A full 120 feet of new Air Fence Bike soft barrier has been assembled and is ready for installation at Texas World Speedway. The 20 6-foot sections of soft barrier were assembled at Texas World Speedway on July 11 and 12 by a crew of RPM and CMRA volunteers, as described in the following press release issued by Tom Shields of RPM:

As of July 11, 2001, RPM/WERA and CMRA/CCS have received the first of the Air Fence Bike system for club use (purchased with money) raised by RoadracingWorld.com and John Ulrich. The Air Fence is to be used where racer Ryan Smith was killed in an accident during a CMRA event in turn 8a at Texas World Speedway. It was the first event on the 2.9 mile track in 1999. There will be 20 six-foot sections of Air Fence now in front of a three-row tire wall and Armco.

Many thanks go to the individuals involved in building the Air Fence. Assisting in building the fence at Texas World July 11 and 12 were RPM members and family members Clay Allen, Garvin Allen, Hunter Brewer, Justin Lamb, Kyle Wiese and Wes Wiese; CMRA members Charles Brothers and Eric Kelcher; Andy Coffee of Airfence Safety Systems, and Awn Ressler of Texas World Speedway.

A special thanks goes to John Ulrich of Roadracing World and all the countless contributors to this cause.

AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth and Vice President, Commercial Development John Farris did not address specific operational problems at AMA road races in a series of secret meetings with manufacturers last week.

Hollingsworth and Farris met with representatives of factory teams at the Southern California headquarters of American Honda, Yamaha Motor Corp., Kawasaki Motors Corp. and American Suzuki the week following races at Laguna Seca, but did not reveal an expected plan for addressing the deep dis-satisfaction with race operations currently running through the paddock at AMA events, according to various meeting participants.

“There wasn’t a whole lot there,” said one factory man of the meeting he attended.

Hollingsworth and Farris did not reveal what changes in class structure are on the horizon. Hollingsworth seemed concerned with what the “global platform” will be for the Superbike class in the future, i.e., will World Superbike allow 1000cc Inline Fours in the future, requiring AMA Superbike to follow suit to continue to attract factory participation.

After five wet hours of the FIM Endurance World Championship 24-hour race at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, SuperProduction class Suzuki GSX-R1000s still led the way. And after five hours of dealing with rain, mist, high winds, puddles, rivers, white lines on the road, and an oil spill, the overall standings were:

Results After Five Hours (Team Name, Bike, Class, Class Position):

1. Suzuki Castrol, Suzuki GSX-R1000, SuperProduction (1st)
2. Zongshen Team B, Suzuki GSX-R1000, SuperProduction (2nd)
3. Endurance Moto, Yamaha YZF-R1, SuperProduction (3rd)
4. Free Bike Performance, Yamaha YZF-R7, Superbike (1st)
5. Whirley Phase One, Suzuki GSX-R1000, SuperProduction (4th)
6. Wim Motors, Honda RC51, Superbike (2nd)
7. Zongshen Team A, Suzuki GSX-R1000, SuperProduction (5th)
8. GMT94, Suzuki GSX-R1000, SuperProduction (6th)
9. Jadoul Motosport, Kawasaki ZX-9R, SuperProduction (7th)
10. Junior Team LMS, Suzuki GSX-R1000, SuperProduction (8th)
11. Dynotech Performance, Honda CBR929RR, StockSport (1st)

13. Quick Motor Service, Aprilia RSV1000, Superbike (3rd)

16. Herman Verboven Racing (Jacobi/Deatherage/Verboven), Suzuki GSX-R750, Superbike (4th)

The race should end approximately 5:40 a.m. PDT.

Americans John Jacobi and Andy Deatherage, along with teammate Herman Verboven of Luxemborg, were running 13th overall and 3rd in the Superbike class, 3 hours into the 24 Hours of Liege at Spa Franchorchamps in Belgium. The trio is riding a Suzuki GSX-R750 Superbike.

At that point, the race was being led by a trio of SuperProduction Suzuki GSX-R1000s, all with a lap on the rest of the field. The first Superbike class machine was in fourth overall, one lap behind, while Jacobi and company were two laps behind.

A full 55 teams started the race. The SuperProduction class allows the use of a Superbike chassis and quick-change fittings, with a close-to-stock engine.

The start of the race was delayed by torrential rain and an oil spill from a support race, and the pace car was deployed at the beginning of the third hour following a multi-bike crash.

3rd Hour Standings
1. Mertens/Nowland/Bonhuil, SP, GSX-R1000, 51 laps
2. Christobal/Winterreiter/Bennet, SP, GSX-R1000, 51 laps
3. Linden/Jerman/Ulmann, SP, GSX-R1000, 51 laps
4. Cuzin/Donischal/Jond, SP, YZF-R1, 50 laps
5. Naveau/Aerts/Platacis, SB, RC51, 50 laps
6. Mizera/Sebileau/Lagrive, SB, YZF-R7, 50 laps
7. Lavieille/Morrison/Brian, SP, GSX-R1000, 50 laps
8. Jadoul/Balon/Kempener, SP, ZX-9R, 50 laps
9. Guyot/Scarnato/Dussauge, SP, GSX-R1000, 50 laps
10. LeGrelle/Wuyts, SS, CBR929RR, 50 laps
13. Jacobi/Deatherage/Verboven, SB, GSX-R750, 49 laps


Jacobi and Deatherage replaced Michael Barnes and Mike Ciccotto on the Herman Verboven Racing team. With both Ciccotto and Barnes currently injured, fellow Americans Jacobi and Deatherage are filling in with FIM Endurance World Championship team for the 24-hour at Spa-Francorchamps.

Barnes, the original American on the Belgium-based Superbike-class team, injured his shoulder in a fall at the Brands Hatch six-hour race June 6. Mike Ciccotto was Barnes’ teammate for the first time at Brands Hatch, but Ciccotto himself suffered injuries in a Formula USA crash at Virginia International Raceway Sunday July 1.

Knowing in advance that he would miss the July 1 World Endurance six-hour race at Nurburgring (due to conflicts with both the AMA/WERA Buell-sponsored Pro Thunder race at Portland International Raceway and his Hooters Suzuki obligations at the VIR F-USA event), Ciccotto recommended Jacobi as a replacement rider.

Jacobi, who co-rode to victory with Vesrah Suzuki in the 2000 WERA 24-hour at Willow Springs, jumped at the opportunity and nearly came away with a good result. “We were running fourth in the Superbike class until our engine blew 18 minutes before the end of the race at Nurburgring,” said Jacobi. “The team is pretty good. They run a GSX-R750 with a mild engine, nice Ohlins forks, Marchesini wheels, and good quick-change hardware. They can do a pit stop for fuel and two wheels in 18 seconds!”

With the 24-hour race at Spa looming and Ciccotto and Barnes still out of action, another rider was needed to join Jacobi on the Herman Verboven team. When Jacobi was unable to contact his former Vesrah Suzuki teammate Joe Prussiano, Jacobi made arrangements with endurance veteran “Woody” Deatherage to come to Belgium with him. Deatherage, who currently sits 18th in the AMA Superbike Championship, made arrangements from the paddock of Laguna Seca for his wife to overnight his passport to him and get a plane ticket to Miami, Florida to join Jacobi on a the plane to Belgium.

The Spa circuit, although a favorite among racers in good conditions despite being composed partially of public roads, can be intimidating at night. “The guys on the team,” said Jacobi. “They said that it gets pitch black at night because there are no lights and the track runs through the Ardennes Forest. So I called up Mark Junge and the team bought the same Baja Designs lighting system that we used to win the Willow 24-hour race for us to use at Spa.”

“The guys also told me that it rained for 23 of the 24 hours there last year. So I might get to do some rain riding, which I like pretty well,” added Jacobi. Jacobi, who currently rides for WERA National Endurance Heavyweight Superstock class leader Loudoun Motorsports, has several strong race finishes in the rain but few stronger than his 10th-place finish in the wet AMA Superbike race at Road America on his 750cc Supersport bike.

In other FIM World Endurance news, Wim Motors won the Superbike class in the Nurburgring six-hour July 1 and took a commanding, 40-point lead in the FIM Endurance World Championship standings. Second in the Superbike class at Nurburgring and second in the standings is Dap Moto91. Factory-supported Elf Honda did not race at Nurburgring and slipped to third in the Championship. All of the top three Superbike teams are riding Honda RC51s. Herman Verboven Racing is fourth in the point standings.

FIM Endurance World Championship Standings (after 4 rounds of 8 rounds):

1. Wim Motors Racing, Honda RC51, 92 points
2. Team Dap Moto91, Honda RC51, 52 points
3. Honda Elf, Honda RC51, 50 points
4. Herman Verboven Racing, Suzuki GSX-R750, 49 points
5. TIE, Ducateam, Ducati 996 / Team Free Bike Performance, Yamaha YZF-R7, 40 points

In a strange twist, only teams and riders in the Superbike class are eligible for the FIM Endurance World Championship title even though Suzuki GSX-R1000-mounted SuperProduction class endurance teams are taking most of the overall endurance race wins.

SuperProduction GSX-R1000-mounted GMT94 took the overall win at Nurburgring. SuperProduction team Zongshen Team took second overall and in class in Germany with another GSX-R1000 team, Schaefer Mo Devil Racing Team, finishing third overall. SuperProduction leaders Castrol Suzuki finished sixth in class and seventh overall.

World Championship leaders Wim Motors actually finished sixth overall in the six-hour race at Nurburgring.

SuperProduction Endurance World Cup (after 4 rounds of 8 rounds):

1. Suzuki Castrol Team, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 100 points
2. GMT94, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 97 points
3. Zongshen Team, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 67 points
4. Endurance Moto, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 41 points
5. Motomax-Derbi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 39 points

Police Nationale won the StockSport class on a Kawasaki ZX-9R and have a huge points lead in their class.

StockSport Endurance Championship (after 4 of 8 rounds):

1. Police Nationale, Kawasaki ZX-9R, 110 points
2. PS-Schlesinger Endurance, Yamaha YZF-R1, 48 points
3. Octopus/MPC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 40 points

In qualifying for the Spa 24-hours, Suzuki GSX-R1000s were 1-2-3.

When the best qualifying lap times of Stephane Mertens, Warwick Nowland, and Bruno Bonhull were averaged, Zong Shen No. 2 earned the pole position in qualifying, the second straight pole position for team on a SuperProduction Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Castrol Suzuki rider Brian Morrison put in the fastest overall lap of qualifying with a 2:30.171 on his team’s SuperProduction Suzuki GSX-R1000, but the average time of Castrol Suzuki’s three riders put them second on the grid for the race. The third-fastest qualifier was GMT94 on yet another SuperProduction Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The fastest-qualifying Superbike class team was fourth-fastest Freebike on a Yamaha YZF-R7. Endurance World Championship leaders Wim Motors qualified seventh-fastest on their Honda RC51.

Deatherage and Jacobi helped Verboven qualify 18th overall and fifth in the Superbike class on their Pirelli-equipped Suzuki GSX-R750. Deatherage posted the fastest time for the Herman Verboven Racing team at 2:37.725.

Police Nationale was the fastest qualifier from the StockSport class on a Kawasaki ZX-9R, 11th-fastest overall.

Qualifying was held in the dry, but it poured rain during night practice.

By Steve Reeves

After what has been one of the most exciting race seasons in recent years, Radar’s Team Yamaha rider Robbie Baird emerged from the fifth and final round of the 2001 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State Series, held last weekend, as the new Formula Xtreme Champion.

Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway provided the venue for the final round, with exceptionally close racing in all classes, including the Yamaha Formula Xtreme.

Baird wrapped up the series after the third of four races, finishing with a total of 353 points. The Queenslander headed a trifecta for Radar’s Team Yamaha as Jamie Stauffer finished second (322) and Craig Coxhell third with 309. Completing a great result for Yamaha was New Zealander Tony Rees, who brought his Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1 home in fourth place.

The Radar’s Team Yamaha riders were in the thick of the action all weekend, with Baird controlling the series from the front.

All four 8-lap races were full of close racing and passes and produced a new Formula Xtreme lap record.

While Baird relished the moment of his first Australian title since winning the Australian 250cc Production Championship in 1993, Stauffer emerged as the overall winner on the day in a spirited attempt to overhaul his teammate.

Stauffer proved to be the most consistent finishing the four races with a 2-2-3-2 score card. Baird was second overall with a 5-1-4-1, first, followed by Coxhell’s 3-3-1-4. The strength of the team riders was clearly evident.

The only other rider to interfere with the performance was Honda rider Josh Brookes, who picked up the win in the opening race.

For Baird, it was a lot of weight off his shoulders. “Excellent,” said Baird after wrapping up the series in race three. “That’s a lot of pressure off me now. I can relax and go harder in the final race. I have to thank Kev Marshall and all of the Radar’s Team Yamaha crew for doing such an outstanding job this season. To get the win was great, but to get all three Yamahas into the top three is something special. Jamie and Craig had the pressure on me all series and it was great that we could finish like this.”

“It would have been nice to have won the series, but winning overall on the day is also a very good result for the team,” said Stauffer. “Robbie has been strong all year and deserved the win. Being my first year on the Yamaha YZF-R1, it has taken me a while to get used to the bike and to feel comfortable on it. It has been working a lot better recently, so I think we’ll put that down to a very rapid learning curve for me this year. I’m very happy with the result and for the team”.

As the youngest member of the team, 18-year-old Coxhell has been the most determined, which at times has been to his detriment during the series. “I was trying very hard in the early rounds and crashed too many times, that eventually cost me in the series standings,” said Coxhell. “It took me a little while to get my head around it, but I think I have shown that I’m on top of things now. To go under the existing lap record was good for my confidence and I’m happy that I could do it. As for the day, it went well and it was good to get the race win in the third race.”

Team Manager Dave `Radar’ Cullen was more than satisfied with the efforts that his team has put into the series. “That was a fantastic team effort,” said Cullen. “The boys battled it out on the track all series and provided the fans with some of the best racing we have seen. The series could have gone to any one of the three as they’ve each ridden well this year. It wasn’t a whitewash as some may think, as Alex Gobert and Josh Brookes had their moments of glory this year. I think that Terry O’Neill should be congratulated for having a series that all of the manufacturers can have a chance of winning.”

RESULTS:
Yamaha Formula Xtreme Combined qualifying:
1. Alex Gobert, Redwing Honda, 1:34.155
2. Robbie Baird, Radar’s Team Yamaha, 1:34.197
3. Tony Rees, Bikebiz Yamaha, 1:34.239
4. Josh Brookes, Geoff’s Auto Spares Honda, 1:34.273
5. Luke Phillips, Optus World Honda, 1:34.687
6. Craig Coxhell, Radar’s Team Yamaha, 1:34.749
7. Jamie Stauffer, Radar’s Team Yamaha, 1:34.880
8. Damien Cudlin, Bikebiz Yamaha, 1:34.884
9. Steven Cutting, Bar Ristretto Suzuki, 1:35.496
10. Jay Taylor, Taylor Racing Kawasaki, 1:35.820

Race 1 (8 laps), Race time /gap:
1. Josh Brookes, Geoff’s Auto Spares Honda CBR929RR, 12:42.919
2. Jamie Stauffer, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.076
3. Craig Coxhell, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.179
4. Tony Rees, Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.693
5. Robbie Baird, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +4.793
6. Jay Taylor, Taylor Racing Kawasaki ZX-9R, +6.408
7. Alex Gobert, Red Wing Honda CBR929RR, +10.948
8. Steven Cutting, Bar Ristretto Suzuki GSX-R1000, +13.194
9. Kurt Percy, Thomson Finance Yamaha YZF-R1, +15.896
10. Stephen Tozer, Stafford M/C Yamaha YZF-R1, +22.661
Fastest lap: Josh Brookes, Honda, 1:34.332, lap 6

Race 2 (8 laps) (Red flagged on lap 6) Race time /gap:
1. Robbie Baird, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:32.058
2. Jamie Stauffer, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.010
3. Craig Coxhell, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.041
4. Tony Rees, Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.513
5. Josh Brookes, Geoff’s Auto Spares Honda CBR929RR, +0.609
6. Jay Taylor, Taylor Racing Kawasaki ZX-9R, +7.929
7. Kurt Percy, Thomson Finance Yamaha YZF-R1, +8.802
8. Roland Kruck, Doin Bikes Honda CBR929RR, +11.974
9. Alex Gobert, Red Wing Honda CBR929RR, +13.089
10. Rodney Davis, Wet 4U Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, +18.800
Fastest lap: Jamie Stauffer, Yamaha,1:34.163, lap 2

Race 3 (8 laps) Race time /gap:
1. Craig Coxhell, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, 12:36.902
2. Josh Brookes, Geoff’s Auto Spares Honda CBR929RR, +0.016
3. Jamie Stauffer, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.476
4. Robbie Baird, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +3.616
5. Tony Rees, Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1, +4.125
6. Alex Gobert, Red Wing Honda CBR929RR, +15.168
7. Jay Taylor, Taylor Racing Kawasaki ZX-9R, +15.961
8. Kurt Percy, Thomson Finance Yamaha YZF-R1, +16.034
9. Stephen Tozer, Stafford M/C Yamaha YZF-R1, +20.799
10. Roland Kruck, Doin Bikes Honda CBR929RR, +22.236
Fastest lap: Josh Brookes, Honda, 1:33.365, lap 4 (New lap record)

Race 4 (8 laps) Race time /gap:
1. Robbie Baird, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, 12:37.329
2. Jamie Stauffer, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.144
3. Tony Rees, Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.474
4. Craig Coxhell, Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1, +0.498
5. Jay Taylor, Taylor Racing Kawasaki ZX-9R, +15.594
6. Kurt Percy, Thomson Finance Yamaha YZF-R1, +16.257
7. Stephen Tozer, Stafford M/C Yamaha YZF-R1, +16.787
8. Roland Kruck, Doin Bikes Honda CBR929RR, +17.784
9. Rodney Davis, Yamaha YZF-R1, +22.428
10. Alex Gobert, Red Wing Honda CBR929RR, +27.877
Fastest lap: Craig Coxhell, Yamaha, 1:33.556, lap 6

2001 Yamaha Formula Xtreme Points (after 5 of 5 rounds):

1. Robbie Baird, 353 points
2. Jamie Stauffer, 322 points
3. Craig Coxhell, 309 points
4. Tony Rees, 256 points
5. Alex Gobert, 200 points
6. Josh Brookes, 186 points
7. Damien Cudlin, 178 points
8. Luke Phillips, 116 points
9. Kurt Percy, 115 points
10. Stephen Tozer, 106 points

From Ed Sorbo:

On Friday, Bruce was being weaned off the respirator and is responding faster than most people do. Bruce’s wife, Edie, was hopeful that he will wake up soon, as he has been kept unconscious with drugs since he went on the respirator Monday night. His spleen was removed on Tuesday morning. During surgery the Doctors took the opportunity to check his other organs and found no problems.

Bruce has a lot of pain and is on morphine. He also received a large hand-size dent on his back where his bike landed on him and it is almost gone.

Edie reports that the doctors had hoped that the air pressure from the respirator would help push the broken ribs back into place and it seems to have worked.

Edie wants to thank everyone who has sent e-mails, FAXes, cards and calls. She is decorating the room with all of the e-mail notes, cards and such.

What happened?

When Bruce started out from the hot pit for his warm-up lap in heat two, Joe Cubbage saw water spill out from Bruce’s lowers. Joe pointed the puddle out to Geoff Malone who was standing nearby and said “that just came out of Bruce’s bike.” Geoff pointed out the puddle to the nearest AMA official. Gary Mathers was in charge of Bruce’s row and was shown the puddle. Gary waited for Bruce to complete his warm-up lap and looked his bike over on the grid. Gary saw no water on either side of the bike and noted that the rear tire was dry. At this time Gary felt that the puddle on the hot pit road was just a little over flow and was not a problem. As soon as Bruce launched to start the race Gary saw water flow out of Bruce’s lowers and knew there was going to be trouble. Adrian Webb saw water come off Bruce’s bike in turn two and Bruce had a slide. Bruce crashed in turn three on the first lap of heat two and the race was red-flagged.

Back in the pits my helpers removed the fairing from Bruce’s bike so we could clean out the dirt and found the radiator cap in the upper fairing. The cap has no damage and we assumed that it had not been installed all the way.

Steve Dalstrom told Bruce about the cap on Sunday night in the hospital before Bruce took the wrong turn and went unconscious. Bruce thought back and said that he remembered putting the cap on all the way. He thinks that the neck of the radiator was damaged in his turn-two crash on Friday and went unnoticed until it was too late when the cap came lose after being installed on Saturday.

I came to this reconstruction by talking to
Geoff, Gary and Adrian and by looking over the bike. Shit happens, that’s why we wear our leathers!

You think you’re tough? Bruce broke 11 ribs, yet he did not let his leathers be cut off, they are still in one piece.

Fans who wish to send a Get Well message to Lind can do so at this address:
Bruce Lind, ICU patient
c/o Monterey Community Hospital
P.O. Box HH
Monterey, CA 93942

Messages can also be sent via e-mail, c/o Sorbo, to [email protected]

The hospital telephone number is (831) 424-7705. The number for the FAX machine in Patient Relations is (831) 625-4568.

A letter dated July 10 from J. Richard “Rick” Gray, Chairman, AMA Board Of Trustees, arrived at Roadracingworld.com headquarters on July 13, addressed to Editor John Ulrich. The letter follows in its entirety:

“Dear Mr. Ulrich:

“I am writing pursuant to a resolution passed by the AMA Board of Trustees at their June 11, 2001 meeting. The Board, after receiving a report on the impact attenuating barriers purchased with funds solicited by Roadracing World and contributed by individual contributors, directed that we thank Roadracing World and the individuals for their support of this effort. As you are aware, Honda, Harley-Davidson and Suzuki also made substantial contributions for this purpose.

“The issue of safety is, of course, paramount in any racing environment. Hopefully the use of these barriers will add an additional element of safety for those that participate in AMA professional racing activities. Thank you for your activity in helping us and the OEMs bring our plans to fruition, and please express to the individual contributors our appreciation for their support.

“Sincerely,

“J. Richard Gray”

Cruise America Grand Prix Racing’s Jason DiSalvo recorded his best-ever World Grand Prix finish Sunday, July 5 in the Cinzano-sponsored British 250cc Grand Prix at Donington Park in England. DiSalvo, 17, rode a calculated race to finish 22nd, bettering his 24th place finish in the 1999 Brazilian 125cc Grand Prix. DiSalvo was the highest finisher of the five wild-card entries in the 250cc race on his PJ1-backed Honda RS250.

DiSalvo was quoted in a press release from his team as saying, “It was a tough race but the longer races I’ve been doing in Europe helped me a lot physically and I got stronger as the race went on. I picked up some tips from (Daijiro) Katoh and (Emilio) Alzamora when they lapped me and I had a good dice with some of the regular riders.”

DiSalvo will next see action to Valencia in Spain for a round of the Spanish National series July 15 before heading to Most in the Czech Republic.

The Batavia, New York teenager will take part in at least 31 road races this year, competing in 10 different countries in various regional, national, and international race series. DiSalvo has already raced in the FIM World Championship, European Championship, British Championship, Spanish Championship, the Czech National series, the AMA MBNA 250cc GP Championship, the WERA National Challenge series, the Formula USA Series and the WSMC series.

Mark Miller and Steve Rapp have backed up Mat Maldin’s version of what happened at Loudon, as described in Mladin’s statement posted on RoadracingWorld.com on 7/11/01 and headlined “Mladin Responds To Wood Charges Regarding Loudon.”

Miller said he was the rider who asked AMA Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick point-blank if the races would be held in the event of rain.

As Miller told it to RoadracingWorld.com in a phone interview on July 13, “I read what Mladin wrote and it was exactly accurate, it was 100 percent accurate.”

Miller explained, “I saw that the usual suspects were together, Chandler, Mladin, Oliver and Steve Rapp, in the tech area, which was close to the Erion Honda pit. So I walked over there to see what was gonna happen if it rained again.

“I said to Barrick, ‘So Ron, what’s the verdict, what’s the bottom line on running in the rain here, are we gonna ride in the rain?’

“Barrick said, ‘I don’t think so.’

“So I asked him, ‘Is that a yes or a no?’

“And he emphatically said, ‘No. We will not race in the rain under any circumstances.'”

Steve Rapp also backed up Mladin’s version of what happened at Loudon, telling Roadracing World, “That’s exactly what happened.” Rapp added that even before Miller arrived on the scene, “When we were walking around the track together (with Barrick), Ron said we’re not riding in the rain. So I came back and told my team, don’t even worry about getting the rain tires out.”

See related post dated 7/11/01, Loudon Video Delayed Until Tomorrow; Wood Comments On Situation.

Late in June, Harley-Davidson invited 150 members of the worldwide press to attend the launch of the new V-Rod, the first in a new family of Performance Customs from Harley-Davidson, the first Harley derived from the Harley-Davidson VR1000 Superbike, and the first liquid-cooled Harley street bike ever.

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The information was embargoed until July 13 and appears here on roadracingworld.com at 12:00 a.m. July 13, EDT.

The V-Rod shares no parts with its AMA Superbike inspiration, but the newest bike from Milwaukee does share the same basic engine architecture of the VR1000. The V-Rod features a 60-degree V-Twin configuration, double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, plug top ignition coils, a down-draft air intake system (the fuel tank is under the seat), geared primary drive, liquid-cooling, and electronic fuel-injection. Porsche Engineering helped design the combustion chamber in the new engine.

The new engine is said to make 115 horspower at 8250 rpm and 74 lbs.-ft. of torque at 7000 rpm, calculated at the crankshaft.

The chassis matches big, 49mm conventional forks raked out at 38 degrees with a silver powder-coated steel tube perimeter frame, a polished one-piece cast-aluminum swingarm, and steeply-angled, preload-adjustable twin rear shocks to give a long, low dragster stance. Triple disc brakes (with steel-braided brake lines and four-piston calipers), wide cast aluminum disc wheels, and low-profile Dunlop Sportmax radials not only give the look of a real chassis, but according to Harley-Davidson representatives, the V-Rod goes better than it looks. The whole package weighs in at 597 pounds dry.

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Don’t get us wrong. This is not meant to be a canyon carver, although Harley claims 38 degrees of cornering clearance even with its feet-forward cruiser riding position. This bike is said to combine the heart of a Superbike, the soul of a dragbike, and the style of a custom.

With any Harley-Davidson style is as big a part of the package as any other, and Willie G. Davidson led a group of engineers who worked in secret for years on styling the V-Rod. The biggest challenge was to incorporate the radiator into the package without detracting from the looks or performance of the machine. A lot of long hours in the styling lab and almost as many hours testing in a wind tunnel helped shape the shrouded radiator.

The Harley-Davidson V-Rod starts production in a Kansas City factory in August and will most likely be available in October for about $16,000 – $17,000.