Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

AMA Pro Racing organized a test session with five racers to evaluate recent changes made to the new, 2.3-mile infield road course at California Speedway in Fontana, California Thursday, September 11.

Riders involved in the test were Eric Bostrom, Damon Buckmaster, Mike Hale, Aaron Yates and Jake Zemke.

The Speedway will host an AMA National in 2002, replacing Willow Springs on the schedule. Willow Springs officials were told earlier this week that the AMA would not sell them a race sanction for 2002.

California Speedway officials made several course changes following a previous test at the facility. Both tests were closed to the public.

According to California Speedway Operations Manager Craig Hatch, “The main differences between when the AMA tested here last month and now was that we opened up a couple of corners to make them flow better. At the end of the long, infield straightaway there is a left-right section. That right was about 120-degrees coming back on itself. After talking to the Superbike guys and several car guys that have tested the infield course with us, we decided to open that up a little and make that a 90-degree corner, make it a little less sharp so it will flow better.

“We also spent a lot of time in the morning (Thursday) working on a configuration in the transition off the banking. We wanted to provide an area where traffic from the banking and pit lane could safely merge together without it taking away from the race-ability of the area. We took about 100 cones down to an area paved specially for the motorcycles’ use and tried a number of different arrangements. That area will be for the motorcycles only. Cars using the road course will bypass that chicane. The riders didn’t express any concerns about any other areas.”

Hatch said that he could not verify that the speedway will be on the 2002 AMA road racing schedule, but said that things were moving in that direction. Hatch said that California Speedway itself would promote any AMA Superbike race that takes place at the facility. Hatch would not discuss possible scheduling, other than to say that track officials would try to avoid the heat of summer.

Hatch also said that speedway and AMA officials are currently discussing the possibility of holding a double-header Superbike weekend.

Reached by phone October 12, Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster said, “I thought it was a good productive day of track design. All of the officials from the AMA and the track were there. All of the riders–myself, Aaron Yates, Eric Bostrom, Jake Zemke, Mike Hale–worked together. I’ll be very surprised if anyone has a problem with what we’ve worked out.

“For a speedway infield road course, I think it’s really good. It’s right up there with the best places that we go and we won’t have a lot of the problems that we have now with some of the speedway infield road courses that we go to. And as far as the facilities, it’s probably the best we will go to. The whole place is really nice.

“We had a couple of safety issues that needed to be addressed yesterday, but everyone was very open-minded and receptive. The turn-one issue was a concern but we corrected that. Then in turn two, there was one point where if you overshot you could come back across the track in a different spot before you could slow down. They will put some Air Fence or other soft barriers there to prevent that from happening when we come back. The speedway staff were very receptive to all of our suggestions.

“By the end of the day, we were all making laps on the whole thing. It’s going to be good. The track is 45-feet wide, there are lots of places to pass, more than one line, a lot of the run-off areas are paved so that you can make a mistake and recover, they’ve opened up some corners to give it more flow and the main straight is super fast. I had the tallest gearing that we brought on my R6 and I still needed to go up teeth on the front sprocket.

“Jake (Zemke) was there for the original tests last month, and he seemed really upbeat about the changes.”

Buckmaster added that the track still needs added curbing, some infield grass and a cleaned-up surface, but those minor problems did not discourage his enthusiasm.


Meanwhile, a bizarre, semi-literate press-release posting on the AMA website concerning the California Speedway test referred to AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship Operations Manager Gary Mathers–who took the AMA job after retiring from American Honda–as a “racer.” The AMA release also made it difficult to understand Hatch’s reluctance to admit that the racetrack will host an AMA National in 2002, since the AMA site refers to such an event as being the “inaugural AMA Pro Racing event next season.”

The text of the AMA website release follows:


October 12, 2001
Second California Speedway test a success

New road race facility nearing completion for inaugural AMA Pro Racing event next season

California Speedway, Fontana

Proposed 2.3- mile, 21-turn motorcycle course


AMA Pro Racing’s Road Race Operations Manager Gary Mathers and five other racers tested Thursday at California Speedway’s new in-field motorcycle competition course. The all-day test was the second at the facility and was met with positive results.

The track paving is complete as the top coat of asphalt has been installed. Of the racers involved, Aaron Yates, Damon Buckmaster, Eric Bostrom, Jake Zempke and Mike Hale, all were said to be satisfied with the course, Mathers said.

Most of the day’s testing was concentrated on the Turn 1/pit exit area of the race course where the most extensive changes have been made. A large area has now been paved near the pit road exit to allow for multiple configurations. This area is also where riders will be coming off the banking’s front-straightaway to enter the first turn. The track has now installed a chicane before the first turn to bring speeds down to better match the speeds of riders leaving the pits.

“We found the smoothest transition from the oval onto the motorcycle racing surface and put in a chicane to slow them,” said California Speedway Director of Operations Craig Hatch. “Now we can design a pit-out area so that riders are at comparable speeds.”

Mathers is also happy about the test. “The riders were all positive about the track. This was their second time there so there were no surprises for them,” said Mathers. “New riders will have questions; that’s inevitable. But overall, it certainly will be the best infield road courses that we run.” That sentiment is also backed up by Hatch who said no rider has been concerned the important issue of run-off room. “There have been no concerns about run-off room,” said Hatch.

Five riders circulated the track for the better part of Thursday, although the track was not clean enough from recent grass seeding for racing speeds. According to Hatch, the track is in the fine-tuning stages, awaiting some fine grading, grass seeding and curbing. They are awaiting more rider and car racer input for curbing issues can be completely addressed. Mathers said the riders discovered a few bumpy areas that the track said it would fix.

Overall Hatch has been happy with the tests. “We’re very happy with the progress we’ve made,” said Hatch. “These sessions have been very beneficial. The input from the riders has prompted us to make some changes.

“We’re fully committed on working with AMA Pro Racing on an event in 2002. Part of this deal might include another test. If we have a race set, we certainly would have to have another test of some sort.”

The original posting, along with a track map, can be seen at www.amaproracing.com

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jeff Wilson is leaving American Suzuki’s Sports Promotion Department to become a Suzuki and Kawasaki dealer in his hometown of Yuma, Arizona.

Wilson, 41, was in charge of Suzuki road racing support programs, road racing contingency programs and the Suzuki Cup Finals. Wilson also managed drag racing support and contingency and oversaw Suzuki’s dirt track support programs.

His official title was Sports Promotions Senior Specialist, On-road Manager.

Wilson said that he grew up in a Suzuki-Kawasaki dealership owned by his father in Yuma, and continued to work at the dealership for several years after his father sold the business. Wilson went to work for American Suzuki in January, 1989.

When the shop went out of business in May of this year, Wilson seized the chance to open up an entirely new Suzuki and Kawasaki dealership in Yuma.

Wilson started at American Suzuki as a Technical Service Rep, then became a Quality Research Supervisor in the Technical Department. Wilson moved to the Sports Promotion Department in August of 1998.

Wilson’s new dealership is called Wild West Motorsports, located at 2500 East 16th St.,
Yuma, AZ 85365. The phone number is (928) 783-8282.

Wilson is married and he and his wife, Meredith, have a son, Dylan, 4.

Wilson said October 11 that the highlight of his Sports Promotion career at American Suzuki was “Watching Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki move into the AMA series and win, taking the 750cc Supersport Championship last year and the biggest Championship the Sports Promotion Department competes in, Formula Xtreme this year, both with John Hopkins.”

Wilson is officially leaving his post at American Suzuki at the end of the month and may or may not be at the 2001 Suzuki Cup Finals, scheduled for October 24-28 at Road Atlanta. Wilson will complete Suzuki support deals for 2002 before leaving the company.

“I loved doing what I was doing at American Suzuki, but this was an opportunity that would come up only once in a lifetime,” said Wilson. “It was a great opportunity to come back home where my family is and where a lot of my friends are, and to have my own business.”

From a press release:

AMA SANCTIONED MOTORCYCLE ROADRACE AT ARROYO SECO MOTORPLEX

SANDIA MOTORCYCLE ROADRACING INC. (SMRI), AN AMA CHARTERED ROAD RACING ORGANIZATION, WILL BE STAGING ITS FINAL RACES OF THE 2001 SEASON AT ARROYO SECO MOTORPLEX OCTOBER 27-28.

SMRI has staged five races, made up of 17 classes, in its inaugural year of AMA sanctioned road racing at Sandia Motorsports Park located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Racer turnout has ranged from 30 to 40 riders, with family and pit support, per event weekend representing Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Paying spectators averaged 200 per event.

This is an invitation to all racers interested in participating at our Arroyo Seco event. We will have Michelin-Pirelli tire support provided by Vanmar Racing based in Denver, Colorado. Vanmar supports all MRA events as well as the recent AMA National at PPIR in Colorado Springs where they serviced over 200 wheels during the weekend. They have a considerable amount of expertise and have supported our series this season. For more information concerning Vanmar Racing contact Tamara or Mark at [email protected].

We will also provide our Rider Certification Class on Saturday, October 27 for all unlicensed novices and experts as well as licensed novices and experts from organizations not recognized by SMRI as listed in the rule book (rule book online at WWW.SMRI-RACING.ORG). The class is $125 and required to race in our organization. The class consists of a classroom session and track session taught by SMRI expert riders. Mark Schellinger, former AMA Pro racer and owner of Vanmar Racing, will also be involved with class instruction. For more info concerning the class contact Johnathan Butterman at [email protected] for questions and registration.

Trophies will be awarded to the top three finishers in each class and a cash payout will go to the
top three finishers in the GRANDMA’S MUSIC AND SOUND NEW MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP UNLIMITED GP. Payout is dependent on the number of entries. All entry fees for the Unlimited GP go into the payout.

For more information concerning SMRI visit our website at WWW.SMRI-RACING.ORG. The rule book and registration forms are all online. Pre-registration is highly recommended to speed day of race registration and to avoid a 25.00 day of race registration fee.

Thanks for your attention and I hope to see many of you at our event.

Juan Romero, President
SMRI

Cruise America Grand Prix Racing’s Jason DiSalvo, 17, ended his 2001 European 250cc Championship season with a DNF due to brake problems with his A-kitted 2001 Honda RS250 at the final round October 7 at Cartagena, Spain.

DiSalvo’s weekend started out with a ninth-fastest qualifying position and a good start catapulted him to fourth on the first lap of the race, but the New York teenager’s well-used carbon-fiber brakes began to fade on lap three. Finally, a frustrated DiSalvo pulled in on the 10th lap.

“I tried to hang in there but the brakes were getting worse all the time and it was very frustrating. Everything was going good until then and I was confident of getting a good result,” said young DiSalvo.

Team owner Jim DiSalvo, Jason’s father, later admitted that they had tried to stretch an extra weekend out of the used carbon-fiber brake rotors, resulting in the problems.

Jason DiSalvo has returned to the United States and plans to take part in the CCS Race of Champions weekend October 17-21 at Daytona International Raceway and at the WERA Grand National Finals October 24-28 at Road Atlanta.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

On Wednesday, October 10, American Honda’s Nicky Hayden and Erion Honda’s Roger Lee Hayden both had surgery in both wrists to correct symptoms caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Both Haydens traveled straight from the Del Mar dirt track event, held October 6-7 in Southern California, to San Francisco, where orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting performed the relatively simple procedure. Both Haydens were resting in a Bay Area hotel on Thursday, October 11 and planned to travel back home to Owensboro, Kentucky on Friday, October 12.

“It’s been something that has been bothering me for a while,” said Nicky Hayden in a October 11 telephone call to Roadracing World. “You may have seen me on TV shaking my hand out on the straights at Mid-Ohio. (Nicky Hayden won the second Superbike race at Mid-Ohio, the first of his season-ending, four-race winning streak.) I almost thought about not getting it because it was only bad at some tracks and not others. But when it got bad I couldn’t really feel the brake lever and that’s kind of dangerous.

“We have both of our arms in slings. So we won’t be doing much for the next four weeks or so.” Nicky Hayden said that he would most likely miss a Honda test session scheduled to take place in Las Vegas later in October. Nicky Hayden said he still planned to take part in a live, online chat session scheduled for Wednesday, October 17 at 9:00 p.m. EDT on sponsor Joe Rocket’s website, www.joerocket.com.

500cc Times:
1. Alex Barros, Honda, 1:35.586
2. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:36.283
3. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:36.639
4. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 1:37.143
5. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki, 1:37.208
6. Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Proton, 1:37.458
7. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, 1:37.478
8. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, 1:37.504
9. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:37.617
10. Loris Capirossi, Honda, 1:37.625
11. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:37.684
12. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:37.686
13. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:37.770
14. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:38.403
15. Alex Criville, Honda, 1:39.051
16. Anthony West, Honda, 1:39.281
17. Jose Cardoso, Yamaha, 1:39.703
18. Johan Stigefelt, Sabre, 1:40.467
19. Brendan Clarke, Honda, 1:41.832
20. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 1:42.095
21. Leon Haslam, Honda, 1:42.363
22. Barry Veneman, Honda, 1:46.578

250cc Times:
1. Tetsuya Harada, Aprilia, 1:48.040
2. David Checa, Honda, 1:48.876
3. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, 1:49.112
4. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:49.517
5. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:49.563
6. Roberto Rolfo, Aprilia, 1:49.620
7. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, 1:49.737
8. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 1:49.955
9. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:50.059
10. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, 1:50.176
29. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 1:56.755
35. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 2:23.906

125cc Times:
1. Simone Sanna, Aprilia, 1:40.625
2. Toni Elias, Honda, 1:41.093
3. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:41.188
4. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:41.432
5. Masao Azuma, Honda, 1:41.544
6. Noboru Ueda, Honda, 1:41.847
7. Gabor Talmacsi, Honda, 1:41.910
8. Jakub Smrz, Honda, 1:41.991
9. Raul Jara, Aprilia, 1:42.020
10. Angel Rodriguez, Aprilia, 1:42.423

Sears Point International Raceway will give ticket vouchers good for admission on Saturday of the 2002 AMA Superbike race weekend to fans who donate three food items to the track’s Thanksgiving Food Drive for needy families.

Out-of-the-area fans can mail or ship food items and receive a voucher in return mail.

The 2002 AMA Superbike National at Sears Point, located in Sonoma, California, will be held May 3-5.

A press release announcing the program, issued by the track, follows:


Fans Can Trade Food for Tickets at Thanksgiving Food Drive

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) – Community members and race fans have the chance to help those in need while helping themselves to race tickets at Sears Point Raceway’s “Thanksgiving Food Drive.”

To help feed the needy in Sonoma County, Sears Point is partnering with Friends In Sonoma Helping (FISH) to collect non-perishable food items. Everyone is encouraged to bring food items to the raceway during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) from October 15 – November 16. Items can be dropped in bins located in the main office. People can also mail in the food items to: Diana Rose, Sears Point Raceway, Highways 37 and 121, Sonoma, CA, 95476.

As a reward for their generosity, those who donate three or more food items will receive a free ticket to the American Motorcyclist Association Superbike qualifying on Saturday, May 4. To receive your ticket voucher, simply present a photo ID with your non-perishable food items to the employee at the front desk. Only two tickets allowed per family.

FISH of Sonoma Valley works to provide emergency and temporary assistance to Sonoma Valley residents experiencing times of need. In 2000, FISH supplied 1853 households with three days of groceries, and over 2500 calls for food requests continue to come in each year.

For more information, please contact Diana Rose at (707) 938-8448 ext. 118 or by e-mail at [email protected]

From a press release issued by American Honda:

American Honda announced today that long-time road racing technician Al Ludington will return to Honda Racing’s factory road racing team as the Crew Chief for multi-AMA Superbike and 600cc Supersport Champion Miguel Duhamel. Together, the pair has won more AMA road racing championships than any other rider-technician duo in history.

“Honda Racing has always been my home. Most of my championship titles have been made possible thanks to Honda’s tireless efforts to achieve excellence. It’s good to be home,” said a happy Ludington.

Also joining Honda Racing’s road racing squadron for 2002 is Danny Hull. Hull will be responsible for Kurtis Roberts’s Erion Racing/Honda RC51 Superbike chassis development. Hull has worked with Roberts in the past on the Erion Racing team and is excited to be joining forces with Roberts to contest in the upcoming 2002 AMA Superbike championship.

“I’m glad to be working with American Honda and Kurtis Roberts,” said Hull. “Kurtis and I have won a Formula Xtreme title together, and I look forward to winning a Superbike championship. It’s going to be a great year.”


(Editor’s note: Ludington left Honda two years ago and went to Kawasaki when Team Honda’s then-manager, Gary Mathers, did not renew Ludington’s contract. Mathers has since retired from Honda and is now an AMA official.)

A press release issued by Munroe Motors, sponsor of AMA Pro Thunder points leader Tom Montano:

Age And Experience Beats Youth And A Fat Bankroll

Thomas Montano, the wily road racing veteran from Berkeley, California, proved the old adage true when he topped the field in the AMA Pro-Thunder Nationals at Virginia International Raceway, Alton Virginia, Sunday, September 30th on his Ducati 748R motorcycle, sponsored by local dealer Munroe Motors.

Pitted against stiff opposition from three nationally accomplished but less experienced riders on factory-supported Buell motorcycles, Montano played his hand to perfection and left the competition floundering in his wake. “I just stayed out of trouble and looked for an opening” said Montano. “Those Buells come out of the corners really hard, but the Ducati had the advantage in a few spots around the track”.

The weekend started well enough with practice on Thursday, but then Tom crashed on Friday afternoon just after setting some fast lap times, and the team from Munroe Motors, the Ducati dealership in San Francisco, worked to repair the damage late into the night.

Saturday proved to be a tough day as the team failed to match the speed of the previous afternoon… a chronic front-end chatter was plaguing the handling of the bike, but it would not improve with any chassis or suspension adjustments. Sundays’ grid positions were set on Saturday afternoon by the results of two heat races, all entrants competing in one or the other. Buell rider Mike Ciccotto won the faster heat race, thereby earning pole position and the extra championship point, whereas Montano struggled to a third place finish in the other heat, giving him a second row starting position for the race.

On Sunday morning, the team mounted a new set of tires for the pre-race warm-up and amazingly the chatter problem disappeared, allowing Tom to set the fastest time of the morning practice and give the team hope for a good finish.

The race was run right after the Superbike final, and the three factory Buell riders shot off the starting line into the lead using the massive torque of the 1300cc Harley engines. Montano meanwhile took up position 50 feet off the rear wheel of the third rider. The lead swapped between Buells several times over the first few laps, but Montano hung back. On the ninth lap of 17 he started pushing forward, passing Tripp Nobles for third place, then swung past Dave Estok and pole winner Ciccotto to take the lead on lap 10. Nobles started to fade with engine problems and Ciccotto also slowed up a little with handling problems, but Estok hung tough and narrowly retook the lead. On lap 13 however, Estok’s machine spluttered right at the exit of turn one, and Montano following closely hit the rear end of Estok’s Buell with his handlebars, nearly throwing the Ducati rider to the ground.

“I thought I was going down” said Montano, “Dave put his hand up as his motor lost power, but I couldn’t avoid running into him. I’m just lucky the bike stayed upright”. With Estok out, there was no-one left in the fight, and Montano rode the last few laps to victory.

The result puts Montano and the Munroe Motors Ducati 748 team in the championship points lead as they head into the final round of Pro-Thunder at Road Atlanta, on October 27th.

For more information, please contact Nick Hayman of Munroe Motors. Tel 415-626-3496 ext 4, e-mail [email protected]

From a press release:

Sport Management to partner billiards, motorcycling in cross-marketing promotion

WESTERVILLE, OH- Sport Management has signed an agency of record agreement with Colorado Springs-based Billiard Congress of America, and is working to identify partners for a cross-promotion between the powerful consumer groups that both motorcycling and billiards represent.

Sport Management has a long history building motorsports marketing programs for AMA professional racing properties, and the agency wants to identify a synergy between its relationships in motorcycling and the game of pool.

The Billiard Congress of America is dedicated to promoting and growing cue sports worldwide through industry research and promotion, participating in the process of Olympic recognition, hosting amateur, junior and professional tournaments, and supporting its business members by enhancing the image of billiards and broadening its appeal.

“The Billiard Congress of America is enthusiastic about our partnership with Sport Management, Inc. to promote BCA events and the sport of billiards,” said Stephen D. Ducoff, Executive Director of the BCA. “We have exciting amateur and pro tournaments, a huge league program and plans to enhance the image and promote the game nationally to all ages. Pool is a lifetime sport and with the assistance of Sport Management, we are confident we will make ‘Pool – Everybody’s Game.'”

Sport Management will initially support and assist the BCA in national cable network TV negotiations, and will build marketing platforms for the widely-recognized BCA Open 9-Ball Championships, which will be held May 12-18, 2002, at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Top professional athletes Jeanette Lee (aka the “Black Widow”) and Corey Deuel will return to defend their national titles. The pro event runs concurrent to the BCA National 8-Ball Championships, where 7,500 amateur players compete for over $750,000 in prize money. The amateur players are members of the BCA’s league
system that has over 50,000 sanctioned members throughout North America.

“There’s a new breed of pool player in the game today, and it’s about fitness, finesse, and an overall professionalism – much like the modern-day motorcyclist,” said Tom Mueller, president of Sport Management. “We have been fortunate to participate in many successful promotions in the motorcycle industry, and we believe that cross-marketing billiards and motorcycling makes sense. We will be working to identify corporate partners who are interested in new promotional ideas that break through the clutter and attract attention.”

Over 37 million consumers play pool in America. Companies can contact Sport Management, Inc. at 614.899.9476 to learn more about programs and opportunities with the Billiard Congress of America.



And now this comment, in response to our posting:

Thanks for running the media release re: the Billiards Congress. We have seen some excellent billiards/NASCAR cross-promotion, and we want to apply this model to motorcycle racing.

Tom Mueller
Sport Management, Inc.
5805 Chandler Court, Suite A-2
Westerville, OH 43082
614.899.9476
614.899.6917 fax
[email protected]
www.sportmanager.com