Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Bob Bahre, 76, who owns New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, was seriously injured Thursday night when his SUV went off the road and hit a tree in his home state of Maine.

The reports indicate that Bahre was on his way home after spending the day at the Speedway.

As of Saturday, Bahre was hospitalized in stable condition at Norway, Maine’s Stephens Memorial Hospital with a concussion as well as back, rib and ankle injuries.

From a press release issued by MARRC:

MARRC Announces Officers and Directors for 2004

Tysons Corner, VA – – The Mid-Atlantic Roadracing Club (MARRC) announced its newly elected officers and board of directors for 2004 during its annual awards banquet in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Wendy Leland, one of the club’s safety directors and a former racer returns as President of MARRC. Vice-President will be long-time racer and board member Rick Beggs, owner of Fast Lane Cycles in Chantilly, VA. Will Astle, another long-time volunteer, has been elected as Secretary. Former racer Dawn Greer begins her first term on the Board of Directors as the Treasurer of the Club. Club officers are elected annually from within the seated board of directors.

MARRC welcomes new board members Chris Astle, Terry Reese, and Simon Whalley. Simon is a current racer, and Terry Reese is last year’s Cornerworker of the Year. All directors have been long-time members and volunteers, and have proven leadership within the sport.

The 2004 members of the MARRC Board of Directors are as follows:
President: Wendy Leland
Vice-President: Rick Beggs
Secretary: Will Astle
Treasurer: Dawn Greer
Chris Astle
David Back
Glen Ouye
Terry Reese
Simon Whalley

MARRC is dedicated to the advancement of motorcycle roadracing. Established in
1983 as a not-for-profit, all-volunteer club to provide a trained and organized safety crew at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia, it has expanded in membership and scope. The club boasts over 500 active members that include racers, cornerworkers, and racing enthusiasts. MARRC runs a nationally recognized safety crew, and a road racing school accredited by CCS and WERA. Last year, MARRC volunteers spent over 14,000 hours of service in the safety crew, road racing school, and racer support functions.

For more information, see the MARRC website at www.marrc.org.

Contact Information:
Mid-Atlantic Roadracing Club
P.O. Box 2292
Wheaton, MD 20915
703-494-9394
E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail

Jeff Johnston and I are sorry we missed your phone calls yesterday. We were traveling to the Cincinnati V-Twin dealer Expo and were then deep in preparation for the show’s opening this morning.

First, we regret that an unhappy ex-employee decided to go public with his personal feelings. Those situations are always unpleasant for all concerned. But we want to assure you and your readers, unequivocally, that Pirelli is moving full-tilt in its efforts in the U.S. market. Our commitment to both riders and racers is totally focused, and we are moving forward as a committed team, driven, both here and in Europe, by our personal and technological efforts to grow the Pirelli brand in North America. Pirelli will honor all of its commitments to our current race teams, and will continue to build new relationships. We will continue to build better access to our tires through our race distributors. We will continue to develop and build better products for the marketplace, and the tires we have brought to the market in just the past couple years are a testament to this effort.

Pirelli is keeping its eye on the prize in the same way that racers and race teams do in their quest to be the best at what they do. In answer to your question about who racers and/or teams should contact for their needs, for the time being they may call Debra Penro at 706-368-5426.

Sincerely,

Mark Wilhelm – Country Manager
Pirelli Tire North America
Motorcycle Division
Rome, Georgia

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

According to AHRMA spokesman Matt Benson, the AHRMA National originally scheduled for May 8-9 at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California has been rescheduled for June 5-6.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

AMA PRO RACING ON DAYTONA TIRE TEST

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Jan. 30, 2004) — An AMA Pro Racing-organized two-day tire test was conducted under nearly ideal conditions this past Sunday and Monday (January 25 and 26) at Daytona International Speedway. The test was attended by several top teams and tire manufacturers Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli. At the direction of AMA Pro Racing, the test focused on AMA Superbike and AMA Superstock equipment.

The primary objective of the test was to further evaluate tire durability in advance of the 2004 racing season, particularly at Daytona International Speedway. High-speeds, coupled with the track’s unique characteristics and layout, place a higher degree of stress on tires at Daytona than at most other tracks.

AMA Pro Racing roadrace operations personnel and executive staff members attended the test. AMA Pro Racing CEO, Scott Hollingsworth was on hand and was pleased with what was learned. “At the conclusion of the test we met with each tire company individually,” said Hollingsworth. “We also had extensive staff discussions and meetings Monday evening and continuing all-day Tuesday.”

AMA Pro Racing announced that, based in some measure on the findings of the test, the 2004 Daytona 200 will be run under its existing, traditional format and the 2004 Daytona Superstock race will be shortened to 12 laps.

“These decisions were made partially as a result of the valuable information shared by the companies involved in this test,” said Hollingsworth. “Considering everything we’ve seen this is the direction we need to go for this year’s event.”

Hollingsworth added that restoring confidence among the riders was an important objective of the test, too. “It’s evident that a great deal of work was done by the tire makers since last December’s test,” said Hollingsworth. “New constructions and compounds were evaluated with encouraging results. Ultimately, it’s a matter of supplying tires that deliver the performance standards required by modern-day Superbike and Superstock equipment along with sufficient durability. It appears that these objectives have been met by Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli.”



See related post:

1/28/2004 Insiders: Daytona 200 As Usual, Superstock 12 Laps

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail

Please help save Arizona Motorsports Park!

http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/arizona_motorsports_park

Thank you!

Robert W. Gresens, DO
TARRC Prov. EX #203
Clarkdale, Arizona

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Telefonica Movistar Honda MotoGP racer Colin Edwards II will be a guest on Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel call-in talk show on SPEED Channel Wednesday, February 4, according to an announcement appearing on Edwards’ official website. Check local listings for show time in your area.

From a press release issued by Maxxis Tires:

WERA National Endurance Series to Begin in March 2004

Team Xtreme Racing Partners with Maxxis and Suzuki


Maxxis and Team Xtreme Racing are proud to announce their partnership in the WERA National Endurance Series. Team Xtreme Racing has signed a two-year contract with Maxxis to compete in both the 2004 and 2005 events. The 2004 event schedule consists of 10 races beginning March 27th in Jennings, FL and ending October 22nd in Braselton, GA at Road Atlanta.

The WERA National Endurance Series is perhaps the oldest and most prestigious Motorcycle Road racing event in the country. In addition, with five separate race classes it also ranks among the most exciting and diverse the sport has to offer. Maxxis sponsored riders Billy Ethridge, Mark Edwards, Jeff Walker and Mark Crozier will team up to compete in the Heavyweight Superstock class. Each rider brings with him different racing experience and together they hope to bring home a championship. Team Xtreme is also excited to welcome support from Suzuki as team members will ride new GSX-R 1000 motorcycles.

Maxxis, Team Xtreme Racing and Suzuki are truly excited about the opportunity to compete in the WERA National Endurance Series. For more information about the event please visit www.wera.com. The list of coordinating sponsors include Pennzoil, Yoshimura, Vortex, Shoei, Pit Bull, Vesrah, Cheetah, RK, Zero Gravity, Thermosman Suspension, Moto-Heaven.com, MPA, Sidi, Suzuki of Canton, Motorsports Graphics.