Copyright 2002-2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum, located within the Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, will close Sunday, January 5, 2003.

Originally presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Art of the Motorcycle exhibit was moved to the Guggenheim at the Venetian and opened October 7, 2001. Due to popular demand and support from BMW Motorcycles, the exhibit was extended from its original closing date of June 2002 until January 2003, according to Guggenheim Communications Manager Kimiko Haight.

The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit will remain open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. through January 5.

As for the over 120 motorcycles in the exhibit, Haight says they will be returned to their owners.

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, also located in the Venetian, will remain open with the exhibit Art Through the Ages: Masterpieces of Painting from Titian to Picasso.

According to Haight, over 560,000 patrons have visited the Guggenheim in Las Vegas.

For more information, call the Guggenheim Museum in Las Vegas at (702) 414-2440 or go to www.guggenheimlasvegas.org.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

CCS Florida Region racer John Porlier is engaged to Heidi Russell.

CCS Southeast Region F40 Champion Rick Croly is engaged to Shawn Drennen.

CCS Southwest and Pacific Region racer Paul Langford is engaged to Christy Stone.

CCS Southwest and Pacific Region racer Dusty Schaller is engaged to Wendy Sciortino.

As this press release issued by racer Clinton Whitehouse demonstrates, the FIM/DORNA decision to abandon the 500cc format in favor of MotoGP has apparently left the door wide open for a new 500cc World Championship, based at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California:

500cc World Championship Series to be Held at WSMC

In an exciting new development, GS Racing Organization Championship Series (GS-ROCS) Czar and spokesman Clinton Whitehouse today announced a new World Championship Series for Suzuki GS500 motorcycles. Starting January 19th 2003, the 2003 GS500 World Championship will be held the third Sunday of each month, through December 2003. It will run concurrently with the WSMC Lightweight Twins class.

Whitehouse said, “The GS-ROCS is happy to offer U.S. fans this opportunity to view a World Class event in person. Originally we were going to structure the class to allow prototypes with unlimited displacement and modifications, but decided that anyone with a budget of a few million dollars could build a winning bike under those conditions. In order to increase the challenge and technical savvy required to excel, it was decided to use the WSMC Lightweight Twins rules. This strikes a perfect balance of freedom to innovate, and constraints, to increase the challenge. Anyone can design a modern, 5-cylinder 4-valve engine that is fast, but how many can coax massive horsepower from a 25-year-old air-cooled Twin?”

Whitehouse continued, “On top of the honor and glory of competing in a prestigious series, lucrative cash prizes of $5.00 for first place, $3.00 for second and $2.00 for third will be awarded. In addition, attractive trophies will be given. Points toward the World Championship will be awarded at the same rate as in other WSMC classes. Points will accumulate all year to culminate in December with the awarding of the new World Championship.”

In order to avoid conflict of interest, if Whitehouse races a GS500 he will not be eligible for prizes or points in the GS-ROCS. Anyone else who wants to compete need only be eligible to run WSMC LW Twins and register themselves and their bike with GS-ROCS. There will be no entry fee beyond the normal WSMC entry fee to compete in GS-ROCS, as it is the racers who make this glorious production possible.

According to the Whitehouse, “I hope the ease of entering doesn’t make people take the series lightly. These are serious racing machines and the competition will be cut-throat, top-notch, and all of that. After all, a World Championship is at stake.”

The GS-ROCS can be contacted c/o [email protected]

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracingworld.com will sponsor the WSMC 250cc Grand Prix class at Willow Springs International Raceway in 2003.

The class will officially be known as Roadracingworld.com 250cc Grand Prix and will pay a cash purse to the top three finishers at all 12 2003 WSMC events, starting January 19.

The 2003 class sponsorship deal was made December 28 at Willow Springs.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Proving once again that weather forecasts are to be taken with a grain of salt, about 60 WSMC racers enjoyed a cool, calm day at Willow Springs International Raceway despite weather predictions calling for strong winds.

WSMC offered riders who had already renewed their licenses for 2003 a special deal on Saturday: All-day practice for $50. Riders who had not yet renewed their licenses could renew on the spot and qualify for the discount, or not renew and pay $100 for the practice day.

The practice day was divided into 20-minute sessions with two groups, riders capable of turning lap times under 1:30 and riders turning lap times over 1:30.

Vincent Haskovec was on-site testing Pirelli 16.5-inch front and rear slicks on his GSX-R750, running a race distance stint late in the day.

New WSMC Overall Champion Jeremy Toye was testing with his GSX-R1000.

Ambient temperature at the Rosamond, California racetrack was about 40 degrees F when practice started and peaked at about 60 degrees F in the afternoon.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

North Florida Motorsports Park will become Jennings GP January 1st and will host a bunch of Yamaha TZ750s and TZ500s during a combined AHRMA/WERA Vintage event February 26-27-28.

That’s the word from Bill Brown, who took over as Executive Director of the 2.0-mile road course in December. The track, located in Jennings, Florida, hosts motorcycles only and is aggressively pursuing race team testing business.

The track rents for $2750 for a weekday and $3750 for a Saturday or Sunday, and the price includes cornerworkers, a crash truck, an ambulance and crew, gate staff and race control.

Brown says the name change “will help people know exactly where it is.” Brown also said that a recent test by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp and Chris Ulrich left “more black streaks on the track in three days of testing than we had in a year of racing.” During that test, Rapp set a new lap record on an AMA Formula Xtreme bike and Ulrich came within a few 10ths of the old record on an AMA Superstock bike.

Brown brought up the new record and near-record times to illustrate that problems with the pavement at the track chunking are a thing of the past. “The track had some problems with pavement curing” when it first opened, Brown said. “We patched and sealed it. From the times Steve and Chris were turning, that’s not a problem any longer.”

Brown said that the pair were turning long strings of fast times during the testing–he mentioned 10 laps at a time as an example–not one-off fast laps, further illustrating the good condition of the pavement.

Brown, who was an avid competitor on a Yamaha TZ750 in the late-1970s/early 1980s and then raced a Harris-framed Suzuki, still races in Vintage events and plans to compete in the combined AHRMA/WERA Vintage weekend at the track. He won the Vintage 5 race during the WERA Grand National Finals weekend at Road Atlanta last year.

Brown said that the course hosts its own Track Days two weekends a month, on Saturday-Sunday-Monday, run by Russell Foggan, for $125 per rider per day. The track will also host three CCS races and four WERA events in 2003, Brown said.

Brown said he’s working to make the AHRMA/WERA Vintage weekend a special event. “I’m trying to make it a Yamaha celebration, inviting 20 guys with TZ750s and TZ500s. Spencer Singleton is going to bring Dale Singleton’s (Daytona 200-winning) TZ750, with tapes of Dale winning.” Brown, who owns three Harris-framed racebikes, said he has also invited Steve Harris to attend the event.

The track address is 4960 NW CR 152, Jennings, FL 32053

More information is available from Brown at (404) 379-6091 or (706) 654-1222.

From a press release:

Bay Area Riders Forum Celebrates Its First Anniversary at Honda of Milpitas

Bay Area Riders Forum (BARF), a Bay Area motorcycling organization, will be rolling in the new year by celebrating its one year anniversary at Honda of Milpitas (in Milpitas, California) on January 3rd, 2003 at 7:00 PM. The event is free and open to anyone wishing to attend. In expo style, local merchants will be present, along with many local motorcycling icons.

Better known by its acronym BARF, Bay Area Riders Forum (founded in January 2002) began as a website with a vision – bringing the motorcycling community together; getting people out from behind the computers and together to meet and ride. BARF members, a very enthusiastic and spirited group of people, meet weekly in different locations throughout the Bay Area to socialize, meet for rides throughout the week, head to the track in masses… the list goes on. The original vision has been realized and BARF has set the bar even higher with ambitious goals for 2003 that should keep BARF an exciting place for years to come.

Honda of Milpitas has been actively serving the Bay Area motorcycling community since 1979. As the largest volume Honda dealer in the Bay Area Honda of Milpitas has been, and continues to be, a dealership run BY motorcyclists and FOR motorcyclists; supporting all facets of the motorcycling experience.

Bay Area Riders Forum and Honda of Milpitas are pleased to announce this event and encourage anyone interested to attend.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Brandon Bashore of Palmyra, Pennsylvania is engaged to marry Ms. Lauren Dehart.

The wedding is scheduled for April 26th, 2003.

From a press release issued by Cindy Ivey Of Team Velocity Racing:

Team Velocity looks to ride Pirelli to top of 2003 WERA season

With new sponsors and more experience, the young Team Velocity has high hopes for the 2003 season.

Both riders – Chuck Ivey, of Augusta, Ga., and Steven Breckenridge, of Jacksonville, Fla. – armed with the will to win and a handful of new sponsors, look to make the 2003 season a successful one on Pirelli tires provided by ongoing sponsor, Jim “Moose” Kuykendall at Trackside Racer Supply. Mr. Ivey is thankful for Trackside’s great service and technical support.

“Not only do they offer a great tire, but they are knowledgeable and always ready to help with any questions,” Mr. Ivey said. “They are friendly and get your fresh tires ready in a timely manner.”

The team got into endurance racing last season and rode away with two WERA National Endurance class wins and a third in class on their 2001 Suzuki GSXR 600. They are focusing more on endurance racing in 2003.

“This is the first year we are seriously racing endurance. As a team, being in endurance racing, our goal is to win an endurance championship and to run an efficient team,” Mr. Ivey said.

Both riders ended many races on the podium last year. Between them, Mr. Ivey and Mr. Breckenridge earned a handful of second and third place finishes in WERA championships. Mr. Ivey, 25, took first in the Southeast Regional 600 Superstock and Mr. Breckenridge, 27, highlighted the season with North Florida Regional 600 Superstock and Superbike championships.

Team Velocity does enjoy the quality track time endurance racing provides, but they have bigger plans, which include new sponsors D & D Exhaust, EBC Brakes, JoeRocket, VP Racing Fuels, White Tiger Custom Silkscreen and Design and GMD Computrack, they are aiming high for next season and hoping to improve their endurance racing skills.

“In the endurance races, we hope to do well, have good pit stops and just get better at everything involved,” Mr. Ivey said.

Mr. Ivey and Mr. Breckenridge are working hard toward WERA National 750 and 600 Superbike championships respectively. Both are looking to finish in the top five of the WERA National 750 and 600 Superstock classes, top three in their National Endurance Class and top 15 in AMA races.

Team Velocity will premier in 2003 on March 29 at North Florida Motorsports Park.