From a press release:

COUNTRY RIDERS IN STRONG POSITION TO CHALLENGE FOR FORMULA XTREME GLORY THIS WEEKEND AT WINTON RACEWAY

The depth of Australia’s young motorcycle road racing talent will be on display at the second round of the 2002 Yamaha Extreme Tri-State that will be held at Winton Raceway, Benalla, Victoria, this weekend, April 13 & 14.

Shepparton’s Craig Coxhell, Ballarat’s Liam Magee and Wagga’s Craig McMartin are but three riders who will be out to challenge for top honours in the weekend’s premier Formula Xtreme category, that will be coming to the Victorian rural circuit for the first time.

For each rider, Winton Raceway is classed as a home circuit and as with any rider they would like to excel at their ‘home’ track. The Winton circuit has been a successful place in the past for 19-year-old Coxhell. Riding for the extremely successful Radar’s Team Yamaha, he won the coveted Harvey Wilshire Memorial Trophy there last season. This year he is aboard the awesome Yamaha YZF-R1 and currently lies third overall after one round of the series.

“I like Winton a lot and would be looking at doing well there this weekend,” said Coxhell. “The new Yamaha YZF R1 is getting better all the time and the improved handling characteristics of the bike should suit the circuit. We tested briefly there a few weeks ago and I was happy with the results, but to be able to score a few race wins there is what I’m really after.”

Coxhell will be chasing defending champion and team-mate Robbie Baird, who leads the points chase in 2002, with 83 points, two ahead of three times champion Kevin Curtain on the third Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF R1. Coxhell lies fourth with 32 points, while Jamie Stauffer (Bio Magnetics Sport Yamaha YZF R1) is third with 39.

While Coxhell has got his season off to a solid start, fellow teenager Liam Magee has had mixed fortunes. He started off his season brilliantly at the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championship where he took a race win away from defending champion Shawn Giles. However, things were not as successful at Eastern Creek for the first Formula Xtreme meeting where he crashed his Suzuki GSX-R1000 heavily during Friday’s practice and had to withdraw from the remainder of the weekend.

This weekend though, Magee will be looking to get things back on track with every chance that he will be mixing it with the lead group.

Wagga’s Craig McMartin (26) will be one of the busier riders on the weekend as he takes to the Formula Xtreme races aboard his exotic Ducati 996R, before switching to his Ducati 996SPS to defend his Pro-Twins title.

For the 2002 season, McMartin has switched to Pirelli tyres and has had his hands full with having to assist with development of the new slick tyres as well as trying to extract the best out of his Ducati 996R.

“This weekend will be one of the best chances that we will have this year aboard the 996R,” McMartin said. “This circuit is well suited to the Ducati as it relies more on a better handling bike rather than a bike that just has pure speed. I’m confident of a good result there, but I know that it won’t be easy.”

Aside from his Formula Xtreme commitments, he will also be out to increase his lead in the Pro-Twins class. At present he holds an 18 point lead over Queensland’s Dave Fuller (Ducati 998S), with Sydney’s Mike Soderland (Aprilia RSV1000) currently third.

The country boys won’t have it their own way though as apart from Baird and Curtain there are a number of riders who are planning on taking victory in each of the four 8-lap sprint races that will be held on Sunday. Team Honda’s Josh Brookes (Honda CBR954RR) will be in contention as will Wayne Maxwell (Suzuki GSX-R1000) who returns to the series after missing the opening round of the series as he awaited confirmation of his racing plans for the season.

At the other end of the scale, there will be two very experienced and fast Kiwis on hand to take whatever they can from the meeting, Multiple New Zealand champions Tony Rees (Bikebiz Yamaha YZF R1) and Andrew Stroud (Suzuki GSX-R1000) will again be out to defend the Kiwi honour.

Formula Xtreme will not be the only class on the program. There are six further classes which offer a wide and diverse range of sports motorcycles and provide great action on the track. These include, Pro-Twins, Aprilia Challenge, Buell Nakedbikes, Streetfighter NK Lites and Formula Oz. As with each round of the series there will also be a separate race for the up and coming riders of the future, Formula X Unlimited. With the exception of this class, each other category will have four races, each of six laps.

In 2002, the Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State has incorporated a number of new and exciting features. Earlier this year it was announced that the Formula Xtreme class would gain exclusive rights on Network TEN, a first for a domestic motorcycle road race series in Australia.

This weekend, we will see another new innovation, with on-track TV and radio now available. Spectators and competitors alike will not only be able to watch the racing on the new giant Superscreen along with live interviews between races. Now for those who are not able to see the Superscreen or hear the PA system Formula Xtreme Promotions has just added both an on site UHF TV Channel and FM Radio channel to the list of things to see and hear at all of the remaining Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State events for 2002.

All you need is you television and radio to guarantee that you do not miss a minute of the action.

Round 2 of the Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State is on this weekend the 13-14th April at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria. Racing is from approx. 1:00 pm Saturday and 10:00 am Sunday.

Ticketing
Saturday GA Adult Admission $15
Sunday $25
Concessions $15.
Two day Pass $25
Children Under 15 free.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Qualifying Session Two results from the 24 Hours of Le Mans :

1. Suzuki-Castrol Racing Team #2 (Bayle/Dussauge/Gimbert), Superproduction, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:41.240
2. GMT 94 (Guyot/Scarnato/Costes), Superproduction, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:41.405
3. Suzuki-Castrol Racing Team #1 (Lavielle/Morrison/Dobe), Superproduction, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:41.593
4. Yamaha Free Bike (Deletang/Holon/Lagrive), Superbike, Yam YZF-R7, 1:41.713
5. Junior Team – LMS (Jond/Da Costa/Dietrich), Superproduction, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:42.010
6. QB Phase One Endurance (Pridmore/Mertens/Nowland), Superproduction, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:42.206
7. Agyltech Racing Team (Sebilleau/D’Orgeix/Moreira), Superbike, Kaw ZX-7RR, 1:42.934
8. Team Daffix – France Equipment (Stey/Cogan/Chapentier), Superproduction, Hon CBR954RR, 1:43.064
9. Team Dap Motomax Unisson (Gallis/Cortinovis/Lerat-Vanstaen), Superproduction, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:43.732
10. Bolliger Team Switzerland (Kellenberger/Stamm/Hinterreiter), Superproduction, Kaw ZX-9R,1:44.285

Quick facts:

Due to a conflict between organizers of the Le Mans race and Octagon Motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is not a round of the 2002 FIM Endurance World Championship series. Several permanent teams from the Endurance World Championship, however, are competing in the prestigious Le Mans race.

The Le Mans track has been reconfigured. The “La Chapelle” hairpin turn, after the Dunlop bridge, has been reconfigued into a more-flowing, decreasing radius right-hander. Giving positive feedback on the new layout, some top riders have said that the change makes the track more technical but removes a main passing zone. The track’s length remains at just under 2.6 miles.

There are 65 entries for the race.

The race is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time/6:00 a.m. Pacific Time Saturday, April 13.

From a press release:

CLEAR CHANNEL ENTERTAINMENT’S MOTOR SPORTS DIVISION AND AMA PRO RACING ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR SUPERCROSS AGREEMENT

Aurora, Ill. (April 12, 2002) – Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division and AMA Pro Racing today announced a seven year agreement for the 2003-2009 AMA Supercross seasons, extending the 28-year relationship between the two organizations. The agreement provides that AMA Pro Racing will continue to sanction all supercross motorcycle races produced and promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment in the United States. After lengthy discussions, both groups concluded that working together was in the best interest of supercross riders, fans, sponsors, television viewers, race teams, AMA Pro Racing and Clear Channel Entertainment, and positions supercross for significant future growth.

Charlie Mancuso, president of Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division, said “We are proud to announce the continuation of our long-standing relationship with AMA Pro Racing, and are thrilled to focus all of our efforts on taking the sport of supercross to the next level and beyond. Our job is to work hand-in-hand with AMA Pro Racing to continue the rapid growth and development of the most successful motorcycle racing series in the world. We want to thank the riders, fans, race teams and sponsors for all of their patience and support during the past few months.”

PJ Harvey, newly elected chairman of AMA Pro Racing, said, “The last few months have felt a bit like a lap around a supercross track – fast, furious and with its fair share of bumps. But in the end, we have come to realize that continuing our relationship with Clear Channel Entertainment most effectively meets the needs of AMA Pro Racing to continue growing the sport. We’re very excited to continue working together with Clear Channel and share Charlie’s sentiments that it’s time to focus on the future.”

The following are the 16 events on the 2003 AMA Supercross Series schedule:

Jan 4 Edison International Field Anaheim, Calif.

Jan 11 Bank One Ballpark Phoenix

Jan 18 Edison International Field Anaheim, Calif.

Jan 25 Pacific Bell Park San Francisco

Feb 1 Edison International Field Anaheim, Calif.

Feb 8 Qualcomm Stadium San Diego

Feb 15 Metrodome Minneapolis

Feb 22 Georgia Dome Atlanta

Mar 1 RCA Dome Indianapolis

Mar 8 Daytona International Speedway Daytona, Fla.

Mar 22 Edward Jones Dome St. Louis

Mar 29 Reliant Park Houston

Apr 5 Silverdome Pontiac, Mich.

Apr 12 Texas Stadium Dallas

Apr 26 Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City

May 3 Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas

The 16 rounds of the 2003 AMA Supercross Series, combined with two international events which will take place in December of 2002 will comprise the 18-round 2002-2003 FIM Supercross World Championship.

About Clear Channel Entertainment Clear Channel Entertainment, a leading producer and marketer of live entertainment events, is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Worldwide (NYSE: CCU), a global leader in the out-of-home advertising industry. Clear Channel Entertainment currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books approximately 135 live entertainment venues, including more than 100 in North American and 30 in Europe. In 2001, more than 66 million people attended approximately 26,000 events promoted and/or produced by the company, including: Live music events; Broadway, West End and touring theatrical shows; family entertainment shows; and specialized sports and motor sports events. The company, which operates throughout North America, Europe, South America and Australia, also owns independently operated athlete representation businesses, which provide management, marketing and financial consulting services to many of the world’s top professional athletes. More information may be found by visiting www.cc.com and www.clearchannel.com.

About AMA Pro Racing AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its Championships include the AMA EA SPORTS Supercross Series, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship and the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. FlatTrack Championship. More than 1.7 million fans attended AMA Pro Racing events during the 2001 season.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Following the Formula Xtreme race at California Speedway last Sunday, protests against Damon Buckmaster’s winning Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R7/R1 were filed by Mike Hale, Tom Kipp, Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Jake Zemke.

The protests signed by Kipp, Pridmore and Rapp were written and printed out by Pat Alexander of American Suzuki’s Sports Promotion Department, and presented to Kipp, Pridmore and Rapp to sign and turn in. All three riders are directly contracted to American Suzuki Motor Corp. and have been assigned to ride for Valvoline EMGO Suzuki, Attack Suzuki and Corona EBSCO Suzuki, respectively.

Hale and Zemke are both contracted directly to American Honda Motor Co. and have been assigned to ride for Erion Honda and Bruce Transportation Honda, respectively.

For the first time in over a year, AMA officials actually accepted a protest regarding the legality of the YZF-R7 chassis in the class. In the past, AMA officials have refused to even accept a protest. Last year, AMA officials told representatives of competing teams that Buckmaster’s bike had a “one-year exemption” for 2001 and would not be racing in 2002, once Yamaha introduced the new, second-generation YZF-R1.

The rule in question reads:

“Formula Xtreme competition is restricted to motorcycles (engines and frames) produced for street use and available in the U.S. through retail dealers. A list of eligible motorcycles is available from AMA Pro Racing.”

At issue is the fact that the YZF-R7 was never sold for street use in the United States and was not certified by Yamaha as meeting U.S. DOT and EPA regulations for street motorcycles.

On page 27 of the October 17, 2001 issue of Cycle News, a Yamaha advertisement touting Aaron Gobert’s Formula Xtreme victory at Virginia International Raceway (on an R1-powered YZF-R7) referred to the win as “starring Aaron Gobert and the YZF-R1.”

AMA Pro Racing has not produced any list of eligible motorcycles, despite repeated requests from team managers, crew chiefs and riders.

The controversy was set off when Richard Stanboli of Attack Performance built a YZF-R7 racebike with a YZF-R1 engine. When he arrived at the 2000 Sears Point AMA National with the bike, Stanboli was told the machine was not legal and drove back to his shop in Southern California to retrieve an R1 frame.

Stanboli later built a combination R1/R7 chassis that passed tech at subsequent AMA Nationals after a lengthy debate that at one point included an argument over whether or not the chassis was more R7 than R1 or vice-versa.

The chassis of the YZF-R7, which was built expressly as a limited-production homologation special for World Superbike competition, made a far better racebike platform than the production YZF-R1 chassis, according to Stanboli. Limited numbers of YZF-R7 Yamahas were sold in the United States, and at the time of the bike’s introduction, Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. spokesmen said the bike was for racing use only in the U.S. and that buyers would have to produce a racing resume to be eligible to purchase a YZF-R7.

Stanboli has since switched to racing Suzukis and builds Pridmore’s GSX-R1000, and objects to what he sees as receiving different treatment when he fielded an R7 versus the treatment Graves Motorsports is receiving now.

“This has been an on-going thing, as everybody knows,” said American Suzuki’s Alexander. “Honda approached that when the bike originally came out. Erion Honda originally protested the bike when it came out. Attack (Racing) tried to make the very same motorcycle and was denied. That was two years ago. We believe that the bike should not be in the Formula Xtreme class as the rule is written. We still have not heard yet. They have not informed any of our riders as of April 11. The riders protested when Suzuki asked them to protest the unit.”

“It’s illegal,” said Erion Racing’s Kevin Erion of Buckmaster’s R1-powered YZF-R7. “My understanding of the rule is that the motorcycle has to be a motorcycle that was available for sale in the United States through normal retail channels as a streetbike. My understanding is that chassis is an R7 chassis. The R7 was never for sale as a streetbike; it was only for sale in the United States through racer resume approval from Yamaha. The fact that you can purchase it, and whether it’s legal is two different matters. It doesn’t matter that you can purchase it. What matters is that in the AMA rulebook it says it has to be a legal streetbike, and I don’t believe if you contacted the federal government and asked them to…if you gave them a VIN (vehicle identification number) number of a R7, would it come up as a legal motorcycle that was made for sale in the United States? Did it pass the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and DOT (Department of Transportation) approval? And I believe my understanding through everybody that I’ve spoken to, including people pretty close in at Yamaha, is that bike was never a streetbike. It was only sold as a racebike. Whether they dropped the process of approval for resumed racers because they couldn’t sell them so they just kind of opened it to anybody that would buy one is irrelevant to the fact that it wasn’t a streetbike.

“Whether they sold a kit, after the fact, that you could convert it to a streetbike, to me I don’t know how they could do that if it wasn’t a DOT or EPA-approved motorcycle. You can buy four-stroke off-road bikes and go buy a kit and put lights and turn signals on it and get it registered. That doesn’t mean it’s a legal streetbike. Just because the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) will put a license plate on something doesn’t mean it’s already gone through all the proper federal government standards for safety and emissions,” continued Erion.

Asked if he had heard anything back from the AMA on the protest, Erion said, “No, no. My opinion was, and still is, that I was told by the AMA that they were going to take care of this problem at the end of last year, and that I didn’t have to worry about it and they were going to change the rule and they were going to make sure that bike was not going to be legal and it was an 11th-hour decision on the AMA’s part to allow it to race again. I brought it up every time I received a proposed rule change for the AMA, at the end of last year going through the beginning of this season, before they actually printed the rulebook. I kept calling and saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got nothing on the R7 in here.’ (Erion speaking as the AMA) ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry. We’re going to change that. That’s not a proposed rule. That’s already a done deal.’

“So they basically told me not to worry, I didn’t have to get too upset about it because they were going to take care of the situation. Then once the rulebook was printed and there were no changes in it, I asked why. And I believe Merrill Vanderslice’s quote to me was, ‘Well, we had pretty good racing last year. It seems that everybody, every manufacturer won at least a race, and we don’t know how long the Formula Xtreme class is gonna be in existence. So we don’t see a need to change it.’

“Well, if that were the case, then they should’ve changed the rulebook to allow the bike to really be legal. If they didn’t change the rulebook, they didn’t change the rule, but they’re saying that it’s OK to let the bike run. If that’s the case, then they should’ve changed the rule,” said Erion.

When a reporter pointed out that Erion seemed to have the situation pretty well thought out, Erion said, “I don’t have this thought out at all. I’ve been living with it for the last three years. There’s no thought process behind it. It’s strictly what happened; a turn of events that’s occurred over the last couple of years. I, to be honest with you, was a little upset that other competitors not running Yamahas started calling me after the last Fontana practice (test) session when Buckmaster did some pretty good lap times. ‘Hey Kevin, what’s going on here? We think this bike’s illegal.’ Where were you a year ago? Where were you six months ago? Where you three months ago? Why are you calling me now? Hello?

“As far as the other competitors go, my opinion is, and I don’t know for fact or fiction whether or not anyone else has been following this as closely as I have, but I feel pretty comfortable with my language to the AMA, my conversations over the last six months with the AMA, or seven months, and also I feel comfortable enough to say right up until the point that the rulebook was printed I was told not to worry about it, that the bike would not be allowed to be raced. Mostly my conversations early on were with Ron Barrick. Ron told me not to worry about it.”

Asked about the situation, Chuck Graves of Graves Motorsports said he had not seen copies of any signed protests by any riders and said “There was no rule change from 2000 to now. It was allowed in 2000, it was allowed in 2001, and it is allowed in 2002. When I asked at Brainerd last year if there were going to be rule changes made for Formula Xtreme, (AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition) Merrill Vanderslice said there was no reason to make any rule changes, because we have good, competitive racing. What Merrill said was, ‘I’m really happy with the competitiveness of the class. All the manufacturers are sharing positions on the podium, and race wins. I see no reason to make any rule changes.'”

From a press release:

Formula USA Announces Test & Tune Days, Houston Raceway Park April 25-26

AURORA, Ill (Thursday, April 11, 2002) – Clear Channel Entertainment’s motor sports division announced today that Formula USA and Houston Raceway Park are cooperating to provide two days of testing for production based motorcycle dirt trackers prior to the Foremost Insurance Houston Half-Mile, round 1 of the Formula USA National Dirt Track Series, presented by Drag Specialties.

With bonus money offered by Formula USA along with contingency by several motorcycle manufacturers for production chassis motorcycles, several riders and teams are rapidly preparing for the 2002 Formula USA National Dirt Track Series presented by Drag Specialties. The Formula USA Production Based Chassis bonus for select series events including the season opener in Houston is a total of $5,000 with $2,000 going to the highest placing production chassis.

Mike Kidd, vice president of Clear Channel Entertainment’s motor sports division, said, “Our vision for the growth of dirt track motorcycle racing is simple; race what the dealers actually sell. Having motorcycles on the track that spectators can relate to will certainly help grow the sport and we are fortunate to have our opener with a promoter that is willing to work with us while developing our new class structure.”

Aftermarket racing chassis has been the choice of professional dirt track riders for decades. However with the new lightweight versatile 4-stroke racing motorcycles on the market, Formula USA is creating a class structure to increase support to dirt track racing and to increase spectator attendance. Although the future will call for production chassis only, the 2002 season will see aftermarket racing chassis and production chassis competing together.

Bob Moran, Formula USA dirt track director, said, “I believe we have done our homework and developed rules for a very competitive and interesting season. This test will be very beneficial for everyone to insure competitive racing throughout the year.”

The Formula USA Test & Tune Day in Houston will be exclusively available and free of charge to riders entered in the Foremost Insurance Houston Half-Mile event.

Formula USA Test & Tune schedule:

Thursday, April 25th
3:00PM – Gates Open
4:00PM – Tech Inspection
6:30PM – Riders Meeting
7:00PM – Practice
9:00PM – Practice Concludes

Friday, April 26th
12:00PM – Gates Open
1:00PM – Tech Inspection
2:30PM – Riders Meeting
3:00PM – Practice
5:30PM – Break/Track Preparation
7:00PM – Practice
9:00PM – Practice Concludes

The Foremost Insurance Houston Half-Mile, season opener of the Formula USA National Dirt Track Series, takes place Saturday night April 27th at Houston Raceway Park. Kids can see it all for just $5, and adult tickets are $18 in advance and $2 more the day of show. Tickets for the Houston Half-Mile can be purchased at Houston Raceway Park, by calling 281-383-7223, your local Ticketmaster outlet, or online at www.dirttrack.com.

Houston Raceway Park is located east of Houston in Baytown, From downtown Houston take Interstate 10 east towards Beaumont. Take the Hwy. 146 exit which is exit #797. Take a right on Hwy. 146 and go to the first stop light which is FM 565. Take a left on 565 and Houston Raceway Park will be on the left side about 3 miles.

For more information, visit www.houstonraceway.com or www.dirttrack.com.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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This Miguel Duhamel Shoei motorcycle helmet was donated by Shoei Safety Helmet Corporation to be auctioned off to benefit the Roadracingworld.com Action Fund, a new non-profit corporation which has taken over the work previously done by the informally-organized Roadracing World Air Fence* Fund. Autographed by all-time AMA Superbike and 600cc Supersport win leader Miguel Duhamel, this helmet is technically not a replica, but instead is an actual Miguel Duhamel helmet.

Shoei only makes the X-SPII model in Duhamel’s Troy Lee-designed paint scheme for Duhamel himself to wear in races. Duhamel replicas that are sold to the public are only made in the less-expensive, entry-level RF900 model.

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This special lid is in brand new, never-worn condition. It is currently set up for a “Small” size, but Shoei’s Motorsports Manager Rob Vallejos says that the helmet can be re-fitted for any size, up to Large, with a swap of the helmet’s 3-D Liner internal padding system. Vallejos said he would be happy to help re-fit the helmet for the winning bidder.

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Like all new Shoei X-SPIIs, this helmet comes with a clear and a smoked CX-1 face shield, a breath guard, a chin curtain, a maintenance kit, owner’s manual, fleece-lined carrying bag, original box and a five-year warranty. Of course, only this helmet comes with Miguel Duhamel’s signature in white paint marker on the back!

Normal Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price for a Shoei X-SPII replica helmet is a little under $800.

The auction is due to close at approximately 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Thursday, April 18. To go directly to the auction, click on the following link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1820700776

Roadracing World has a couple of items remaining that will be put up for auction in the near future, but we are always looking for more pieces of racing memorabilia, collectibles, products and/or services to be donated to benefit the Roadracing.com Action Fund. If you have an item that you would like to donate for auction, please call Roadracing World’s David Swarts at 909-245-6411 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.

The Roadracing World Air Fence Fund was established in April 2001 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. In less than one year, the Fund has raised over $174,000, with over $11,000 coming from the auctions of donated racing memorabilia such as this helmet. For more information about the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund, including a full accounting of the collections and disbursements and stories about racers being saved by soft barriers, go to the www.roadracingworld.com home page and click on the Air Fence headline.

The Roadracingworld.com Action Fund has taken over the work of the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund and will continue to use donations to buy and deploy Air Fence and Air Modules to improve racetrack safety.

*Air Fence is a trademark of Airfence Safety Systems of Australia.

From a press release:

Racers to ‘Move the Mountain Safety Project’ at Summit Point Raceway

Things are changing at Summit Point Raceway in wild and wonderful West Virginia. Over the winter, some extra concrete walls were erected in front of embankments to keep out-of-control cars contained within the racetrack and not vaulting through or over spectator fences. Stacks of tires bolted together are placed in front of these walls. These walls and tirestacks have a negative effect on any vehicle or human that runs into them at speed. Racing motorcycles have been broken in half on impact with these immovable barriers. Kart racers have the same problem. For motorcycle racers to hit these objects, it is a certain trip to the hospital or even worse. SCCA racers hate to hit anything, too. So, what is the solution?

The ‘Move the Mountain Safety Project’ at Summit Point Raceway (www.mtm.nbinteractive.com) has been established by racers for racers in co-operation with Summit Point Raceway management and all users of the track.

The big problem area is ‘the chute’ between turns 4 and 5 on racers’ left. Racers fly down the chute at over 100 mph and have to turn right in the off-camber turn 4 and then jump on the brakes to set up for left hand turn 5. On the racers’ left is an earthen and rock embankment just 30 feet from the track. With the concrete wall and tire stacks in front of the embankment, there is not enough room to save it if you leave the racetrack at 100 mph. Racing technology and speed increases every year and we need to come up with safety solutions to keep our sport healthy and in good hands. As racers, we need to be pro-active for our own safety. Roger Lyle, former motorcycle racer, former President of the Mid-Atlantic Roadracing Club (MARRC) for 18 years, and also current National Safety Director for Formula USA Motorcycle Roadracing, arranged a meeting with Mr. Bill Scott, owner of SPR, and national motorcycle champions David Yaakov of CAD Racing and Greg Harrison of WGH Excavation Inc., and team owner of Loudoun Motorsports Racing, and laid out the options available.

The ideal solution would be to have ample run-off room, move the embankment back as far as possible, install a pea gravel trap to slow off-track vehicles, and put the wall and tire stacks 80 to 100 feet back up against the remaining embankment. There still may be a need to purchase some foam safety barriers to put in front of the tire stacks to keep cycles and karts from impacting the hard stacked tires. These foam barriers can be used by karts and cycles on their weekends. Area to be excavated is roughly 300 feet long by 100 feet wide. Depending on the amount of rock to be removed or blasted these dimensions could be smaller.

The ‘Move the Mountain Safety Project’ has been presented to the board of directors for MARRC, WKC, and SCCA. Each group’s suggestions and needs are being considered and incorporated in the master plan to benefit all users of Summit Point Raceway. WERA, CCS, F-USA, NESBA, and Team Pro-Motion have been contacted too.

So, how do you get involved? The ‘Move the Mountain Safety Project’ needs money. We hope to raise $50,000 to cover the excavation costs and purchase some foam safety barriers for the cycles and karts. Mr. Bill Scott has pledged that he will match us dollar for dollar. Any leftover money will be put into other safety improvements for Summit Point Raceway that will benefit everybody who visits Summit Point. All contributors will be listed on the MOVE the MOUNTAIN website at www.mtm.nbinteractive.com. Check out this site for excavation updates and notes from the enthusiasts who support this project. Thanks to Ryan Chapin of Nuts and Bolts Interactive at www.nbracesites.com for providing this website for Move the Mountain Safety Project. Thanks to everybody who has gotten involved already.

Make checks payable to Move the Mountain.
Donations to the fund can be sent to:
Move the Mountain
4413 Sigsbee Road
Wheaton, MD 20906

For more information, call Roger Lyle at 301-933-2599 or e-mail [email protected]., or www.mtm.nbinteractive.com. Your contribution will definitely make racing at Summit Point safer and more fun for all. With your support, we can ensure the future of great road racing at Summit Point Raceway. After all, “Summit Point is Road Racing!”

From Shawn McDonald:

The Alan Schwen cancer fund-raising party at the Paragon Restaurant on April 7 was a smashing success, collecting $19,000 on silent bids, live auctions and entrance fees.

The event coordinated by Rick Salmon of SB Motorsports and the Cunio brothers from Paragon restaurant saw over 300 people jam the restaurant to talk and enjoy the free food and beverages.

Almost all the items for auction were donated by motorcycle dealers in the Washington state area. Among the top items for bidding were a Honda XR50R from South Sound Honda; a Malaguti Fogarty Replica scooter from Malaguti USA, Seattle Ducati and Darryl and Sherri Havens; and a framed, autographed GP Heroes print and frame of Schwantz, Doohan and Rainey from Shawn McDonald.

Alan was more than surprised by the support from the local motorcycling community and thanks everyone who helped and participated in the event.

Alan is planning on racing next week at Pacific Raceway in Kent, Washington next week in an attempt to retain his WMRRA #1 plate. Alan said that after waiting a suitable amount of time in case of a relapse, any funds that remain will be donated to the WMRRA injured rider fund.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Honda Racing Teams Manager Chuck Miller called Roadracingworld.com Wednesday to update the medical conditions of Kurtis Roberts, who injured a knee and an ankle Friday, and Nicky Hayden, who underwent LASIK surgery Tuesday.

“There is no major damage in the knee,” said Miller of Roberts. “He went back (to Dr. Art Ting’s clinic Wednesday). They did another MRI again. He did have some more fluid on it, and they drained out a little bit more fluid. It continues to swell up like that, but there’s no internal damage. They’re not planning on doing any kind of surgery.

“He will take this week off and have no activity and keep it elevated and iced and things like that. Then next week, they’re going to put together a rehab program for him. He will not attend the Road Atlanta test (next week). He will stay home and start his rehabilitation. So that’s where we’re at. Kind of good news. We most definitely expect to have him back on the bike at Sears.”

Roberts suffered injuries to his right knee and left ankle in a highside crash Friday, April 5 during Superbike qualifying for the AMA Superbike race at California Speedway. The injury to Roberts’ right knee prevented him from racing in rounds two and three of the AMA Superbike series, but Roberts also hurt his left ankle in the fall.

“It’s improving too,” said Miller. “He had shattered that ankle a long time ago. He said anytime he ever hits it or bangs it, the thing wants to swell up big.”

When asked about Nicky Hayden’s LASIK eye surgery, Miller said, “That all went good. He went back to the doctor today. Everything came out fine, him and Roger both, actually.”

In a separate phone interview, American Honda Motorsports Media Manager Greg Wright told Roadracingworld.com that he had planned on Roberts taking part in an autograph session for American Honda employees at the company’s Torrance, California campus Thursday, April 11 but didn’t expect Roberts to make the event now. The meet-and-greet session is still slated to include Honda Superbike racers Miguel Duhamel and Nicky Hayden along with Honda’s Team Kool Green CART race car drivers Paul Tracy and Dario Franchitti, who are in town for the Grand Prix of Long Beach.