Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

On the third day of a five-day run of free practice sessions for licensed racers at Willow Springs International Raceway, 20 WSMC motorcycle racers are sharing the track (in alternating sessions) with three open-wheeled car racers and a handful of shifter-kart racers.

The first day of the program, December 26, attracted 12 riders, with 19 showing up on December 27 and 20 today, December 28.

The program continues through Sunday, December 30 and runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Ambulance and cornerworker crews are on site for the practice sessions at the Rosamond, California racetrack.

Track owner Bill Huth is holding the free sessions as a thank-you to racers licensed with WSMC or the track’s open-wheeled car racing club.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The one-of-a-kind AGV helmet worn by three-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin in the AMA season finale at Virginia International Raceway “in respect and remembrance” of the victims of the September 11 tragedy, has sold for $2152 on eBay.

After stating that he felt Air Fence was “an area that the AMA should show responsibility in obtaining and not having to leave it to individuals to pursue”, Mladin donated his tribute helmet for auction with the proceeds benefiting the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund. Air Fence is a trademark of Airfence Safety Systems of Australia.

The auction began on Friday, December 21 with the bidding starting at $300 and a reserve price of $500. Participation in the auction was steady as Texas racers Marcus McBain, John Ross and Troy Green battled with “danoe3” over the Christmas holidays, but the sale got intense as the end drew closer. With a scheduled conclusion of approximately 10:17 a.m. Pacific Time Friday, December 28, 11 bids were made on the helmet within the last hour of the auction. In the last 45 minutes, bids from “norse_racer”, “danoe3”, “nankai” and “astroboy-atm” raised the highest bid from $1550 to the final sale price of $2152.

With just moments to spare before the close of the auction and the beginning of his New Years vacation, Robb Meier, a.k.a. “astroboy-atm”, posted the winning bid for the Mat Mladin tribute helmet. A Mladin fan and aspiring racer from Toronto, Canada, Meier laughed when asked if he was going to wear the Mladin helmet when he joins the Canadian Superbike series in 2003. “No, it’s going to go in my collection,” said Meier, who said he was headed for the airport.

More collectible and valuable items will continue to be offered at auction on eBay to benefit the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund. Stay tuned for the next auction item.

If you have a piece of racing memorabilia or an item/service of value that you would like to donate for auction to benefit the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund for either road racing or dirt track, please contact David Swarts at (909) 245-6411 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Monday through Friday, or e-mail [email protected].

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

But What Does It Take To Be A Pro Race Mechanic?

By David Swarts

In recent weeks, many of the top AMA professional road racing teams finalized their rider line-ups for the 2002 season. But despite the fact that the AMA Superbike series has seen a reduction from 17 factory or factory-supported bikes in the 2001 Superbike field to only 9 for 2002, there are still several top mechanic positions available in the AMA paddock. As of the Daytona tire tests December 10-12, the following positions still needed to be filled:

Graves Motorsports Yamaha (for rider Damon Buckmaster):
Formula Xtreme lead mechanic and assistant mechanic

Kawasaki Road Racing Team (for rider Tony Meiring):
600cc Supersport lead mechanic and assistant mechanic

Bruce Transportation Group Honda (for rider Jake Zemke):
600cc Supersport mechanic

Bruce Transportation Group Honda (for rider Alex Gobert):
Formula Xtreme mechanic

“One of the most important things is experience,” said Graves Motorsports Yamaha team owner Chuck Graves when asked what he will look for when searching for Buckmaster’s new lead Formula Xtreme mechanic. “Mechanics that have been riders and have experience riding motorcycles typically are always a good development guy.

“But obviously we’re looking for somebody that Damon fits well with. The most important thing is finding a mechanic that works well with the rider. Once you’ve established that, then we make sure that we find mechanics that can work under him. Clearly, all of those requirements have to fall in line with what our requirements, with the racing team as a whole, is. It’s really easy to make a mistake and hire a wrong guy.

“I’ll sit down with Damon and write up a list of guys that he’s interested in. I get back with the Team Manager, Jeff Carter, and then we make a decision, ‘Can this guy fit in the slots that we want?’ And if that’s the case and everything can make sense, then we move forward from there. What we look for is experience first of all, understanding what happens on a racetrack at that level. That comes from being a rider or being a mechanic. It takes a lot of years of just being a mechanic to learn it. If you’re a rider that has some mechanical ability it comes a lot faster.”

For the view from the other side of the fence, we contacted Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Todd Fenton, current 2002 lead mechanic for Tom Kipp and his Formula Xtreme and 600cc Supersport bikes. Fenton was a rookie during the 2001 season while tuning for Grant Lopez.

“In my particular case, this was a hobby,” said Fenton when asked how he became a top-level AMA mechanic. “I don’t want to say that everything I learned was self-taught, but I never had any official schooling when it comes to motorcycle mechanics. For four years, I was a club racing mechanic and being there year-in and year-out, being there and doing it, and learning and talking to people and getting familiar with a racing motorcycle as opposed to a street motorcycle, which they are different animals when it comes to working on them.

“I had a mutual friend with Keith Perry (Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki Crew Chief). Last year, my friend was at dinner with Keith and he was talking about hiring more mechanics and more riders and expanding their shop. My friend threw my name in. At the Race of Champions in 2000, I went to Keith and told him what I knew and what I didn’t know. I came down to the (Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki) shop a few days later and checked things out for a couple of days and talked a little more and that was basically it.

“This opportunity to work with a team just happened to pop up. I came in with a strong base of knowledge and let Keith Perry and Barry McMahan (two-time AMA Mechanic of the Year, 2000 750cc Supersport, 2001 Formula Xtreme) and everyone else here kind of add on to that knowledge and mold me, so to speak, into a better race mechanic.

“A lot more attention to detail maintenance-wise, a lot more tire changing,” Fenton said are the biggest differences from his days as a club racing mechanic to being an AMA professional wrench. “At this level it is different because it is a job, it is a profession. At a club weekend, you can usually make it through on one set of tires and you’re not changing oil. Basically, maintenance is the biggest difference, especially with a Formula Xtreme bike with the specialty equipment on there. You’ve gotta keep on top of it to make sure it’s running 100%.”

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A blow-up apparently ignited when Fastrack Riders had the audacity to book dates at California Speedway and was then replaced at Willow Springs by the track’s own track-ride and practice program has been smoothed out. Key to the issue were signed contracts for 2002 dates at Willow Springs, and those contracts will be honored and Fastrack Riders will be at the Rosamond, California racetrack on the Friday preceding every WSMC race in 2002.

In the meanwhile, here is Fastrack Rider’s latest official press release:

Fastrack Riders is back at Willow Springs (on the 2.5-mile road course) on the Friday before every WSMC race weekend. The first event of the new year will be held January 18th (Friday prior to the January 19-20 WSMC event), and special reduced rates in effect will be $150.00 for track riders and $100.00 for licensed racers. There will be no Fastrack Riders membership fee for 2002.

Fastrack Riders will also be holding several events on the AMA National course at California Speedway, with the first event scheduled for January 28th. The cost for track riders will be $350.00 and for licensed racers $295.00. A new riders instruction course will be available for an additional $100.00. A catered lunch is included in this event.

Fastrack Riders also has motorcycles for rent. For rate information, please call.

For the 2002 schedule for all tracks, please call (562) 699-2305, or log on to www.fastrackriders.com.

We’ll see you out at the track.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.


Bidding has reached $1225 on the one-of-a-kind AGV helmet worn by three-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin in the final round of the 2001 AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike race season, at Virginia International Raceway September 30.

Bidding on the helmet has turned into a four-way battle between Marcus McBain, John Ross, CMRA5 and new bidder danoe3.

A native of Australia and one of the most fearsome competitors on the track, Mladin was so moved by the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001 that he wore this helmet “in respect and remembrance” of the victims.



“I couldn’t believe it, what happened that day,” Mladin told reporters at the Virginia race. “It happened in America, but it happened to the whole world. It really put things into perspective for me.”

Mladin has generously donated the helmet, maybe the first and only piece of Mladin racing memorabilia ever available, to be auctioned off with the proceeds, minus the cost of the eBay service, going to the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund. The Roadracing World Air Fence Fund was established to raise money to purchase and deploy Air Fence and Air Module soft barriers to protect crashed riders from hitting walls and other hard objects at racetracks. Air Fence is a trademark of Airfence Safety Systems.

“The Air Fence Fund is one that I do support even though I believe that it should be an area that the AMA should show responsibility in obtaining and not having to leave it to individuals to pursue. I congratulate John (Ulrich, founder of the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund) with his initiative to get the fund going and hope that the money raised from the auction of my helmet will help the cause.”

The all-black, AGV helmet features a medium tint face shield with provisions for tear-offs, American flag decals on three sides and Mladin’s autograph in white paint on the back. The helmet is size Medium and still smells brand new because it was worn only once by Mladin. The helmet also comes with two helmet bags.

With Mladin re-writing the AMA Superbike record books every race weekend, this helmet may continue to gain value over time.

You can go to the auction through the following link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1053043393

A press release, issued by the organizers of the Superside FIM Sidecar World Championship:


Abbott signs with Maxsym

Maxsym to provide engines for 2002

Steve Abbott Racing, the World Championship Formula 1 Sidecar team, announced an engine deal with Maxsym Race Engines, the race division of Maxsym Engine Technology Ltd.

Maxsym, which has provided its dry sump system to a number of sidecar teams for the last two seasons, will be responsible for all aspects of the team’s engines.

“Drawing on our staff’s experience of Formula One, Indy Car and World Rally Car, we aim to help Steve become the most professional team in the paddock,” said Patrick Walker or Maxsym. “We don’t want Steve worrying about the engines. He needs to concentrate on racing.”

Abbott, who finished third in the Championship last season, will stick with the Yamaha EXUP engine. He is a big fan of the engine because it is light and compact, but Maxsym will bring it right up to date with some major engine modifications. As well as the dry sump system, Maxsym will increase engine capacity, modify the cylinder head, crankshaft and crankcases and totally redesign the cooling and oil systems. The modified engine will be unveiled at the Autosport Show in January on Maxsym’s stand.

The division has access to Maxsym’s extensive facilities, including the latest fully automated test cells, in-vehicle data acquisition systems and fully equipped vehicle workshops. These are used by Maxsym Engine Technology to design, test and develop complete engines from scratch, principally for U.S. original equipment manufacturers. The company specializes in high-performance 4-strokes for off-highway and recreational products. It focuses on markets traditionally dominated by 2-strokes, which are being forced to turn to 4-strokes due to environmental pressures. Maxsym’s proprietary 4-strokes provide OEMs with a no-compromise alternative to 2-strokes without weight penalties for comparable power delivery.

The Sidecar Championship has followed the trend in these markets by changing to 4-stroke. Maxsym Race Engines’ Mike Richards, an ex-Formula 2 Sidecar Champion himself, said “This gives us the ideal platform from which to build. Sidecars are still accessible to the privateer and since the link with Superbikes their profile has increased dramatically. It is an obvious target for us to demonstrate our strength in high performance 4-strokes.” Technical information learned from the race division will feed back into Maxsym’s other development programmes.

A dyno development and pre-season track support programme will initially iron out teething problems and focus on reliability. Patrick Walker said “This is our first full season. We want to do things properly. We don’t expect
miracles, but we have what it takes and we expect Steve to be in contention.”

Steve’s other main sponsors, Eastern Airways and Les Knight Transport are confident.

“We are delighted. With Maxsym on board, Steve has a great chance this year,” said Richard Lake, Chairman of Eastern Airways.

From a press release:

NEW FASTLAP RACER SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR ALL RACERS

1-888-FASTLAP/1888fastlap.com now has a racer support program beyond their standard discounted racer prices, and in addition to the amazing $2 million racer contingency program announced earlier this month. Send in your information and a FAX copy of your current race license (FAX #770-424-4165) and they will add you into their computer under the new racer support program.

The support package includes special discounts on most race items, and you automatically receive your race support discounts every time you order. Racers on the new support program will also be notified immediately of any new contingency programs, all new racing products that become eligible for the support program.

The FASTLAP racer program is free, every racer should take advantage of it, and more details are available at 1888fastlap.com, or by calling 1-888-FASTLAP.

The passing of Christmas, 2001 marks another broken promise on the part of AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth, who assured the audience at the AMA Pro Racing “banquet” held December 7 that a 2003 AMA Supercross schedule would be released by Christmas.

Instead, AMA issued a list of “markets” where AMA Supercross races will allegedly be held, without naming dates or actual facilities, just cities.

AMA Pro Racing will start its own Supercross series to battle current Supercross promoters Clear Channel Communications starting in 2003, in a division of the sport that could have far-reaching ramifications for the entire AMA.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Moto-heaven, the North American importer for Wintex Motorcycle Fashion and Safety Gear, is now selling the air-bag-equipped Aero safety vest. The lightweight Aero vest is made from Airdura, a synthetic textile with abrasion-resistant qualities, includes storage pockets, 3M reflective stripes and comes in sizes XS to 5XL. But the main feature of the Aero is the air bag system.

The Aero vest is activated by a rip-cord attached to the bike, and is triggered when the rider falls off. A replaceable CO2 cartridge, weighing 32 grams, inflates air pockets at the back of the neck, around the collarbone, the chest, sides, kidneys and back in less than 0.2-second.

According to Moto-heaven owner Phil Caudill, in the very unlikely event that the vest inflates unintentionally while riding, the inflated vest should not cause a rider to lose control of the machine. Caudill also pointed out that the reusable vest can be worn in several applications, such as off-road riding, snowmobiling, etc.

The Aero vest has a suggested retail price of $399. For more information about the Aero vest or to request a free, 50-page Wintex catalog, call Moto-heaven, (877) 416-0969, e-mail [email protected], www.moto-heaven.com.