Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Another of Rich Oliver’s 5-day Mystery School training sessions starts today near Fresno, California.

The sessions include dirt track, motocross and mountain bike training and include nutrition and workout programs.

Attendees at this session include Chris Ulrich; recent graduates include Mike Himmelsbach and Chris Pyles.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A Roadracingworld.com analysis estimates that AMA Pro Racing has cost the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) $6.2 million over the last nine years, money that would not have been spent if the for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit AMA had not be formed to take over duties formerly handled by an in-house department of the Association.

Ironically, a sitting AMA Trustee recently stated in an interview that profits from AMA Pro Racing support programs enacted by the Association. In fact, there have been no overall profits, and AMA Pro Racing has been a serious financial drain on the Association.

The estimate is based on minutes of AMA Board of Trustees meetings in which capitalization of AMA Pro Racing (aka Paradama, Inc.) and race promotion losses were discussed, and also includes estimated additional staff salaries and a $3 million lawsuit settlement.

Although fault in the Edmondson vs. AMA lawsuit was evenly split between AMA and AMA Pro Racing in a Federal Court ruling, AMA itself paid the entire $3 million it took to settle the case before it reached the appeal stage.

Legal fees related to the lawsuit and paid by the Association are not included in the estimate, and could total an additional $2 million.

Meanwhile, AMA Pro Racing continues to staff up, is opening a new office in California and has dramatically increased participant fees while failing to provide such basic participant services as rational number assignments and a schedule for Pro Thunder races displaced from 2002 double-header Superbike rounds.

AMA Pro Racing has also actively sought elimination of Thursday practice–which is widely supported by non-factory riders and teams as cost-effective set-up time–prior to AMA Nationals, because AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth doesn’t want to send staffers to racetracks on Wednesday and wants to use Thursday to set up the racetrack.

AMA Pro Racing is making sponsorship kits available to licensed AMA racers and teams with AMA-licensed racers through the “Riders Only” area of the company’s website, www.amaproracing.com. The kits are specific to each of the different AMA Pro Racing disciplines and are designed to help riders and teams in their search for sponsorship.


From the AMA Pro Racing website and a bulletin sent to licensed racers:

AMA Pro Racing has designed series-specific AMA Pro Racing Team Sponsorship kits for 2002 to assist your efforts to obtain sponsorship. These professional-quality kits explain your sport and its audience, show how AMA Pro Racing provides riders and teams with exposure opportunities, and details other benefits for sponsors affiliated with your sport. Each series-specific kit has been designed to provide a glimpse of the excitement of your sport, and contains valuable and key information for potential sponsors regarding television and event audiences.

The kits are designed so that you can create as many as you need. You can access the kits on the amaproracing.com RIDERS ONLY website at www.amaproracing.com/ridersonly.

AMA/AMA PRO RACING INTRODUCTIONS
The first section of each AMA Pro Racing Team Sponsorship kit contains background on the AMA and AMA Pro Racing. These sections introduce your sport to businesses that are not familiar with the motorcycle or racing industries, and further inform businesses that are familiar with your sport. These sections show potential sponsors that you are committed to race at the top professional level of your sport, in conjunction with an organization that has a long and steadfast heritage in the motorcycle, motorsports entertainment, and service industries.

AMA media properties are also explained in the kit, including American Motorcyclist magazine and the AMA network of websites. Depending on your race results and your own efforts to obtain publicity, these media properties can provide a valuable outlet for sponsor recognition. AMA Pro Racing television broadcast hours and networks are also detailed in each kit.

MOTORCYCLING AND AMERICA: SUSTAINED GROWTH AND RISING POPULARITY
This section details the growing appeal and popularity of motorcycles and racing. This section is important to any business seeking to be affiliated with a growth trend in the mainstream, athletics and motorsports markets, and further explains the broad market appeal of motorcycle racing.

AMA PRO RACING FAN DEMOGRAPHICS AND RELEVANCIES
The AMA Pro Racing Demographics and Relevancies section details the popular appeal and market segments that make up motorcyclists and AMA Pro Racing fans in general.

AMA PRO RACING U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS – SERIES SPECIFICS
Each kit has a series-specific section providing important details about the AMA Pro Racing U.S. Championship you compete in. This section holds attendance figures, television hours, race schedules, venues and markets, potential media exposure, and key demographic information for your particular AMA Pro Racing U.S. Championship.

LETTERHEAD TEMPLATE
Series-specific letterhead templates are provided for you to use for your own personalized message or cover letter. Simply print the letterhead template, then re-insert the letterhead in your printer in the correct position. Write your letter in any word processing program, set the margins to fit the letterhead template, and re-print your personalized letter to send along with the kit. Using this same approach, you can also include an additional page where with more details, or add digital photos or you or your team.

PRINTING/DISPLAY OPTIONS
Print: The kit can be printed from your personal computer’s printer, in black & white or color, depending on your printer. For even better results, you can ask your local quick-print company to print the kit on a high-quality color printer and bind it onto a single book for a more professional presentation.

Online use: you may place the kit in its Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file format on your own website, for download or viewing by potential sponsors.

ACCEPTABLE USE/DISCLAIMER
Please read the following text, which is included in the kit.

Use of this document is reserved exclusively for members of the American Motorcyclist Association who hold an active AMA Pro Racing Professional Competition License, and by team owners who have contracted with licensed AMA Pro Racing riders for competition in AMA Pro Racing events.

Authorized use of this document does not imply endorsement by AMA Pro Racing of any team or individuals participating in AMA Pro Racing events.

This document is intended to provide a general history of AMA Pro Racing and describes potential exposure opportunities for riders and teams licensed to compete in AMA Pro Racing events. Some of the media outlets described in this document are owned and controlled by AMA, others are not. Due to race qualification procedures or factors beyond rider or team control, no individual rider or team can guarantee event or television exposure for sponsors. No individual or team can authorize a sponsor to use AMA Pro Racing trademarks or copyrights in advertising, products, promotions or other uses, without prior written authorization from the executive officers of AMA Pro Racing. All information and images copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2001-2002.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

International motorcycle touring service Lotus Tours has released a long list of motorcycle tour destinations for the 2002 season.

New for 2002 are tours through former Eastern Bloc countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Other trips are available to The Isle of Man, Turkey, Tuscany, and Corsica & Sardinia.

Motorcycle “expeditions…for experienced riders looking for rugged journeys with difficult off-road riding conditions and limited amenities” are available to Northern Australia, Peru, Mongolia, Tibet-to-Nepal and The Great Wall of China.

Lotus Tours has programs that provide motorcycle training to customers looking to prepare themselves for their big tours and expeditions, including custom training packages at Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Riding School in Las Vegas, Nevada and at Gary LaPlante’s Ride-In-Ranch Dirt Bike Clinics in California.

For additional information, call Lotus Tours at (312) 951-0031, FAX (312) 951-7313, e-mail info@lotustours.com, website www.lotustours.com.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Red Bull Yamaha MotoGP rider John Hopkins, 18, was stranded overnight in Paris as a result of travel security delays in Chicago.

Hopkins flew out of San Diego on Friday–waiting an hour in a security screening line–en route to a week of extensive training and physical evaluation in France with the team’s full-time trainer. Hopkins has already been following a rigorous training and nutrition program in preparation for the 2002 MotoGp season.

The trouble began when Hopkins sought to transfer to an Air France flight to Paris, which originated in a different terminal than the one his American Airlines flight arrived at.

Two hours lost in security lines at Chicago saw Hopkins arrive at his Air France gate shortly before the flight was scheduled to take off; the Air France flight had been overbooked and Air France had already given Hopkins’ seat away.

Hopkins was rebooked on British Airways through London and arrived in Paris too late to make a flight to his ultimate destination, Clermont.

As of post time, Hopkins was in a hotel near the Paris airport and hoped to continue his travels Sunday morning.

From a press release from the California Superbike School:

New Training Aid Helps Align Riders With Their Bikes

The California Superbike School’s newest training aid helps riders go with the bike. One of the most common errors riders commit is counterleaning in corners, just like the proverbial “bad passenger”. Keith Code, continuing his development of innovative training devices, calls this one the B.A.D., Body Alignment Device.

The articulated cradle mounted to the rear of a school ZX 6R is rotated onto the rider’s back, aligning them on the bike with a gentle pressure that prompts them to relax and just go with the flow.

Code says, “Riders cause their own instability by sitting up straight and pushing the bike down in corners. This is what an uneducated passenger does to cause the bike to run wide in turns. Passengers aren’t actually steering the bike they are causing it to become unstable. For the rider, once this is corrected, they feel noticeably more in harmony with the machine.”

All Superbike School students are drilled and corrected on this common error, the B.A.D. helps them achieve the result quickly.

For additional information, call California Superbike School at (818) 841-7661.

On February 15, the new four-stroke Grand Prix bikes from Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and possibly Aprilia will be on track together for the first time.

2/14-15 125cc, Jerez, Spain

2/15-17 MotoGP (500-990cc), 250cc, Valencia, Spain

2/18-19 125cc, Valencia, Spain

2/20-21 MotoGP (500-990cc), 250cc, Estoril, Portugal

3/11-12 MotoGP (500-990cc), Catalunya, Spain

3/30-31 MotoGP (500-990cc) Suzuka, Japan

The first round of the 2002 FIM MotoGP World Championship is scheduled for April 5-7 at Suzuka, Japan.

From an FIM press release:

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix
Changes to the Rules for the 2002 season

The main changes to the 2002 Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations, beside the introduction of 4-stroke prototypes up to 990cc in the MotoGP class (former 500cc class), are the following:

Sporting Regulations

-To replace “500cc” by “MotoGP” in the whole regulations. MotoGP class: 500cc 2-stroke/990cc 4-stroke.

– Riders in the MotoGP class must be in possession of a “FIM Grand Prix Super License”.

-The maximum age of new contracted riders participating in the 125cc Grand Prix for the first time and wild card riders is 25 years at 01.01.2002.

-All manufacturers must be in possession of the appropriate “FIM Manufacturers’ License”.

-No substitution or replacement of the entered rider may be made after 17h30 on the first day of the event (technical control), except in the case of the MotoGP class where substitutions may be made up until 12h00 on the second day of practice.

-Each Grand Prix host Federation (FMNR) may nominate 3 wild card entries for the 125cc and 250cc classes in their own Grand Prix.

-The MSMA may, at each Grand Prix event, nominate 1 wild card entry for the 250cc and MotoGP classes.

-The FIM may nominate 2 wild card entries for the 125cc and 250cc classes, and the FIM/Dorna may nominate 1 wild card entry for the MotoGP class at each MotoGP event.

-Timetable for Qualifying practice: 125cc: 13h15 to 13h45; MotoGP: 14h00 to 15h00; 250cc: 15h15 to 16h00.

-Practice restrictions: when there is a break in the Championship of two or more consecutive week-ends, then the exceptions will not apply from 9h00 on the Wednesday after the Grand Prix until the following Grand Prix. Winter testing for 125cc and 250cc teams will be restricted to their own continental zone (Europe – Americas – Asia/Oceania – Africa) or official IRTA tests.

-Starter engines may also be used on the grid. Number of persons for each rider on the grid: 7 for MotoGP; 3 minutes before the start: 2 mechanics for MotoGP.

-Only riders who have completed at least one sighting lap will be permitted to start the race from their position published on the final grid. Under no circumstances may they push their motorcycle onto the grid from the pit lane. Riders may complete more than one sighting lap by passing through the pit lane where they may make adjustments, change machines or refuel. Riders who do not go onto the grid may start the warm-up lap from the pit lane under the instructions of a marshal positioned at the pit lane exit. Such riders must have tyre warmers removed and may not change wheels after the display of the 3 minutes board. Riders starting the warm-up lap from the pit lane must start the race from the back of the grid. If there are two or more riders starting from the back of the grid, they will take up position in the order in which they qualified for the race.

-No signal of any kind may pass between a moving motorcycle and anyone connected with the motorcycle’s entrant or rider, save for the signal from the timekeeping transponder, from the on-board cameras, two way radio voice communication…

-Teams will compete for a MotoGP Team Championship; teams in the MotoGP class will be, in principle, be comprised of two riders. The names of the teams will be composed of three elements: the name of the manufacturer of the motorcycle or engine (mandatory), the name of the team (mandatory except when the team name is the same as the manufacturer) and the name of the main sponsor (optional). All points scored by both riders in the team, including substitutes or replacements, will count toward the Team Championship; in the case of a one rider team, only the points scored by that rider will count. Wild card riders do not score points.

-Entries; a rider shall be deemed to have taken part in the event when he participates in, at least, one practice session. A rider shall be deemed to have started a race when he participates in, at least, the first lap of the race.

-Finish of a race and race results: to be counted as a finish in the race and be included in the results, a rider must cross the finish line on the race track (not in the pit lane) within five minutes of the race winner. The rider must be in contact with his machine.

-The white line indicating the pole position must be painted 1 meter before the start line.

-As from 01.01.2003, races will not be stopped for changes in adhesion resulting from climatic changes.


Technical Regulations

-Helmets must be of the full face type and conform to one of the recognised international standards: Europe: ECE 22-04 & ECE 22-05 ‘p’ – Great Britain: BS 6658 Grade A – USA: DOT Federal Standard n° 218/SNELL M95 & M2000.

-Restrictions of materials: the basic structure of the crankshaft and camshafts must be made from steel or cast iron. Pistons, cylinder heads and cylinder blocks may not be composite structures which use carbon or aramid fibre reinforcing materials. Brake calipers must be made from aluminum material with a modulus of elasticity no greater than 80 Gpa. No parts of the bike or engine may be made from metallic materials which have a specific modulus of elasticity greater than 50 Gpa/(g/cm³).

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

In early December 2001, Alan Schwen, the 2001 WMRRA overall Champion, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease, also known as Lymphatic Cancer.

In a telephone call to Roadracing World January 2, Schwen said that he started to feel the symptoms of some unknown illness in September of 2001, but didn’t go see a doctor until after returning to his Olympia, Washington home until after the Suzuki Cup Finals in late October. Schwen’s first doctor didn’t think the swollen spots on his neck were anything more than a viral infection, but luckily referred the 36-year-old racer to specialists.

Oncologists at the Western Washington Oncology Cancer Center in Olympia immediately ordered biopsies that confirmed Schwen’s cancer just after Thanksgiving. “Those were a couple of scary weeks,” admitted Schwen. “Luckily, we found it early, and luckily, it’s one of the most treatable and curable cancers out there.”

According to the American Cancer Society’s website, www.cancer.org, “In 2002 there will be about 7000 new cases of Hodgkin’s disease in this country. About 1400 people will die of the disease. Because of better treatment, death rates have fallen by more than half since the early 1970s.

“Treatment for most cases of Hodgkin’s disease is very effective. The 1-year relative survival rate after treatment is 93%; the 5-year and 10-year rates are 82% and 72% respectively. At 15 years, the overall survival rate is 63%. The survival rate refers to the percent of people with Hodgkin’s disease who live at least that many years after their cancer is diagnosed.

“For the most part, we can say that no major risk factors for Hodgkin’s disease have yet been found.

“Since we do not know what causes Hodgkin’s disease, it is not possible to prevent the disease. A great deal of research is under way to try to find the cause of this cancer.”

Schwen has already begun treatment with the first of eight, bi-weekly chemotherapy sessions. After the chemotherapy, which Schwen describes as feeling like having a stomach virus, Schwen will have to go through four 5-day weeks of radiation therapy.

Schwen says that doctors have already seen signs that the lumps in his neck are going away and expect him to have a full recover with no restrictions. Then Schwen hopes to be able to defend his Number One plate in 2002. “Our racing season up here doesn’t start until mid-April, and I will be done with the radiation treatments in mid-March,” pointed out Schwen.

Schwen, the Parts and Accessories Manager of Southside Honda in Olympia, said that he does have health insurance but that his annual deductibles are high and that with the new year starting he will have to pay both year’s deductibles at once. WMRRA’s club officers have begun discussions on a possible fund raiser to help with Schwen’s medical expenses. For additional information, call WMRRA at (425) 338-4686, www.wmrra.com.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

As of January 1, 2002, the American Historic Racing Motorcycles Association (AHRMA) has increased its annual membership dues from $35 to $40, according to AHRMA Executive Director David Lamberth. The increase in the base rate is the first since 1993. To offset the increase in membership dues, AHRMA is offering a three-year membership deal for $100, a savings of $20, through the end of January 2002.

In other AHRMA news, post-entries will be accepted for the 2002 AHRMA events at DeLand Airport (2/28-3/1) and Daytona International Speedway (3/4-5). In the recent past, pre-entry was required to race with AHRMA during Bike Week in Florida. For more information, call (615) 851-3674 or go to www.ahrma.org.