veteran rider and 1995 Australian Superbike Champion, Kirk McCarthy, after a crash on the opening lap of the final Supersport race.

In closing the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team wishes to extend its deepest sympathies and condolences to Kirk’s family and many friends.

Kirk was a true champion both on and off the track and one of the real characters of the sport. He will be sadly missed

2004 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championships after six (of seven) rounds:

1 A Fergusson (Honda) 326pts; 2 Shannon Johnson (Nikon Yamaha YZF-R1) 250; 3 S Giles (Suzuki) 242; 4 Daniel Stauffer (Nikon Yamaha YZF-R1) 215; 5 J Stauffer (Kawasaki) 175.

The next meeting for the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team is at the final round of the 2004 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championships at Philip Island, September 11-13.