Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Via e-mail:

Since people are starting to talk about the new class, I figured I’d say something also.

I’m not sure that AMA really knows what it wants to do, They want to streamline the program but they sure missed that one. What they have managed to do is make it confusing for the general public.

Have you ever been to an SCCA National and all of the sudden there a bunch of different cars on the track in the same race, all you are left to do is wonder what the hell is this. I can see that happening here now–not very professional.

What is the problem just leaving the 250 GP class as is? Right now when we are on the track everyone knows what class it is. The changes that the AMA is making with the other classes makes more sense.

I don’t believe we will be that competitive against full-blown 600cc Superbikes mainly because of the limited development the manufacturers want to put into 250s now. At least you can buy a competitive 250, unlike the 600cc Supersport front-runners. But that is another subject altogether.

I really believe the 250 GP class is more popular than it gets credit for and that in the long run it will prove itself worthy of remaining as it is.

Thanks for hearing my point of view.
Greg Esser
#26 250GP
Pompano Beach, Florida

From a press release:

The Honda Superbike Classic Launches Website

The 2003 Honda Superbike Classic is on the web at www.superbikeclassic.com

DENVER, CO – RPM (Race Promotion Management) is happy to unveil the official website for the 2003 Honda Superbike Classic at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, July 11, 12, 13. This premier event features rounds of the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship and the SBK Superbike World Championship and a full weekend of motorcycle racing and fun for the whole family. Plus a new addition this year – the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship with 3 exciting classes and past champions competing head to head, including 7-Time Supercross Champion, Jeremy McGrath, Scott Russell, Jeff Ward, Kevin Schwantz, Chris Carr and Mike Metzger.

The Home page highlights the latest news on the event with links to more stories in the News Archive. There is a Meet the Riders slide show that gives you a “Who’s Who” of AMA and WSBK riders. You can purchase tickets, 2003 HSC Gear or enter contests only available to visitors of the website. There’s even a special section called “Ask the Doctor” for your racing related medical questions.

But that is only the tip of the iceberg, the Weekend Events section contains loads of information about all the happenings for the weekend, not only a detailed, up to date race schedule but also previews of all the other events at the track including; the Amazing Stunt Shows, the Kids Corral, the Motorcycle Mall, the Fan Party and more! The Location section gives you some background on the track itself and the surrounding Monterey area with a link to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca website for even more info.

The Photo Gallery section is overflowing the pictures of last year’s event, both on and off the track. Look for your favorite riders in the Racing section, tour the paddock in the Trackside section, take a walk down memory lane in the HSC Archive and don’t miss our Umbrella Girls, past, present and future. And yes, all the photos can be enlarged for a better view!

There are dozens of related links to the websites of friends and partners of the Honda Superbike Classic, plus there’s plenty of useful information on Sponsorships and available Hospitality Suites for our corporate visitors and a Contact page for any questions that the site doesn’t answer for you.

This site will be updated regularly so be sure to bookmark www.superbikeclassic.com and visit often. Don’t forget your tickets and we’ll see you in July!

From a press release:

We’re back!

After a long winter of snow and huge amounts of fun ice racing with the Bytown Motorcycle Association, Team Shoulder Check (TSC) is back with a vengeance for the 2003 road racing season.

This weekend, May 2-4, members of TSC will be at
Shannonville (www.shannonville.com) for the opening round of the RACE Super Series 2003.

Come on down and watch as Pat Boyd, John Dunlop and Dan Henri strive to be the best in their classes. Look for the exciting passes and the close finishes of the greatest racing sport on the planet.

Make sure you stop by the TSC hospitality area for cool beverages and shelter from the sun.

More information about Team Shoulder Check Racing,
including pictures, results and race reports, can be found at the team’s website,
www.teamshouldercheck.ca

TSC Racing is supported by Parts Canada
(www.partscanada.com) and MD motorcycles
(www.mdmotorcycles.com) of Ottawa.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Race workers Barry and Claire McMahan have won the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association’s (CMRA) Son of the Beach contest, an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2003 AMA/World Superbike event at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

The contest idea spawned from the CMRA’s Race to the Beach contest, a program originally designed by racer and home improvement contractor Eric Kelcher to reward the Texas-based CCS affiliate’s top Expert and Amateur racers with sponsored rides at the CCS Race of Champions event at Daytona International Speedway.

“This contest was indeed inspired by the Race to the Beach (RTB) contest that has departed (the CMRA) to the national scene,” Brooks Gremmels, President of the CMRA, wrote in an e-mail to Roadracingworld.com. The Race to the Beach program has become a national-level award with CCS.

“At first the thought was to emulate the RTB contest, keeping it at the CMRA level where my loyalties are found,” Gremmels’ e-mail continued. “The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to see another contest that targets the fastest guys. Why not reward and recognize some of those who make it possible for all of us to race?

“The decision was made to give the SOB prize to the hardest-working two people within the CMRA, Barry and Claire McMahan. Barry coordinates our cornerworkers, gets disabled bikes back to the pits during endurance races, maintains the two-way radios and works in Race Control when we need the help. His wife Claire, does it all. Claire orders all CMRA merchandise and markets it for the club. She arranges to get our cornerworkers fed on race days and makes sure that we have enough cornerworkers on hand for a race weekend. Claire also organizes and maintains both the CMRA Injured Rider’s Fund and the CMRA Air Fence Fund.”

The McMahans, who plan to retire from working races after this season, will fly from Texas to Monterey, California, be provided with a rental car, hotel accommodations, tickets to the races, food and will be special guests at an annual dinner hosted by Gremmels’ Shogun Motorsports. The McMahans will also get to see their son, Barry McMahan, Formula Xtreme Crew Chief for Graves Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster, in action. The McMahans haven’t seen Barry working at the races in person since 1999.

“A number of people in the industry have contacted me to ask how they might be included in next year’s SOB contest,” wrote Gremmels. “They like the idea of showing some love to the workers that make our racing possible. The CMRA welcomes this kind of support. It couldn’t be going to a better cause!”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail, regarding Loudon, Iraq:

Loudon paid homage to the troops and the Iraqi people in their own way in the season’s opening race this weekend.

First, they cancelled Thursday’s practice. Then they ground down the track’s surface and repaved part of the track. They must have run out of asphalt when they got to the front straight. They set up a half-ass chicane that utilized pit road as the front straight. Then, they really went the extra mile and brought in a rainstorm for all of Saturday. The way the rain brought the oil to the surface on the freshly-paved sections was almost as beautiful as the lake that formed in one of the turns. This was all done so that the participants would fully know the years of hardship that the Iraqi people have endured under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Then, the folks from the LRRS regime went one step further. They covered the track with sand so that the racers would know what the troops experienced during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When I think about all the calling for a regime change, I cannot help but think of the LRRS morons. They canceled the other forms of racing at the track because they figured that none of them were as stupid as motorcycle club racers.

When I was in the Marines our motto was Semper Fidelis which is Latin for Always Faithful. The LRRS racers should have a motto of Semper Stupid, for Always Stupid.

Loudon, the only game in town. If you don’t like it, then leave – but you aren’t going to get any of your money back.

Kevin Fegan
Franklin, Massachusetts




Now, a response to the above, via e-mail:

I (and all of the people at NHIS last weekend) take offense to Kevin Fegan’s e-mail calling us a bunch of stupid morons. Hundreds of racers, including myself, participated in a great weekend of racing, despite many adverse conditions, including weather, track condition, and idiots like Kevin Fegan. He never specified if he actually raced that weekend or just turned tail and ran home.

If he stayed he would know that the support people stayed out the entire day Saturday in crappy weather and we ended up running a full schedule. Sunday was beautiful, dry, sunny, and not too hot.

I was not exactly happy that the track was not in its normal configuration, but when I heard that the Bahres had some sections of the motorcycle course paved as to minimize the impact on our weekend even though it would be torn up for repaving, I figured they did all they can to keep us running. The layout was good enough. Pit road is flat with good pavement and the chicanes added a little something new. New England winters and springs are not exactly predictable for optimal paving conditions, how does Kevin expect them to schedule around nature? The same goes for the rain. Thank God we aren’t with AMA or they would’ve cancelled the racesm altogether! As for the sand, I have no idea what he was talking about. On the nice sunny Sunday the fast guys were still ripping 1:13 lap times, even with a slower track configuration. There seemed to be no problems for them, maybe Kevin is a little more picky.

And after all this, Kevin still had the inflated ego to compare his crybaby weekend with a war in Iraq where people are dying? I think that says it all but needed to get the rest off my chest.

Yes, NHIS is the only game in the NE, but that isn’t their fault. If someone would actually open a track instead of issuing press releases about their plans to open tracks, than we could have a multi-track series and Kevin could go elsewhere.

“A wet day at racing is still better than a great day at work.”

Chris Cosentino
Union City, New Jersey



Via e-mail, regarding Sears Point:

Showing up to Infineon raceway for an AFM event a few days prior to the AMA National, I figured that I would be starting to see some changes and improvements to the track’s safety for the AMA round. I was wrong.

As I circulated around the track, it all pretty much looked the exact same to me in most areas. I really figured this out when in a practice session on Saturday I got tossed on my head in the carousel (turn 6) and myself and the bike bounced off the tire wall. I luckily walked away with only some bumps and bruises. But as I stood there looking at my crashed-up motorcycle and watching guys rail through there I then noticed that the run-off there is a joke. It gets used up real quick when you through it down the road, straight at a wall at 100 mph.

I just don’t understand how they are spending millions and millions of dollars modifying this track for rider safety, when there are still concrete walls with tires in front of them and 20 feet of run-off in almost every turn.

Thanks to everyone who helped in the purchase of Airfence because I personally don’t see many permanent track improvements!

Hawk Mazzotta
Pebble Beach, California

From a press release issued by the newly formed FGSPORTGROUP:

World Superbike Championship ownership is transferred to Flammini Group.

The Interpublic Group of Companies has transferred its interest in World Superbikes to its joint venture partners of four years, the Flammini Group. The sale includes full ownership and management rights for WSBK.

Doug Augustine of Interpublic Sports and Entertainment explained: “The championship has grown from strength to strength and we are proud of our association with the series to date. The future of the series looks bright and secure with the Flammini Brothers remaining at the helm.”

Maurizio Flammini, founder and President of the Flammini Group commented: “Our partnership with Interpublic has been highly successful and their support has been fundamental in establishing the Superbike Series on the world stage, particularly with regards to international sports marketing. We really look forward to putting much of our learning in to practice over the next development stage of the World Superbike Series.”

Paolo Flammini, President of Superbike International stated: “The support received from the IPG with regards to consolidating the Superbike World Championship on the worldwide scenario has been fundamental. I am sure that the new development stage that our leading Championship now faces, will involve many elements of value that have been acquired through four years of Joint Venture between IPG and Octagon.”

Editorial Note: IPG will still promote the World Superbike events at Brands Hatch and Silverstone through the 2004 season.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Steve Atlas, 21, of Plymouth, Minnesota has been hired as Assistant Editor of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology.

Atlas will report for duty in Lake Elsinore, California on May 9.

From a press release:

Fastrack Riders Association Provides Transportation to Barber Motorsports Park:

FASTRACK RIDERS ASSOCIATION is staging a two day track day event at the new Barber Motorsports Park complex just outside of Birmingham, Alabama June 7th and 8th. FRA is offering transportation from Los Angeles to the track and returned for $335 per bike.

“We have had a number of riders from Southern California express interest in riding the Barber Motorsports track but they have no way to transport their bikes that far,” states Larry Pointer VP of Operations for FRA as well as owner of Champion Auto and Truck Rental, “so we put the numbers together to drive one of our box vans to Alabama. We can haul up to ten bikes so California riders should take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride on one of the best motorcycle tracks in the world.”

Bikes will have to be delivered to Champion Auto Rental in Costa Mesa, California no later than June 1st. Please call for details.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Brandon Bashore married Lauren DeHart on Saturday, April 26 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Racebike tuner Todd Fenton, who currently works with Attack Suzuki, was Bashore’s best man in the wedding.