This just in From Harley-Davidson:

HARLEY-DAVIDSON ENDS FACTORY SUPERBIKE RACING PROGRAM

Factory VR1000 Race Team to Retire from AMA Superbike Series after Season Finale

MILWAUKEE, WI (August 28, 2001) – Harley-Davidson announced today the Company has chosen to end its factory VR 1000 Superbike racing program and retire from the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Superbike series after the final round of the 2001 season at Virginia International Raceway on September 28-30.

“Our development team took a hard look at rebuilding the program this year, and what it would take to bring the VR 1000 to a competitive level and replace it with a new design. Harley-Davidson has determined the resources required to do that are simply too costly to pursue given our other business priorities,” said team manager John Baker.

The VR 1000 Superbike racing program helped Harley-Davidson develop and refine technologies such as liquid-cooling and electronic fuel injection. The program also led to the development Harley-Davidson’s first production liquid-cooled motorcycle, the VRSCA V-Rod(tm), which was introduced this summer.

Despite memorable performances in the 8-year history of Harley-Davidson’s Superbike racing program, including a pole position in 1996, and podium finishes by Pascal Picotte as recently as 1999, Harley-Davidson has concluded the VR 1000 is at the end of its development cycle and is no longer competitive in the AMA Superbike series.

“I’m thankful and proud of the dedicated efforts of our racers, Gemini Racing Technologies, the Harley-Davidson development team and external partners,” said Director of Racing John Baker. “Hundreds of talented people worked on the VR 1000 Superbike program from its inception. They gave thousands of Harley fans a thrill at racetracks around the country, while teaching the Company a great deal about high performance technology.”

Harley-Davidson has competed in various forms of motorcycle racing since 1914, winning countless races and championships at the national and world level. The company will continue to field a factory team in U.S. national dirt track events. Harley-Davidson also plans to enter the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing series with a new effort, the Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines Pro Stock team, which is currently developing a new highly modified race motorcycle for competition.

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