A new AMA television advertising campaign includes promotion of upcoming events. Details are in the following AMA Pro Racing press release:


AMA Pro Racing announces first-ever television advertising campaign

AMA Pro Racing announced today the release of its first-ever television advertising campaign featuring the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.

The campaign consists of four commercials, three 30-second spots and one 10-second spot.

“With growing event attendance and increased TV ratings, these commercials add another level of awareness to AMA Superbike racing. These creative spots capture the excitement and unique culture of AMA Superbike racing,” said John Farris, Vice President of Commercial Development at AMA Pro Racing.

“The agency who produced the spots, Crispin, Porter and Bogusky of Miami, Florida, did an amazing job of capturing the incredible skill of AMA Superbike competitors and presenting it with an element of sophisticated humor,” continued Farris.

The new commercials will air during the telecast of each AMA Superbike event on both Speedvision and Fox Sports Net during the remainder of the 2001 season and for the entire 2002 season. Critical to the campaign, each spot also provides information for the following round of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, thereby offering significant marketing support for event promoters.

Television advertising of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship on Speedvision and Fox Sports Net represents a major commitment from AMA Pro Racing to the series. Targeting Speedvision¹s nearly 40 million households with this campaign dramatically strengthens the marketing partnership between AMA Pro Racing, the series sponsors and event promoters.

12:00 p.m. AMA Superbike Pikes Peak
1:00 p.m. AMA Formula Xtreme Brainerd
2:00 p.m. FIM 250cc Grand Prix Czech Republic
3:00 p.m. FIM 500cc Grand Prix Czech Republic

7:00 p.m. Bike Week
7:30 p.m. American Thunder
8:00 p.m. AMA 600cc Supersport Pikes Peak
9:00 p.m. FIM 250cc Grand Prix Czech Republic
10:00 p.m. FIM 500cc Grand Prix Czech Republic

12:00 a.m. AMA 600cc Supersport Pikes Peak
1:00 a.m. FIM 250 Grand Prix Czech Republic
2:00 a.m. FIM 500cc Grand Prix Czech Republic

All times are Eastern Daylight Time.

The AMA may not return to New Hampshire International Speeday in Loudon, New Hampshire and the event may become part of the Formula USA Series instead.

AMA Pro Racing officials have discussed not returning to the track.

Preparing for that possibility, NHIS officials have been talking to Formula USA about running the annual race under F-USA sanction.

According to NHIS Motorcycle Safety Director Jerry Wood, if the race converts to F-USA sanction, it will be advertised as being held “rain or shine”.

Wood says that racebikes built to F-USA spec can be safely ridden around the Loudon track in the wet.

Asked if Formula USA is talking to NHIS, F-USA Director of Road Racing Bill Syfan said, “We’ve talked to them, but we talk to them every year.”

Asked if F-USA would race in the rain at Loudon with its National Road Race Series, Syfan said “LRRS (Loudon Road Racing Series) races in the rain, and LRRS is a CCS affiliate.”

CCS sportsman events are sanctioned by Formula USA, as are the professional events that make up the Formula USA National Road Race Series.

Synergy Honda’s Marc Palazzo had high praise for Air Fence after he highsided into a section of Alpina Air Module placed in front of a concrete wall at Pocono International Raceway Sunday.

Palazzo was racing for seventh with Dianetics’ Stoney Landers and Cycles 128’s Jim Lester late in the 18-lap Pro Sportbike race when Palazzo highsided his Honda CBR600F4 exiting turn five, coming out onto the NASCAR tri-oval on the final lap. Palazzo was thrown into one of the 20 sections of Alpina Air Module provided for the event by the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund.

“I thank everybody for that Air Fence Fund,” Palazzo said as he prepared to race in the first Unlimited Superbike race, shortly after his crash. “I’m glad I put some money in it because that thing worked great. I wouldn’t be racing right now if it wasn’t for that Air Fence, that’s for sure. I decided to go with a little softer tire, and it was getting a little greasy at the end. I was catching Stoney Landers. I was getting him to within a couple of bikes of me, and I really wanted to get a good drive on that straightaway. It tossed me over the high side and right into the fence. The Air Fence was great, Arai helmets are great, and Pilot/Gaerne leathers held up and now I’m racing again because of all of those things.”

The Sportbike race was red-flagged and called complete after Palazzo’s crash. Palazzo was credited with 22nd in the Pro Sportbike race because he caused the red flag, but placed sixth and seventh in the two Unlimited Superbike races on his Honda CBR929RR.

The Alpina Air Module was tested once again in the Aprilia Challenge Cup final when Blackman’s Cycle’s Shannon Silva lowsided in turn five. Silva was unhurt and continued in the race to finish 11th.

Formula USA continued the program, started in 1999, of removing steel Armco barriers at Pocono and replacing them after the event, at F-USA expense. The worst injury over the four-day event, according to F-USA National Safety Director Roger Lyle, was a broken leg suffered by a rider who crashed in the run-off area outside turn one.

The run-off areas at Pocono are very rough and uneven. Some riders who rode off the track under some sort of control then crashed in the rough run-off area.

White Tip Motorsports’ Michael Cox has signed Roland Williams to ride in the remainder of the Formula USA races.

Williams replaces Ken Chase, who left the White Tip team after an argument at Pocono, triggered by an overheating problem with the White Tip GSX-R750 ridden by Chase last weekend.

AMA Pro Racing tech inspectors at Pikes Peak International Raceway were seen using a hand-held electronic device with attached leads to compare the main spars of bare stock frames to the main spars of the frames of the top-three-finishing racebikes. The device appeared to have several red and green scales on its face. Tech inspectors said “no comment” when asked what they were doing.

Prior to touching the leads to the frames, a liquid or gel was applied from a small squeeze bottle, apparently to improve the connection.

The tech inspectors may have been attempting to determine any differences in conductivity, which could indicate the use of a different alloy or a different thickness of material in the frame spars.

Pascal Picotte’s Manager, former racer Alan Labrosse, was at the AMA Pikes Peak National this weekend, shopping Picotte’s services.

Picotte is eager to get back on a four-cylinder racebike, according to Labrosse.

Picotte’s availability may be the strongest indicator so far that Harley-Davidson really does plan to give up on the VR1000 project, as has been rumored.

The Harley-Davidson VR1000 effort has been the most unsuccessful factory-backed AMA Superbike program in history, in terms of money spent vs. results realized. The VR1000 has never won an AMA Superbike race.

This just in from Steve Bowline, on behalf of injured racer and tuner Kevin Murray:


To all,

Kevin sends his sincerest thanks to all of you for your kind letters, messages of good will, and wishes for a quick recovery. He is out of any medical danger and is currently recuperating in the Scripps Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation
Clinic in Encinitas, California. This clinic specializes in helping people overcome head injuries. His progress is fantastic, and we expect that he will be released very soon.

Many of you (his loyal customers) have equipment and parts in his custody for repair and service. Kevin understands the great importance of fulfilling his obligations to you, and he wants more than anything else right now to be back in his shop and doing the work that makes him the very best. He talks more about this than he does about racing! So, it is with this in mind that
we ask you to please be patient. It will not be long before Kevin himself is able to call you and discuss the future.

A racer myself, I am acutely aware of the importance in having your racing needs taken care of on a set schedule. So, in the event that you absolutely cannot wait to speak with Kevin about your service, we have taken measures to help make sure that your equipment can be returned to you. Elias Corey and GP Star in North Hollywood have graciously offered to be a single point of contact
for shop returns in Kevin’s absence. We have inventoried Kevin’s shop and gone over the contents with Kevin while he is recuperating. Any requests for returns should go through GP Star.

If you require that your equipment be returned to you ASAP, please FAX an explicit list of what you have in the MCE Racing shop to:

(818) 753-0883
Subject: MCE Racing Return Request

In your FAX, be sure to include an exact description and list. If you sent an engine for rebuild, you should also detail what you sent along with the engine. For example, did you include a carburetor? The electrics? Did you purchase any parts and have them drop shipped to MCE? Did you ship the parts yourself?

And so on.

You may also email this information to [email protected].

Once again, thanks to everyone for their patience. It won’t be long before Kevin is back in his shop and answering the phone. But I do think it’ll be a while before he goes dirt riding by himself again. 🙂

Steve Bowline

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

26 August 2001
For immediate release

2001 Shell Australian Superbike & Supersport Championships
Round 5, Oran Park Raceway, NSW – Race Report

GILES TAKES ORAN PARK SUPERBIKE VICTORY AHEAD OF STAUFFER, AS BAIRD CLAIMS SUPERSPORT WIN

The fifth and final round of the Australian Superbike Championship proved to be a difficult one for the trio of Radar’s Team Yamaha riders, but they were able to leave the Oran Park circuit with an overall win in the Supersport Championship and second in the Superbike Championship.

After qualifying their Yamaha YZF-R1s in fourth and fifth places, Jamie Stauffer and Craig Coxhell were involved in frantic battles at the head of each of the three 12-lap races.

Recently crowned Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles took the overall round win with two wins and a second (on a Suzuki GSX-R1000), while Stauffer claimed second overall with a third, a win and a second from the three races.

The opening race was shrouded in controversy, as Coxhell and Stauffer were both penalized for allegedly passing Shawn Giles at the final corner on the last lap. An accident on the penultimate lap had brought out the yellow flags at the last turn, but Coxhell in particular felt that he had made the pass prior to the yellow flag area. Officials relegated Coxhell and Stauffer to second and third behind Giles after a number of protests were heard.

The second race saw Stauffer take a flag-to-flag win ahead of Giles and Coxhell. The final race was shaping up as another battle between the top three, but Coxhell crashed at high speed at the end of the straight on lap four, ending a frustrating weekend for the 18-year-old. Giles took the win ahead of Stauffer who, after seeing his teammate crash in front of him, settled for a safe second and more importantly third overall in the championship.

“The first two races were great, but after Craig (Coxhell) crashed in front of me in the last, I just buttoned it off and took the points,” said Stauffer. “I saw Craig go down and then the rear of my bike did the same thing and had me off the side. I managed to hold onto it, but Craig’s crash was huge. I was thankful not to be a part of it. With regards to the season, I have a good year, in particular the second half. It’s my first year on the Yamaha YZF-R1, so to come away with second in the Formula Xtreme Tri-State and then third overall in the Australian Superbike Championship has been as good a result that I could have expected for the year.”

“I changed down to fifth at the end of the straight and just tipped it into the kink and the front just let go,” said Coxhell, who was nursing a possible broken left finger or hand after the fall. “I’m not sure what I hit, whether it was oil or debris, but it just let go. I suppose it would have been up around 250 kph. It was pretty big. As for race one, I can’t believe the decision made. I felt that I had got past Shawn (Giles), but the officials seem to see it differently. I’m not sure what the final outcome will be with regards to that.”

In contrast to his teammates, Queenslander Robbie Baird had the perfect weekend. Pole position with a time under the existing Supersport lap record was backed up with two brilliant race wins. The second 12-lap race was red-flagged after rain began to fall and a number of riders crashed as a result of the slippery conditions. Having crossed the line in the lead, Baird was in good position for the restart which he led until the final corner when newly crowned Supersport Champion Josh Brookes made a bold move to grab the lead. The combined aggregate of the race showed that Baird had enough to clinch his second win of the day and the overall round win.

“We worked hard for that result,” said Baird. “After last weekend, we went away and had a good think about things and came up with a completely different package which worked extremely well during qualifying. The track conditions changed sufficiently for today’s racing to be slower than what we were able to do yesterday. We’ve done a lot of work on the dyno in recent weeks and it has shown in the good results that we have achieved. It’s just a shame that we didn’t have this speed earlier in the season.”

Team Manager Dave `Radar’ Cullen was happy with the weekend’s results, even though there was controversy in the Superbike class.

“Some very positive things came out of the weekend,” said Cullen. “It was a major boost for Jamie to beat Shawn fair and square in race two, while both Jamie and Craig showed that they can challenge Giles for the race lead. The boys have done a great job this year. Both Craig and Jamie have ridden well and have given the team second and third in the championship. As for Robbie, he had a great day. Setting pole yesterday and then winning both races is a great result. He led from the front and showed the superior speed of his Yamaha YZF-R6 in each race. All-in-all I think we ended with the Championship with some strong results under what were at times difficult situations.”


Race 1, 12 Laps (Provisional)
1. Shawn Giles, Suzuki, 14:23.8145
2. Craig Coxhell, Yamaha, 14:24.0270
3. Jamie Stauffer, Yamaha, 14:24.4718
4. Wayne Maxwell, Kawasaki, 14:25.2795
5. Tony Rees, Yamaha, 14:25.3497
6. Alistair Maxwell, Suzuki, 14:47.4584
7. Clayton Landells, Suzuki, 14:51.4234
8. Chris Ognenis, Yamaha, 14:57.6014
9. Rodney Davis, Yamaha, 14:57.8056
10. Stephen Tozer, Yamaha, 14:58.3566
Fastest Lap: Shaun Giles (Suzuki) 1:10.8160 on lap 3.

Race 2, 12 Laps
1. Stauffer, 14:21.0906
2. Giles, 14:22.9488
3. Coxhell, 14:23.1916
4. Maxwell, 14:26.2313
5. Rees, 14:29.0930
6. Maxwell, 14:45.7890
7. Landells, 14:50.5501
8. Tozer, 14:50.9946
9. Davis, 14:56.5140
10. Fisher, 14:59.8297
Fastest Lap: Shaun Giles (Suzuki) 1:10.8800 on lap 3.

Race 3, 12 Laps
1. Giles, 14:24.1985
2. Stauffer, 14:31.2307
3. Rees, 14:39.1293
4. Maxwell, 14:49.0128
5. Landells, 14:50.8083
6. Davis, 14:50.9715
7. Fisher, 14:52.8175
8. Tozer, 14:55.9479
9. Normoyle, 15:28.8876
10. Gray, 15:30.0956
Fastest Lap: Shaun Giles (Suzuki) 1:11.2393 on lap 4.


2001 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship
(Provisional points after 5 0f 5 rounds)
1. Giles, 352
2. Coxhell, 219
3. Stauffer, 190
4. Rees, 184
5. Cudlin, 127

Supersport Race 1, 12 Laps
1. Robert Baird, Yamaha, 14:51.7798
2. Ben Attard, Honda,14:52.0425
3. Daniel Stauffer, Suzuki, 14:54.0157
4. Mark Aitchison, Suzuki, 14:54.0926
5. Josh Brookes, Suzuki, 15:00.9901
Fastest Lap: Ben Attard (Honda) 1:13.1866 on lap 7.

Supersport Race 2, 12 Laps (Provisional) Merged times after restart
1. Baird, 15:10.3298
2. Brookes, 15:10.6985
3. Stauffer, 15:14.2948
4. Attard, 15:15.2712
5. Cameron Donald, Suzuki, 15:15.5104
Fastest Lap: Daniel Stauffer (Suzuki) 1:13.4040 on lap 11


2001 Shell Advance Australian Supersport Championship
(Provisional points after 5 0f 5 rounds)
1. Brookes, 198
2. Stauffer, 149
3. Baird, 148
4. Clarke, 113
5. Charlton, 107