Bidding on eBay (to benefit the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund) on a set of Joe Rocket leathers worn by American Honda’s Nicky Hayden has reached $3200, with six-and-a-half days left in the auction.

Hayden came up with the concept of donating the set of his leathers–which he wore to victory at Mid-Ohio–to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund, which was established to purchase and deploy Air Fence and Air Module soft barriers at racetracks, to help protect crashed riders from injury.

Since the opening of the auction on www.ebay.com Thursday, December 6, bidding has steadily risen from the $500 opening bid, past the $1500 reserve price and to the current level of $3200. Bidder “cmra_5” currently holds the highest bid, but Texas racer Marcus McBain, “jweaver718”, “draganee718” and “racer997” are also still active in the bidding.

Bidding is expected to grow more intense as the close of the sale, approximately 10:30 a.m. Sunday, December 16, draws closer.

One of the bidders e-mailed Roadracing World stating that if he exceeds his spending limit, his wife will kick him out of the house. The bidder joked that he was currently looking for a new place to live.

Both Tom Kipp and Josh Hayes were under the existing lap record at Homestead Miami Speedway on Saturday, during practice for a CCS Regional.

Kipp turned a 1:26.11 and Hayes turned a 1:25.99 on their Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000 AMA Formula Xtreme racebikes.

The record was set in January of 2001 by Grant Lopez, also riding a Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000, at 1:26.6.

Kipp, Hayes and teammate Chris Ulrich are at Homestead for pre-season tests. Hayes and Kipp are concentrating on Formula Xtreme machines while Ulrich is riding a 750cc Supersport machine.

From a press release:

YAMAHA CONFIRMS MARLBORO YAMAHA TEAM LINE-UP FOR MOTOGP 2002

Yamaha has confirmed today that the Marlboro Yamaha Team will contest the 2002 MotoGP championship with Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa riding the all-new four-stroke Yamaha YZR-M1. Yamaha continues its partnership with the team’s principal sponsor Marlboro and has appointed Davide Brivio to the position of Team Director. The announcement comes at the end of the Marlboro Yamaha Team’s final test of 2001 at Sepang, Malaysia. The three-day Malaysian test followed a four-day outing at Phillip Island, Australia last week. Checa and Biaggi have completed a total of over 900 laps aboard their M1 machines during the two tests and the team will now head for a well-earned break before recommencing its pre-season programme in Spain at the end of January.

Italian Davide Brivio was Team Manager of Yamaha’s factory World Superbike Team from 1995 until its withdrawal from the series at the end of the 2000 season. The 38-year-old will now work closely with Briton Geoff Crust, who continues in his role as Team Manager, and new Technical Director Ken Suzuki, an experienced engineer from Yamaha’s Motorsports Engineering Division. The project will remain under the direction of Yamaha Motor Racing B.V., the Amsterdam-based HQ of Yamaha’s international racing projects headed by Managing Director Lin Jarvis. Technical control of the project is in the hands of Yamaha Motor Company’s YZR-M1 Project Leader Ichiro Yoda, who was previously responsible for YZR500 engine development and the 2000 World Championship-winning YZR250.

The team itself will now re-locate to a new base near Monza in Italy. Jarvis explains: “Yamaha has an existing race workshop facility based next to Belgarda Yamaha [the company’s Italian subsidiary] where we chose to place the new M1 four-stroke engine maintenance centre. It was a logical step to place the team at the same base with its central European location and in the heart of the motorcycle racing community.”

Commenting on his new appointment Brivio stated “This is an exciting challenge for me and a fascinating time for Grand Prix with the switch to four-strokes. I am lucky enough to be working with two of the best riders in the world and a fantastic team. Yamaha has made a very good bike and we’re working hard to be in good shape for the start of the season. Last year I spent time observing and learning the GP scene and I’m looking forward to working at the heart of MotoGP, helping Yamaha to achieve its objectives.”

Having challenged hard for the last ever 500cc World Championship, eventually taking second place, Max Biaggi has enjoyed his first serious tests on board the YZR-M1 and is looking forward to a new era of motorcycle racing. “I am very happy to be staying with Yamaha and to be riding the M1,” explained the 30-year-old, four-time 250 World Champion. “I know we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but it is pretty exciting to enter a new era on a totally new bike. I really enjoy the technical aspect of my racing, so working closely with Yamaha on this new project is very interesting.”

Carlos Checa had a frustrating 2001 season but eventually finished on a high with his third second-place finish of the year securing him sixth in the Championship overall. The 29-year-old proved to be lightning fast on early versions of the prototype M1 during tests and can’t wait to campaign the bike for real. “I really feel that I am more suited to the four-stroke,” explained the Spaniard. “I really liked the M1 from the first moment I rode it and I have been very keen to race it since then. When you feel 100 percent comfortable on a bike and enjoy riding it, that’s when you can really go fast.”

Checa will also have a change to his 2001 crew, with former Showa suspension technician Antonio Jiminez taking over as crew chief from Mike Webb. Jiminez joined Checa in 2000 in a managerial capacity but was keen to resume a more technical role. Biaggi’s crew remains unchanged for 2002 with experienced Italian Fiorenzo Fanali as crew chief.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion Jimmy Filice was named the AMA Professional Sportsman of the Year during the 27th Annual AMA Pro Racing Champion Awards Banquet, held Friday night in Palm Desert, California.

Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael was named AMA/Speedvision Professional Athlete of the Year and his mechanic, Chad Watts, was given an Award of Mechanical Excellence.

Larry Griffis, who earlier this year retired from his position running Yamaha’s professional racing programs, was given a special award recognizing his long involvement in AMA racing.

Road racing riders and tuners honored at the event included Pro Thunder Champion Tom Montano and tuners Mat Prentiss and Nick Hayman; Filice and tuners Ed Toomey and Mike Montoya (Montoya could not attend); Formula Xtreme Champion John Hopkins and tuner Barry McMahan (McMahan, testing in Homestead with rider Josh Hayes, could not attend); 750cc Supersport Champion Jimmy Moore and tuner Carry Andrew; 600cc Supersport Champion Eric Bostrom and tuner Joey Lombardo; and Superbike Champion Mat Mladin and his crew consisting of Crew Chief Peter Doyle, chassis tuner Reg O’Rourke and engine builder Yuki Kikuchi.

Class sponsors presented plaques and number plates to the Champions, and when Honda’s Charlie Keller presented the goods to former Team Honda and current Team Kawasaki members Bostrom and Lombardo, he asked new AMA Road Racing Operations Manager–and former Honda Team Manager–Gary Mathers, “If these guys are so good, why did we let them get away?” Mathers, who was on stage during the presentation and who was responsible for Bostrom and Lombardo being cut from Team Honda after the 1999 season, did not reply.

Prior to the ceremony, AMA Road Racing Manager Ron Barrick revealed that Pro Thunder races will not run at AMA Superbike double-headers in 2002, except at Road America, but would not reveal where the other Pro Thunder races would be held and said that it depended upon a proposal now being considered by class sponsor Buell. During the 2001 season, four Pro Thunder rounds were held at WERA National Challenge Series events, but earlier this week WERA President Evelyne Clarke said that the organization had heard nothing concerning the 2002 season from AMA officials.

In other news from the banquet, AMA is close to announcing the opening and staffing of a West Coast office, in the Los Angeles area. And AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth said that a 2003 AMA Supercross schedule will be announced before Christmas, with events scheduled in “first class” stadiums from Los Angeles to New York, and that Supercross television programming will include “inventory” that individual teams and riders can sell to sponsors.

Hollingsworth also revealed that the U.S. Flat Track Championship will run a spec tire–Goodyear–in 2002.

Hollingsworth described the current Supercross battle between Clear Channel as being “probably inevitable” and joked that he was wearing a Kevlar jacket, describing the situation as creating “interesting times.”

The ceremony was marked by repeated errors by co-emcee Larry Maiers, ranging from skipping over Hollingsworth’s planned opening remarks–which Hollingsworth finally made after some awards had been presented–to mispronouncing the names of VIPs and award recipients in the audience, so badly mangling the names of two JamSports executives that Hollingsworth corrected him before making his remarks.

In another snafu, confirmation letters from AMA Pro Racing did not include the address or directions to the event, and stated that the banquet was being held “at the Desert Springs Marriott Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, California.” The hotel is actually in nearby Palm Desert, and the bad information sent dozens of attendees on a wild goose chase in the wrong city, with a 30-minute delay in arrival being typical.

And the event program included an obsolete list of AMA Trustees and omitted the sponsorship thank-you statements and new photos collected from the honored Champions weeks ago.

An eBay auction of Nicky Hayden’s leathers is ongoing, with proceeds going to the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund.

The auction will last until approximately 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, December 16, and bidding should intensify as the close of the auction draws nearer and word gets out about the sale.

Remember that all proceeds from the sale of the leathers, minus the cost of eBay and escrow fees, will go to the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund. So tell your friends about the auction.

Go directly to the auction of Nicky Hayden’s suit, where you can read a description and see photos of the leathers, here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1044691248

According to press release issued by Clear Channel Motor Sports, the company has signed multi-year deals to promote Supercross races at The Georgia Dome in Atlanta and Texas Stadium in Dallas.

The deals with The Georgia Dome and Texas Stadium run through 2004.

In related it’s-a-little-late-to-think-of-that news, a JamSports official was quoted by a Minneapolis newspaper columnist as complaining about the difficulty of competing against Clear Channel in the Supercross field.

From a press release:

HONDA CHOOSES PIRELLI FOR TITLE ASSAULT

Honda UK’s new World Supersport championship team will use Pirelli tyres for its challenge on the 2002 title.

CBR600F Sport Honda-mounted pair Karl Muggeridge and John McGuinness will begin their pre-season testing programme at the Valencia circuit in Spain
next week with the new Pirelli Supercorsa tyres.

Honda UK team manager Roger Harvey commented: “We have monitored Pirelli’s progress and commitment at World Supersport level over recent years. Their
success in the 2001 championship is reason enough to be certain they are capable of winning races and the title.”

He added: “The success Pirelli enjoyed with Pere Riba and Fabien Foret is something we are determined to equal in 2002 and we¹re certain Pirelli share the same ambitions.”

Muggeridge raced on Pirelli tyres to his debut World Supersport win at Brands Hatch, UK in 2000 and knows their potential, he said: “Pirelli are
constantly improving the product and the tyres I used in qualifying and racing in 2000 have left me no doubt that they are capable of taking the
title.”

Pirelli¹s International Racing Manager Eddie Roberts commented: “In Karl and John and the package surrounding this new team I¹m sure we¹re looking forward to a very exciting 2002 season. For Pirelli to complement the team and challenge for the world championship with them was an easy decision to make.”

From a press release:


AMA LAUNCHES WWW.WOMENANDMOTORCYCLING.COM

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has launched www.womenandmotorcycling.com, the official website of the third AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference. The conference will be held June 29 through July 3, 2002, at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia.

The new website features sections on all of the conference’s activities: demo rides from BMW, Harley-Davidson/Buell, and Kawasaki; a full schedule of information-packed seminars; a vendor fair showcasing products for motorcycle and rider; and a parade and party in the streets of Buckhannon. The site also includes a list of local accommodations, as well as information on the Buckhannon area and West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Registration kits are available by calling 1-800-AMA-JOIN, or by e-mailing [email protected]. The registration fee for the 2002 AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference is $134; full AMA members receive a $39 discount.

The first two AMA Women & Motorcycling Conferences were held in 1997 and 2000. More than 700 women and men attended the 2000 conference, from 46 states, Sweden, Australia and Canada.

For more information about the 2002 AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference, visit www.womenandmotorcycling.com or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN. To learn more about West Virginia Wesleyan College, visit www.wvwc.edu.

Geoff Maloney’s GP Tech has taken over U.S. distribution of AP Racing brake products.

AP Racing products were formerly distributed by Essex Parts Services, Inc.

GP Tech can be reached at (616) 671-4915.

The 2003 Supercross battle pitting AMA Pro Racing and JamSports against current series promoters Clear Channel Entertainment heated up with news of live Speedvision coverage of AMA Supercross. Clear Channel had previously announced week-delayed coverage of its entire 2003 Supercross series on ESPN2, with four events also seen on ABC network TV.

The potential impact of live TV coverage on paid spectator attendance is unknown.


Text of the press release follows:

AMA PRO RACING, JAMSPORTS ANNOUNCE TELEVISION PARTNERSHIP WITH SPEEDVISION NETWORK TO TELECAST LIVE AMA SUPERCROSS EVENTS

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — AMA Pro Racing, the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the U.S., and its new Supercross promotional partner, JamSports, today announced a television partnership with Speedvision Network.

Speedvision, the first and only 24-hour cable network devoted exclusively to the excitement and heart-pumping action of motor sports, is being re-launched early next year as Speed Channel.

Beginning in 2003, Speed Channel will broadcast three hours of live, national television coverage of every AMA U.S. Supercross Championship race in each venue. Speed Channel will also promote each event weekly prior to telecast. In addition, AMA Pro Racing has the option to take eight 250 Class programs to another television network. The television partnership runs through the 2005 season, with an option to extend.

“Our television package is a home run,” said Scott Hollingsworth, CEO of AMA Pro Racing. “Live coverage of AMA Supercross benefits fans, teams and riders and is the single most important element in growing the sport in the future. The nearly 50% increase in coverage provides opportunities to build the fan base, develop rider personalities and serve the commercial needs of teams, riders and sponsors.”

“A consistent, live programming schedule, week in and week out, from January to May is by far the most important component to ensure the growth of AMA Supercross,” said Mike Held, a JamSports principal responsible for television and marketing. “This, along with the commitment of our partners at Speed Channel and Indianapolis Motor Speedway will give these amazing athletes national exposure on a level never before available.”

“Speed Channel is thrilled to finally be able to bring live Supercross coverage to our loyal motorcycle viewers,” said Jim Liberatore, president, Speedvision Network. “We have been partners with the AMA since the start of Speedvision six years ago, and we share their vision for the future of Supercross.”

The 2003 AMA Supercross season will consist of 16 events in stadiums across the United States. The 2003 AMA Supercross Championship will begin in January in Los Angeles, visit many of the major media markets in the country, and conclude in New York in May, where the champion will be crowned.