Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA riders will not ride in the rain at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire despite the recent application of traction sealer, and some are suggesting that the track be taken off the AMA schedule entirely.

“We’re not going to,” said AMA Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick Friday morning when asked if the AMA will run races in the rain at NHIS. “The track is aware and is going to work with us. We’re going to stay as long as we can to run the race. It it’s Saturday, we’ll try to run the race on Sunday. If it’s Sunday, we’ve got Monday.”

While the weather at NHIS is currently clear, thunderstands are forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Several riders are adamently against racing in the rain at Loudon, or, for that matter, at racing at the track at all.

“It ain’t gonna happen,” said Jamie Hacking of the possibility of racing in the rain. “None of us are going to do it. It’s too dangerous. We shouldn’t be here in the dry. We had Phoenix taken off our schedule, and we feel this one has to be taken off for the same reason. It’s slick, bumpy, walls, there’s trees, there’s rocks. I’m sure you’ll get the same answer from anybody you ask.”

Local star Eric Wood had a different view, praising the sealer and other improvements, saying “Absolutely, without a doubt (the track can be raced in the rain). This place is way safer. I wouldn’t hesitate to send my own son out there. This place is no more dangerous than any other place I’ve ever been.”

Superbike Champion Mat Mladin objected strongly when AMA Media Relations Contractor Larry Lawrence suggested that Mladin should have at least given the track some credit for safety improvements in a highly critical interview published in this morning’s Manchester Union Leader newspaper.

“Have any of the walls been moved?” Maldin asked Lawrence in the press room at NHIS. “The track hasn’t made any improvements to make the track safer.”

Mladin also said, “I feel the motorcycles have outgrown the racetrack,” and said of the sealer applied to the track surface, “All the sealer has done is cover up the bumps.” Maldin also complained about gooey asphalt used to fill in cracks and joints in the pavement.

As Lawrence objected and said that he felt Mladin’s comments were “to the detriment of the sport,” Mladin said “It’s my personal opinikon that the motorcycles have outgrown the racetrack and I don’t care if you don’t like it, Larry.

“Tell you what. Get on the back of my bike, we’ll go out and I’ll knock you off and then you can hit a wall and see how you like it,” said Mladin before walking out of the pressroom.

At least one rider, roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich, crashed after hitting the gooey asphalt applied to fill cracks and seams in the pavement, during practice yesterday. Another problem encountered during Thursday practice involved a large section of pavement which had come loose from its base at the apex of one corner in the esses, like a toupee gone awry. The piece of asphalt was marked with red spray paint before Friday practice started, and track Safety Director Jerry Wood hoped to glue the section back down with an epoxy compound during the lunch break.

Aaron Yates topped the first Superbike qualifying session at Loudon, Friday afternoon. Times follow:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:10.022
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:10.065
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:10.405
4. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:10.819
5. Steve Rapp, Ducati, 1:11.119
6. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:11.228
7. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:11.229
8. Pascal Picotte, Harley-Davidson, 1:11.423
9. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:11.483
10. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:11.887
11. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:12.106
12. Andreas Meklau, Ducati, 1:12.163
13. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:12.549
14. Jordan Szoke, Harley-Davidson, 1:12.774
15. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:13.115*
16. Mike Smith, Harley-Davidson, 1:13.352
17. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:13.646*
18. Rich Alexander, Suzuki, 1:14.043*
19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:14.274*
20. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:14.434*
21. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:14.480*
22. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:15.023*
23. Michael Gallagher, Suzuki, 1:15.150*
24. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:15.522
25. Michael Niksa, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:15.723*
26. Richard Neenan, Jr., Suzuki, 1:15.818*
27. Mauro Cereda, Suzuki, 1:15.939*
28. David McIntyre, Suzuki, 1:16.168*
29. David Dandrea, Suzuki, 1:16.559*
30. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 1:17.058*

*750c Supersport entrant on 750cc Supersport machine

Munroe Motors, a San Francisco, California dealership known for sponsoring AMA Pro Thunder and Isle of Man racer Tom Montano, recently filled an order for 22 sidecar rigs built to look like a television set on wheels for a promotional campaign.

The machines were ordered by Seismicom.com, an advertising agency working for Ultimate TV, a new interactive television service from Microsoft. The promotional plan calls for riders, dressed in matching outfits, to ride the sidecars through major city centers, attracting attention for Ultimate TV.

Munroe Motors had three weeks to source, supply, build, and deliver the machines with sidecars, which were based on Royal Enfield 500cc Bullets built in India.

Anthony Gobert crashed his Yamaha YZF-R7 in the first half of the first Superbike qualifying session at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire Friday afternoon.

The session was red-flagged and restarted after Gobert was transported to Concord Hospital for X-rays.

According to Yamaha Crew Chief Tom Houseworth, Gobert suffered a suspected broken right arm and a suspected hyperextended neck. But, Houseworth said, “everything works.”

Gobert crashed in turn eight, a fast right-hand kink in the back section of the course.

Doctors in the Infield Care Center at NHIS later reported that Gobert suffered a compound fracture of his right elbow.

But X-rays at the hospital revealed that Gobert had not broken his elbow, although bone was visible with the skin torn away, and that he did not have a hyperextended neck. But he did separate his shoulder.

1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:12.428
2. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:12.579
3. Roger Hayden, Honda CBR929RR, 1:12.764
4. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:13.008
5. Grant Lopez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:13.420
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:13.447
7. Josh Hayes, Honda CBR929RR, 1:13.676
8. Mark Miller, Honda CBR929RR, 1:13.974
9. Rich Alexander, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:14.062

Despite injurying a foot when he crashed during qualifying, Kawasaki Canada’s Owen Weichel took his first-ever Canadian Superbike win in a wet race at Race City Motorsports Park in Calgary, ALberta, Canada. Before his tumble, Weichel earned the pole position with a time of 1:17.847 on the 2.0-mile Race City circuit. Weichel’s crew was up until 3:00 a.m. in the morning repairing the Toronto rider’s crashed ZX-7RR, and Weichel rewarded them with a 5.348-second victory over Yamaha YZF-R6-mounted Jean-Francois Cyr. Riding three weeks after breaking his pelvis, Francis Martin placed third on a Suzuki GSX-R1000, while defending Canadian Superbike Champion Steve Crevier finished fourth on his Honda RC51.

After two of seven rounds complete, Weichel now leads the point standings over Crevier, 106 to 96.

RESULTS
PARTS CANADA SUPERBIKE:
1. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
2. Jean-Francois Cyr, Yamaha YZF-R6
3. Francis Martin, Suzuki GSX-R1000
4. Steve Crevier, Honda RC51
5. Michael Taylor, Honda RC51
6. Ben Pilon, Yamaha YZF-R1
7. Kevin Lacombe, Yamaha YZF-R6
8. Greg Boki, Yamaha YZF-R1
9. Frank Trombino, Yamaha YZF-R1
10. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i

POINT STANDINGS (After 2 of 7 rounds, all 7 count):
1. Weichel, 106 points
2. Crevier, 96 points
3. Martin, 74 points
4. Cyr, 71 points
5. Taylor, 67 points
6. Benoit Pilon, 52 points
7. Martin Hamel, 34 points
7. Nelson, 34 points
9. Jeff Williams, 27 points
9. Trombino, 27 points

Weichel’s expertise in the wet conditions carried over to the Yoshimura 600cc Sport Bike race. Riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R, the defending class Champion again beat second-place Cyr and his Yamaha YZF-R6. Suzuki’s Clint McBain was third on a GSX-R600.

Yamaha’s Frank Trombino and McBain had a terrific battle in the International Motorcycle Supershow Open Sport Bike final. Trombino and McBain battled down to the wire with Trombino, riding a YZF-R1, scoring the victory by 0.364-second ahead of McBain on a GSX-R1000. Honda’s Michael Taylor finished third on a CBR929RR.

The Parts Canada Superbike Championship is next in action 6/17-18 on the runways of Namao Airport in Edmonton, Alberta.

According to New Hampshire International Speedway Safety Director Jerry Wood, 35 pieces of Air Fence/ Alpina Air Module were installed at the track Wednesday, June 13.

“I went around with Hugh Fleming this morning and suggested the places that I thought it would best put, and that’s where they put it,” said Wood in a June 13 telephone call. “Then if Ron Barrick gets here and wants something moved around, we have an extra 400 haybales as well as that stuff. So we’ll be able to adjust it and make everybody happy. We sure do have a lot of Air Fence now.”

The new Air Fence sections are in addition to several permanent sections of Air Fence Bike barriers already purchased by the Speedway for use in Loudon club races. “The track bought a whole ton of the Air Fence Bike product, which is not portable. It lays in place,” said Wood. “It has proven to be really, really effective. You can absolutely drill that stuff, and you not only save the rider, but you save the bike. What normally happens is you pull the bike out of it and ride it off.”

When asked where the inflatable barriers are, Wood said, “There’s a bunch of it in turn two and a little in turn three. There’s a bunch in turn six. We have a high impact area there. Six is the big bowl turn at the bottom of the hill. There’s a place there if you might lose the front end. You’re going pretty fast there. We have a gravel trap, then we have the Air Fence Bike product behind the gravel trap, then we have the soft tire barriers behind that. The inside of the turn eight/nine combination, we’ve got it in there. Then going down the hill to turn 10, off to rider’s right, it’s all across there.

“I’m hoping that the AMA riders will feel more secure here,” said Wood, the father of two professional racers. “But of course, it’s a fact that we have not had any wall-related injuries since we re-designed the race track, not at a pro race or our club races. We just ran 1200 entries this last weekend. We have huge races. We have a money race, and the guys at the front of that were turning 1:12s, which is just a couple of seconds off the Superbike times at Loudon. We have a real good safety record. I’m real happy with it. That’s without the extra Air Fence. So with the extra Air Fence, we should be looking really good.”

When it starts raining at a racetrack, like it did at Road America, everyone starts thinking more about safety. In the past, AMA Pro racers have had strong reservations about racing in the rain at Loudon. “Gary Medley (Doug Chandler’s Kawasaki Crew Chief) told me that they had an AMA meeting at the last race, and that they were told that they were going to run here whether it rained or not,” disclosed Wood. “We also resurfaced the whole track with an abrasive compound. So we don’t have any slippery spots any more. There are no slippery patches. There’s a constant traction surface throughout the whole track.”

During the AMA National weekend June 15-17 at New Hampshire International Raceway in Loudon, New Hampshire, there will once again be a Jimmy Adamo Memorial race on the program to remember the late AMA Pro Twins racer, who died during the 1993 Daytona 200.

“We have such a strong road race following up here,” said Jerry Wood. “We have a place with everyone to race with the AMA with the 600, the 750, and all of that, but we don’t have a place for 125s and Sportsman bikes. That’s what the Jimmy Adamo Memorial Sportsman race is. It is CCS Sportsman bikes, all of them and 125s, because they do the same lap times here at Loudon. What it does, it gives all of our guys who are top Experts in our club a place to race at the national.”

The 10-lap race is open to Expert license holders from any club as long as they are an AMA member. The entry fee is $75, including post-entry, and a purse of $1500 will be paid out. “We are not letting any cherry pickers in,” laughed Wood. “We just put in that you can not have finished on the rostrum in any AMA or F-USA pro race in the preceding 12 months. Looking over the grid, that’s exactly what we’ve got.” Of the 37 riders already signed up for the race most are riding Suzuki SV650s and air-cooled, two-valve Ducatis although Singles, Aprilia RS250s, 125cc GP bikes, and machines with push-rod engines are also eligible.

After filling in for injured Matt Wait on the Synergy Racing Honda’s during the Formula USA round at Willow Springs in April, Lance Isaacs returned home to take his first-ever win in the South African Superbike Series, on May 27. Following a second-place finish in the first of two races, Isaacs got the better of a nine-bike battle and won in the second race at Western Cape Killarney.

A press release from Isaacs’ management company OMS LTD. quotes Isaacs as saying, “I am over the moon – winning in front of my home crowd was the best thing that could possibly happen. Coming back to South Africa after two years in the World Superbike arena was not easy, but I have learned an enormous amount from the whole Vodacom Nashua Yamaha team over the past few months. Now that I know that I can win here, and that will be the aim from now on.”

Isaacs will ride again in the next round of the 2001 Dark Dog South African Superbike Championship at East London Grand Prix circuit on June 23. Although it is called a “Superbike” Championship, South Africa’s premier series is a 600cc class. Riding a Yamaha YZF-R6 on Metzeler tires, Isaacs now sits third in the Championship points after his victory.

Isaacs is not scheduled to return to action for Synergy Racing here in America as Matt Wait has been cleared by doctors to resume his place on the team. According to Synergy Racing’s Bert Silos, the team is currently looking for additional sponsorship to keep Isaacs racing for Synergy for the rest of the year. Isaacs said that he would be happy to return and race in America if the opportunity arises.

Team Obsolete owner and AHRMA founder Rob Iannucci said June 12 that he was “amazed at the tone” of an AMA press release announcing that the organization has agreed to pay Roger Edmondson $3 million to settle Edmondson’s lawsuit against the AMA.

Iannucci said that he was amazed “given the fact that the courts made specific findings of fact that the AMA had acted wrongfully and maliciously. And that the management of the AMA has lightened the AMA’s treasury by apparently more than $4 million including their costs of litigation.”

Iannucci is currently involved in a lawsuit that he says is similar to the Edmondson suit, explaining “It’s similar in the sense that it accuses the AMA of predatory behavior.”

The AMA press release claimed that the organization has taken steps to avoid future problems, stating “Through this protracted litigation, the AMA’s trustees and staff have resolved to continue their work to protect the Association from situations like this….In today’s litigious climate, it’s virtually impossible to avoid lawsuits, but the Association has taken steps to guard against a recurrence.”

But, Iannucci said, “I just wonder exactly what steps they’ve taken to avoid similar litigation because over the past several years they have had several opportunities to avoid becoming defendants in a lawsuit brought by Team Obsolete, leaving us no choice but to go to the courts. And even now they are refusing to cooperate in accepting service of our summons and complaint voluntarily, requiring us to go through a more cumbersome procedure for serving them, which, ultimately, will cost them more money.”

Team Obsolete’s suit, filed in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, New York, names as defendants AMA, AHRMA, AHRMA attorney Ted Bendelow, AHRMA former Executive Director Jeff Smith (now an AMA Trustee), AHRMA current Executive Director Jack Turner, and several other individuals.

The complaint stems out of Iannucci and Team Obsolete being banned from AMA-sanctioned AHRMA races and the subsequent related loss of sponsorship revenue, along with other issues.

See related posts on June 11 and June 8.