From a press release issued by series organizers:

Event 5, 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State
Oran Park Raceway, NSW

Race report

STAUFFER STARS WITH DOMINATING PERFORMANCE IN FORMULA XTREME AND SUPERSPORT AT ORAN PARK

Jamie Stauffer was the star of today’s racing at round five of the Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State series being run at Oran Park Raceway.

The 23-year-old from Kurri Kurri (NSW) rider was in brilliant form taking out the overall round win in both the Yamaha Formula Xtreme and Supersport classes. To further add to his performances he was credited with a new lap record in each class for the 2.62km Narellan circuit, south west of Sydney.

Near perfect weather set the scene for a weekend of fast and close racing and that’s what the competitors produced. Lap records were broken in every class during the two days of racing in front of one of the largest crowds to turn out for a motorcycle road race meeting in NSW for many years.

The weekend also saw three titles decided, with Craig McMartin (Ducati Sydney/Pirelli Ducati 996R) taking his second consecutive Pro-Twins title, Craig Trinder wrapped up his first Buell NakedBike title aboard his Bio Magnetics Yamaha FZ1 and Rob Hermans collected the Streetfighter NK Lites crown aboard his Buell Dealer Network Buell X1.

The scene is now set for the season finale at Eastern Creek on September 28-29. With in excess of $200,000 in motorcycles and prizes up for grabs the sixth and final round of the series will be an event not to be missed.


YAMAHA FORMULA XTREME

Kevin Curtain may have secured pole position for the four 8-lap Yamaha Formula Xtreme races, but the three times champion left Oran Park with only one win to his name, but continues to hold the points lead in the title chase over his Radar’s Team Yamaha teammate Robbie Baird.

The opening race saw a frantic battle between the Bio Magnetics Sport Yamahas of Daniel and Jamie Stauffer, who were able to break away from the trio of Radar’s Team Yamahas led by Curtain, Craig Coxhell and Baird.

Curtain turned the tables in race two by taking the win from Daniel Stauffer and Baird after Jamie’s bike began to run on two cylinders after his battery ran flat and put him out of contention.

He came out with all gun blazing so to speak and took full control of the final two races to record the round win, the first for the new Queensland based Bio Magnetics Sport team.

“When we got here on Friday the bike was good,” said Stauffer. “We found a few things with the set up of the chassis at the last round and now all that we have to do is make some finer adjustments when we got here and the bike was right. The firs race was a good battle between Daniel and myself, but in the second race the battery went flat and overheated the bike and then it actually caught fire when we brought it into pit lane. That was annoying and after that I didn’t think that I’d win the day. In the last two races I had to run a harder compound tyre because we ran out of the softer ones I was running and then I was getting a lot more wheelspin. Overall though, it was a great day. Except for the fire in race two I guess. I’m more than happy to leave here with two overall wins and two new lap records. I’ve always enjoyed riding at Oran Park. It’s a bit more technical than most and that sorts a few people out. It’s not necessarily a horsepower track. I like it and I enjoy it here.”



YUASA BATTERIES FORMULA XTREME LAP RECORD CHARGE

Jamie Stauffer scored his second Yuasa Batteries Formula Xtreme Lap Record Charge award of the year when he set a new mark of 1:10.310 around the Oran Park circuit, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:10.82 set by Kevin Curtain.

Stauffer was the first rider to take advantage of the $1000 cheque made available by Yuasa Batteries, when he set a new FX lap record at Victoria’s Winton Raceway at Round two of the series.



YAMAHA FX SUPERSPORT

Current series points leader Kevin Curtain may have fired the first salvo by taking pole position and the opening race win aboard his Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R6, but it was Jamie Stauffer who was the star aboard his Bio Magnetics Yamaha YZF-R6 as he took the win in the remaining three races.

As he had done earlier in the day in the Formula Xtreme class, Stauffer was able to lower the class lap record, setting a new standard of 1:11.982 set in race three.

Stauffer took the overall honours for the day, but still finds himself in second place on the points table behind Curtain, who finished third overall today, but who has a 77-point lead in the title chase.

Second overall today was Russell Holland (Pirelli Tyres/Biketek Suzuki GSX-R600) who put in his best rides of the season. He battled with the more experienced pair of Stauffer and Curtain and could well prove to be a serious race threat at the final round at Eastern Creek.



BUELL NAKEDBIKES / STREETFIGHTER NK LITES

Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha pilot Craig Trinder has taken the Nakedbike title in an awesome display of skill winning all four races at Oran Park to remove all doubt about who is the number 1 in the class this year. The new king of Nakedbikes commented on his win “It’s a good series and is well done by Formula Xtreme. The young guys coming through are getting better and the younger guys will go faster and get up there. You have to remember I was racing GP bikes before some of the younger boys were ideas in their father’s pants, so I’ve got a lot of experience I can pass on to them in the Nakedbikes that I’ve learnt from all those years of racing and I am sure if I run 36s at the Creek next round the top four will follow too.”

The Buell Dealership Network have thrown a lot into the Streetfighter class and it has paid off for them with Rob Hermans decimating the field aboard his Buell X1 for his title as 2002 Streetfighter NK Lites Champion. “I’ve been really happy with the bike – it’s done two seasons and was Mark Wacker’s bike from Queensland before I started racing it and it’s only crashed once. I find that for the series I made lots of points early and that’s helped me in this last half of the competition.” Despite this win Hermans will compete in the last round and race to place as well as he can against
the more powerful Nakedbikes.



EXEL APRILIA CHALLENGE

Queensland riders again dominated the 2002 Aprilia Challenge, with Brendan Clarke and John Allen sharing the spoils at Oran Park.

2001 Aprilia Challenge winner Clarke captured the first three races, with veteran Allen annexing the final leg following the demise of his chief rivals. Allen now leads the series going into the final round at Eastern Creek, from Central Coast teenagers, Dustin Goldsmith and Josh Forster.

The young pair both crashed over the weekend, swinging the points’ advantage back to Allen, who claims his experience may well be the decisive factor come Eastern Creek. The trio all go into the final round with a chance of claiming the 2002 Challenge.



FX PRO-TWINS

Craig McMartin (Ducati Sydney/Pirelli Racing) continued his dominance in the Pro Twins class, winning all four races this weekend and now has an unassailable lead in the class, making it two consecutive titles for the Wagga rider.

The Ducati rider was hounded throughout the weekend by the Aprilias of Mike Soderland (JSG Gowanlock Racing), Shaun Geronimi and Zac Davies (Australian Security Concepts) who were scrapping for the minor places behind McMartin.

Soderland’s consistency won him second place overall, ahead of Geronimi who provided repeated heart-stoppers as his bike repeatedly stepped out.



FORMULA OZ

Alistair Maxwell (Kawasaki ZX-7RR) made a clean sweep of the Oran Park round of Formula OZ, and setting up a final round battle with defending class champion John Allen (Aluma Lite Racing Honda NSR500V) at Eastern Creek.

The two have swapped race wins all year, with Maxwell being the more dominant of the two in recent rounds and that form continued today.

The closeness of the two experienced rivals is evident in the split at the end of three of the four 6-lap races. Just 0.102 of a second in race one, 0.082 in race three and 0.025 in race four indicate how close these two were at it all weekend.

From a press release issued by Radar’s Team Yamaha:

2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State
Event 5, Oran Park Raceway, NSW, Australia

FX Qualifying & Supersport Race report

CURTAIN TAKES XTREME POLE AT ORAN PARK

Kevin Curtain bettered his own existing Formula Xtreme lap record to secure pole position for tomorrow’s four 8-lap Formula Xtreme races to be held at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway.

Curtain blasted his Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 around the 2.62km Narellan circuit to an incredible time of 1:10.554, almost three tenths of a second under his existing lap record of 1:10.82.

Joining Curtain on the front row of the grid tomorrow will be the Bio Magnetics Sport Yamaha YZF-R1s of Jamie and Daniel Stauffer. Jamie edged out his brother with a 1:10.604, ahead of Daniel’s 1:10.665.

Defending Formula Xtreme champion, Brisbane’s Robbie Baird, made it an all-Yamaha front row when he set the fourth-fastest time of 1:11.211 aboard his Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1.

Multiple New Zealand Champion Tony Rees (Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1) was fifth with a 1:11.640, just ahead of Victorian teenager Craig Coxhell on the third of the Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1s with a 1:11.768.

“I’m real happy about being under the lap record in Formula Xtreme,” said Curtain. “The R1 is running very, very well at the moment. We have changed very little on the bike since we tested here two weeks ago. At the test I was doing 11.7s and now we’re doing 10.5s which is good. There could be a bit more in it tomorrow if the weather holds off. I think that we should be able to get our times down to the low 10s.”

“I tried a couple of different gearing settings today and found that I had no corner speed,” said Baird afterwards. “I can’t get on the gas coming out of the turns and I think the back of the bike is too high and too steep and pushing the front end too much. We’ve been going higher and higher in the rear to make it turn better, but I think we’ve gone too far. I can do low 11s and sit in them, but I’m struggling to get into the 10s. We just have to find some time.”

“I was happy with my time after the first session this morning, but we had too soft a tire in the rear and by the time we got on top of that it cost us the session,” said Coxhell. “I didn’t realize that it was too soft, I thought it was just me. On top of that I didn’t get any clear laps. We put a hard spring in the rear and that was the wrong direction and the bike just didn’t handle. We’ll go back to the original spring and make some changes to that. All I know at this stage is that I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me for tomorrow.”

In addition to his Formula Xtreme duties, Curtain was busy in the FX Supersport qualifying and opening two races.

Curtain then went out and scored pole for the FX Supersport race, before taking the opening race win, with a new class lap record of 1:12.152. A crash on lap three of race two saw Curtain having to come from behind to record a twelfth place finish in the six lap race.

“I was pretty chuffed about it, I didn’t think I’d get the times down that far,” said Curtain on his pole position winning time. “We just kept trying different set-ups and along with the things that I’ve learnt from overseas it’s definitely made it better.

“As far as the race goes, Jamie (Stauffer) gave me a really hard time. At the first corner he outbroke me going in there, but I got him back and then he had another good go. During the race I thought he was all over me, but then I looked around and he dropped off a long way.”

With regard to the crash in race two “I just put it down to the chatter that we have had on the front ended and haven’t had time to sort it out as we are already into a race mode,” said Curtain. “After that I had another front ender going down through the dip after that. There was a bit of oil out there, but I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it.”

From a press release issued by Willow Springs International Raceway:

TOYOTA 200 QUALIFYING UPDATE
The next qualifier date is Fri. September 13!

NEW PROVISIONAL POLE SITTER VINCENT HASKOVEC (Suz GSX-R750) ran 1:22.557 averaging 109.016 mph on Friday, August 16th. He joins Jeremy Toye and last month’s fast qualifier Aaron Gobert on the front row for the $150,000 200-mile road race event to be held on September 15, 2002.

Toye now sits second-fastest with his fast lap in June of 1:22.960 (108.486 mpg) on his Suzuki
GSX-R1000, and Gobert on his factory Yamaha YZF-R6 600cc supersport-spec bike running a best of 1:23.896 averaging over 107 mph around the 2.5-mile Willow Springs road course in July.

Racers can learn more about this event online at www.race-wsmc.com

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Via e-mail:

To Tony Ianarelli

First off, I sincerely apologize to you for name-calling you. You obviously care for our sport passionately. It was wrong and it was inconsiderate. I’ve since consulted with my computer friend to rig my computer and not allow me to speak spontaneously to Roadracing World anymore. My computer guru said there’s no guarantee it will work, but he’s on it!

At my own expense, and possibly some of yours Tony, a lot has happened since we hit the “SEND” button to voice our opinions on RW. Very interesting reactions to my comments about your post on RW have brought public opinion to the surface where I can see it finally. Now, if I may explain, when I used the word “idiot”, (you’re from New England,) it’s not the end of the world, it just means I didn’t understand your motive to blow a whistle on Yates and I had to disagree with your efforts to encourage a penalty on another rider, especially Yates. That job is the AMA’s.

We as riders can never stick together in our small community of people, it seems to me, and I’m sick of it. When I tried to unite the riders in 1991 to get some serious issues dealt with, it revealed to me the politics and the division amongst the ranks. When I logged on and saw your comments encouraging the AMA to levy heavy fines against AAron, I think I blew a gasket, sorry!

Yates has got his reasons for lying in the track and I have mine for sticking up for him. Mine mainly, because I tried to put myself in his place, fathom the season he’s had this year. Witnessed his regard for the other riders’ safety in his off-track efforts to address safety issues. He risked persecution for speaking out, despite the fact he’s factory contracted, etc. That was the only way he could show the world that things need to be different next year and beyond and we are so close to achieving a big change.

Yeah, he overdid it; yeah, I over did it. But someone has said it’s because Yates and I are close, we’re not. I don’t know Yates outside the racetrack. You can speculate what could have happened, waving yellows were displayed so no one was racing for position, but in the end, nothing happened.

At Mid-Ohio I was devastated by Yate’s ordeal. We have the ability with the SPEED cameramen crew to get so close to the action. In my private monitors (ISO) Aaron’s arm looked like a shark bit him, a big shark! Those images didn’t go over the airwaves. I saw Yates handle that entire situation with so much grit it was incredible. The commercial break covered most of time that Yates pulled off his leathers and saw for himself what happened. I had every angle of his incident in front of me. It made me nearly sick to watch him wait under the bike and wait again for help. I thought what if that thing lights up, what’s he going to do? After the race I couldn’t stop thinking about Yates and the way he handled himself. He tossed his bike down in an effort to keep from hitting the bike ahead. After impact, he lost close to two pints of blood. Then he came back in two weeks after his wife gave birth for the second time in his life to race the final at VIR.

Any of us would have excused him under those circumstances. Aaron Yates defines my interpretation of a Motorcycle Racer, he’s Just Like Randy P. Renfrow, “Built to Race.” I can’t help but to think about “Cool Hand Luke”–Nobody wants that to happen to Aaron.

Most people completely misunderstood my comments about the 750 class. I’m not saying that everyone should not race a Supersport bike in the Superbike class. I’m saying turn the same lap times as the front-running Supersport guys consistently and then, if you want to race the Superbike class with the same Supersport bike, at least put some fresh slicks on it that will go the distance when it calls for slicks and maybe modify it enough to cut a faster lap time. Just a few tenths per lap can help you from being lapped, anything to reduce the closing speeds from the Factory Bikes.

And yes I’ve stated on TV and it is the general rule for the faster factory rider to find his way around a less experienced privateer, but the privateer has got to leave an opening for the closing bike if they are headed for apex together. Deatheridge is probably the best at being heads up. Next year’s rule changes hold the key to this problem, we’ll have to see what happens. I wasn’t rich as a privateer, but I had a Superbike along with a dedicated Supersport bike. Look again at Woody Deatheridge, or Parriott or Livengood. And there’s a lot more names who race with Supersport bikes, some on DOTs and they don’t cause trouble. Some don’t get lapped! They have great battles and we go to them if Bostrom and Nicky and the others aren’t all over each other. The grids are not going to be 9 or 10 factory bikes alone. The privateers will always be welcome there, it’s just the closing speed is too high, too tempting for the factory guy.

By % of pole time or however it’s decided next year, the grids will be more exclusive. To get there you’ll have to be considered one the best, rider and machine. That’s what will bring in the “outside” financial backing everyone is so desperately seeking. Now, when I bring a guest to the track who is new to Superbike, they ask, “Why is that guy (the poor privateer) able to run with that guy?” (Joe Factory) Most newcomers don’t see the logic of it and neither do I. I listen to the factory riders and I listen to the privateers. I’m way more privateer than factory rider, always will be.

Remember, my job is to talk to the pictures on the screen. If I could direct from my chair, I’d show Opie Caylor more often having the “Ride of his Life” or Parriott–He’s blazing a trail this year!

Anyhow, as far as TV goes. We get it from all sides, can’t please everyone.

Yeah, I make mistakes on TV and try to correct myself when there’s time in the show. These shows are live and I’m the analyst, Drebber is the Man at “play by play,” he’s got the stats. I watch the screens, listen to the producer’s directions “mid-sentence” and call the action on the fly. I’ve got one shot at getting the right call and sometimes I blow it, just like I did when I posted my comments and used the word idiot.

Anyhow Tony, this may be what I’ve been looking for for a long time. I consistently ask the “Powers That Be” if I can improve with my broadcasting. They told me to “Pick-up the Excitement Level” last year and that comes easy for me. Outside of that, everyone with whom I speak with regularly, the seasoned fans, the industry insiders. Everyone seems to encourage me and are thrilled with the shows. Some give me bits and pieces to improve my style and give pertinent information, others say it rocks as is! This debate we started opened up a lot of critics’ opinions and one that troubles me is the guys that say I should step away from the booth. Believe me, if I’m hindering the growth of the sport or causing it any harm by doing what I do in TV, well I’m defeating my heart’s desire to see motorcycle racers receive the highest honors in sport and I will gladly step away. This has been quite a journey if I remain, or if I go, regardless.

Good to see everyone getting active about safety, though, isn’t it Tony?

If you’ll forgive me, I’d be indebted to you.

“Ski”

David Sadowski

From a press release issued by Clear Channel Motor Sports:

XSBA Adds Ferodo Brakes

X-Treme Sport Bike Association Announces Braking News

AURORA, Ill.–Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division announces today that in addition to Mirror Image Custom Cycles, Corsa Leathers, Impact Video, Street & Strip Magazine, and A&J Recognition, the XSBA has confirmed FERODO BRAKES participation in the X-Treme Sport Bike Association Freestyle Stunt Competitions for the remainder of the 2002 season and perhaps beyond. And this after the first XSBA contingency sponsor, Corsa Leathers from Washington DC has announced their participation in the XSBA National Freestyle Series only one event prior. Mirror Image will present $3000 in XSBA Championship bonus certificates to the top three stunt competitors in National Championship Points following the final round of competition in Portland September 8. Corsa Leathers will also provide a free top line leather jacket to the top qualifying rider at each XSBA round. The first Corsa jacket went to Dan Jackson in the Elkhart Lake XSBA competition. Ferodo Brakes will award a free set of Ferodo Brake pads to the Top 6 Qualifiers in each remaining round of XSBA competition remaining in 2002, in hopes of an increased contingency program for 2003. “We see the potential of growth with the XSBA series as the top sport bike freestyle organization, and are proud to be involved at the ground floor. With at least half of their time spent on the front wheel, we know the demands put on the front brakes, and we are proud to offer our support to the riders in the XSBA”, said Mike Jones, Ferodo Brand Manager for Tucker Rocky. The contingency will be paid with certificates redeamable with Tucker Rocky.

Valuable points will be earned at each round of competition with one bonus point going to each top qualifier. Pocono will pay DOUBLE POINTS for XSBA, and at the conclusion of the 2002 season, an XSBA National Champion will be crowned. Mirror Image will award an $1800 certificate to the XSBA National Champion, $700 certificate to the runner up, and a $500 certificate to the 3rd place stunt rider in Championship points. The certificates can be redeemed at Mirror Image Custom Cycles for custom painting, wheel polishing, and performance suspension upgrading. You may even see a custom designed Corsa XSBA National Champion Jacket at Portland for the 2002 Champ.

The 2002 XSBA Championship Series wheelies into round 3 at Pocono where it all started back in 2001 at the Pocono Cycle Fest August 22-25. XSBA is in its second year of existence as a motorcycle performance stunt exhibition/competition at selected events including the Formula USA Cycle Fest events. Pocono and Portland events will complete the 2002 XSBA season. For more details on the XSBA, entry forms, the point structure, and rules, please visit www.XSBA.com.

For ticket information, please visit www.FormulaUSA.com or call 1-800-216-7482 to charge by phone. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster.com.

From a press release:

PIRELLI ENTERS FORMULA-USA POCONO ROUND LEADING FOUR OF FIVE PRO ROAD RACING CLASSES

Includes All Four Top Spots In Sportbike Class


(Rome, GA) Pirelli Race Manager Rich Munson was quoted in March at Daytona as saying he believed Pirelli had “most of the 2002 Formula USA grid.” But having most of the racers on your tires doesn’t mean much until the checkered flag flies.

Well, it’s flown in five of F-USA’s eight rounds. And Pirelli racers come into next weekend’s sixth round at Pocono International Raceway in Longpond, PA leading the championship points in four of the five pro classes. This includes holding all four top spots in Pro Honda Oils 600 Supersport, with Craig Connell (Arclight Suzuki), Michael Barnes (Team Hooters Mountain Dew), Lee Acree (Arclight), and Larry Pegram (Team Hooters Mountain Dew); and two of the three top positions in the one pro class they don’t lead.

Besides the top four spots in 600 Supersport, Pirelli guys hold first, second, fifth, and sixth in Lockhart Phillips Unlimited Superbike with Connell, Barnes, Pegram, and Mike Himmelsbach (Blackman’s Racing) respectively; first, third, and fifth in the Buell Lightning series with Clint Brotz (Hal’s Harley-Davidson), Barnes (Kosco H-D/Buell), and Jeff Johnson (Hoban Bros. Racing); Johnson’s first-place position in Thunderbike; and the second and third championship places in the Grand Prix class, with Geoff May (Team Embry/Roadracingworld.com) and Himmelsbach.

Pirelli tires even lead the championship points in at least two amateur classes: Team Promotion’s Leonard Santangelo atop Amateur Open Supersport, and Tom Bibeau of TSE/New England Performance Racing leading Amateur 600 Supersport. There may be more, but the last check of the F-USA amateur classes showed some riders and teams not listing sponsors.

It needs to be mentioned that the vast majority, if not all, of the racers above are riding on Pirelli’s D.O.T. Supercorsa radials.

For more information on Pirelli road race, street, MX and off-road tires, and a free 56-page 2002 Pirelli catalog, contact Pirelli at its new North American address: PIRELLI MOTORCYCLE TIRE DIVISION, P.O. Box 700, Rome, GA, 30162-7000. Phone: (706) 368-5826; Fax: (706) 368-5832.

From a press release issued by the AMA:

Critics falsely claim that motorcyclists are a burden on society

Aug. 16 – At the height of the riding season is when motorcyclists hear it most — misinformed critics charging that people who ride motorcycles are a burden on society because of their medical costs.

But that charge is untrue, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

“Some lawmakers, members of the news media and others still subscribe to the ‘social burden’ fallacy that motorcyclists use more taxpayer dollars than other members of society to pay their medical bills,” said Edward Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “Studies have shown that is false. Yet it is brought up time and again by those who want to place restrictions on motorcyclists.”

Moreland pointed to a study done at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle during the 1980s that found 63.4 percent of the injured motorcyclists taken to the trauma center relied on public funds to pay their hospital bills. Critics charged that amounted to taxpayer subsidies for motorcycle injuries, but the director of the trauma center noted that 67 percent of the general patient population relied on public money to pay their hospital bills in the same time period.

Also, a study by the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center showed that 49.5 percent of injured motorcyclists had their medical costs covered by insurance, almost identical to the 50.4 percent of other road trauma victims were similarly insured.

In addition, the North Carolina study found that the average costs of motorcyclists’ injuries are actually slightly lower than the costs for other accident victims. The presence or absence of a helmet was not shown to affect injury costs.

Moreland also pointed out that the cost of treating injured motorcyclists is minuscule compared to the nation’s medical costs as a whole. The costs associated with treating all motorcycling injuries account for less than 0.001 percent of total U.S. health-care costs. And a significant percentage of those costs are paid through private insurance.

All told, about 1.16 percent of U.S. health-care costs are related to motor vehicle accidents, and motorcycles represented only 0.53 percent of the accident-involved vehicles nationwide in 1999.

Motorcycling critics often use the social-burden argument in efforts to get state lawmakers to pass, or retain, mandatory helmet-use laws. And in recent years, some motorcycling organizations have bolstered that argument by striking bargains with lawmakers in which motorcyclists agree to accept medical-insurance requirements in exchange for the right to ride without a helmet. These requirements lend support to the flawed social-burden argument, since the same insurance requirements are not imposed on car drivers.

“Some motorcyclists appear willing to agree to these expensive and dangerous economic tradeoffs,” Moreland said. “Lawmakers subscribing to the social-burden theory, coupled with the willingness of some motorcyclists to accept special insurance requirements, could open the door for lawmakers to impose even more unwarranted requirements on motorcyclists.”

The AMA supports voluntary helmet use for adults as part of a comprehensive approach to motorcycling safety, including wearing proper safety gear, getting rider training and educating motorists to watch for motorcycles on the road.

Motorcyclists who wish to respond to the ABC News report appearing Friday night can post their comments on the “World News Tonight Forum” at:
http://boards.abcnews.go.com/cgi/abcnews/request.dll?LIST&room=WorldNewsTonight

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates will not be fined money, assessed a points penalty, disqualified, suspended or disciplined in any official way for lying on an active racetrack at VIR during the AMA Superbike race Sunday, August 11, according to AMA Pro Racing Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick.

A few laps into the re-started Superbike race, Eric Bostrom, Mat Mladin, Kurtis Roberts and Yates were running practically nose-to-tail when Roberts lost the rear of his RC51 and spun out in the short transition between Virginia International Raceway’s turns four and five. Yates reacted very quickly and rode off the track to his left to avoid Roberts and the spinning Honda. Once in the short run-off area, Yates tucked the front and crashed his Suzuki GSX-R750 before sliding into inflatable air barriers at a relatively low speed.

After assessing the damage to his bike, Yates returned to the track where he laid down, “spread eagle” in the middle of turn five as Roberts’ bike caught fire. Yates stayed on the track for a few seconds and got up as a pack of three bikes approached.

In the background of Speed Channel’s video of the incident, cornerworkers can be seen ceasing to wave their yellow flag and going for their red flag to stop the race. Immediately after the race was stopped, Yates returned to his Suzuki, picked it up and began to make plans to return to pit lane and make the re-start, which he did, restarting dead last from pit lane.

When asked about the incident shortly after the race Sunday night at VIR, Barrick said, “The cornerworkers had already called in requesting for a stoppage before he laid down anyway. So they were calling ‘red’ for the bike being on the track.”

Asked if any official action would be taken against Yates, Barrick responded, “No. I’d like to talk to him about it, but no. We don’t have any rules on that specifically, but obviously, it’s not something you want riders to think is OK to do. I don’t know what his motive was. I haven’t talked to him. I don’t know if you have any comments from him or not. I don’t know if it was just that he saw his bike was OK and wanted to go back in the race.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

From an e-mail:

Hello everyone,

Well, John and I are back in Austria. Yes, we are OK and there is major flooding around eastern Europe, but where we are at it’s alright.

Dresden is actually where the Sachsenring is at, outside of it about 40 miles. It’s crazy ’cause we were there about 3 weeks ago.

Prague is flooded pretty bad. We have a mechanic who lives there, and we’re wondering how he’s doing. Next week we are going to Brno which is about 2 hours east of Prague. I think the flooding will put a damper on the race and the spectators.

Salzburg appearently was flooded a bit, too, but like I said, we are in the outskirts of it, so we are alright.

Anyway, our trip over was OK. We arrived into Clermont about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. At first, our bags didn’t show for a half hour. We were starting to get pissed off, but eventually they showed. We grabbed our car and headed off to Austria.

We were on the road around 9:00 p.m., and we drove thru Switzerland. It was a funny trip ’cause we only had a map of France. So we knew to head to Zurich to get over to Innsbruck. From Innsbruck, we knew the way. We missed a motorway on the border of France and Switz. So we almost started heading to Italy, but we turned around and drove back thru Switz. We then stopped at a gas station and got a map of Switz. It showed enough of Austria in it to get an idea of where we were going. By this time it was around midnight.

When we got to Zurich, there was a bit of construction going on so we didn’t know which way to go. There were two signs saying the same thing going different directions so we took a guess and fortunately it was the right one. For the longest time, we were the only car on the road. Driving in the middle of the night, lacking sleep, in a foreign country, speaking no language (but English), not quite sure which way to take. Yeah, we are pretty nuts now that we think about it.

Anyways, we found the road to take to Innsbruck. We drove thru Leichtenstein which is a small very, tax-free country. We drove thru that in about 15-20 minutes. Then we saw the sign that says Innsbruck, which was about 150 kms +-. We crossed over to Austria and then drove thru a tunnel that was 14km long. It was sooo long, it seemed long anyway. It was so long that it was starting to get annoying. But how often do you get to go into a long tunnel in the early morning in a beautiful picturesque country? We are very fortunate to be able to do this. As tired and exhausted as we were, it’s always going to be something to remember.

We were about 10 km outside of Salzburg when there was a car accident on the motorway. So we were stopped for about an hour, and then finally it got rolling and we were on our way to Strasswalchen. That’s where the gasthof is. Finally 12 hours later, we arrive in Austria and slept all day. We got up for our meal and then back to bed that night. We are the only ones here along with Phil the truck driver and Donna the PR spokesperson. This weekend we may head up to Eagle’s Nest, which is where Hitler hid during his last days or hours. Until then, hope all is well back home, and it was great to be home for the short time. We had alot of fun.

Des and John