Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden and Erion Honda’s Roger Lee Hayden are getting LASIK eye surgery today at the Eye Center of Orange County in Laguna Hills, California. Both Haydens are getting the surgery to correct nearsightedness (Myopia) and to hopefully eliminate the need to wear contact lenses while racing.

“I’m as blind as a bat,” said Roger Lee Hayden via cell phone as he was receiving the first eye drops Tuesday afternoon. “Nicky’s not that bad, though.”

Nicky Hayden said that he had a contact lens come out with a few laps left in the Daytona 200 (which he won) in March, and Roger Lee Hayden said that he lost two contacts while riding in a recent test at Laguna Seca Raceway. The Hayden’s older brother, Tommy, had the surgery performed some time ago and convinced his younger brothers to get the procedure done.

According to the TLC Laser Eye Center website www.lasik.com, LASIK (Laser-In-Situ Keratomileusis) surgery is the most common form of eye surgery performed in America today. In a pre-operative examination, a patient’s eyes are mapped in extreme detail in order for the surgeon to calibrate the excimer laser appropriately. After receiving numbing eye drops, a patient’s eye lids are secured open. Then a microkeratome machine, similar to a very high-tech and precise planer, slices a flap open in the epithelium layer of the cornea. The opening is created so that the excimer laser can make the needed cut to the inner layer of the patient’s cornea. The entire area is cleaned before the flap is returned precisely to its original position and held in place by the eye’s natural suction. The entire procedure lasts about five minutes.

Results of the procedure vary from patient to patient, depending on the state of vision before the surgery, but the majority of LASIK patients improve to 20/20 vision and the vast majority improve to at least 20/40 vision, the minimum value required to operate a motor vehicle without corrective lens in most states. The resulting improvement in vision is said to be long-term. Although some post-operative rules must be adhered to and a follow-up examination is common, many LASIK patients go back to work within days and normal activities within a week. Nicky Hayden plans to attend and ride at the scheduled AMA team test next week at Road Atlanta. Roger Lee Hayden said that he didn’t think his Erion Honda team planned to attend that test.

From Speed Channel:

7:00 p.m. Bike Week
7:30 p.m. Motorcyclist
8:00 p.m. AMA Superbike, Fontana, California
9:00 p.m. FIM 250cc GP, Suzuka, Japan
10:00 p.m. FIM MotoGP, Suzuka, Japan
11:00 p.m. American Thunder
11:30 p.m. American Thunder
12:00 a.m. Bike Week
12:30 a.m. Motorcyclist
1:00 a.m. AMA Superbike, Fontana, California
2:00 a.m. FIM 250cc GP, Suzuka, Japan
3:00 a.m. FIM MotoGP, Suzuka, Japan

All Times Are Eastern Time

From Darryl Bustamante, who signed himself “Motorcyclist at large, Former AMA member, Disgusted race fan, Empty pockets due to concession prices”:

“It was indeed a shame to watch probably the greatest race for second place in history, and a Cinderella story for Doug Chandler fall flat due to obviously awful AMA officiating in race two. I have never seen fans on their feet and shouting as much during a race in over 18 years of attending events. In the area where the crashed bike in question was, there was sufficient personnel and time to move the bike out of the way to avoid a red flag condition. During the Extreme race, I guess no one noticed Roger Lee watching the race from the turn one airfence and deemed it necessary to halt that race.

“It was a sad day indeed for the fan, the racers and definitely for Doug Chandler, that unprofessional race control by the AMA has driven a wedge further between the fan and AMA members alike. Oh, and don’t leave out the prices at concessions for food and beverages that were beyond the boundaries of robbery.

“I give a full thumbs down to the AMA and the Fontana Speedway.”



From Shandra Rubchinuk: “Chuck Chouinard got stripped of his second place finish at Loudon. He was mocked at by an AMA official for being over weight and we saw his large size make what the AMA lied about seem believable. I wish more people were standing where I was when the AMA took his second place. I saw with my own eyes how Chuck was treated and how he reacted. Though he could have handled it a bit better, when you race with so much heart and accomplish the impossible, it feels that much worse when it gets taken from you for a reason that was no added advantage and one that Chuck was not aware of. Those who are fortunate to get to know Chuck, know that the AMA falsely accused him. They suspend him from the AMA and then use him in an advertisement. Now to add to the political BS of AMA Superbike Racing, Ben Spies doesn’t lose his finish? Is it because Chuck doesn’t play the role and say what people want him to say? Or was the starter just upset because of his supersticious tire warming coming up to grid? Maybe it was because he beat many teams that put an extraordinary amount of money and time into their bikes, riders and PR and Chuck puts his next meal on the line for the love of motorcycle racing. I thought that’s what the American Motorcycling Association was supposed to be about. As much as I like many of the AMA riders, I am very excited that FUSA is coming to Loudon this year but more excited to know that the AMA is not.”



From racer Peter Pellack: “In regards to all that has been going on this year and last with rules, officiating, and the way things are being handled I am no longer upset by the fact that I will not be able to attend one AMA race this year. With that said I am looking forward to my first year of racing with CCS/FUSA where to date I have been treated with unbelievable service and respect. Thanks for a place to vent!”



From racer Stephen Bowline: “It occurred to me while driving home from my miserable performance this past weekend at Fontana that the cost of not having Thursday practice is infinitely more expensive than the added expense of running it. I can’t say that would have qualified had I had a couple more sessions, but I can say that everyone who came out for the Fastrack weekend had a huge advantage. And the cost of that was probably triple of what a day of practice would have been one day before the event.

“I mean, think about it. People that came out for Fastrack had to not only take that extra day off work than they normally would have, but they had to drive or fly back home and come back a week later. That plus the $200 for Fastrack is more than the Thursday practice cost ($100) I paid at Sears last year.

“Anyway, qualifying or no and cost analysis aside, it pissed me off that the AMA would just make this decree. I guess you can say it’s a safety thing, but to me it seems like just a self-serving declaration made without regard and ‘justified’ by an outright lie.”



From Andrew Monachella: “First, thank you for all the great reporting. I am the best informed race follower among my friends. Second, on occasion, I think that I am going to read some hatchet job by you about the AMA and then I read comments like the ones from today, April 8th, about the officiating at Fontana and you are vindicated again. Every single time you have been proven correct. I wish someone would put a leash on the AMA. I believe that road racing in the USA would be much more popular if it weren’t being run by them. Thanks again for a great publication.”



From Karl Marsh: “I am a former club racer, and I am an experienced cornerworker in the AFM racing club, AMA, FIM and AHRMA. I agree that from my perspective watching on TV, I saw several mistakes at Fontana but you can not blame AMA Pro Racing. It was their first time at that venue and the local crew there looked to be all car people. (Car people never go anywhere near a live race track, that’s why the bike just sat there in race 2.) Hell they did not even have a crash truck. I almost died laughing seeing them, the car corner guys, trying to load Hacking’s bike into a pickup.

“Anticipating a problem with the locals, the AMA aggressively tried to recruit AFM cornerworkers (and I assume other experienced motorcycle cornerworkers) to come down to Fontana, and a few did, but obviously not enough.

“The AMA has a standing deal with any licensed AFM cornerworkers. They will reimburse some of your air fare and give you tickets, camping passes, food, expense money and anything else you need when traveling out of town and working one of their road race events. Last year at Sears Point Ron Barrick told all of us, (the AFM crew), that if we wanted to work any of the AMA Pro road race events to contact him directly and he would make it happen.

“I can tell you from previous pre and post-race meetings that Ron Barrick and the rest of the people at AMA Pro racing are very serious about rider safety. He (Ron) comes over to various corners at breaks and asks about certain incidents trying to figure out why the crash happened and how he could avoid it in the future. He is constantly involved in repositioning Air Fence sections (thanks RW) and making sure haybales are in the correct positions. He is very good at what he does and managing the safety of the riders is his first priority. It is not possible for the AMA to have a traveling staff of cornerworkers for every venue. In fact they use the local crew pretty much everywhere they go. From this cornerworkers perspective, AMA Pro Racing is a first class operation.

“I can promise you this. When the AMA comes to Sears Point and Laguna Seca, all of the AFM workers will be there, and there will be no mistakes or unnecessary danger to the riders or unnecessary red flags.

“I feel sometimes that Roadracing World beats on the AMA a little too much, and think you need to put things into perspective. I saw some of the worst officiating ever at the F-USA race at Daytona last year when they should of threw a red flag and did not when it started raining. People were crashing left and right.

“I do really appreciate that RW raised the money for the Air Fence. It makes my job much easier when the riders get back up on their own.”

(Editorial Note: “Put things into perspective?” See our editorial headlined “F-USA Finale Featured Worst Daytona Officiating in 26 Years”, posted on Roadracingworld.com 10/23/01. We report screwed-up officiating, whether it is AMA or FUSA or anybody else. The answer is to not screw up the officiating, and to not use unqualified car-oriented cornerworkers, which seems to be the excuse you’re making for AMA Pro Racing.)



From racer Jack Aksel of Axljak Racing: “Although I also deplore the lack of consistent officiating by the AMA at Fontana, is anyone actually surprised by it?

“My concern was with what I didn’t see during the Saturday leg of the Superbike race. Although I saw plenty of Air Fence deployed around the track, I also noticed what appeared to be a horrible oversight in what I believe might be the turn 5 area. As the riders came out of the long left-hand sweeper (T4?) they’re heading straight at a couple of sections of BARE concrete wall at about 130 mph according to Ski (TV race commentator and former racer David Sadowski) before they tip it into a sharp left. Obviously someone noticed this discrepancy and the area was covered by Air Fence for Sunday’s events. Given the tragedy involving Ricky Lundgren on Friday, I just can’t believe that this was allowed to happen. I know that there are plenty of people that are very concerned for rider safety and that they worked with the track to make it as safe as possible. I also understand that the AMA is very limiting in their approach to all things concerning racing. But I won’t get to watch some of the best racers in the world come to my local track because it has been deemed ‘unsafe’ by AMA officials and some racers. (Yes I’m referring to the NHIS debacle). Yet, they were willing to race on a new track during questionable weather conditions with BARE concrete walls perpendicular to the racing line. I’ve also read quotes from racers about how nice and safe the new track at Fontana is. I’m confused. Did this really happen? Please tell me that I was hallucinating Saturday night. Hey, I know that the Fontana track is a big track with 21 turns and all. If the AMA needed some extra Air Fence to cover it I’m sure that NHIS would have considered loaning or renting some out. After all, they just spent another $50,000 for additional Air Fence. But seriously folks, what the hell is going on? Am I blind? Please tell me that I’m wrong!”



From former racer, now tuner, Bruce Lind: “So, AMA ‘PRO’ Racing does away with Thursday practice. They send out the entry confirmation with the schedule for the weekend indicating that the 250 Qualification will be by timed session instead of heat races as they have done for the last decade.

“The AMA rulebook states that classes using timed qualifying will have a 112% cut off.

“But, when the AMA imposed this on the Pro Thunder class a couple of years ago at Daytona, and it cut the field in half, they waved the requirement (after a large part of those eliminated had left the track).

“The rain effectively eliminated the Saturday 250cc practice session (12 minutes, come on).

“So 50% of the field was not allowed to start the main event.

“Limited practice time at a track most of them had never seen before. No direct, formal notification that the 112% cut off would be applied (yes, I know it is the responsibility of the rider to have read and know the rulebook, but like with disqualifications, the AMA does not seem to be able to apply their own rules with consistancy).

“Now those who want to cut classes and eliminate the ‘weedwackers’ can point to the fact that there are only 18 riders and machines that can make the cut and ‘be professional’ racing and that is too few machines to run a class for!

“I would consider it to be a conspiracy, but I don’t think Vanderslice and Hollingsworth are that intelligent to have planned it out.

“Thanks for hearing my rant.”

From a press release issued by Team Oliver Yamaha:

Fontana race report:
Oliver rocks press room after 250 Grand Prix race! Reporters baffled!

Rich Oliver shocked the press corps with his comments about the AMA’s rumored plans to cancel the 250 GP class in a few months along with 750 Superstock and Formula Xtreme and changing the Superbike rules to 1000cc stock engines. None of the press reporters had any idea the AMA was going to have only 2 classes racing next year! Everyone there was in disbelief, especially after just watching a terrific 250 GP battle involving Roland Sands and 17-year-old Jason Disalvo, both younger riders giving the 40-year-old veteran Oliver all he could handle!

With Honda, Yamaha, and Aprilia-mounted riders battling for the 250 GP Championship, there is no huge factory involvement and the racing is inexpensive and available to anyone who wants to race a true Grand Prix machine. Rich also reminded the reporters how many years the 250 GP class has been racing in America, and how most of the top racers today spent time on a 250 learning setup and riding skills. The reporters asked Rich why the AMA was changing everything around, when fan attendance is at an all-time high and racing is getting more and more attention on television. Rich responded with these comments, “I really don’t know why they have to change anything, the 250 GP class has a great fan following, lots of entries, great professional teams, we don’t take up a lot of time during the weekend, and we don’t blow up motors and oil down the track because we have 2-stroke engines!

“I don’t really think the fans are going to pay 60, 70, or 80 dollars to watch only two races in three days. We asked the AMA point blank on Thursday in a meeting what the plan and class structure is for 2003, and they can’t tell us anything official which is extremely frustrating.

“I want clear, defined reasons for any changes that happen in 2003, not just unilateral decisions by a group of AMA officials who don’t understand what is going on now or visit anyone but a factory team in the paddock. We all have our lives, our employee’s lives, and our hearts and souls invested in our racing teams. AMA’s Garry Mathers said to me at Pikes Peak last year that any class would have at least two years warning if the AMA wanted to kill it. Is that not true anymore? Does anyone know what is really going on here, because I sure don’t understand what is?”

Team Oliver Yamaha is sponsored by all these great people:

Yamaha Motor Corp. USA
Dunlop Tires
Advanced Motion Controls
SHOEI Helmets
Silkolene Lubricants
Wilson’s Motorcycles
Sunsports Motorcycles
Auto Werks Paint
Rick Shell Crankshafts
Lindemann Engineering
Supertech
Sharkskinz
VP Racing Fuels
NGK Spark Plugs
EK Chain
AFAM
Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers
Kushitani Leathers
Helimot Leathers
Marietta Motorsports
Ferodo and Braketech
Frenotec
I Need Stickers. Com
Doc’s Custom and Collision
South Coast Inc.
AST Research
Cytomax, Cyto Sport

From former AMA, AFM and WSMC racer Jeff Short:

“Don’t the rest of us need to know how we can also cheat and only get a fine and not be disqualified?

“When a Supersport 600 can run down the straight as fast as the Superstock 750s is there not something wrong with that picture?

“I think I will mill my head fifty thousandths and see if I only get a fine. Wait a minute, my motor would still not be fast enough to even get noticed!”




From OMRRA, WMRRA, GPRA racer Brandon Watson:

(After pointing out that the AMA website shows the top Supersport trap speeds, as follows:
Ben Spies, 161.408 mph
Tony Meiring, 160.164
Jason Pridmore, 159.549
Tommy Hayden, 158.939
Jamie Hacking, 158.333)

“Whether they are the only ones to have information that has this conclusion is obviously left to the reader to determine.”


From James Bacon:

“Just wanted to point out the disparity in AMA tech and rulings Chuck Chouinard suspended for a year for modified valves at Loudon, Ben Spies docked 20 points and allowed to keep his finishing position at Fontana!”


From tuner Chuck Giacchetto:

“You should call Chuck Chouinard and ask him how he feels about it. Maybe he could give some color commentary on the topic. I bet he would have liked to have kept his finishing position. Let’s face it, Ben rode two great races but what’s fair is fair. Just thought I would put a plug in for the Massachusetts Bruiser, Chuck Chouinard!”




From John B. Robinson, Motorcycle & Kart Product Manager, Sales Engineering, Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire:

“Add me to the list of those upset and frustrated with the AMA’s handling of the 250 grid at Fontana. Who do you recommend that I contact at AMA to discuss the situation? Sure seems that the AMA is working quickly to destroy this class of fine racers?”



From Bob Nevola:

“I’m writing to express my continued disappointment in the apparent lack of professional resources available to the operation of a quality AMA Pro Racing Superbike Series. In particular the red flag of the second Fontana Round of the AMA Superbikes races due to a crashed motorcycle left on the track. It was a crushing blow to my respect for the AMA Superbike Series to see such an unconscionable act as to not have the resources or staff to remove a crashed motorcycle from the racetrack causing the premier race be stopped.

“I will readily admit I have a heightened interest to see a Ducati finish on the podium. I, along with many other Ducati/Chandler fans, believe he could have achieved a podium finish if the track officials had done their job and removed the crashed motorcycle from the racetrack.

“Earlier on Sunday I watched the inaugural MotoGP start the new 4 stroke vs. 2 strokes era by racing in the rain (at speeds up to 200 mph). I have seen little evidence to support any hope for the USA race fan to enjoy such a high level of motorcycle racing entertainment as long as AMA Pro Racing continues to operate in such an amateur manner.”


From Stasia Christensen, wife of racer Pete Christensen: “Just another perspective on the accident during the Superbike race on Sunday:

“Pete and I attended the races at Fontana on Sunday and were sitting in the grandstands directly facing the area where crash occurred during the Superbike race. The entire crowd in that area held its collective breath each time another rider came around the corner only to find the downed motorcycle laying on the track. After realizing that the cornerworkers did not intend to remove the bike, the crowd started yelling at the cornerworkers to do something, anything! The waving yellow flags did not come out until at least half of the field had gone by and the red did not appear until it seemed that the entire field had passed through that area at least twice. Miguel even kicked his foot out at the bike on his second time past seemingly to indicate that the bike not being moved was ridiculous.

“The rider had quickly scrambled off the track after the accident but kept looking for cornerworkers to come out and help him get his bike off the track. We do realize how dangerous it is for cornerworkers to go out on a track to remove a bike as seen at Loudon last year, however, it was just as dangerous for the riders who were still out on the track. Who deemed the cornerworkers’ lives more precious than the riders’? The red flag was thrown way past the time when it should have been and the crowd in our area booed the cornerworkers as they came out to collect the bike after the red flag. Although it may have not been the cornerworkers’ fault directly, the fans were so upset at that point that they released their anger, perhaps inappropriately, on these people.

“We are disappointed in the AMA and their delayed reaction to this incident. My heart was racing each time a rider narrowly missed the prone bike. It would have been a tragedy had another rider lost his life at Fontana this weekend. I look forward to the AMA’s response to this incident, as surely they are aware of the how disturbed the fans and riders are regarding this situation.”


From Tony Jordan: “How about Roger Lee’s crash in Turn 1? The boneheads at Start/Finish didn’t even notice that a bike and rider were laying in the middle of the banking near a very high speed part of the track for at least two laps. The California Speedway personnel (positioned well away from the crash location) handled the situation well, but the AMA didn’t see fit to stop the race for that crash. Then a bike goes down in a first gear corner with course workers readily available and they can’t get to the bike and drag it off in a matter of seconds? No wonder Gary Mathers resigned!”

(Editorial note: Or how about the fact that Hayden was riding around with his exhaust pipe falling off and didn’t get black-flagged before he dragged it and crashed?)

From David Hawks of Jupiter Eight Racing: “After talking with everyone in the pits Saturday I was all ready to go to a few AMA events around the country. I was initially planning to do only the Sears and Laguna events. Now I’m not sure. Does the AMA truly not care about privateer’s concerns? Is the problem just AMA management? I’m sure FUSA would gladly have a 250GP grid the size of Fontana’s (before the 112% enforcement) Should we, the weedeater pilots, bother to attend AMA events? It seems that they (the AMA) are all hot to get rid of 250GP anyway. (despite the ‘graceperiod’ for attrition that was talked about last year) Is there anything that I as a racer/team owner can do?”



(e-mail comments on this specific issue of AMA Pro Racing officiating at Fontana to [email protected])

From a press release (and pay attention to the last line of text):

HONDA RACING NEWS

AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS TWO AND THREE/AMA 600cc SUPERSPORT SERIES
ROUND TWO

SATURDAY/SUNDAY APRIL 7-8 2002 FONTANA, CALIFORNIA, USA

Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 60 degrees
Attendance: 20,000

Gobert, Hayden Split Wins at California Speedway

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden rode his Honda RC51 to victory on the second day of the doubleheader weekend of AMA Superbike racing at California Speedway in Fontana, California, adding that to his third-place finish of the previous day to take control of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship after three rounds.

On Saturday, Hayden was bested by Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates with the trio fighting the entire 28-lap distance in the debut race at the first-class facility. It was also a race that was delayed until late in the afternoon as unusually poor weather hit the Southern California area.

Traffic played a role in the outcome of the race, with Hayden the first to be thwarted by the slower men on a track that proved to be difficult to pass on. On the final lap, Gobert hit traffic in the last corner and Yates appeared to have the upper hand in their drag race to the checkered flag. The Australian, however, was able to latch into the draft of a lapped rider to beat Yates to the line by just .014 of a second in what was the closest finish in the history of California Speedway. Knowing any chance of victory was gone, Hayden slowed in the final laps to finish 6.5 seconds behind the dueling duo ahead of him his win streak stopped at five successive victories.

The win was pole-sitter Gobert’s first of the season and it left him tied with Hayden for the championship points lead with 67 points.

Hayden admitted to never really getting comfortable on the day when delays were the norm: “Right at the beginning, I got up there,” Hayden said. “Right off the start, when I was fourth, I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be a good race here.’ I felt all right at the beginning, but I just wasn’t that comfortable the whole time. I was having a few problems and was just kinda hanging on to those guys. Right there at the end, I really put my head down and was going to try and make a run at ‘em, but I just didn’t really have it today. These guys rode good. They were really beating me in traffic, both being really aggressive. I had a hard time getting the bike where I wanted it in traffic. I was just real lazy and couldn’t hold it tight coming out of the corners to get inside of ‘em. That’s where they were a lot better than me today. We had a nice little streak going and I wanted to keep it going. At the end I was taking a few chances and the last few laps I knew I had to back it off and just finish. I was pretty happy because I fell back and when Aaron [Yates] ran wide I could close back up.”

HMC Ducati’s Doug Chandler finished fourth in his debut ride with the team. Fifth place went to the man that Chandler recently replaced on the HMC
team, Pascal Picotte. The French Canadian had picked up a new ride just prior to the Fontana event, switching to the Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati team and its Michelin tires.

Three-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin ended up sixth after encountering tire wear woes and the top 10 was filled by privateer Suzuki riders Lee Acree, Brian Parriott, Brian Livengood and Andy Deatherage.

Hayden’s American Honda teammate Miguel DuHamel crashed out of a battle for fifth place on the seventh lap and the third of the factory Honda men, Kurtis Roberts, was knocked out by a knee injury suffered in a qualifying crash on Friday afternoon.

Hayden dominated the second of the two Superbike races after his crew made the changes necessary to make his ride to victory on the RC51 relatively easy. Hayden took the lead off the start, but was passed by Yates and the Yoshimura Suzuki. Yates led for six laps before Hayden pushed through on the front straight. From there he was never headed as he stormed to a 6.366-second victory in the race that was shortened by a red flag after 24 of 28 laps.

Second place ended up going to Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom after he held off a determined Mladin and a fast-closing Chandler, the Ducati rider coming from well back to challenge for the spot in the closing stages of the race.

Hayden’s victory was his second of the season, with the first coming last month in the prestigious Daytona 200. The youngster from Kentucky was also able to take full advantage of a miscue by Gobert’s crew that saw the Australian battle an over-inflated front tire for the entire race. He ended up finishing eighth, one lap behind his championship rival.

The victory, combined with Gobert’s eighth-place finish, translates to a 13-point lead for Hayden as he now leads Gobert, 104-91, after three rounds.

Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati’s Pascal Picotte finished fifth for the second successive day, leading Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jamie Hacking and DuHamel across the finish line. Then came Gobert with privateers Parriott and Deatherage rounding out the top 10 finishers.

Hayden credited his crew with making the changes that transformed his RC51 into a race winner overnight: “I’ve really got to thank my crew and my team,” Hayden said. “It’s amazing how much better my bike was today. Last night in the meeting you have all these problems you tell them about. Normally, they fix some stuff and maybe compromise on other stuff. Today, they just fixed everything. The transmission was a lot better. The bike just felt a lot more comfortable. I could be a lot more aggressive with it today. I could get it turned and it was just a really good race.”

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates won his second successive 600cc Supersport race, adding a California Speedway victory to his win at Daytona last month. Yates pulled away from Gobert in the middle stages of the race to win by 3.44 seconds after 17 laps of the 21-turn, 2.36-mile racetrack.

Third place went to Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden after a race-long battle with Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster. The Suzukis of Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Jason Pridmore and Tom Kipp finished fifth through eighth with American Honda’s Mike Hale and Roger Lee Hayden rounding out the top 10.

Yates’ 73 points leads Buckmaster and Hacking, with the pair tied for second on 52 points.

HONDA TEAM QUOTES

Nicky Hayden, American Honda, 3rd and 1st:
Saturday: “Right at the beginning, I got up there,” Hayden said. “Right off the start, when I was fourth, I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be a good race here.’ I felt all right at the beginning, but I just wasn’t that comfortable the whole time. I was having a few problems and was just kinda hanging on to those guys. Right there at the end, I really put my head down and was going to try and make a run at ‘em, but I just didn’t really have it today. These guys rode good. They were really beating me in traffic, both being really aggressive. I had a hard time getting the bike where I wanted it in traffic. I was just real lazy and couldn’t hold it tight coming out of the corners to get inside of ‘em. That’s where they were a lot better than me today. We had a nice little streak going and I wanted to keep it going. At the end I was taking a few chances and the last few laps I knew I had to back it off and just finish. I was pretty happy because I fell back and when Aaron [Yates] ran wide I could close back up.”

Hayden from Sunday:
“I’ve really got to thank my crew and my team,” Hayden said. “It’s amazing how much better my bike was today. Last night in the meeting you have all these problems you tell them about. Normally, they fix some stuff and maybe compromise on other stuff. Today, they just fixed everything. The transmission was a lot better. The bike just felt a lot more comfortable. I could be a lot more aggressive with it today. I could get it turned and it was just a really good race.”

Miguel DuHamel, American Honda, DNF and 7th.
Saturday: “The race was going not bad. The guys pulled me out a little bit when I hit the curbing coming on to the front straight and got a pretty vicious tankslapper. I lost some time. I was aware of those guys breaking away so for the next two laps, two and a half laps, I reeled them back in so I felt pretty good about that. Going into that corner we’ve been having problems… there are two things: the bike and my boot. I don’t have the right size boot on so I’ve been having trouble with that. I couldn’t get the downshift right and I was struggling to get the downshift going into that corner and it just messed me up going in there. I didn’t think I got into first, but they said I did get to first but I think that happened when the bike went down. I just couldn’t downshift right. It must have looked like I was doing some sort of Lords of the Dance while trying to get down to first gear. It didn’t want to downshift smoothly and that threw me off. I think I went a little tighter and there’s a bump there, which I should know better. I hit the bump and it bogged out the front and lost it.”

DuHamel from Sunday: “For some reason it just didn’t work. I was having some trouble with the front end of the bike. I’m not too sure, maybe suspension, maybe tire, but it was the same tire that Nicky [Hayden] rode. There was a lot of instability in the front. Whenever I touched the brake, I thought the front was going to tuck underneath me. From the get-go, I was struggling. This morning it was fine. I ran the same lap times they ran in the race.”

Kurtis Roberts, Erion Honda, Did Not Start.
“We were just starting to improve the bike and get it setup for here. I think we were in the top four. There were still some improvements to make to the motorcycle and getting it to handle around here. I was getting really excited because we were quite far off in the morning as far as setup went and it was getting better. We threw in a qualifier. I guess a lot of the other guys got warned when they went into the chicane with the rear coming around a bit on ‘em. The first rider it kinda chattered a little bit the rear, the tire slid for just a second but it drove out fine. So I thought it was just a little cold. I went into the chicane where you’re not even leaned over to the right. I was coming out of there pretty much straight up and down and the thing let go. I highsided. Nothing’s broke, they said, though the doctors at Loma Linda [hospital] weren’t up there with the best at all. I was in the hallway the whole night. I didn’t get a room. You have four different doctors and they were each different. I never got the full story from anybody. I’m not sure exactly what what’s wrong, but I know there is nothing broken. They did an MRI on the knee and X-rays on the knee and ankle. It’s just really bruised in there. I can’t believe I highsided almost going straight. It was like it hit oil almost.”

RESULTS:
First race result: (Laps 28 = 100 km)
1 Anthony Gobert, AUS (Yamaha), 39:28.637
2 Aaron Yates, USA (Yoshimura Suzuki), -0.014 sec.
3 Nicky Hayden, USA (American Honda)
4 Doug Chandler, USA (HMC Ducati)
5 Pascal Picotte, CAN (Bleu Bayou Ducati)
6 Mat Mladin, AUS (Yoshimura Suzuki)
7 Lee Acree, USA (Suzuki)
8 Brian Parriott, USA (Suzuki)
9 Brian Livengood, USA (Suzuki)
10 Andy Deatherage, USA (Suzuki)
11 Kim Nakashima, USA (Suzuki)
12 Owen Ritchey, USA (Suzuki)
13 Alan Schmidt, CAN (Suzuki)
14 Marco Martinez, USA (Suzuki)
15 Shawn Conrad, USA (Suzuki)

Second race result: (Laps 28 = 100 km)
1 Nicky Hayden, USA (Honda) 34:48.072
2 Eric Bostrom, USA (Kawasaki) -6.366 sec.
3 Mat Mladin, AUS (Suzuki)
4 Doug Chandler, USA (Ducati)
5 Pascal Picotte, CAN (Ducati)
6 Jamie Hacking, USA (Suzuki)
7 Miguel DuHamel, CAN (Honda)
8 Anthony Gobert, AUS (Yamaha)
9 Brian Parriott, USA (Suzuki)
10 Andy Deatherage, USA (Suzuki)
11 Rich Conicelli, USA (Suzuki)
12 Owen Richey, USA (Suzuki)
13 Brian Livengood, USA (Suzuki)
14 Mike Sullivan, USA (Honda)
15 Aaron Clark, USA (Suzuki)

AMA Superbike championship points:
1 Hayden 104
2 Gobert 91
3 Deatherage 66
4 Livengood 63
5 Hacking 60
6 Yates 59
7 Bostrom 58
8 Mladin 54
9 Chandler 54
10 Picotte 52
11 Conicelli 50
12 Parriott 45
13 John Dugan 44
14 Owen Richey 38
15 Marco Martinez 36

600cc Supersport race result:
1 Aaron Yates, USA (Yoshimura Suzuki), 25’16.820
2 Anthony Gobert, AUS (Yamaha), -3.344 sec
3 Tommy Hayden, USA (Kawasaki)
4 Damon Buckmaster, AUS (Graves Yamaha)
5 Ben Spies, USA (Attack Suzuki)
6 Jamie Hacking, USA (Yoshimura Suzuki)
7 Jason Pridmore, USA (Attack Suzuki)
8 Tom Kipp, USA (Valvoline Suzuki)
9 Mike Hale, USA (Erion Honda)
10 Roger Lee Hayden, USA (Erion Honda)
11 Tony Meiring, USA (Kawasaki)
12 Jake Zemke, USA (Erion Honda)
13 Alex Gobert, AUS (Erion Honda)
14 Jimmy Moore, USA (Corona Suzuki)
15 Ty Howard, USA (Suzuki)

600cc Supersport championship points:
1 Yates 73
2 Buckmaster 52
3 Hacking 52
4 Spies 47
5 Pridmore 47
6 Hale 46
7 Kipp 43
8 Roger Lee Hayden 39
9 Tony Meiring 39
10 Nicky Hayden 33
11 Jake Zemke 33
12 Anthony Gobert 33
13 Alex Gobert 33
14 Jimmy Moore 33
15 Miguel DuHamel 29.

Next round : Sugo, Japan, 21-04-2002



And now this comment from reader Scott England, headlined “Don’t Cast Stones”:

“Honda did state that the next race is in Sugo Japan, but they did not have Ben Bostrom racing in Fontana instead of South Africa as you did. Nice to see that not everyone is as perfect as they think they are.”



And now the official Roadracingworld.com Mea Culpa: “Hey, we fully admit when we screw up, and that Ben/Eric thing is a devilish typo deal where it seems that no matter what, it keeps cropping up, especially when you’re simultaneously entering info from Kyalami and Fontana! Sometimes when you’re entering/editing/proofreading thousands of words at once, your mind just automatically corrects stuff and you don’t see it. We admit it–we’re human, our staff is human, and we keep screwing up Ben and Eric! The Honda reference was a joke, and it (the headline) got you to read the posting, right?”



And now an interesting development:

An Australian website, which we have repeatedly caught stealing our copyrighted material before and which has denied everything, reposted our Fontana post with a slight reworking of the language but including the error (since corrected on this site) referring to Ben instead of Eric! No worries, eh, you lying, stealing Aussie bastards?

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association (CMRA) and RPM Racing, two competing motorcycle road racing clubs based in Texas, worked together recently in the interest of rider safety. When shipment of two sections of Alpina Air Module, (slated for use at the April 5-7 RPM/WERA National event at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana), was delayed, Brooks Gremmels and the rest of the CMRA Board of Director agreed to loan two of the CMRA’s Alpina Air Modules to RPM/WERA.

Many racers in the area compete with both CMRA and RPM.

“I think it was a great thing,” said RPM owner Alan Blair on Monday. “Having raced at NPR before, there had been some racers that had brought up the issue of the entrance of the straightaway from turn 14 and were concerned it would be a hot spot for accidents. There’s been one or two little incidents there, but no one’s been hurt. We felt even though there hadn’t been a serious safety issue there, we wanted to do something about it before there possibly was. Of course, I called John Ulrich up and asked him about buying some Air Fence. He worked with me on ordering some Air Fence and had hoped that we would get it in time. Of course, that didn’t happen.”

Once Ulrich found out that the shipment was delayed and would not arrive from Austria in time, he contacted Gremmels and asked him to arrange the loan, personally guaranteeing that any damage to the loaned modules would be covered.

The $4500 cost of the ordered modules was split three ways between RPM, WERA and the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund, a new non-profit corporation which has taken over the work of what was previously known as the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund.


“I think the gesture on Brooks Gremmels’ behalf of lending us the Air Fence was a great thing,” continued Blair. “It’s nice to see that we can all set aside our competitiveness some times and work with each other to make the track safe for all the (racers).

“The interesting thing is, we set the Air Fence up right there, and I think that was probably the one spot on the track where there were more accidents this weekend than (anywhere). But I don’t think anyone hit the Air Fence. I’m pretty sure of that, as a matter of fact. It’s nice to have had it there, and, like I said, there were some close calls. It was nice to have it there, especially with the (WERA) National where the pace of things are upped a notch.”

Blair said that the sections of Alpina Air Module that are on order for No Problem Raceway will only be used at that track since RPM’s two other venues, Texas World Speedway and Hallet Motor Racing Circuit, are already protected by safety barriers supplied by the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund and do not require such safety devices, respectively. RPM also hopes to add additional sections of safety barriers in front of a wall outside NPR’s turn nine in the future.

Blair added that the air barriers at NPR would also be used during RPM’s monthly open track days and rider schools.

*Air Fence is a trademark of Air Fence Safety Systems of Australia.

From a press release:

Race Report
AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 2
DateApril 6, 2002
CircuitFontana International Speedway, California

Chandler fourth in Fontana

The cold front that moved into Fontana yesterday worsened ceasing all racing activities until late into the afternoon. Rider Doug Chandler had no opportunity to better his eighth place position from first qualifying as the AMA altered today’s program eliminating the second qualifying session, opting for a 20 minute warm-up – which Chandler ran fastest – followed by the first race. Despite the second row start, Chandler finished in fourth place, a position he grasped early in the race and held firm till the end.

Racing was fast and furious up front and Chandler stayed right there, fighting for a podium finish, until the remaining few laps.

“I was thinking we could get on the podium, a tall order considering this is my first time on this track”, said Chandler. It was also his first race on the Ducati, competing against riders with additional testing time. “I really feel we’ll do better tomorrow after we make a few small changes. I felt comfortable with the pace early in the race, but the front guys got me in the slower traffic, eventually getting away. I really enjoyed the battle with Jamie [Hacking] for the fourth place until he crashed.

“Today was a good start, but tomorrow will be better.”



Second Race Report

AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Round 2
DateApril 7, 2002
CircuitFontana International Speedway, California

HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler was robbed of a podium finish when a crash forced a red flag on lap 25 of the 28 lap race at Fontana Speedway. Chandler came back from an early race set-back to close a 5 second gap to a 0.6 second gap in three laps, finishing in fourth position. The Californian was ready to round up Mat Mladin and Eric Bostrom when the red flag appeared, but with 80% of the race complete, the AMA was justified to refuse a restart.

Mat Mladin was watching his prey descending through his team pit board and the reigning Champion was quoted several times saying: “Doug would have probably smoked both of us. Definitely me anyway.”

“I feel pretty confident I would have got both of them,” said Chandler. “I didn’t expect to catch them so quickly and with three laps left I decided to hold back and wait for the last lap. Eric and Mat began to battle between themselves so I thought I’d wait until they had nothing left and make my move. Unfortunately we were short changed.

I had a big moment in the first lap and it took me a while to recover, but the bike was handling so good that it was easy to keep consistent fast laps and fortunately the traffic was light making the going easier. Chandler was lapping in the low 26s right to the last lap, less than a second off Friday’s fastest qualifying time.



And now Aprilia’s version of Suzuka MotoGP reality, from a press release:

From a press release:

APRILIA NEWS / MOTOGP
2002 MotoGP World Championship – SUZUKA (Japan)
Sunday 7 April 2002

Race 250

Melandri slides in Suzuka downpour. De Puniet’s Aprilia third on the podium.

Driving rain on the Suzuka circuit, huge puddles on almost the entire track. An unfortunate day for Marco Melandri who went for a slide on the seventh lap as he was gaining ground. Marco, 11th first time round, had got up to 5th on lap six, making the quickest lap time of the race up to that moment: 1:28.587. Overconfidence, loss of grip at the front, and a dogged attempt to get back into the race. Marco came back in 21st position and went up to 17th. But by now he was 1:20 behind the leaders. Too far to get anywhere near the top. Victory went to the Japanese Miyazaki. Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) was third on the podium.

# 3 Marco Melandri (MS APRILIA RACING) – Not Classified – Out, lap 14 –
“I took the very first laps of the race very carefully, then I built up confidence and saw I was making my way up quite easily. Then I came long into a curve which I decided to take in first gear after braking a bit harder. A sharp corner, but I approached it a bit wide and lost control – first the back, then the front, and I was sliding on the ground. I didn’t start back immediately, the track officials took some time helping, but I still tried to fight my way up. Some earth had got into the throttle and it wasn’t working properly. I’m really sorry because I’d worked hard for today’s race: the rain ruined our plans. The slide was an error in a day when it was easy to make mistakes, but also in a day when I didn’t want to come in 10th.”

Race MotoGP

RS Cube and Régis Laconi come eighth in the new Aprilia project’s racing debut. First objective achieved.

The main objective for the RS Cube was to get to the end of its very first race. If possible, up among the first fifteen. This objective was reached with eighth place, and this is a great boost for the technicians and Aprilia, who have put their heart and soul into the creation of the new project. The RS Cube also had its first taste of rain in the morning warm-up. With no previous experience, no references, no tests in the wet. An incredible task for the technicians, who rapidly sought the best configuration for the 2:00 p.m. race.

The great work of the team was assisted by Regis Laconi’s intelligent racing style which took the RS3 through to the chequered flag. An important day for the technicians who acquired huge amounts of data to be analysed so that development work can go ahead as quickly as possible.

“There’s no doubt about it, I’m pleased with our bike’s racing debut”, commented Jan Witteveen, the project leader. “We’ve acquired stacks of data for our development work, so we can look for the best way to start bothering the others. We had no previous experience in the wet, and we didn’t have enough data to intervene effectively on mapping the engine. Even so, we did what was needed and completing the race has given us some extremely important experience.”

# 55 Regis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) 8th – “A great result but it was tough work preparing the bike for the race after the first ever sortie in the rain in the morning. The settings changed completely, and the bike was softened to increase its rideability. I got off to a good start, but tried not to push too hard immediately: after a few laps I could really feel the bike, and it was good, so I decided to quicken the pace: I had Harada and Capirossi in front and I wanted to go and get them. I was able to make use of greater speed and managed to pass them, and towards the end I was again able to get my time down to 2:25.9, and thoroughly enjoyed riding the Cube. Having fun riding in the wet is always a great pleasure.”



And now a press release from HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing:

Superbike World Championship
Round three: Kyalami, South Africa
Sunday 7 April 2002
Race one

Fifth and sixth place for HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing

HM Plant Ducati rider Neil Hodgson maintained his consistent run of form to take fifth place in the first race at Kyalami today. His team-mate James Toseland continued to show the kind of improvement that has caused many to tip him as a future world champion, when he claimed sixth place behind Hodgson.

During the race, which was won by Troy Bayliss, Hodgson was never in danger of losing his position. Riding in an extremely smooth and controlled manner, the 28-year-old crossed the line over 47 seconds ahead of eighth placed Chris Walker. In fact, the only other rider within 30 seconds of the #100 HM Plant Ducati was James Toseland.

“Obviously I would have liked to make it onto the podium,” said Hodgson, “but the eleven points that I got from that race only serve to strengthen my position in the world championship. I enjoyed the race but it was a little frustrating. Edwards forced me wide at one point and that cost me quite a lot of time, but I had a good old dice with Haga and came out on top in the end. This result hasn’t done me any harm and I’m still six points clear of Haga in the points and only three behind Bostrom. The HM Plant Ducati and my Dunlop tyres feel spot-on, so I won’t really make any changes for race two – I’ll just try and wring a bit more out of it.”

James Toseland was pleased with his 10 point run: “I equalled my best ever World Superbike finish, so that is a great result for me. Although it was a bit of a lonely race, to finish behind Neil and over eight seconds ahead of the next placed rider is pretty good. The HM Plant Ducati was working really well and I knew that it would do what I asked it to, so I just want to get back out there for race two and see if I can improve some more.”

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist, Steve Reeves:

MAT MLADIN Racing – MEDIA INFORMATION
For immediate release
Sunday, 7 April 2002

Rounds 2 & 3, 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
California Speedway, Fontana, California, USA
Round 3, Race Report

PODIUM FINISH FOR MLADIN AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

Fontana, California, USA – A strong fight back by three times American AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin has seen the Australian take third place in today’s third round of the 2002 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship at California Speedway, Fontana.

Today’s podium finish backed up a sixth place finish in yesterday’s first race in the double-header Superbike races held at the Californian circuit over the weekend.

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden took today’s race win, his second of the three races held so far this season, leading the battling duo of Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) and Mladin (Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki) across the line by 6.366 seconds. The race was red-flagged after 24 of the scheduled 28-laps after debris left after a crash forced race officials to call a premature end.

“That was the best we could do at the moment,” Mladin said. “My injured left elbow did cause me a few problems, more so than in yesterday’s race. I guess that was because I was battling harder against Eric (Bostrom). We also had another problem with a tyre chunking. This time it was on about lap 15, but at least I was able to keep the pace and it wasn’t as bad as the problem we had yesterday. In the end I suppose we were lucky in a way that the race was stopped because Doug (Chandler) was closing on us fast and I don’t think we could have stopped him getting through.”

Mladin had been dicing for the race lead in the early laps with Hayden and teammate Aaron Yates, before Yates was forced out with mechanical problems. That left Hayden out front and Mladin dicing with Bostrom through to the flag.

After grabbing pole position and winning yesterday’s Superbike race, Australian Anthony Gobert struggled with a front tyre problem on his Team Yamaha R7 and finished eighth overall, one lap down on the leader Hayden.

With three rounds of sixteen completed, Hayden leads the points chase with 104, ahead of Gobert 91 and Suzuki privateer rider Andrew Deatherage third with 66. Mladin is currently in eighth position with 54 points.

“Before the next race at Sears Point, we’ll do a bit of testing, plus I’ll be back at the physio getting treatment on my arm, but I’m sure that I’ll be close to 100% fit by the next round,” Mladin added.

From a notice from the AMA:

El Dorado Forest Lawsuit Meeting

On April 12, 2002 at 7:00 pm a town hall meeting will be held at the International Order of Odd Fellow’s Hall, located at the corner of highway 193 and Main St. in Georgetown, CA. to discuss the recently filed lawsuit, which seeks to close all forest service roads and trails in the El Dorado Forest.

Affected areas would include the Rock Creek Recreational Area, and would apply to all 4-wheel drives, SUVs, jeeps and pick-ups as well as ATVs, motorcycles, horses and snowmobiles. “We The People” together with the Blue Ribbon Coalition, AMA District 36 and other local Recreational Groups have filed to be interveners in this lawsuit and have also filed a cross complaint.



WHAT TO DO

1) Attend and bring a friend!

2) Get the Facts!

3) Copy this notice and give it to friends, neighbors and co- workers!



Representatives from the Blue Ribbon Coalition and We The People will hold an open forum for discussion of items of interest to all citizens who recreate in the El Dorado National Forest.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION



http://home.attbi.com/~wethepeople/index.html


THIS JUST IN:

Town Hall meeting scheduled for April 12 has been canceled.

Georgetown California

Because of the sensitive issues surrounding the Eldorado legal action the Town Hall meeting has been postponed. Reschedule dates to be announced.

The purpose of this gathering of citizens concerned about the loss of forest access was to provide information about the organization “We the People” and to establish a framework for support. This can still happen by becoming an e-mail contact in the We the People network e-mail – [email protected]

We the People will be holding a membership meeting on Friday, April 12, 7:00 pm at the Odd Fellows Hall, at the corner of Wentworth Springs Road and Hwy 93, Georgetown CA. If you are interested in learning more about We the People and how you can support forest access, please attend.