This challenge to the AMA just in from Jim Barry of Barry Motorsports, sponsor of Chuck Chouinard, via FAX to Roadracing World headquarters:

I am going to offer this to the AMA:

We will put a stock (brand-new) motor in our frame and Chuck will get into the 1:13s at Loudon. If he doesn’t, we will drop our appeal, never race in an AMA event again, and I will pay $200 a month for three years that is to be paid as a purse to 750cc Supersport racers.

If he does get into the 1:13s, the AMA will send a written apology to all our sponsors, every major racing publication and Chuck, and have Rob King and his sidekick Terry removed from their tech inspection duties!

Here is a brief summary of how slanderous their attack on Chuck’s competitiveness is:

–Chuck is a 12-time LRRS Champion (four on a Honda 600, four on a Suzuki 750, four on a Yamaha R1)

–Chuck has the club track record at Loudon, 1:12.6 (I believe Jeff Wood also did a 1:12.6 this year) which was done on a (Yamaha YZF-) R1 with triple trees, ignition advance, pipe, airbox and slicks. The motor has never had its cases split! I still have the bike if they wanted to tech that, too!

–Chuck is the 1998 AMA Horizon Award winner (for road racing) (which he said he would stick up their ass if he had it with him)

–Chuck finished 10th in this year’s Daytona 750 SS. race with 132.5 hp. Check the dyno computer!

–Chuck finished 8th in F-USA (this year’s) with the same bike, 132.5 hp

–Chuck finished 2nd to Jamie Bowman at the 1999 F-USA 126 HP race at Pocono with 118 or 119 hp!

In the weekend prior to the AMA (event at) Loudon Chuck did the following:

–1:14.08 on a 2001 GSX-R600 with Hindle exhaust, cams degreed and race gas. That motor is available if the AMA still thinks he is uncompetitive!

–1:13.1 on the bike he rode in the Loudon National.

And on the third lap of the Loudon 2001 Superbike race the shift pedal broke. Chuck finished 16th in the race and averaged 1:15.87 using fourth gear only!

I have also enclosed our appeal letter to the AMA. If there is any questions or advice please call (603) 759-3288.

Thanks,
Jim Barry

In his appeal of Couinard’s disqualification at Loudon, Barry wrote:

“We are requesting to have Chuck Chouinard’s 2nd place disaqualification in the Loudon 750cc Supersport race reversed on the following grounds:

“1. The determining factors concerning the valves being illegal were inconclusive. The valves were not altered, they were cleaned using a method that is common practice.

“2. Chuck was discriminated against for his weight, as if there was a pre-determined lap time a bigger than average rider could go on his home track without being suspicious.

“If there are any questions please call.”

The letter was addressed to “Director of Competition, AMA Pro Racing” and was signed by both Chouinard and Barry.

From a Ducati Press Release:

“This weekend’s San Marino Round of the World Superbike Championship is particularly significant for Ducati Corse and title sponsor Infostrada as confirmation is made that their ultra-successful WSBK partnership is to continue for the next three years. Since the three-year deal started in 1999, Ducati and Infostrada have finished on the podium 56 times in 65 races, with team riders picking up a total of 20 wins. The Italian telecommunications company and Ducati Corse have always shared the same values and philosophy – competition, technology and speed, as well as team spirit and the capacity to emerge – and this exciting experience, which last year saw the creation of the Ducati Infostrada World Superbike team, has now led to the partnership being renewed for a further three years.

“‘Infostrada is a telecommunications company that has chosen to be a protagonist wherever sport unites people, because this world arouses the passion of our target public: young, dynamic and open to innovation,’ commented Riccardo Ruggiero, Infostrada Managing Director. ‘We are very proud of the great success obtained together with Ducati and it is with real enthusiasm that we have decided to renew our partnership for a further three years’.

“‘We are particularly delighted with the trust that Infostrada has wished to confirm in us for the next three years. To be able to count on the support of such a motivated and enthusiastic partner will allow us to tackle future commitments in the best possible way’, added Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Corse Managing Director on the renewal of the accord.

“Meanwhile Ducati Infostrada’s championship leader Troy Bayliss heads to this weekend’s San Marino World Superbike round at Misano Adriatico firmly set on increasing his points lead in the 13-round championship.

“The 32-year-old from Taree, Australia showed real determination in difficult conditions at the Lausitzring, Germany two weeks ago when he picked up his third win of the year on his 996R Factory. This result, together with second place in the opening race, helped boost Bayliss’s championship lead to 23 points over Edwards (Honda). ‘It was a really good win in Germany and I managed to increase my championship lead, but there’s still a long way to go – six more rounds including this one at Misano – and anything can happen’, said Bayliss, who scored a brace of seconds on his first visit to the Santamonica circuit last year.

“‘But we’re looking good and feeling confident for the remaining races. Misano is a circuit I really like and the Ducatis have gone well there in the past, but it’s going to be a really tough weekend for everyone especially if it’s as hot as it was last week.’

“Ducati L&M rider Ben Bostrom received a major boost from last week’s scorching test session as he powered his Ducati 996R Factory bike to an impressive third place in the timesheets on a circuit he enjoys like no other. The 27-year-old from Redding, California, who also grabbed a podium place in last year’s race, is adamant he wants to put his recent disappointing form behind him. ‘I expect to win this weekend at Misano’, declared Bostrom. ‘Although I like to think I’ll go well at every circuit, you never know until the weekend comes, but after last week’s test the bike is working well and so are the tires. This race has to be the start of a series of good results for me. There was nothing more disappointing than Monza and then not being in a position to win at Donington made things even more painful.'”

After finishing second in the Suzuki Genuine Accessories 750cc Supersport race at New Hampshire International Speedway on Saturday, June 16, Barry Motorsports/Sparks Steak House’s Chuck Chouinard was disqualified for illegal engine modifications. But Chouinard’s engine builder, White Tip Racing’s Michael Cox, says that Chouinard was unfairly disqualified.

In a telephone call to Roadracing World Tuesday June 19, Cox said that he was informed by Jim Barry, owner of Barry Motorsports, that Chouinard was approached by AMA technical officials after the 750cc Supersport race.

“(They) asked him, ‘How big are you?'” paraphrased Cox from reports he received from Barry. “Chuck tells him, and his little running joke is, ‘186 pounds, but I’m really 230.’ Something like that. This is what (they) told him. ‘You’re seven tenths (of a second) off of Miguel Duhamel’s times and there’s no way a guy your size can be that competitive. We’re gonna tear you down to the crank.’ So basically, the guy was guilty from the word go whether they had seen anything or not. So automatically he’s cheating because he doesn’t have enough skill to go around that track even though he probably has hundreds of thousands of laps around the track.”

Chouinard’s second-place finish in the 24-lap 750cc Supersport final earned him a mandatory trip to post-race technical inspection. “(AMA tech officials) proceed to check the stroke, the bore, and everything else that they possibly could on (Chouinard’s) motor. They actually did tear that motor down to the crank. They didn’t do that with the other podium finishers. They checked the stuff that they were supposed to check on all three guys. They tore (Chouinard) completely down but not the other two guys.

“They tore him down to the crank and couldn’t find a damn thing illegal about the motor. Finally, they took one of the valves out of the head. They take it into the trailer and do their little thing with their microscope or what not. They come out after a few minutes and say, ‘You’re disqualified. Your valves are no good.’ Because they had scuffs on them from cleaning.

“Jim Barry called me right away. I got on the phone with (AMA Pro Racing Superbike Operations Manager) Ron Barrick. (Barrick) tells me, ‘These look like they were put in a lathe and had material removed.’ I said, ‘No sir. That’s not what happened.’ He says, ‘Well, that’s what they look like. Either that or you took sandpaper to them or Scotch-Brite.’

“At that point, I didn’t want to get into it with him because I could tell from the tone of his voice that no matter what I was gonna say to him, it was gonna be wrong regardless. He tells me in the rulebook it specifically says that you can’t take any metal off of the motor, period. It also says, ‘Light cleaning of gasket surfaces with steel wool, Scoth-Brite, etc. is allowed.’ So that’s not the case. Then he tried to tell me, ‘Well, it also has a catch-all rule, if it doesn’t say you can, you can’t.’ When actually, it doesn’t say that. It says, ‘Only the modifications listed in this section are permitted. No other changes from showroom stock will be allowed.’ How is cleaning a modification? If cleaning is a modification, then every bike out there is illegal because you have to be able to clean your parts.

“So in a sense, a privateer guy rides six months. He’s got a lot of talent, but not a lot of money. He rides for six months on one set of valves and then decides, ‘Hey the big race is coming. I need to get my stuff straight.’ He gets the valves out and they’re a little pitted or something. So he can’t re-face those? He has to buy a brand new set of valves which is gonna cost the retail guy $400 or something. He can’t clean his valves? That means that every other race he needs to pull his old valves out, thrown them in the trash and buy a new set.

“I also asked Ron Barrick to take that valve and measure it with another stock valve and just make sure that there was no material removed. What I call material is metal, actually metal shavings, putting it in a lathe and tearing metal off of it. Well, (Barrick) wasn’t gonna do it. He wasn’t having it. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter. They have marks on them.’

“Jim Barry went and talked to some factory mechanics and asked how do you do this (clean carbon off valves)? They came right out and said, ‘You put them in a drill. You spray some WD40 or some brake cleaner or whatever you’ve got on them. You put a little Scotch-Brite on them, and you knock off the carbon.’

“All I’m trying to do is get some redemption here. I tried to talk to these guys (the AMA). They don’t want to hear what I have to say. Since I’m the up-and-coming shop and we’re kind of doing fairly well, I don’t want to be known as the guy who got Chuck Chouinard on the podium after he tried all those years and got him kicked out because I built him a cheater motor. It’s not good for me. It’s not good for Chuck. It’s unfair because they branded him from the word go.”

Chouinard himself told Roadracing World, “I finished 16th in the Superbike race and went to Tech,” as he was required to do after AMA Tech officials reluctantly sealed Chouinard’s motor following Saturday’s 750cc Supersport race. “Mladin’s bike’s in there with Bostrom’s and Yates’ Superbikes and my Supersport bike. Nobody is looking at the three Superbikes, and I got three tech guys looking at my bike. They started ripping the thing apart. The took the head off. They took the valves out. They checked the bore. They checked the length of the rods. They checked the thickness of the head. They checked the thickness of the case. They took the transmission apart to make sure we didn’t put any kind of kit tranny gears in there. They looked at the crank.

“My bike was apart for like three hours with three different tech guys looking for something. The only thing they found was a mechanical cam chain tensioner which is illegal but isn’t a DQ’able offense. Ron Barrick said to Jim (Barry), ‘We can fine you for it, but we can’t DQ you for it.’

“So while they’re tearing my stuff down, this same tech guy comes over to me and says, ‘We were looking at your times and you’re pretty comparable with Miguel’s 600 times at this track.’ I told them that this was my home track, and that I’ve been racing since 1992. Anyway, Miguel DuHamel hasn’t done shit there in a couple of years ever since his crash. They said, ‘There’s no physical way that you could be comparable with these pro guys’ times with your size. What is your weight?’ My resume says 186. He says, ‘You’re well over 200 pounds. You know what? We’re tearing this down to the crank.’ He said it just like that. I said, ‘Fine. It’s supposed to be an AMA-legal motor, that’s what we told the guy to build.’ After three hours they couldn’t find anything, then they come up with this thing with the valves.

“I don’t know if the Attack guys put pressure on them Saturday after the race when they saw my mechanical cam chain tensioner, because Richie’s gonna be in (the Championship) for the long run. Maybe they’re (AMA) pissed off because they are fighting with the guy that owns the track, and I’m a Loudon guy. So maybe they figure they’ll fix the Loudon people by beating up on their so-called Loudon guy. I don’t know. I don’t know why any of this happened.

“I was out in practice with Eric Bostrom and his Kawasaki 600 was as fast as my bike was on the front straightaway gear-for-gear. He was doing 13.2s, and I was doing 13.4s. I know that I’m sporting some weight on him, but my bike makes 134 horsepower.”

Team Owner Jim Barry told Roadracing World, ” I feel like I’ve been pulled over by some small town Sheriff like you see in the movies. You know where the guy breaks your taillight after he stops you? I’ve been an AMA member for 19 years, and now I don’t want anything to do with the AMA”

Barry said that he was in the process of filing an appeal on the grounds that the valves were not altered, but cleaned in a common manner, and that Chouinard was discriminated against for his weight as if there was a predetermined lap time that someone could do for a particular weight.

Chouinard said he doesn’t feel that anything will change with the appeal. “It’s like a ‘kangaroo’ court. They are policing themselves. Nothing’s going to change,” said Chouinard.

This Just In: Young American Jason DiSalvo will not only ride as a 250cc wild card in the June 28-30 Dutch Grand Prix at Assen but now has also been named a 250cc wild card for the July 6-8 British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

DiSalvo will compete on his Cruise America Grand Prix team’s A-kitted Honda RS250.

From a Honda Press Release:

“Honda Racing Unleashes the Mighty T-Rex to Menace the Competition at Laguna Seca and Red Bud

“Torrance, Ca – Honda Racing and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group are teaming up this summer to promote Universal Pictures’ and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic Park III, the third installment in the studio’s most successful film franchise ever, scheduled for release on July 18, 2001.

“Jurassic Park III, with its breathtaking dinosaur effects, will provide a suitably stunning backdrop for Honda Racing at two popular races in July. It should come as no surprise that Honda’s race bikes and rider graphics will feature the voracious, Jurassic Park-inspired Tyrannosaurus Rex.

“Honda Racing’s Supercross and motocross hero, Ezra Lusk, will be hunting down the competition on his silver and red CR250R on Sunday, July 1 at Round 6 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships at Red Bud Track-N-Trail in Buchanan, Michigan.

“Honda factory road racing star Nicky Hayden and his T-Rex emblazoned RC51 Superbike will be tearing up the field on Saturday, July 7 at Round 6 of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship at the Honda International Superbike Classic Presented By Dunlop at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.

“In both races, Universal Studios takes the primary team sponsorship position on the race bikes with Jurassic Park III graphics. Following the highly successful collaboration with The Mummy Returns, the record-breaking sequel that jump-started the summer movie season earlier this May, this is the second of four similar promotions in 2001 and 2002. With each effort, Universal Studios’ films will be showcased with special designs on the bodywork and uniform of a selected Honda motocross rider and road racing rider.

“‘The Jurassic Park franchise and Honda Racing are a perfect fit. They both deliver non-stop action that keeps you on the edge of your seat,’ said Elliot Lederman, vice president of licensing/sports, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group. ‘We have been very successful with the top teams in NASCAR, Formula 1 and CART and it was natural to expand our motorsports program with Honda Racing,’ said Lederman.

Universal Studios also represents the merchandising and promotional rights to the Honda Racing Team riders, including jointly developed designs, such as the Jurassic Park III Honda Racing promotion. Announced in November 2000, the sponsorship agreement also features Universal Studios’ animated character Woody Woodpecker as Team Mascot for both the Honda Motocross Racing Team and the Honda Road Racing Team.

“About the film

“Jurassic Park III continues the series that began with Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Joe Johnston (October Sky, Jumanjii), who first collaborated with Steven Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark, directs. Kathleen Kennedy and Larry Franco are the producers and Spielberg is executive producer. The wizards at Industrial Light & Magic and Stan Winston once again combine forces to create the dazzling dinosaur effects.

“The strong cast includes Sam Neill, returning in the role of Dr. Alan Grant, which he originated in Jurassic Park, William H. Macy (Fargo), Tea Leoni (The Family Man), Alessandro Nivola (Love’s Labour Lost), Michael Jeter (The Green Mile) and Trevor Morgan (The Patriot).

“Anxious to fund research for his new theory of velociraptor intelligence, renowned paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is persuaded by a wealthy adventurer (William H. Macy) and his wife (Tea Leoni) to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. This infamous island, once InGen’s site B, has become both a primordial breeding ground for John Hammond’s magnificent creations and a magnet for thrill-seekers eager to encounter them.

When a tragic accident maroons the party of seven, Grant discovers the true reason his deceptive hosts have invited him along. In their perilous attempt to escape with their lives, the dwindling group encounters terrifying new creatures undisclosed by InGen, and Grant is forced to learn the dreadful implications of his raptor intelligence theory firsthand.

“A note to parents: Jurassic Park III has been rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13) for ‘intense sci-fi terror and violence.’ Consult www.filmratings.com for further information.

“Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is a unit of Universal Studios www.universalstudios.com), a part of CANAL+, the TV and Film division of Vivendi Universal, a new global leader in media and communications.”

From a Marlboro Yamaha press release regarding team tests at Catalunya June 18-20:

“BIAGGI AND CHECA LEARN MORE BEFORE ASSEN

“Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa stayed on at Catalunya this week to evaluate upgraded engine and chassis parts. After scoring second- and eighth-place finishes in Sunday’s Marlboro Catalan Grand Prix, the pair believe their findings will help them perform even better at next week’s Dutch GP.

“Biaggi only rode on Tuesday, after returning from Italy, where he had played in a charity football match on Monday night. Checa started testing on Monday and stayed through to Wednesday, when he tested new Michelin tyres. Both men concentrated on their YZR500s, leaving development work on the Yamaha’s new YZR-M1 four-stroke GP bike to the factory’s team of test riders.

“‘We gained some useful data from these tests,’ said Marlboro Yamaha Team Director Hiroya Atsumi. ‘Both riders have been testing different cylinder specifications, as well as new chassis parts and new front forks. Some of the parts worked very well, others not so well, but that is what testing is all about.

“‘I’m confident we can have a good race at Assen next week. Max’s confidence is on a high and although Carlos had some problems last weekend, we fixed them sooner than expected during these tests. My only worry for Assen is the weather, it rains too much there!’

“Biaggi was satisfied with his day-long session. ‘At a Grand Prix you only have four hours of track time but today we had a full day to play with set-up,’ said the Italian. ‘We’ve been fine tuning things, and once again I think we’ve improved our settings. I’m looking forward to Assen, it’s one of my favourites, the track should be good for us. But I think the next race at Donington will be the turning point of the season.’

“Checa was also happy, after curing the chatter problems that hindered him at his home GP. ‘Tuesday was a good day, we stopped the chatter,’ he said on Wednesday afternoon. ‘We’ve been working to improve overall machine balance but I’m still getting a bit of front-end push, so I want a little more weight on the front and less on the rear. We stayed on today because Michelin wanted us to test some new front and rear tyres. It’s been good, now I hope we can have a good set-up for Assen.’

“Biaggi, delighted with Roma’s Italian league success on Sunday, got to play a major game of football in Genoa on Monday evening when he teamed up with a group of F1 car stars to raise aid for Africa. ‘There were about 80,000 fans at the game, it was a fantastic atmosphere,’ said the former 250 World Champion whose team drew 1-1.

“Practice and qualifying for next Saturday’s Dutch GP gets under way on Thursday June 28. The event is round seven of this year’s 16-race MotoGP series, the final 500 two-stroke World Championship before big-bore four-strokes are introduced in 2002.

“Lap times
“Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team) 1:46.4
“Carlos Checa (Marlboro Yamaha Team) 1:46.8”

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

NHIS Motorcycle Safety Director Jerry Wood said Tuesday that he was shocked that AMA officials did not allow riders to take a short practice prior to starting the rain-delayed 600cc Supersport race at Loudon on Sunday. The resulting argument over five laps of practice kept 600cc Supersport regulars in the paddock while AMA officials ran the race with 12 mostly-local riders.

Wood spoke in a phone interview from his shop in Searsport, Maine.

“I was leading around the jet-blowers and as I was driving the truck along I was figuring that the next thing we do is practice,” said Wood. “So when I came in I told (AMA Superbike Operations Manager) Ron Barrick that the track was ready for a short practice session. And I was baffled when he told me that there wasn’t going to be any practice session. I couldn’t believe that was their decision, to come up with no practice. That’s just not right.

“A practice is a common-sense thing. Because the track has been rained on all day, we’ve dried it off, and short practice will burn the line in and get rid of any residual moisture that’s left. I was really disappointed.”

The decision to refuse rider requests for a short practice session was made by AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice. When rider Grant Lopez, (who desperately wanted to ride) tried to mediate the dispute and convince Vanderslice to allow five laps, he was angerly rebuffed by Vanderslice, who said of the riders, among other things, “They don’t run the AMA, we do” and “It’s us against them.”

From a press release issued by Rausch Creek Motorsports Park:

“Rausch Creek Motorsports Park will not be open in 2001 for spectator events.

“To avoid further confusing announcements about the opening of the road course, the management at Rausch Creek has decided to cancel the remainder of this year’s events.

“Originally slated to open in May of this year, Rausch Creek has experienced a variety of events that factor into the decision to postpone what was to be the inaugural year. Our original construction schedule had us paving the
road course in the fall of 2000. Serious safety issues had to be addressed prior to the commitment of a final design, and those issues prevented us from paving at that time. Then, with the long winter, we realized we would be very hard pressed to meet the date for our May opening. A variety of smaller delays, including smaller design changes and machinery breakdown, have also contributed to the postponement of our inaugural year.

“Andrew Stutzman, General Manager, had this to say, ‘We found ourselves pressured by the original dates we had set to open, and felt as if we may be making small compromises just to get the track open. The last thing we want to do is compromise anything, let alone the safety and longevity of Rausch Creek, so we decided to back off from such ambitious goals, and allow ourselves the time to complete the project so that it exceeds our expectations, instead of just meeting them.’

“Quinn Lickman, Construction Manager for Rausch Creek, added, ‘We are maintaining close to the same pace (construction) we have all along, only slowing down to make sure all the small details are completed. We honestly just underestimated the amount of material we had to move to build the track. The actual time it will take to pave the track is relatively short compared to the time needed to complete the construction of the verges and safety zones. In addition, we must be very careful how we address the drainage issues for the track. It is important that we find the perfect balance between providing more than adequate run-off, and draining the water away from the track properly. While the racers and spectators will enjoy the elevation that Rausch Creek has to offer, it does increase construction difficulties.’

“The construction is still proceeding and we are looking forward to having the surface paved by late summer. This will allow us to host some practice days and official testing that are required to hold larger, future events in 2002.”

In response to the above release issued by Rausch Creek, track designer Alan Wilson of Wilson Motorsport Inc. sent this letter:

“You have received a press release from Rausch Creek Motor Sports Park concerning the delay of racing activities until the start of the 2002 race season.

“The reason for my letter is to address the statement that part of the delay was due to ‘serious safety concerns’.

“This is not true.

“Delays to this project were many, although the biggest problem was not in the time taken to build the facility but in unrealistic expectations as to when it would be completed. In fact, the time taken to design and construct is very much in line with that required for any of the other facilities in which I have been involved. (Typically 18 months from start of the design process).

“In this case, inexperience on the part of the track management has lead them to suggest that safety problems, among others caused the delay. Their reason for this was well intended in that they chose to use ‘safety’ as a reason so as to ensure their customers that the track was being built to the highest possible safety standards and that attention to this resulted in the delay. (They obviously hoped this would reduce some of the inevitable criticism that may result from the cancellation of events in 2001.)

“Unfortunately, in their inexperience they did not realize that any reference to safety concerns could, and most probably would be taken by many to suggest that Rausch Creek may have safety issues when in operation.

“This is very definitely not the case.

“As you may be aware, I have designed several tracks used extensively for motorcycle events, including GingerMan, Carolina Motorsports Park, Pikes Peak and Las Vegas, and I am very proud of the safety record that each of these facilities have been able to maintain. I have also designed the new Alabama circuit which has already received high praise from FIM Safety officials for its safety features. Consequently I am extremely concerned that Rausch Creek could be tarnished before it even opens by any suggestion that it may have safety issues.

“In designing a track I always require that the minimum safety zone alongside the edge of the track be at least 100 feet, with more required as necessary by high speed approaches, fast corners or downhill braking zones. I also require that all safety zones have grades similar to the cross and longitudinal grades of the track in order to eliminate downhill runoff areas that contribute to loss of control. (In fact, the Alabama track is probably the first in the world where all run-offs meet this criteria). I have also specified that all my new tracks incorporate emergency access roads along the outer edges of the safety zones so that no ambulance or emergency vehicle need ever run on the track surface or in the verge close to the asphalt.

“It is these three elements which added complexity to the construction of Rausch Creek. This track has many different grade changes, each of which has necessitated particular attention to cut and fill, grading and drainage to ensure that my standards are met. Rausch Creek management have been extremely cooperative in undertaking the work required, much of which was not recognized when the project was first begun (and when track rental commitments were first made).

“This project has grown far beyond its initial scope and promises to become one of the most challenging, enjoyable, and I hope, best motorcycle road racing courses in the country. I can assure you that it will be as safe as we can possibly make it and that it will serve as an example to other facilities of how to incorporate safety and the racing needs of motorcycles into a difficult, challenging and interesting terrain.

“I have included a disc with a number of photographs taken during my most recent visit to Rausch Creek (June 12). This will show the current state of construction which is far more advanced than it may look, especially when compared to some of the original terrain (I have included some early pictures for comparison). I will gladly discuss these pictures with you to help you get a better understanding of the layout, the construction challenges that have had to be faced and our expectations of how it will look when complete.

“Finally, I would like to congratulate you on the efforts you have made with regard to the Air Fence program. Although I try to design my tracks so that Air Fence is not necessary, I recognize the vital role it can play and applaud your efforts. I was however disappointed to note in the current edition of Roadracing World that some tracks have proved less than co-operative in installing Air Fence (at least without direct AMA involvement) on the grounds of liability. In my opinion this is not a valid reason for failing to install a proven system. I would be interested in learning which tracks have not co-operated as I may be able to help in persuading any with whom I may also work in my role as Safety Consultant to the SCCA and through my very close relationship with the major insurance companies.

“I hope that you will understand my concerns that the safety elements of the design of Rausch Creek are not an issue and that integrating the basic safety standards that I have designed (and will continue to detail) into the project is an ongoing and normal part of the design/construction program.

“I would be happy to discuss this matter and any other safety issue related to track design or safety system installation with you, at your convenience.

“Sincerely

“Alan Wilson, President”

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