From a press release issued by Traxxion Dynamics:

Traxxion Dynamics President and noted suspension tuner Max McAllister will give a suspension set-up seminar for students attending a Team Hammer Advanced Riding School scheduled for Wednesday, September 12 at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California. The school also will include classroom and on-track instruction riding instruction and a gate pass for the weekend’s AMA National at Willow Springs.

Interested riders still have time to sign up for the Team Hammer school at (909) 245-6414.

McAllister will also introduce the new Traxxion Dynamics Shock Warmer and a new titanium shock spring at Willow Springs. Both components will be in use by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki during the AMA weekend.

By David Swarts

AMA members, the time has come to take action. The October issue of American Motorcyclist, the official magazine of the AMA mailed on September 1, contains a ballot and instructions for nominating candidates to be elected to the AMA Board of Trustees.

Once candidates are nominated, an election will be held–using ballots included in the January issue of American Motorcyclist.

Instead of talking about what you would do, now is the time when you can actually do something to change your organization for the better.

The three Board of Trustee seats from the AMA’s southern regions are up for election to three-year terms. These are rank-and-file-elected positions, and winners of these elections will sit with the AMA Board of Trustees–even during top-secret “Executive Sessions”–and help chart the organization’s path regarding everything the AMA is involved in, from racing to government relations on the state and federal level, including the things that you never knew were happening because they were kept under wraps.

John Ulrich started the “Take Back The AMA” movement earlier this year, and the result was hundreds of people stepping up and donating money to provide inflatable air barriers to help save the lives of their racing sons, brothers, husbands, friends, and fellow AMA members.

Now is the time to continue with that call to action, and take the next step to Take Back The AMA by nominating candidates dedicated to representing all and making the AMA a member-run organization again.

We ask that AMA members read the nomination instructions carefully and nominate a member of our Take Back The AMA slate of candidates as follows:

If you live in the Southwest Region (Southern California south of San Jose, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Hawaii): John Ulrich, Lake Elsinore, California

If you live in the South Central region (Missouri, Southern Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi): AMA Pro Thunder Champion Jeff Nash, Mansfield, Texas

If you live in the Southeast Region (Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Puerto Rico): 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz, Davidson, North Carolina

All three of our Take Back The AMA candidates meet the applicable rules for nomination; AMA rules for nomination follow:

You may nominate any AMA member in good standing, including incumbent members of the Board of Directors, subject to the following regulations:

1. The nominee must be from your home region.

2. Nominees must have been members of the AMA in good standing for a minimum of three years as of September 1, 2001.

3. Nominees must not be employed by any company currently holding a corporate seat on the Board of Directors, nor be employees of the American Motorcyclist Association.

4. Nominees must have completed, or agree to attend, the AMA EAGLES Leadership Academy for volunteer leaders.

5. Nominees will be required to sign a Statement of Understanding of Responsibility for AMA Trustees.

6. Nominees must be willing to meet with their fellow directors a minimum of four times each year, on weekdays and/or weekends.

7. Nominations must be sent on the official ballot and must be received no later than October 8, 2001.

8. All nomination forms must be mailed to the firm of Ernst & Young as printed on the official ballot; any nomination forms mailed to the AMA will be void and will be destroyed.

9. The ballot in the magazine is for the addressee on the cover. AMA members in good standing who do not receive this magazine (associate members, etc.) and who live in one of the southern regions may request in writing a ballot for their own use. Only original ballots will be accepted – no photocopies or handmade ballots are permitted. If you need a ballot, please write to:

AMA/BALLOT
13515 Yarmouth Drive
Pickerington, OH 43147

The official nominating ballot reads:

I live in the _______ region and my AMA number is ________. I would like to nominate:________ of__________ for a position on the AMA Board of Directors. To the best of my knowledge, this nominee lives within the boundaries of my region, is an AMA member in good standing and has been a member for at least three years as of September 1, 2001. Signature _______________.

The October issue of American Motorcyclist magazine describes the election this way:

Join The Democratic Process
It’s campaign time again – time to elect the officials who will direct the future of your Association. The AMA is looking for active and dedicated motorcyclists to serve on its Board of Directors, which shapes policy for the world’s largest motorcyclist organization. This year, AMA members from the three southern regions – Southeast, South Central, and Southwest – will choose representatives to serve three-year terms on the Board. Those elected as directors will join three representatives from the northern regions, elected in 2000, and six representatives elected by AMA Corporate Members. The 12 members of the AMA Board of Directors collectively determine policy and set the financial direction of the Association, so each and every AMA member has a stake in making sure they select the best people for the job. And the way to ensure that is to nominate fellow AMA members who have the appropriate experience and qualifications. The nominating process is simple: Just make sure that your candidate meets the qualifications listed on the reverse side of this page, then complete the form below and drop it in the mail. The top three nominees from each region will appear on the ballot to be published in the January 2002 issue of American Motorcyclist. (A minimum of 25 nominations are required to appear on the ballot.) If you feel that you or a fellow member could be a valuable addition to the AMA Board of Directors, get involved now.

The Colorado-based Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) is continuing its campaign to raise money to purchase Air Fence safety barriers for use by the club. The MRA’s Air Fence fund-raising efforts started August 18 with the first of three Air Fence Benefit endurance races, with all entry fees, $50 per rider, going toward the Air Fence fund.

The first race in the series, won by roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich, raised $2200 toward the MRA’s goal of $8850, enough to purchase three 28-foot sections of the inflatable air barriers.

To further the cause, the MRA has also set up an address for donations to Air Fence fund.

Donations can be made to:

MRA Air Fence Fund
c/o Motorcycle Roadracing Association Inc.
P.O. Box 40187
Denver, Colorado 80204
(303) 530-5678

From a press release issued by C.H. Johnson Consulting, Inc., a company which bills itself as being “Experts In Convention, Sport and Real Estate Consulting”:

C.H. Johnson Consulting Completes Review of Rausch Creek Motorsports Club

Adaptive Reuse of Former Coal Mining Site in Pennsylvania Features Alan Wilson Designed Roadcourse

CHICAGO, August 31, 2001 — C.H. Johnson Consulting, a leader in convention, sport, and real estate consulting, today announced the completion of a market and financial review of an $8 million motorsports facility being developed 40 miles northeast of Harrisburg in Tremont, Pennsylvania by Rausch Creek Motorsports, L.P. Situated on 1,268-acres of mountainous terrain, Rausch Creek Motorsports Park is being developed as a diversified high performance, educational, and recreational driving venue with race-ready tracks, race-quality facilities, and premium recreational driving capacity.

The centerpiece of the park will be the Wilson Motorsports designed 2.31-mile road course, which capitalizes on the mountainous topography to offer more than 300 feet in elevation changes. When completed, the course will meet the safety and design standards of several officiating bodies including the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), making it eligible to host more than half a dozen auto and motorcycle racing series.

In addition to professional racing events, RCMP will also host driving schools and sell memberships that provide access to the road course for amateur users. Membership will be required for the privilege of using the road course on the 70 days a year set aside expressly for member use. Full and associate memberships will be available. Full membership is available only to individuals. Associate membership is available to clubs and corporate entities that join RCMP as a group. The RCMP is also contains 600-acre motocross and all terrain vehicle park and camping facilities. Future development plans call for a 1.77-mile road course, a go-kart track, and several member and spectator amenities such as a restaurant and lounge area, VIP club, and pro-shop. There is also additional land available for a hotel and golf course development.

Johnson Consulting was engaged to complete the independent feasibility of RCMP by Rausch Creek Motorsports, L.P.

“It is important for our development team to have thorough and accurate analysis of the market and financial potential for this innovative concept in motorsports–and the credentials and industry specific expertise of Johnson Consulting made them the perfect entity for this challenging engagement,” said Ronald Lickman, Chairman of the Board for Rausch Creek Motorsports, L.P.

“This is an important study in determining the market for motorsports facilities that offer
a membership platform as a supplement to professional racing events,” stated Charlie Johnson, President of the C.H. Johnson. “Our analysis indicates the demand for track time in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions provides strong revenue potential for this facility.”

About C.H. Johnson Consulting: C.H. Johnson Consulting is an international real estate
consulting firm with expertise in sports facilities and other real estate land uses, such as hotels, office, retail, and entertainment developments. Johnson Consulting performs market and feasibility studies, develops business plans, conducts organizational audits, performs tax analyses, and writes and manages requests for developer proposals on behalf of public agencies. Johnson Consulting’s clients include state and local government agencies, sports franchise owners and teams, real estate developers,
universities, entertainment facilities, lenders, and investment bankers.

12:00 p.m. AMA 600cc Supersport Pikes Peak
1:00 p.m. World Superbike Race One Germany
2:00 p.m. World Superbike Race Two Germany
3:00 p.m. FIM 125cc Grand Prix Germany

7:00 p.m. Bike Week
7:30 p.m. American Thunder
8:00 p.m. AMA Formula Xtreme Pikes Peak
9:00 p.m. World Superbike Race Two Germany
10:00 p.m. AMA Grand National Dirt Track Peoria
11:00 p.m. Bike Week
11:30 p.m. American Thunder
12:00 a.m. AMA Formula Xtreme Pikes Peak
1:00 a.m. World Superbike Race Two Germany
2:00 a.m. AMA Grand National Dirt Track Peoria

All times Eastern Daylight Time.

From Gordy Lunde:

I just finished watching the 600cc Supersport race from Pikes Peak. Does anyone at AMA read their rulebook?

Kurtis Roberts crashes on lap two of the 600cc Supersport final and is out of the race. A red flag comes out on lap three for a different incident. The rulebook reads the riders are credited for the lap they are on which would be four. For scoring purposes they go back to the last complete lap which would be two. In this instance they can do a complete restart…..
but………

The rulebook reads on page 18, roadrace rule #8, subparagraph f: In Superbike only, when a race is restarted following a red flag, a rider who was present at the starting grid, but was unable to start or dropped out after the start, is permitted to restart on a back-up motorcycle using the following procedure: (1) rider must obtain permission from the Chief Stewart or Race Manager. (2) Rider will be gridded on the last row of the restart grid.

OK, Superbike only….. How does this relate to 600cc Supersport?

Roberts was allowed to restart on a back-up bike and on the pole again! Somebody needs to explain this. Yes, he crashed again and was out of the race but he never should have been able to restart on a back-up bike.

Am I correct or did I miss something? Was there an update to the rule book that allows this in Supersport or any other class?




And now the answer, from Jeff Wilson of American Suzuki’s Sports Promotion Department:

Roberts did in fact start on the original bike. Parts were removed from the back-up bike to repair the original.

I specifically went and verified this after the red flag–just in case.

WERA President Evelyne Clarke says that the organization will not return to Memphis Motorsports Park unless modifications are made to the track to make it suitable for wet weather use.

This weekend’s WERA National Challenge Series and National Endurance Series event at Memphis was cancelled because rain made the dragstrip used as a front straightaway of the road course too slippery.

The required modifications include the removal of the guardrail section to allow use of the existing hot pit area to bypass the first half of the dragstrip, avoiding the problem of no traction on the rubber-coated pavement in the event of rain.

Memphis track management has been asked to make the changes by Clarke.

Call it wishful thinking, public relations or pure propaganda, but the latest Benelli press release makes the team’s pair of 16th-place finishes in the two World Superbike races at Oschersleben this weekend actually sound pretty good. The press release text follows:

Benelli Sport satisfied after another World Superbike weekend

The Benelli Superbike story continued this weekend with another pair of solid finishes by the Benelli Tornado Superbike ridden by Peter Goddard. The experienced Australian managed to finish in both races despite being run off the track at the first corner of race one by a falling rider. The finishes not only demonstrated the increasing reliability of the Tornado engine but also allowed the team to gather even more valuable date.

“We are leaving Oschersleben with lots of data which will all be very useful for the future,” said Team Owner Andrea Merloni. “Our mission to build a truly competitive World Superbike team is on target, the reliability is improving as we learn more and find real solutions to any problems that racing has exposed. Unfortunately today Peter Goddard had a little tangle in the first corner of the first race with a fallen rider. That cost him valuable time and he spent the race recovering from that. In race two he had some handling problems which allowed riders he had passed early in the race to pass him again. But I am really happy with the way the project is progressing and I am looking forward to the racing again next week in Assen.”

The circuit at Oschersleben offered the team a unique opportunity to learn more about the behaviour of the Benelli. The circuit has some long and very fast corners. These have allowed the engineers to gather different types of data from that collected at previous rounds. But the circuit also threw some new problems at the team, which unfortunately they didn’t have enough time to solve in qualifying before the racing began. “We were experiencing chatter and a lack of rear grip today,” explained Goddard. “We didn’t get the set up completely right and that made my job difficult. But at least the bike proved more reliable and the performance was stable, the engine felt the same at the end of the race as it did at the start.”

After today’s action was all finished, the team set off to Holland for the next round, held on the weekend of September 9 at the historic Circuit van Drenthe in Assen. It’s a very fast circuit, again with its own unique characteristics, which will give the team another chance to continue developing the Tornado Superbike. After Asses comes the last round at Imola, back in the team’s home country Italy. After that the team will spend the winter extensively testing and developing the Tornado ready for their first full season of World Superbike racing.

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Las Vegas Extremes video star Paul “Pauly” Sherer won the first-ever XSBA (Xtreme Sport Bike Assn.) stunt competition in front of a very appreciative crowd at Pocono International Raceway during the Sunday lunchbreak of last weekend’s Formula USA National Road Race Series weekend at Pocono. For his efforts, Sherer was dubbed the “King of Pocono” and won $1100.

The XSBA stunt competition was modeled after the highly-successful freestyle motocross jump competitions held by Clear Channel Motorsports (formerly known as SFX Motorsports and before that, PACE Motorsports). Contestants were invited based on submitted video resumes, proving their abilities as stunt riders. Some of the 13 contestants were teenagers with little more than one year of riding experience, but the show was not the amateur hour that many expected it to be.

Each competitor was given a one-minute warm-up in front of the crowd, followed by three minutes to perform as many stunts as possible within set boundaries on the front straightaway at Pocono. Each competitor scored between 5-100 points awarded by a panel of judges and was then given an average score. Meanwhile, announcers tried to call the action, making up names for new stunts as they went along.

The preliminaries were held Saturday evening at the conclusion of the F-USA road racing activities. The 13 entries made their performances and the top eight were invited back for the finals on Sunday at lunchtime. Although the program needed polishing on Saturday evening, XSBA Director Cliff Nobles and his staff made improvements to the competition on Sunday.

Sherer won with a routine that included “nac-nac” wheelies, a “Christ-switchback” (standing backwards on the gas tank with arms extended), a footpegs-to-tank jump called an “elevator”, a reverse handstand dropped into skiing behind the bike with one hand, laying backwards on the bike face-down, and high-speed “bulldogging” (skiing beside the motorcycle).

Sherer not only won for his selection of tricks, but also for smooth execution, choreography and presentation. From the winner’s circle, Sherer thanked the fans, XSBA and Clear Channel Entertainment “for giving us a safe place to do this and not ride dangerously on the street.”

Loose Riders’ Kevin Calo, from nearby Newark, New Jersey, took second but was the fan favorite for exploding his rear tire in a burnout during the preliminaries and dropping and standing on his Honda CBR900RR at the end of each routine.

Matt Blankstrom of Grand Rapids, Michigan finished third thanks to a combination trick where he jumped from his seat to the tank, spun around in circles on his bottom on the tank, wheelied with his feet over the windshield, and went straight into a one-handed stoppie with his feet over the windshield.

XSBA’s Nobles called the event “wildly successful” and said he plans to make the stunt competition a stand-alone event even though it seemed to work well in conjunction with the F-USA National Road Race Series.

For more information on XSBA go to www.xsba.com.