Erion Racing’s Formula Xtreme specialist Mark Miller has fully recovered from the surgery that Dr. Arthur Ting performed on his hand late in February. The procedure was to insert a metal plate in Miller’s left hand to mend bones broken in a motocross fall. Miller has been back riding for some time but showed that he was fully healthy at Ken Maely’s flat track Saturday, March 24. Miller rode several 50-lap, 30-minute motos while beating Libasci Racing’s Andre Castanos and Roadracing World’s Chris Ulrich in every race. Miller said that he was looking forward to his team’s up-coming tests at Road Atlanta and Willow Springs before his Formula Xtreme season opener at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California, May 4-6.

With Scott Russell close to the point of starting his rehab, it is still unclear how long the former World and AMA Superbike Champion will be out of action and who, if anyone, will temporarily fill his HMC Ducati seat in his absence. When Roadracing World called HMC Ducati Monday March 26, we got the answer.

“Scott’s name and stickers remain on his bikes and will be at Sears Point (the next round of the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship series) waiting on him,” said HMC Racing’s Press Officer Wendy Hogg. “They are Scott’s bikes. We will have no problem with having the bikes just sitting in the pits at Sears Point. We are also very confident that Steve Rapp can represent HMC Ducati well by himself.”

Sears Point Raceway is Rapp’s home track.

Sonomafest 2001 begins April 27 with the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days West, as the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) marks its fifth annual visit to Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Aside from the normal slate of Vintage races, AHRMA will highlight Indian motorcycles at Sears Point to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary. Indian motorcycles will be on display, and former AMA Grand National Champions Bobby Hill and Bill Tuman will be on hand to act as Grand Marshalls. Hill and Tuman were both members of the legendary “Indian Wrecking Crew” of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Road racing, flat track, observed trials, motocross, a bike show, a swap meet, seminars, a vendor midway, and organized rides will all be part of the 10-day event that concludes May 6 with the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike races at Sears Point Raceway.

Tickets for the event are available by calling 1-800-870-RACE.

With the threat of the epidemic outbreak of foot-and-mouth livestock sickness looming over their disease-free island, members of the Isle of Man’s Parliament will decide the future of the 2001 TT in a vote. Manx politicians are already split on the topic as tourism officials stand toe-to-toe with agriculture representatives over the topic of the 95-year-old road race. Canceling the Isle of Man TT or letting the estimated 40,000 fans come onto the island from the infected mainland could each have a terribly negative impact on the island’s economy.

A car rally, scheduled for May 11-12 and expected to bring in about 1000 visitors, has already been canceled by Manx officials. Motocrosses and other road races in the United Kingdom have already been canceled or postponed. The Isle of Man TT has never been canceled except in time of war.

The Isle of Man Parliament is expected to vote on the race in mid-April.

All three of Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s riders suffered injuries during two weeks of racing at Daytona International Speedway February 28 – March 11, but all three are likely top be fully recovered in time for upcoming races and test sessions.

Grant Lopez, 29, suffered a broken thumb on his right hand as well as possible broken ribs in a highside during practgice February 28th. Despite the injuries, Lopez ran away to the Formula USA Unlimited Superbike win Sunday, March 4 in rainy conditions–conditions which Lopez said helped his cause.

Lopez crashed again, after Roger Lee Hayden’s blown-up Erion Honda deposited oil in turn one during the March 9 AMA 600cc Supersport race. After repairs were made to bike during a red-flag break top clean up the oil, Lopez restarted and eventually finished 17th, despite taking the re-start from the back of the second wave of the grid. As of March 26, Lopez had not sought further treatment to his injured thumb, saying that he planned to resume training on his motocross bike before the end of this month. Lopez plans to attend a test session at Road Atlanta April 10-12 before continuing to defend his Formula USA title at Willow Springs International Raceway April 19-22.

John Hopkins, 17, broke his collarbone in an incident following the red flag during that same 600cc Supersport race, after leading the race at several points. Hopkins looked over his shoulder as he slowed down on the back straightaway after the red flag, and Miguel Duhamel drifted in front of Hopkins. Hopkins looked forward again just before he hit the rear tire of Duhamel’s bike and fell; Duhamel did not crash as a result of the incident.

Hopkins’ broke his collarbone, but it did not require resetting or any medical treatment other than immobilization. Hopkins will miss the upcoming AMA team tests at Road Atlanta, but expects to compete in the next round of the AMA series, scheduled for May 4-5 at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California

Ben Spies, 16, broke his left hand after highsiding in the International Horseshoe in practice for the Formula USA Daytona event. Spies sat out that race weekend, but got back on the bike for the AMA sprints, and took second place in the AMA 750cc Supersport race behind former 750cc Supersport Champion Jason Pridmore. Spies also sought no further medical treatment than that received from Dr. David Kieffer at Daytona. A knuckle on Spies left hand is slightly displaced, but Spies already has 80 percent of his grip strength back, and the hand caused him little trouble in the 750 race.

Originally scheduled for November 4, the final round of the FIM 500cc Grand Prix World Championship Series at Nelson Piquet Circuit in Rio, Brazil, has been moved up one day. The Grand Prix will now be held on Saturday, November 3rd, with practice and qualifying also moved up a day each to Thursday and Friday, November 1-2.

According to a posting on Scott Russell’s official website, www.screamingchief.com, Russell has been transferred via air ambulance to Piedmont Hospital in the Atlanta area but may be only days away from going home. With his condition now fully stabilized, Russell’s sister Sheri reports that Scott may be able to go home under the care of a private nurse until doctors are ready to begin performing skin and bone grafts. Russell has said that he wants to try and race again this season.

In the meantime, Russell’s website now features photos of Russell’s injured leg as seen from his hospital bed with the bandages on and off. Warning: These photos are very graphic.

Also, Russell did a TV interview with ESPN’s Motoworld and Speedvision’s Bike Week. The Motoworld interview is scheduled to air Tuesday March 27 on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. The Bike Week segment is due on the same day at 7:00 p.m. Both times are Eastern.

According to a March 23 report on Britain’s Motor Cycle News Online, Aaron Slight has signed to drive a Peugeot 406 Coupe in the British Touring Car Championship in 2001 and 2002.

Roadracing World had been led to believe by Ducati North America officials that Slight had agreed to compete in the entire 2001 AMA Superbike series. But in the days following Slight’s arrival in the U.S., it became clear that no such deal had been made. In reality, Slight had only agreed to ride the Competition Accessories Ducati 996, vacated by John Kocinski, at Daytona, and then make a decision whether to complete the series.

Slight was less-than-impressed by race control and operations at Daytona, specifically with the red-flag-causing pace-car incident, Scott Russell’s horrible starting grid collision, and the bizarre AMA rule allowing riders to switch to back-up bikes in the middle of the Superbike race. All of the above contributed to Slight’s decision not to remain in the AMA Superbike series.

Although Ducati North America and both the HMC and Competition Accessories Ducati teams remain officially mum on the subject of replacement riders, it is believed that Mike Hale, Tom Kipp, Craig Connell and Australian teenager Anthony West are at the top of the short list to fill the vacant seats.

Toru Hasegawa has been appointed the new President of Yamaha Motor Company. Outgoing Yamaha President Takehiko Hasegawa (no relation) moves up to become the company Chairman. Both men move into their new position as of April 1, 2001. Before his promotion, Hasegawa served as the Senior Managing Director of Yamaha. Yamaha is the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

Rausch Creek Motorsports Park’s first scheduled event has been postponed due to weather-related construction delays. “Our first track event was going to be the GP Pro (CCS Northeast) race the first weekend in May. We’re looking into rescheduling. It looks like we are pushing things back about two weeks at this point. Our next racing event is our WERA event Memorial Day weekend, and we are working toward being able to run that event,” said Rausch Creek’s Marketing Manager Mark Deery March 26.

“With the winter as cold as it was, the frost line was down to 18-20 inches. Above that it was frozen solid, and you can’t work in earth like that,” explained Deery. “You either have to remove it and work below it or work in other areas where you make larger cuts. There was a ridge at the north end of our paddock that we cut into to expand our paved paddock to a little over 10 acres from what was once about eight.

“Now we’re back on track schedule-wise, and we can concentrate on finishing the track. We have to still do the stoning, the base coat, and the top coat. The cure time is between four and six weeks, and it’s the cure time that will preclude the Loudon Series (CCS Northeast) event.”

Deery also said that track officals have set up a test for AMA Superbike teams to come by and run the track June 19-20, the Tuesday and Wednesday immediately following the Loudon AMA National.

Located along I-81 between I-80 and I-78 near Harrisburg Pennsylvania, Rausch Creek Motorsports Park is a ground-up development that includes a road race course and off-road racing courses. The road race course is 2.33-miles in length with 16 turns. The track is 40 feet wide and has several hundred feet of elevation changes. The track was designed by noted racetrack engineer Alan Wilson with motorcycle use first in mind. In addition to Rausch Creek, Wilson also designed the new Barber racetrack in Alabama, Carolina Motorsports Park in South Carolina, and Gingerman Raceway in Michigan.