Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

In your recent editorial on your website (10/7/2003 AMA Pro Racing Penalties: $100 For Speeding On Pit Lane, $0 For Throwing Rocks On Live Racetrack), you state:

“Afterwards, Duhamel lay down next to his bike momentarily (perhaps seeking a red flag?), then jumped up, grabbed a handful of gravel, threw it onto the racetrack, and stormed off, screaming.”

You are correct, sir.

I was one of the cornerworkers there and you have surmised correctly, Mr. D. was incensed that we didn’t call for a red flag. The screaming was not directed at Mr. B. but at us for not calling it.

When Mr. D. saw that we had all the mess cleaned up in seconds and that his bike was not in a condition to restart, his injury status changed instantly into the antics that ensued.

Our corner captain/communicator immediately relayed this fact to race control.

Please don’t print my name in connection with this info…

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ken Maely, 78, of Corona, California died Thursday at 12:11 p.m. at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Riverside, California, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s office.

A call to Maely’s home was answered by a family friend who asked not to be named. She said that Maely went to the hospital for a regularly scheduled check-up, fell asleep in the waiting room and did not wake up.

Funeral services are pending.

Maely was inducted into the AMA’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He was famous around the country and the world for hand-crafting steel shoes for dirt track and speedway racing. He developed his own engines for speedway racebikes and operated a flat track/speedway training track on his property in Corona, California. Some of the biggest names in motorcycle racing trained at Maely’s ranch from time to time.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Reader reaction:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I just read the post regarding the death of Ken Maely. Ken was such a good person and had impacted the lives of so many people and racers it was unbelievable.

I was lucky enough to have spent many a days at Ken’s ranch practicing on his dirt track, which was located near his meticulously maintained oriental vegetable farm.

I always enjoyed listening to his stories and seeing him up on the hill laughing while Roland Sands, Mark Miller, and I tried to kill each other on our XRs. He would even call us up for the occasional pointer or two. Sometimes pointing out the small weakness in our opponent’s motorcycle or technique to make for closer racing. Of course this was strictly for his entertainment.

Ken was always willing to help out the racers, whether it was loaning us a forgotten hot shoe or one of his beater XR100s.

I remember when Ken made my hot shoe, I was lucky enough to watch him do some of the work and it truly amazed me how hard this really was. Apparently, he used these exotic metals that were really temperamental and he had to hold his breath while heating these things up.

He spent so much time and money on his track there was no way he could of ever profited from it. He just liked seeing the look on people’s faces that were enjoying themselves. Because of this, we would usually end up spending just as much time picking rocks out of the newly purchased sand or nailing fences up as we did riding. Miller was one of the few people that he trusted to drive the tractor for the afternnoon dragging.

Ken, thank you for the memories. You will truly be missed.

Mark W. Foster
Ex-AMA 250 GP #4
Portland, Oregon

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

It would take a novel to describe the qualities or positive impact Ken Maely had on other people’s lives.

You will be deeply missed, you old f–ker.

Mark Miller
Long Beach, California

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SCHWANTZ TO PRESENT THE GSX-R CUP

Suzuki GSX-R Cup Press Office
October 10th 2003

Suzuki racing legend Kevin Schwantz is attending the GSX-R Cup Final at Magny Cours in France on October 19th to give all the finalists the benefit of his advice and to present the trophies to the winners.

The 1993 500cc World Champion made his name racing the very first GSX-R machines in the mid-80’s and still uses a mixture of GSX-R and SV model Suzukis for his famous Kevin Schwantz race schools.

A total of 28 Suzuki GSX-R riders from 15 countries around the world have been competing in qualifying races in their home countries for a place on the start line of this unique Cup Final event where they will all start with an equal chance of winning on identically prepared GSX-R750 machines.

The two GSX-R Cup final races are part of the program in the final round of the World Superbike Series at Magny Cours.

For the latest 2003 Suzuki Worldwide GSX-R Cup final news visit: www.suzuki-racing.com/gsx-r

RIDERS LIST
1. Luca Conforti. Italy.
2. Alessandro Melone. Italy.
3. Anttonio Mancuso. Italy.
4. Stefan Nebel. Germany.
5. Herbert Kaufmann. Germany.
6. Michael Peh. Germany.
7. Oriol Fernandez. Spain.
8. Steve Brogan. UK.
9. Kenny Everest. UK.
10. Ben Mossey. UK.
11. Zenon Nelson. Canada.
12. Brian Neilsen. Canada.
13. Thomas Flueckiger. Switzerland.
14. Koen Vleugels. Belgium.
15. Klaus Kaltenbacher. Austria.
16. Tray Batey. USA.
17. Chris Caylor. USA.
18. Cory Eaton. USA.
19. Akira Tamitsuji. Japan.
20. Koji Teramoto. Japan.
21. Viktor Kispataki. Hungary.
22. Hudson Kennaugh. South Africa.
23. Robert Di Foggia. France.
24. Thomas Metro. France.
25. Jean-Charles Mercier. France.
26. Stavroulakis Stavros. Greece.
27. David Butler. Australia.

From a press release issued by California Speedway:

CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY’S ECONOMIC IMPACT IS $135 MILLION IN 2003; ECONOMIC IMPACT COULD REACH $220 MILLION IN 2004

FONTANA, Calif. With every racing event at California Speedway there are winners and losers. According to an economic impact study on how California Speedway affects the local economy the speedway is a winner.

The entire 2003 economic impact of California Speedway’s events and daily operations totals $135.7 million, with approximately $84.7 million coming from the speedway’s NASCAR race weekend. The total economic impact could grow to an estimated $220 million in 2004 when the speedway hosts two NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races, according to economist Dr. John Husing of Economics and Politics, Inc.

Husing, along with speedway President Bill Miller, announced the findings of an economic impact study commissioned by the speedway and conducted by Husing at an Inland Empire Economic Partnership breakfast in San Bernardino, Calif., this morning.

According to Husing, “the $135.7 million in economic impact is derived from $106.0 million in economic activity and $29.6 million plus in household earnings. The findings reveal $29.4 million in funds used to directly support the track, along with $44.6 million that comes from outside people spending money at places like hotels, restaurants and gas stations, with that money changing hands at least once for a total of $76.6 million. That number is combined with the $29.4 million for the economic output ($106.0 million).”

The household earnings figure ($29.6 million) in Husing’s report comes from an estimation of 1,165 jobs that have been created in the general economy as a result of the speedway’s existence, along with the 50 full-time positions at the speedway.

“There is no disputing the impact California Speedway has made on the local economy,” said Husing, who performed an economic impact study about the speedway in 1994, three years before the speedway hosted its first event. “A once blighted steel mill and depressed area is now a growing, healthy commercial success story. The speedway has provided an economic boon to the area. Case in point is the building of several new hotels and restaurants in the area with several more in the discussion phase.

“The hotels are benefiting greatly,” continued Husing. “When a race comes to town, hotels sell out at a premium rate, resulting in an increase in revenue that would not be realized without the speedway.”

The speedway’s 2003 event calendar concludes November 1-2 with the CART Champ Car 500 and NASCAR Winston West 200. Other events on the schedule in 2003 included the Yamaha Superbike Challenge AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship Series doubleheader in early April, followed by the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Auto Club 500 weekend at the end of April. With an estimated 125,000 people in attendance, the Auto Club 500 is the largest ticketed single-day sporting event in the state. In June, the speedway hosted two sports car races, the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series weekend and the Southern California Historic Sports Car Festival. In late September, the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competed at the speedway.

In addition to the major racing event weekends, the speedway had approximately 290 rental days ranging from racing schools, commercial shoots, street legal drag racing, car shows to swap meets.

“The profile of the people coming to the speedway for these rental days mirrors that of the speedway’s racing events,” said Husing. “We are talking about local residents and regional and national travelers who wouldn’t be coming to the area without the speedway.”

One of the key findings of Husing’s report is what happens in 2004 when the speedway’s schedule includes a second major NASCAR weekend. In addition to the spring Auto Club 500 weekend, the speedway will host the September Labor Day Weekend “Finish Under the Lights” Pop Secret 500.

“We expect the economic impact of the second NASCAR weekend in 2004 to rise by at least the same amount as the one race in 2003 ($84.7 million),” said Husing. “That would bring the total to about $220 million and more than 1,900 jobs, further solidifying the importance of the speedway to the area.”

Other findings in the report include property taxes, sales taxes and transit occupancy taxes “that result in approximately $4.2 million in taxes flowing to area jurisdictions, mostly in San Bernardino County,” said Husing.

One last benefit from the speedway includes the national television exposure generated from its major events, including the 2003 Auto Club 500 NASCAR race, which had more than five million viewers (5.3 rating) on the Fox television network.

“Using the NASCAR race as an example, it’s akin to a three-hour plus commercial where the area is in the national spotlight,” said Husing.

“We appreciate the efforts of Dr. Husing in conducting this study,” said Miller. “The speedway has come a long way in a short period of time, accomplishing many of the goals established for it, most notably being an economic catalyst for the area. We will continue to work with elected officials and business leaders to continue the momentum of economic growth in our area and throughout the region.”


From another release issued by California Speedway:

THE CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT, 2003

John E. Husing, Ph.D.

THE CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT, 2003
John E. Husing, Ph.D.

Executive Summary

The economic role of the California Speedway is analogous to a gold mine in an Old Western town.

Its operations bring money to the Inland Empire that otherwise would not be in the region (money to the gold miners). In 2003, that amount was $29.4 million. In addition to supporting the track, these same dollars support households and businesses throughout the Inland Empire when the track spends much of this money locally buying labor, goods and services. The area’s households and businesses also benefit from the fact that the people who come to the track spend money at places like local hotels, restaurants and gas stations. The combined spending in the local economy by the California Speedway plus the visitors it brings to the area was $44.6 million in 2003 (spending by the gold miners that supports general stores & saloons).

Once the $44.6 million hits the local economy, much of it changes hands locally at least once as workers are paid and goods and services bought the companies that receive it. Through this process a total of $76.6 million in economic output and $24.4 million in added household earnings is created in the region in 2003. In addition, a total of 1,165 jobs for people who may not even realize that the track’s operations are the reason they are employed. This process is akin to what happened in port cities during the 1940’s and 1950’s when the Navy paid its sailors in $2.00 bills so the town’s people could see how important the fleet was to their economy.

When these amounts are added to the $29.4 million in funds directly supporting the California Speedway, as well as the $5.2 million in household income from purveyors, the total impact of the California Speedway on the Inland Empire is $106.0 million in economic activity and $29.6 million in household earnings that would not exist without it. Altogether, the dollar economic importance of the California Speedway to the Inland Empire is thus the sum of these or:

· Total 2003 economic impact: $135.7 million
In addition, when the 1,165 jobs created in the general economy are added to the track’s 50 full-time positions:

· Total 2003 job impact: 1,215
Finally, as the California Speedway functions, a variety of local governments in San Bernardino County collect annual taxes:

· Total 2003 impact: $4.2 million
Property taxes based upon the track’s $200.8 million in assessed valuation are collected by the county government and mostly dedicated to local schools and the San Sevaine Redevelopment project. In the latter case, the track’s success is largely responsible for funding the infrastructure necessary to turn the entire area that was once a rusting steel mill, huge slag heap and poisonous superfund sight into a brand new manufacturing, logistics and commercial area. The annual cash flow for this purpose is $2,011,532. Before the track was built and expanded, the valuation was just $10 million generating taxes of just $100,000.

Sales taxes are collected on a variety of functions supported by the California Speedway. These include the meals which tourist and crews eat in restaurants, the souvenirs purchased on and off of the track, the fuel purchased on and off of the track and miscellaneous retail spending in the economy. This spending totals $23.3 million and generates $232,544 in annual sales taxes, the majority of which goes to San Bernardino County as much of the spending occurs in unincorporated areas. Also, California Speedway directly pays another $216,307 per year in sales taxes as a result of its own purchases.

A last sales tax item is $116,272 per year that goes to the San Bernardino Associated Government due to the 0.5% Measure I sales tax rate applied to the $23.2 million in sales. This is used for San Bernardino County transportation projects.
Transit occupancy taxes are collected by almost every Inland Empire jurisdiction on its hotel rooms. The average rate for this tax is 8.5%. Using that average, the $19.1 million in hotel room rental fees would generate $1,321,069 for various Inland Empire jurisdictions.

On an annual basis, the California Speedway is thus the cause of some $4.20 million in taxes flowing to inland jurisdictions mostly in San Bernardino County.

NASCAR RACE

Using similar logic, it was found that in 2003 a NASCAR race has the following impacts:

· Total Inland Empire economic impact: $84.7 million

· Total Inland Empire job impact: 736 jobs including the speedway’s 50 full time staff

California Speedway’s Near Future

With the California Speedway now scheduled to have a second major NASCAR event on Labor Day of 2004, the total economic impact of the track will rise by at least the amounts shown for the existing NASCAR Race. Thus, the new total impact will be:

· Total Inland Empire economic impact: $220 million

· Total Inland Empire job impact: 1,901 jobs including the speedway’s 50 full time staff

NOTE: In 1994, this analyst predicted that the California would reach $136 million in economic impact and 1,360 jobs when it had two NASCAR and one CART race. In 2003, it almost exactly reached the economic impact target with just one NASCAR race, one CART race, and a variety of other activities. In 2004, it appears that the facility will far exceed the original predictions.

From a press release:

AMA Superbike rider Shawn Higbee Debuts in Formula Mazda competition

Shawn Higbee, an accomplished professional motorcycle road racer and 3 time national motorcycle champion, is scheduled to compete in his first car race during the SCCA Blackhawk Farms, IL race this weekend.

Higbee just finished an outstanding motorcycle race season earning rights as the 2003 AMA Superbike ‘Top Privateer’ onboard the Millennium Kaufman Suzuki (GSXR-1000) prepared by KWS Motorsports.

Higbee’s international career highlights include a Top Ten finish at the 24 hour of Lemans and 3rd place finish at the 1997 Macau GP.

Higbee recently graduated from the Skip Barber 3-Day School on September 26th at the Road America circuit. The Elite Autosports team based in Woodstock, IL will be providing Higbee with a Formula Mazda car to begin his car-racing career.

Higbee comments on his aspirations, “Racing cars is fresh, new and very exciting for me! There is some crossover between motorcycles and cars, but I’m learning many new things too. I’m eager to pursue the professional aspect of car racing once I get up to speed. I’m leaning toward open wheel formula at the moment but have been looking at many options including sports car racing. I see car racing as an opportunity to increase exposure for my sponsors and myself.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Times
Sepang, Malaysia
October 10, 2003

1. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 2:08.263
2. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 2:09.188
3. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:09.353
4. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 2:09.407
5. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 2:09.913
6. Frnaco Battaini, Aprilia, 2:09.950
7. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 2:10.231
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 2:10.554
9. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 2:11.050
10. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, 2:11.108
11. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 2:11.194
12. Anthony West, Aprilia, 2:11.802
13. Alex Debon, Honda, 2:11.849
14. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, 2:11.925
15. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 2:12.024
16. Joan Olive, Aprilia, 2:12.247
17. Christian Gemmel, Honda, 2:12.773
18. Lukas Pesek, Yamaha, 2:12.919
19. Jaroslav Hules, Honda, 2:13.018
20. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, 2:13.187
21. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 2:13.689
22. Alex Baldolini, Honda, 2:13.702
23. Eric Bataille, Honda, 2:14.032
24. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 2:16.116


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

GOOD START FOR POGGIALI ON THE MALAYSIAN TRACK

After having achieved the good feeling with the new track in the free session this morning Manuel Poggiali got the second fastest lap time in the afternoon qualifying session pushing hard. In fact the San Marino was very satisfied.

Manuel Poggiali: “Well done! We tested new material for the race and we are working in the right way. Obviously I still need to study the track and, even if I made some mistakes, can easily improve lap by lap. The bike is getting better as well and tomorrow we must concentrate especially on the tyres choice for the race as the temperature is very high here. Then I will do the best as usual! The second position is quite good and I do not feel worried about Elias’ pole position as I know he is a specialist of the qualifying tyres”.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda:

Rolfo escapes unscathed from crash in qualifying

Sepang – Malaysia, October 10, 2003: The crash suffered by Roberto Rolfo in the dying minutes of provisional qualifying did not interrupt the progress made by the Fortuna Honda team on machine set up.

Rolfo is convinced the team are working in the right direction and will place special emphasis on chassis geometry in order to improve his performance on the fast Sepang circuit.

The crash suffered by the Altadis rider in the closing minutes of the provisional qualifying session came when Rolfo was going for a fast lap. Rolfo got into a right hand corner on section three too fast and the front end turned in and he was off. Fortunately Rolfo escaped unscathed and will be in good shape for the second day of qualifying.

“I only banged my hand in the crash, no bruising or lacerations as it was a very clean crash at the end of the session. I was looking to improve my qualifying time but there was a lot of traffic on the track and I was trying to recover time when passing slower riders. I was pushing too hard and the front end turned in.” Explained the Fortuna Honda rider.

“In general the job we did today was positive. The engine was working really well and we are in tune with the circuit in that respect. It’s the chassis we need to work on because I don’t feel completely comfortable on the bike, it costs me quite an effort to get the bike to turn into the corners in the way I want it to. I hope we find a solution to this overnight.” Concluded Rolfo.

From a press release issued by Road America:

Road America Renews Sponsorships

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. — Road America has renewed three sponsorships, according to George Bruggenthies, president and general manager. The companies are Ocala, Florida-based Emergency One, which provides the track with fire trucks; the Kohler Company, Kohler, Wisc., title sponsor of the Kohler/SCCA June Sprints®; and Safety-Kleen, which provides environmental products and services. Sponsorship terms were not disclosed.

“We’re delighted to renew our relationships with these companies,” said Bruggenthies. “The racing industry is a great way to showcase products and services to loyal race fans. We’re very pleased that these businesses will be a part of the 2004 racing season at Road America.”

The Kohler Company, is a long-time Road America sponsor with title sponsorship of the Kohler/SCCA June Sprints, one of the Sports Car Club of America’s largest events, fielding nearly 500 race cars from all over the U.S. The company also provides plumbing fixtures for the race track. Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisc., Kohler is a worldwide leader in manufacturing kitchen and bath products, engines and power generation systems, home interiors and hospitality services. Whistling Straits, home of the 2004 PGA Championship, also is one of the Kohler properties.

Emergency One, a division of Federal Signal Corp., manufactures almost every type of rescue vehicle required by fire departments, rescue/EMS squads and airports. An industry leader, the company has more than 23,000 vehicles operating around the world, including custom and commercial pumpers and tankers, aerial ladders and platforms, rescue units of all sizes, quick attack units, industrial trucks and aircraft rescue fire fighting vehicles.

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Safety-Kleen is the Official Environmental and Recycling Service Company for CART, Indy Racing League, NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch Grand National Craftsman Truck and IROC race tracks. The company provides a fully integrated network designed to collect, process, recycle and dispose of wastes. Safety-Kleen is the nation’s largest recovery and recycling company for used oil products, re-refining some 100,000,000 gallons of used motor oil every year.

Road America is selling season tickets for the 2004 race season for $250 until Dec. 15, when the price goes to $275. Season tickets are available at www.roadamerica.com or by calling 1.800.365.7223 (RACE).

Road America’s 2004 spectator race dates are May 14-16, Sports Car Vintage Racing Assoc.; June 3-6, American Motorcyclist Assoc. Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader; June 17-20, Kohler/SCCA June Sprints®; July 15-18, Brian Redman International Challenge featuring Historic Grand Prix F-1 cars; Aug.5-8, Grand Prix at Road America featuring the Trans-Am Series for the BF Goodrich Cup (CART is yet to be finalized); Aug. 19-22, the Road America 500 featuring the American Le Mans Series, plus STRANA, the Super Truck Racing Assoc. of North America, racing 18-wheeler cabs; Sept. 17-19, the Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival, with a tour of one of the original Elkhart Lake race circuits held on public roads.

New this year, Road America will open the gates for recreational vehicle camping during the PGA Championship Tour, to be held Aug. 9-15 at the noted Whistling Straits golf course located in Kohler, Wisc. Camping will be $25 a day for an RV space with electricity or $18 per day without electricity, for two visitors. Additional guests are $5 each per day. Road America offers modern, permanent washrooms with showers.

Road America hosted its first official race in 1955.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Practice
Saturday morning
October 11
Sepang, Malaysia

1. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 2:03.833

2. Valentino ROSSI, Honda, 2:03.939

3. Shinya NAKANO, Yamaha, 2:04.029

4. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 2:04.162

5. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 2:04.165

6. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 2:04.172

7. Tohru UKAWA, Honda, 2:04.281

8. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 2:04.469

9. Alex BARROS, Yamaha, 2:04.622

10. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 2:04.769

11. Garry McCOY, Kawasaki, 2:05.253

12. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 2:05.281

13. Colin EDWARDS, Aprilia, 2:05.309

14. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 2:05.312

15. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 2:05.880

16. Noriyuki HAGA, Aprilia, 2:05.961

17. Akira RYO, Suzuki, 2:06.628

18. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Proton, 2:06.743

19. Andrew PITT, Kawasaki, 2:07.003

20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 2:07.490

21. Olivier JACQUE, Yamaha, 2:07.777

22. David DE GEA, Harris WCM, 2:08.262

23. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, 2:08.439

24. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 2:09.430

From a press release issued by Buell American Motorcycle Company:

FINALISTS OF BUELL SLAY THE DRAGON II SWEEPSTAKES CARVE UP DEAL’S GAP

Winner Chooses 2003 Buell XB9R Firebolt

Knoxville, Tenn. — (Finalists in the 2003 Buell Slay the Dragon II Sweepstakes carved up Deal’s Gap aboard Buell motorcycles on September 25. Each of them won a free trip to the ultimate sportbike riding location to experience the handling of Buell motorcycles, but only one would be chosen as the grand prize winner of either a 2003 XB9R Firebolt or XB9S Lightning. At a stop along the ride, veteran Buell racer Tripp Nobles pulled the name of Maurice “Moe” O Connor, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the handling and performance of the Buell motorcycles we rode at Deal’s Gap,” O Connor said. “I pushed them hard and they were very responsive. The location was amazing.” He praised the cornering ability of both the Firebolt and Lightning, but chose the Firebolt because he preferred its riding position. As a rider for more than three decades, O Connor has owned several motorcycles, including some race machines. His last motorcycle was a Harley-Davidson FLHR Road King.

Deal’s Gap is a unique stretch of road that follows U.S. 129 through North Carolina along the Tennessee State line. It is infamous among motorcycle riders as one of the most exciting roads in the United States, boasting 318 turns in just 11 miles. Nicknamed “The Dragon” because of its challenging twists and turns, thousands flock to the area each year to experience the thrill of the road and the area’s scenic Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Slay the Dragon II group included four of the five customers whose entries were chosen from the sweepstakes drawing earlier this spring. In addition to O Connor, Steven Fling of Arnold, Mo., Jay Fedorenko of Mandan, N.D. and Gerald Tilley of Shelby, N.C. attended the Deal’s Gap event. Dennis Munchel of Berkley Hts., N.J. was one of the finalists, but was not able to make the trip.

Six Buell dealer employees also accompanied the group, chosen based on their outstanding Buell sales performance; Dave Kiesow of Illinois Buell in Berwyn, Ill., Phil Smith of Santa Barbara Buell in Carpinteria, Calif., Matt Blackney of Century Buell in Medina, Ohio, Eddie Arb of Capitol City Buell in Madison, Wis., Jan Dordick of Woodstock Buell in Kingston, N.Y., and Bruce Minor of Valley Buell in Wheeling, W.Va.

To learn more about Buell Motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style, and performance only found on board a Buell. Call 1-800-490-9635 for the Buell dealer nearest you. Or pull into www.buell.com.

From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Sepang Preview

Proton Team looks for points again at home GP

The Malaysian GP is the home GP for the Proton KR V5 – and comes just one week after the radical new four-stroke’s best result. At last weekend’s Pacific GP at Motegi, Nobuatsu Aoki finished 14th, and took two points.

It was a landmark for the seven-race-old prototype, after a gruelling and fully public development programme for a motorcycle that only ran on a race-track for the first time only in May, after the season had already begun. Results have been steadily improving as the team worked almost day and night to solve inevitable teething troubles with the groundbreaking new design.

Now the Sepang race gives Aoki and his team-mate Jeremy McWilliams another chance to demonstrate progress, in the home of the team’s principal backers Proton Cars.

“We have a few new parts for this race – new exhausts for better engine performance, and a new fairing that should improve the aerodynamic performance,” said team founder and owner Kenny Roberts, World 500cc Champion from 1978 to 1980.

“Back in Britain, engineers are working on a new design that will fix the problems that were designed in to the first version. You won’t see any big improvements until then, but the bike has been getting better all the time.

“The thing that hurt us most was racing, rather than being able to concentrate on developing the machine in private,” he said.

Improvements have come race by race. Before the Motegi GP, the howling racers were already knocking on the door of the top 15. Detail improvements to electronic engine mapping and intake design brought a significant improvement in mid-range power, while a new slipper clutch solved problems with corner entry. All these improved rideability.

The most visible of the improvements in Malaysia is a new nose-piece for the fairing, lower and smaller than the earlier version, with the “shoulders” taken away from either side of the screen.

Aoki’s points were the reward, but McWilliams fell victim to another problem, crashing after his brakes suffered overheating problems early in the race.

The Malaysian GP is the middle of a trio of gruelling flyaway races. Seven days later the 15th round takes place at Phillip Island in Australia, with the final round a fortnight later at Valencia in Spain.

Jeremy McWilliams – Anything could happen
This track is okay for us until the last section, with the straights linked with hairpins, but I think we can be very close. A lot depends on how effective the new fairing is. But the weather means that anything could happen. Especially with the race at 3:30, which seems to be the time it starts raining most afternoons. Our Bridgestone tyres are good in hot conditions, if it stays dry. The bike’s okay in the wet too, with the latest improvements to the clutch. We’ll see how it turns out.

Nobuatsu Aoki – Maybe better than Motegi
Our chances here seem as good as at Motegi, and maybe better. Motegi is a typical stop-and-go circuit, which is hard for us. Here we have more corners, and that gives us more chance. We have some new parts here, and I will try 130 percent, even more than usual, because this is Proton’s home track.


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Information:

MALAYSIA GP/PREVIEW

The Alice Aprilia Racing Team is ready for the Malaysia GP that will take place at the Sepang circuit close to the international airport of Kuala Lumpur. After the unlucky race in Motegi when both Aprilia RS Cubes were involved in a crash during the start, the team wants to show that the chattering problems they had in the past are going to be solved. New material managed for the development of the chassis setting will be tested this week end in order to give more competitiveness to Colin and Nori.

The Amercian rider spent a week of relax in Malaysia: “After all these flights and the jetlag I had to relax. I feel Ok and hope to get a better start this time”.

Nori Haga came here from Japan with his family: ” In my home GP I had a crash so my position on the grid was almost bad but I caught the firsts anyway. I want to get a good result here as well”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “I wish this race can be much more lucky for us: in Japan Colin was involved in the initial crash during the start and Haga was a bit late in the gird because of the crash he suffered the day before. We need a god result now! This Malaysian track is very fast and the air temperature is very high but I do not feel worried about the performance of our bikes: for sure the engine will be used at the maximum level. Anyway we will use new material in order to solve the chattering problems: swingarm, linkage and wheels with different setting to avoid the vibration. The chassis setting is very important as well because here the grip is rather short so the set up must be very precise. Unfortunately last year data are not very helpful cause now we use another tyres supplier”.


THE TRACK

Sepang F1: lenght 5.548 km equal to 3.468 miles

Lap record: Max Biaggi (Yamaha), 2:04.925

Pole position: Alex Barros (Honda 2002), 2:04.487


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia Racing Information:

TO MALAYSIA WITH A 18 POINTS ADVANTAGE

After Motegi it’s Sepang turn for the Malaysia GP this week end. Located at 50 km from Kuala Lumpur centre the Sepang track is 5548 meters long with 15 corners and the main straight is 920 meters. Another important feature is the width of the track: even 25 meters. Besides the track it must add the unsettled weather conditions as the damp is about 90% and the temperature is 30° when the sun shines.

Manuel Poggiali: “Here it’s better than Japan and I can relax and do train as there’s a big fitness centre in the hotel. I arrived here on Monday evening and during these days I thought to have relax and did a lot of sport cause it’s important to be at 100% with three races in a row. Compared with the last races I made some changes on my feeding adding some energy drinks to compensate the loss of the liquids due to the high temperature. I like this track cause it’s exciting but it ‘s also very wide and I need to find the right trajectories as I never rode a 250 bike here. In this moment I feel quite good and relaxed without nay pressure. Moreover the work ambience is peaceful and it helps me to concentrate”.