Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

KTM factory Supermoto racer Doug Chandler broke his left fibula and tore ligaments in his left ankle in a crash during the AMA KTM Supermoto Unlimited race October 5 in Columbus, Ohio.

“Yeah, broken leg and I got some stuff I tore and messed up in my ankle. So I’m going to get that fixed at 7:45 this evening,” Chandler told Roadracingworld.com in a telephone interview Tuesday morning. The three-time AMA Superbike Champion plans to have surgery at the hands of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting in Fremont, California, not far from Chandler’s Salinas, California home.

The crash happened as pole-sitter Chandler was racing his HMC KTM teammate Ben Carlson into the first turn in the Unlimited Supermoto main event in Ohio. “Not quite to the first turn,” pointed out Chandler. “I think me and Benny somehow, I don’t know who got on top of who, the hand guards just locked and pulled us both down. He went down. Then it pulled me down. My foot, I think, got run over by his bike and then thrown under mine as I was going down. I twisted it and gave it a good wrenching.

“Mainly I tore the ligaments. It let it [fibula] kind of come out of socket. So we’ve got to put a screw in there to center it back in the socket while the tendons heal themselves and get strong again. It’s all ankle. I broke the little bone [fibula] up high below the knee, but there’s not a whole lot they can do on that stuff…Looking at the pictures, looking at how tweaked my foot was and all things considered, it wasn’t so bad.”

Chandler, 38, was third in the Red Bull Supermoto class point standings and fifth in the KTM Unlimited Supermoto class rankings heading into the Columbus event. Asked when he might return to the AMA Supermoto series, Chandler said, “We’re trying to shoot for the final at Vegas, that third week [in November]. It’ll be kind of marginal because Art’s [Dr. Ting] saying he doesn’t want me to put any weight on it or nothing for three to four weeks. We’ll see.”

Chandler has crashed relatively infrequently during his long professional racing career, which left him free from injury. Asked when was the last time he broke a bone in a racing crash, Chandler said his fall from the HMC Ducati Superbike at Road Atlanta in 2002 would technically qualify.

“I didn’t think I did, but I ended up having to go back in after that and have some chips taken out of my right ankle,” said Chandler. Before the Road Atlanta crash, Chandler said his last racing injury was a broken collarbone while racing the factory Harley-Davidson VR1000 in 1995.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Was Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins harshly penalized by FIM officials to send a message to the MotoGP paddock that risky riding would not be tolerated? The FIM’s non-action on several similar incidents resulting in serious injuries to riders earlier this season seem to substantiate the theory.

Encouraged by improvements to his Suzuki GSV-R, strong lap times in practice and qualifying and a great launch, Hopkins made a bold move into turn one at the start of the Pacific Grand Prix October 5 at Motegi in Japan. But the move ended up being too bold.

“We’d been running pretty decent times all weekend, and I wanted the best start possible. I went into the first turn too hot, and there was nowhere to go except into Checa,” Hopkins was quoted as saying in a press release issued by his team.

Hopkins collided with Yamaha’s Carlos Checa, bringing both riders down. Ducati’s Troy Bayliss could not avoid the fallen pair and also crashed. Aprilia’s Colin Edwards was forced to take to the gravel to avoid the incident. No riders were injured in the pile-up.

According to press releases from his team and his personal publicist, Hopkins admitted his mistake and apologized to all of the riders affected, both publicly and personally. Nonetheless, Hopkins was disqualified from the Motegi race and suspended from participating in the next round in Malaysia. Additionally, Hopkins was fined and put on probation for the remainder of the 2003 season, according to a column written by his girlfriend Desiree Crossman.

The official release from the FIM on the penalty read: “On Sunday 5th October, during the MotoGP race, American rider John Hopkins has ridden in an irresponsible manner causing danger to other riders.

“For this infraction to Art. 1.21.2 of the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations, the Race Direction decided to impose upon him a suspension for the next Grand Prix event (Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang, 10-12 October 2003).”

“We appealed, but it was rejected, and we are deeply disappointed,” Suzuki team manager Garry Taylor was quoted as saying in a press release. “In our opinion, the punishment is overly severe. There have been many similar incidents in the past that have gone completely unpunished. In our view, it was a normal racing incident.”

Taylor had to look no further for examples than when Kenny Roberts hit Hopkins from behind, bringing both riders down, during the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello June 8. Roberts missed six weeks of the season due to injuries suffered in the crash.

During the Sunday morning warm-up session before the British Grand Prix at Donington Park July 13, Yukio Kagayama, who was filling in for the injured Roberts, ran straight at turn one and hit Alex Barros, injuring the Brazilian rider badly enough to end his streak of 158 consecutive Grand Prix starts.

June 15 at Catalunya, Kawasaki’s Andrew Pitt got into turn four too hot at the start of the race, hit Jeremy McWilliams; the crashing pair collected Pitt’s teammate Akira Yanagawa, sending Yanagawa to the hospital with two compressed vertebrae.

But for whatever reason, FIM officials apparently decided that now was the time to take action and that Hopkins would be the example. “We want to give a message to the riders that these things (MotoGP bikes) are fast, heavy and dangerous. We’ve spoken to the rider and there was an element of ‘it’s a fair cop’ to his reaction,” race director Paul Butler was quoted as saying in a press release issued by Honda.

And if the FIM was going to make an example of Hopkins, it definitely had to address Makoto Tamada’s bump pass to take third from Sete Gibernau on the last lap of the race. Tamada’s punishment (disqualification from the race), however, was not as severe as Hopkins’ penalty.

One viewpoint on the situation was offered by two-time World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards, a victim of Hopkins’ first-corner mistake. In the electronic bulletin board section of his fan website, www.ceracing.com, Edwards wrote, “Bullshit Bullshit!!!!! That’s all I can say about the whole weekend at Motegi. From the first turn crash to Tamada and Hopper’s DQ. I guess they don’t want us to race anymore. ‘You guys just go do circles for a few laps, but don’t dare rub paint or you will be DQed’ Bullshit!! I guess that means Troy [Bayliss] and I should have been DQed on a number of occasions the last couple years.”

Two days after the incident, Hopkins was still apologetic for his mistake and baffled by his penalty. In a press release issued by his publicist Tuesday, Hopkins was quoted as saying, “I made a mistake and am deeply sorry to the riders caught up in the accident. I understand the importance of rider safety, but I was stunned by the penalty I received. If I had a pattern of dangerous riding I could understand the suspension, but my crash in Japan was a single mistake in judgment and I don’t feel it warranted such a harsh punishment. The last thing I want is to put myself and my fellow riders in danger.”

From a press release issued by Proforma:

JIMMY MOORE BACK IN THE SADDLE

Two-time AMA Superstock champion Jimmy Moore is back on the racetrack, participating in riding schools, track days and regional races in preparation for the 2004 AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike series. Jimmy is fully healed from his injuries suffered at Brainerd in June, and is ready to race with the intensity that won him back-to-back AMA Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock championships in 2001 and 2002.

“I’ve been riding my streetbike (a GSX-R1000 FX Replica) a lot, and I was a guest instructor last week at a Pacific Super Sport Riders school at Portland (International Raceway),” said Jimmy. “I’m doing a Jason Pridmore STAR School next week at Thunderhill, and I may do the Willow 200 or go to an OMRRA race at P.I.R. and see if I can set a new lap record at my home track. The riding has been easy, no problems with my body, it feels really good to get back on the racetrack again.”

With the release of the Corona Extra Suzuki team by American Suzuki, Jimmy is eager to take his championship-winning talents to a new team for 2004 and beyond. “You know, I had a couple of good seasons with the Corona team, and I feel like I did a good job on the Formula Xtreme bike this year before the crash,” said Moore. “I’d really like to be in the new 1000 Superstock class next year, because it’s like a combination of the old Formula Xtreme and Superstock classes together. Those bikes are gonna to be a lot of fun to ride.”

Jimmy would like to recognize his long-time personal sponsors and supporters, which include Shoei, Joe Rocket, Dunlop, Suzuki, Motorcycle-USA.com, Sidi, Ohlins USA, Yoshimura, Vesrah, Hot Bodies Racing, Spiegler, Silkolene, Regina, Works Connection, TCM Products, Vortex, Lindemann Engineering, Factory Pro Tuning, Circuit One and GP Suspension.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

EDITORIAL OPINION

We’re not sure if the names of the involved riders had something to do with it, but it seems like AMA Pro Racing’s view of fineable offenses and what is or is not fair and even-handed officiating may need some adjustment.

This season, AMA Pro Racing black-flagged a racer out of his qualifying session and threatened to send him home for participating in paddock horseplay involving a paint ball targeting a TV crew friend of his but instead splattering on a TV cameraman.

And AMA Pro Racing is big on handing out tickets for speeding on pit lane–the pit lane speed limit is 50 mph–with a flat $100 fine deducted from a racer’s next purse check, the only notification to the rider in some cases being a line on the check stub that reads “Fine -$100.”

In the case of one rider we know, that $100 fine was about 20% of the $550 he won at a recent race.

In the case of another rider we know, who didn’t win any money, the $100 check he had to write at the next race he attended ultimately meant he couldn’t race that weekend–his bike broke and he had no spare cash left to buy the part he needed, unless he wanted to bet his gas money home. He told AMA officials that the radar speed indicator at the start of pit lane didn’t show his speed as he approached it–a common occurrence from what we’ve seen–but AMA Pro Racing officials shrugged off his complaint.

How a flat $100 fine with no requirement of direct notification at the racetrack is fair to everybody in the paddock–versus, say, a system fining a rider $50 or 10% of his purse, whichever is greater, with required direct notification and the ability to appeal at the racetrack–is beyond us. (Based on our experience with radar guns, accurately picking out the speed of a single rider in a group is not so simple. And, as seen in the case of Sandy Noce in the 250cc GP race at Mid-Ohio, AMA Pro Racing officials are not always right when they say a rider is guilty of something.)

Now consider what happened in the second Superbike race at Barber Motorsports Park. Ben Bostrom went for an impossible pass on John Jacobi, who was racing for 13th place and was being lapped for the first time, about four laps from the finish of the race. Bostrom ran into the back of Jacobi and crashed, Jacobi crashed and hit Dean Mizdal, who crashed in front of Miguel Duhamel, who ran over Mizdal and crashed.

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.

Looking at the penalty section of the official AMA Pro Racing website, there has been no mention of any penalty issued to Duhamel for throwing gravel onto the racing surface as the race continued without him. Not $100. Not $10. Not a dime.

In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any concern whatsoever on the part of AMA Pro Racing officials or management regarding Duhamel throwing rocks onto the racetrack, an action that could have easily caused more riders to crash.

Fact is, AMA Pro Racing officials, managers and associates often seem to be way more concerned about what happens on pit lane and in the paddock than they are about what happens on the racetrack.

Or maybe, just maybe, it depends upon the name of the involved rider…

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

This just in from Rodney Rayborne via e-mail, regarding funeral service for racer Paul Mumford, who died in a plane crash Wednesday, October 1:

On Thursday between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. there will be a viewing at the Desert View Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 11478 Amargosa Road, Victorville, California 92292.

On Friday, there will be a funeral Mass starting at 10:00 a.m., at:

Holy Family Catholic Church
9974 Avenue “I”
Hesperia, CA 92345
760-244-5423

After mass, there will be a caravan to the Desert View Memorial Park for the burial.

Afterwards, there will be a reception at Spring Valley Country Club.

We are sending this to let Paul’s friends in the motorcycle industry know of the details.

Anyone wishing to send flowers or cards may do so to the above address RE: Paul Mumford.

Also, an endowment has been set up in the name of Paul Mumford at the UCLA Education Fund for those seeking to make donations.

From a press release issued by Team Hammer:

Moore, Siglin Are Semi-Finalists In Team Hammer Talent Search Presented By Alpinestars

Greg Moore, 25, of Brookwood, Alabama and Chris Siglin, 22, of Clayton, California have been chosen as semi-finalists in the Team Hammer Talent Search Presented by Alpinestars.

Moore and Siglin will both be outfitted with Alpinestars leathers, boots and gloves in Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki colors and will have the use of Valvoline EMGO Suzuki racebikes, mechanics and Michelin tires at the Suzuki GSX-R750 Cup Finals held in conjunction with the WERA Grand National Finals October 29-November 2 at Road Atlanta. The rider who finishes best in the Suzuki GSX-R750 Cup Final at Road Atlanta will take home a race-prepped 2003 GSX-R750.

Moore and Siglin were chosen based on the judging criteria announced at the beginning of the season. Judging in the program was based on each rider’s ability to be competitive at a variety of racetracks, their improvement during the 2003 season and their results in designated special events at Daytona, Mid-Ohio and Barber as well as in AMA, F-USA and WERA National Series events.

Early results saw five riders immediately stand out in the program, including Moore, Siglin, Darren Luck, Jack Pfeifer and John Ross. But Moore’s performance in the designated special event at Mid-Ohio and Siglin’s performance in the designated special event at Barber helped them in the judging, as did their improvement throughout the 2003 season. Conversely, Ross’ injury-forced early-season layoff, Pfeifer’s injury-forced mid-season layoff and Luck’s disqualification from an AMA Supersport National for running what officials said was an oversize engine, hurt them in the judging. Complicating matters, Siglin started racing a Yamaha as well as his Suzuki late in the season, but only his Suzuki results were considered in final judging. The final judging between Siglin and Pfeifer was extremely close, with special-event performance and improvement during the season making the difference. Pfeifer, 35, is from Las Vegas, while Ross, 39, is from San Antonio and Luck, 28, is from Bonita Springs, Florida.

Other participants in the program showed substantial improvement over the course of the season, but their results in the designated special events and in National races hurt them in the final judging.

Other program participants included Matt Elliott, 17, of Blountsville, Tennessee; Ivan Garza, 26, of El Paso, Texas; Paolo Mariano, 22, of Canyon Country, California; and Mathew Wise, 24, of McKinney, Texas.

The Team Hammer Talent Search Presented By Alpinestars is run by Team Hammer, Inc., which races as Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki. The team’s administrative offices are in Lake Elsinore, California, and the team’s race shop is located in Athens, Alabama.

From a press release issued by Formula USA:

Formula USA Thunderbike National Champion David Estok (Kosco Buell/HD) will be featured on Speed Freaks National Radio Show at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time today.

Listen in and hear him discuss his success in the 2003 Formula USA Thunderbike class, and his preparation for Daytona next week October 16-19. (See link below for a list of stations in your area.)

David is the Formula USA “Thunderbike” National Champion on a Buell XB-9R motorcycle.

David Estok
* David Estok clinched the 2003 Formula USA “Thunderbike” Nat’l Championship at the last round held at Summit Point in West Virginia September 5-7.
* David races for the New England based Kosco Buell / Harley-Davidson team, managed by Rich Cronrath of Innovative Motorcycle Research.
* Cronrath has been the Championship tuner for the former Buell Lightning Series Nat’l Champion Michael Barnes, since 2000 and presented Buell with their first win in 600cc competition at the 79th Loudon Classic in 2002 with Eric Wood on board.
* David enters the final round at Daytona Speedway next week already a Champion.
* David rides a Buell XB-9R motorcycle. The only American-made Sportbike that has ever won a 600cc based class against the Japanese manufacturers.
* The Buell is built from an Eric Buell designed chassis, with a Harley-Davidson 1000cc motor.
* David has been a dominant force in Formula USA competition and has set the bar for the Thunderbike class.
* David previously raced Harley 883s, and 600cc machines.
* The Formula USA “Thunderbike” class features twin cylinder machines such as Buell Lightnings, Buell XB9, Suzuki SV650, Triumph Speed Triples, Ducati 750, etc…

* It is the 20th Anniversary of the Buell Motorcycle… for Estok to give them a win in a major national class on their 20th Anniversary is the “icing on the cake” for Buell in 2003.

For more information on the Formula USA “Thunderbike” class… visit www.FormulaUSA.com!


For radio stations in your area, visit:
www.SpeedFreaks.tv

From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
ROUND 14 – MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
7TH OCTOBER 2003 – EVENT PREVIEW

NEXT STOP MALAYSIA FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI TEAM

The whirlwind end of season MotoGP schedule continues this week with Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Andrew Pitt and Garry McCoy, on a tight deadline to prepare for this Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

The race at the Sepang circuit is the second of three GPs being conducted on consecutive weekends with the swing through the Asia Pacific region completed next week when Pitt and McCoy will compete at home in the Australian GP at Phillip Island on Sunday 19th October.

But for the now the task is adapting to the energy-sapping equatorial climate of Malaysia, and already last Sunday’s Pacific GP in Japan is a distant memory.

For Pitt the race will mark the first anniversary of his GP debut and the end of his rookie status. Twelve months ago Pitt, who won the World Supersport Championship with Kawasaki, received a late call-up to replace the injured Akira Yanagawa and made his GP debut on the ZX-RR at a track he had never seen before.

Meanwhile team-mate McCoy will be simply looking for a change of fortune. Minor mechanical problems have forced the Australian to retire his Ninja ZX-RR early from the past two races in Rio and Motegi.

But the omens look good for McCoy in Malaysia, a country that has always been favourable to the hard riding Australian. It was at the Shah Alam track in 1995 that McCoy scored the first of five career Grand Prix victories, in the 125cc Malaysian GP.

More recently McCoy has twice been on the podium at Sepang in the blue-riband class, with close third places in the Malaysian Grand Prix races of 2000 and 2001.

Tropical heat, humidity and often thunderous afternoon storms are all part of the racing equation at Sepang, a circuit that features the unusual combination of two parallel straights, hard braking hairpins and a sequence of long, fast sweepers.

Andrew Pitt
“I’m looking forward to Sepang. It’s 12 months since I got thrown in the deep end for my GP debut and as a rider this race will give me a chance to gauge myself against the other guys and how much I have improved. At least this time around I know the track and the ZX-RR after a year of riding, and the bike will basically be the same as it has been for a while now, apart from the recent engine upgrade. I expect to be faster than before at Sepang, although it’s a track where we still face some familiar problems; not being able to get on throttle quick enough on corner exit and then trying to keep the front end down.”

Garry McCoy
“I’m here to race and get the best possible result and hopefully I’ll get a chance to go the full distance this weekend – I haven’t seen the chequered flag for a couple races now. Malaysia has some happy memories for me, so hopefully that’s a positive sign. At least we know what to expect here from the ZX-RR because we did a lot of laps in pre-season testing and hopefully all that technical and tyre data will give us a base to work from this weekend.”

Harald Eckl
“Sepang is a track that puts some emphasis on the chassis and even though we have raced and tested the ZX-RR here, it’s in these areas that Kawasaki have some catching up to do. While the recent power update is not a huge change it is a good overall step forward. It will be nice for Andrew to celebrate his GP anniversary and for us to measure his progress from last year. For Garry I’m hoping we can give him a bike that will go the full race distance; he’s a racer and I know that for him not to finish because of minor problems is frustrating.”

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

2004 AMA SUPERSPORT, SUPERSTOCK AND FORMULA XTREME RULES FINALIZED

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 7, 2003) — The AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors has given final approval to a rules package for support classes competing in the 2004 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship. Affected classes include Supersport, Superstock and Formula Xtreme. An overview of the final technical rules for the entire series can be viewed at www.USSuperbike.com

AMA Pro Racing CEO, Scott Hollingsworth stated that while the specific needs and goals of each class differ, the overall objectives for improving the championship as a whole are the same. “Maintaining close competition, delivering an entertaining show to our loyal fan base and slowing escalating costs to participants, the same criteria we applied to establishing our Superbike rule structures, were priorities here as well,” said Hollingsworth. “Once we consider the broad needs of the championship we then look at the specific needs of each class. The proposed rules were announced in August and, after taking into account a considerable amount of input received during the 30-day public comment period, the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors approved the final set of rules. As a testament to the value of the comment period, as well as the input of the Road Race Advisory Board, some of the initially-proposed rules were amended based on quality feedback we’ve received.”

Hollingsworth added that a couple of significant issues needed to be dealt with in regards to the support classes, specifically Superstock.

“Ultimately we elected to enact a rule that prevents factory-supported riders from competing in both Superbike and Superstock,” said Hollingsworth. “This was done primarily to prevent riders from entering classes simply to gain extra practice time with no intention of actually competing in the class as well as to provide a place for independent teams to showcase their riders. However, some factory teams expressed a desire to be able to compete in both classes, so we wrote the rule accordingly.”

Another new rule enacted for the Superstock class is the requirement to use slick tires. This was done primarily for safety reasons. Supersport rules are largely unchanged and displacement limits for Formula Xtreme have been lowered to reflect the direction the majority of manufacturers are taking in terms of marketing their sport bikes.

“Of course it’s impossible to create a set of class structures and technical rules that satisfies everyone,” said Hollingsworth. “However, we are confident that we have done a thorough job of considering all the information available to us in terms of current technology, motorcycle market conditions and the goal of maintaining steady growth of motorcycle racing in the United States. The 2003 racing season saw some of the most competitive, spirited racing ever in the United States and we’re convinced that the evolution of these rules for 2004 will continue to achieve that objective.”

From a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

HOPKINS DISAPPOINTED WITH SUSPENSION, VOWS TO RETURN A SMARTER RIDER

RAMONA, Calif. – First year Suzuki factory rider John Hopkins was disappointed with the decision passed down Sunday by MotoGP officials that resulted in his suspension from the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix, however Hopkins promises to learn from the incident and return a better rider.

“I made a mistake and am deeply sorry to the riders caught up in the accident,” Hopkins reiterated. “I understand the importance of rider safety, but I was stunned by the penalty I received. If I had a pattern of dangerous riding I could understand the suspension, but my crash in Japan was a single mistake in judgment and I don’t feel it warranted such a harsh punishment. The last thing I want is to put myself and my fellow riders in danger.”

Hopkins went on to thank Suzuki in supporting him in filing an appeal on his behalf. He was also grateful for the support shown him by many of his fellow GP riders including two that were directly affected by the first-turn accident.

“No one felt worse about the accident than John,” said Hopkins’ manager Douglas Gonda. “John showed a lot of courage by admitting his mistake immediately afterwards. It’s unfortunate that officials rewarded his sincere apologies and honesty with a suspension.”

Gonda added that Hopkins has himself been a victim of riding mistakes by other riders in the past and he didn’t expect those riders to be suspended. “John knows everyone makes mistakes,” Gonda said. “John’s never had the reputation as a reckless rider and that’s what’s so tough. He’s a clean rider who made a mistake. If John had pulled off the pass he would have been praised for his bravery and skill.”

Hopkins said he would take the time off to prepare for the final two rounds of the 2003 campaign. He added that he would try to turn his suspension into a positive by returning a smarter rider.