Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Honda’s Nicky Hayden plans to compete in the Suzuka 8-Hours in Suzuka, Japan, on August 3.

That’s the word from Hayden’s manager, Steve Dicterow of International Racers.

Dicterow said Wednesday that Hayden has not done any testing directly related to the 8-Hours. But that shouldn’t be a problem, Dicterow said, since Hayden is now familiar with Suzuka Circuit and is very familiar with the Honda RC51 Superbike.

Hayden’s teammate for the 8-Hours has not been announced, but reports that Nicky may team with younger brother Roger Lee Hayden are “rumormill-type stuff,” according to Dicterow.

Another American with tentative plans to do the Suzuka 8-Hours is Jason Pridmore, a regular with Endurance World Championship contenders Phase One Suzuki. Pridmore could possibly be paired with current Attack Suzuki AMA teammate Josh Hayes.

From a press release:

Spectrum Motorsports Announces appointment of new General Manager

Effective June 17th David Pyles became the General Manager and General Sales Manager of Spectrum Motorsports based in Irvine, California.

Mr. Pyles has held several key general manager and sales manager roles during his 32-year career in the floor-covering industry before getting into the motorcycle industry in 2002 as co-owner of FASTRACK RIDERS ASSOCIATION.

“I’ve been a motorcycle enthusiast all my life and made a decision a couple years ago I wanted to become part of an industry I was very passionate about!” stated David. “FASTRACK RIDERS ASSOCIATION will continue as we have established it as a viable motorcycle safety school/track day business but when the opportunity came along to join a growing and outstanding dealership like Spectrum Motorsports, I could not pass up the opportunity.”

From a press release issued by AMA:

Federal Comment Period on ATV Safety Ends July 5

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) reminds ATV enthusiasts that the deadline for submitting comments on ATV safety to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is July 5.

Comments should be captioned “ATV Hearing” and sent to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington D.C. 20207.

On June 5, the commission held a hearing in Morgantown, W.Va., to gather information on ATV safety, and to hear comments on a proposal to ban the sale of full-sized ATVs for use by children under 16. Among other things, the panel could be laying the groundwork for a displacement limit of 399cc on ATV engines.

At the hearing, more than 35 people testified, with about half charging that ATVs are unsafe, and the other half saying ATVs are a viable form of individual and family recreation.

The ATVA and its sister organization, the American Motorcyclist Association, testified that no new federal regulations are needed. Instead, they sought more rider-training opportunities and more areas where enthusiasts can ride under controlled conditions.

The Morgantown meeting marked the first time since 1985, as far as the commission staff could remember, that the panel had gone outside Washington, D.C., to conduct a hearing on product safety. Those 1985 hearings also involved ATVs, and two years later three-wheeled ATVs were banned.

ATV critics told the three-member commission this month that installing rollbars, seatbelts, and governors to limit speed, banning kids under 16 from riding ATVs, and requiring ATV riders to wear helmets, stay off public roads and never carry passengers are just some of the steps that they believe could improve ATV safety.

Dr. Jack Bergstein of the West Virginia University Department of Surgery argued that laws are needed to ensure riders follow those recommendations. “Changing behaviors in people is difficult,” Bergstein said. “The best way is to mandate changes where people don’t have a choice.”

But Doug Morris, director of the ATVA, testified that a review of ATV-related accidents indicates that vehicle misuse and ill-prepared riders appear to be the fundamental causes of crashes. Educating riders about the need to wear helmets and other safety gear, not carry passengers and stay off public roads are key measures that could reduce crashes, he said.

Morris also noted that existing commission guidelines setting machine size limits for riders under 16 actually impede safety training.

That’s because federal guidelines call for those under 16 to ride ATVs with engines no larger than 90cc. As a result, young people who are too large to safely ride such small machines aren’t able to take a safety training course.

Others who testified against further regulation of ATVs included the BlueRibbon Coalition, the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, the Specialty Vehicle Association, the ATV Safety Institute, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, the National 4-H Council, the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Dealers Association, the Pennsylvania Off-Highway Vehicle Association, the West Virginia Recreational Vehicle Association, ATV dealers and individuals.

For more information, or to sign a petition, go to www.ATVAonline.com.

From a press release issued by AMA:

AMA CLUB ROAD RACING CHALLENGE TO HIGHLIGHT SUMMER CLASSIC AT MID-OHIO

PICKERINGTON, OHIO — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced that motorcycle road-racing organizations throughout the United States have been invited to take part in the inaugural AMA Club Road Racing Challenge, a new feature of the 7th Annual AMA Road Racing Grand Championships, scheduled for July 23-24 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Riders at the 2003 AMA Road Racing Grand Championships will compete not only for individual honors, but also can be named to a three-rider team representing their “home” racing organizations. The four best main-event finishes turned in by each team, in classes designated as AMA Premier Classes, will be counted, subject to including at least one result from each of the three team members. Scoring will be by the Olympic system, with one point for a win, two points for a second-place finish, etc. The lowest team score will capture the inaugural AMA Club Challenge Cup.

Road-racing great Rich Oliver, the Honoree of the 2003 AMA Road Racing Grand Championships, will present a commemorative plaque to the winning organization and individual awards to each rider on the top three teams.

Each participating team entering the AMA Club Road Racing Challenge before July 13 will also receive a $350 travel allowance from AMA Sports and, subject to availability, a complimentary garage rental from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“The AMA Club Road Racing Challenge is an exciting addition to the AMA Road Racing Grand Championships,” said Bill Amick, Vice President of AMA Events & Entertainment, which oversees AMA Sports. “It’ll be a showcase for emerging talent from around the country, and sets up a unique opportunity for clubs to cultivate friendly rivalries with one another.”

Participation in the AMA Club Road Racing Challenge is limited to license holders of recognized clubs and organizations. Certain restrictions apply to riders who also compete in AMA Pro Racing events.

For more information on the AMA Club Road Racing Challenge, visit the AMA Sports page at www.AMADirectLink.com, or call AMA Sports at (614) 856-1900, or send an e-mail to [email protected].

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Foggy Chooses Young Italian For Misano World Superbike Race

Carl Fogarty has chosen young Italian rider Lorenzo Mauri to replace the injured James Haydon on the FP1 for this weekend’s seventh round of the World Superbike championship.

Mauri was recommended to the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team boss by Ducati chief Davide Tardozzi, who has used the rider for test purposes and has been impressed by his set-up ability and determined attitude. A translator will work with the FPR team throughout the weekend.

Carl said: “I thought it might help to have an Italian on the bike at Misano, which is a difficult track to get used to. And I wanted someone who was going to grab his chance by the scruff of the neck and really ride this thing.

“A few British names had been mentioned, but nobody who I really wanted. Davide told me that Mauri is as fast as the guys who are winning European Superstock races and that he is absolutely revving about the opportunity. He has got nothing to lose and we have got nothing to lose so, you never know, something just might happen.”

The 26-year-old from the Como province of Italy is currently competing in the Italian Superstock championship with the GB team. Last year he was 12th in the same championship with a best-placed finish of fourth at the Oschersleben event.

FPR’s James Haydon was ruled out of action for a minimum of two weeks with a prolapsed disc in his neck, following a crash in Germany. He is expected to be back in action for the eighth round of the championship at Laguna Seca on 13 July.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Following a new round of fines and points penalties related to illegal Supersport racebike modifications, AMA officials were not able to explain to reporters just what it now takes to get disqualified from an AMA National.

However, Roadracingworld.com has learned that racer John France was black-flagged out of his 250cc Grand Prix qualifying session at Pikes Peak and was threatened with immediate disqualification and expulsion from the premises.

France’s crime was using a slingshot to fire a paintball at a friend and missing, hitting a member of the TV production crew instead.

Hours after the paintball incident, AMA Pro Racing officials black-flagged France out of his qualifying session and threatened him with immediate disqualification and banishment from the racetrack.

Cooler heads prevailed and France was allowed to race, although he was told that he faces a fine of a yet-to-be-determined amount.

No official statement on the situation has been released by AMA Pro Racing.

Phone messages left Wednesday morning seeking comment from AMA Pro Racing’s Ron Barrick and Merrill Vanderslice had not been returned prior to post time.

France has declined comment.


This just in: Merrill Vanderslice returned the call, and what was said follows:

Roadracingworld.com: We understand there was some sort of incident with John France and a paint ball at Pikes Peak that nearly saw France disqualified and kicked out of the track. What happened as far as AMA Pro Racing taking action against France?

Merrill Vanderslice, AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition: “We got a radio call from (TV Producer) Chet Burks – I say ‘we,’ Ron Barrick did – that France had shot a paint ball in the paddock and hit one of the production TV camera men in the eye. You can imagine what we thought, that that certainly wasn’t a good situation. That sounds very unprofessional, sounds dangerous.

“At the time the radio called in, I believe 250 GP qualifying was going on. And Ron had John black-flagged, went and talked to him and said, ‘We heard this, and we’re disqualifying you and you need to pack your stuff and get off the premises.’

“After that Greg Esser came to Ron to kind of plead John’s case a bit, told him – again you really need to be talking to Ron, because all of this goes through him. I’m getting this myself second-hand. But Greg said that, you know, it was not malicious, they were playing around with someone else who was egging John on to shoot this thing, and he missed and hit the fence and it sprayed in this other guy’s eye.

“All of that doesn’t really matter much. The fact remains is he’s shooting paint balls with a slingshot in the paddock, hit somebody – somebody could have got hurt. It’s not something we expect professional racers to be doing in the paddock, as well. I mean, that’s a high school/junior high prank somebody does.

“So, Greg said that John certainly didn’t mean anything by it and all that, and he hoped that he (Barrick) would talk to John about it.

“Greg rides with John to the races. It was going to be a problem with Greg getting a ride home and that sort of thing, continuing rides in the future.

“So Ron had a word with John, and John said, apparently, it was a very stupid thing to do. John came to me and said the same thing. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it. I was playing around. It was dumb, a very stupid thing to do. It won’t ever happen again.’

“I left it to Ron to decide from there. Ron decided to let John continue to race, that he was going to be watched, that a possible fine was going to be levied. I don’t know anything after that. I don’t even know if Ron’s had time to mess with it any more.”

Roadracingworld.com had tried to contact Barrick at his home office in Virginia Wednesday morning.

Vanderslice explained, “He’s on a plane to Italy right now. He’s a jury member on a World Superbike event this weekend. He will be back Monday night.”

From a press release issued by CRA:

The Central Roadracing Association is approaching another exciting round of racing at Brainerd International Raceway, June 21-22. Many National and regional racers are expected to show, being as the CRA race falls the weekend before the AMA National Event.

Current point leaders, Brett Donahue, Scott Ruehle, and Jason Hobbs will dice for the points lead, while facing challenge from National racers. Racer registration is still open, so join us for a fierce and exciting racing weekend!

CRA has 3 scheduled races following the June race:
July 19-20 Brainerd Intl Raceway
August 23-24 Midamerica Motorplex
September 12-14 Brainerd Intl Raceway

Also, opportunities are available for those interested in volunteering throughout the weekend. If you would like more information on the CRA, please visit www.cra-mn.org or phone (612) 332-4070

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

CCS racer Geoffrey Allen and wife Judy had a son, Geoffrey Allen Jr., May 20 in Manassas, Virginia.

From a press release:

PleasureLand RV Center, BIR agree to a major sponsorship package for the 2003 racing season

BRAINERD, Minn. – Brainerd International Raceway and PleasureLand RV Center officials today announced a major sponsorship deal whereby PleasureLand will have a significant presence at BIR this year.

PleasureLand, Minnesota’s largest RV dealership, with locations in St. Cloud, Anoka and Fargo, N.D., signed a one-year sponsorship deal that includes naming rights to BIR’s year-old 160-site RV park, which will now be called the PleasureLand RV Park. The park encircles beautiful Lake BIR, with it’s landscaped shoreline and scenic fountain. The park sits in the shadows of BIR’s main grandstand.

The PleasureLand-BIR deal also includes title sponsorship of BIR’s Show & Go event, which will now be called the PleasureLand RV Center Show & Go. The July 3-6 event has been a mainstay at BIR for 16 years. It features classic cars that compete in drag racing and a spectacular car show. The drag racing categories include King Street, Real Street and Outlaw.

“We’re very pleased that PleasureLand has agreed to a major sponsorship,” BIR General Manager Scott Quick said. “This sponsorship is a significant piece of the puzzle, and PleasureLand was an obvious choice for us. They were always No. 1 on a very short list of prospective sponsors for this package. We’re looking forward to a long relationship with PleasureLand RV Center.”

PleasureLand’s three locations feature a selection of more than 450 new and pre-owned diesel homes, mini homes, travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, expandable trailers, fold-down camping trailers, and truck-mount campers. PleasureLand also offers service, parts and accessories.

“The Pleasureland RV family is very excited about this exclusive sponsorship” said Dan Pearson, owner of PleasureLand RV Center said. “It supports our business principles of local involvement and promoting the RV lifestyle.”

BIR is a subsidiary of Michigan-based Sports Resorts International Inc., a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange (SPRI). Now in its 34th season, BIR is one of North America’s largest racetracks, featuring 800 acres of rustic camping, 159 full-service RV sites and on-site condos. BIR is about 120 miles north of the Twin Cities, and it now has a new concrete drag strip that is one of the flattest and fastest in the country. Visit www.brainerdraceway.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

There is no plan for American Honda’s Ben Bostrom, Miguel Duhamel or Kurtis Roberts to race in the World Superbike races July 10-13 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, but the possibility has not been ruled out, according to team sources.

“We’re still kind of up in the air,” Chuck Miller, American Honda Racing Teams Manager told Roadracingworld.com Tuesday. “To tell you the truth, right now there is not a plan to participate in WSB.

“We’re still having some discussions. I’m going to tell you no, right now, but if you see something change then…anything is possible, certainly. We’re still having discussions about it. Tentatively, no Honda (AMA) riders will ride the WSB event. We will concentrate on the AMA.”

Miller said that several factors, particularly the risks involved, weighed into the decision to exclude his riders from the event. “There’s a cost. There’s a risk. There’s a marketing value. There’s a lot of different reasons, obviously,” said Miller. “At this point, we want to focus on the AMA, where all of our guys are in the (Superbike) Championship hunt for that series. That’s where we have our most marketability as well. That’s why we’re going to stick with AMA only.”

Miller said that the plan was tentative and that anything could happen. But when asked what factor would change his plan, Miller said, “I don’t know. Right now, I’m not sure if there is a factor that would change it.”

As for published reports indicating Bostrom and Roberts would join series regular Duhamel in the AMA Supersport race Friday, July 11, Miller said, “Still discussing it. Nothing for sure is planned there. Miguel is for sure (going to race Supersport). That’s the only for sure at this point. We’ve had discussions about it and talks, but no final decision on it has been made at this point.”

Miller explained that some of the same factors that are leading him to hold his riders out of the World Superbike races are leading him to include Bostrom and Roberts in AMA Supersport at Laguna Seca. “Marketability, it’s local, easy to do. We can haul another truck up there with the extra equipment if we want to,” said Miller. “It’s on Friday, so it kind of spreads the weekend out a little bit so it makes it a little easier for the guys to do that. We’re still talking with the guys about that. No final decisions have been made for sure.”

Miller also said that Honda officials in Japan had not asked for any American Honda Superbike riders to participate in the Suzuka 8-hour July 31-August 3 even though it falls within a month-long break in the AMA Superbike schedule.