Erv Kanemoto’s Bridgestone tire development team is testing at Catalunya, Spain today, March 16, the middle day of a three-day session.

Riders Shinichi Itoh and Nobuatsu Aoki are hard at it in Bridgestone’s drive to build competitive tires in time for the 2002 Grand Prix season. The team tested at Jerez February 11-13 and has many more tests already scheduled throughout Europe.

Itoh and Aoki are testing the tires NSR500 Honda V-4 two-strokes, but the goal is to develop tires suitable for use on 990cc four-stroke Grand Prix racebikes, which will be allowed in what is now the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship starting next year. Honda has built and is testing a V-5 for the series, while Yamaha has built and is testing an Inline Four.

Palm Valley Racing, Inc. announced March 15 that construction has begun on the new North Florida Motorsports Park. Located 20 minutes from the intersection of I-10 and I-75 in north-central Florida, the new 2.0-mile, nine-turn road course was designed by former racer, racing school owner, racing official, and racetrack designer Ed Bargy with motorcycle club racing in mind. The 36-foot-wide track will feature virtually no elevation changes, with flat or minimally-banked corners and large run-off areas free of obstacles, and can be run in either direction.

One of the signature features of the new facility will be large, old-growth oak trees in the paddock to provide shade, and on-site camping will be allowed.

Palm Valley Racing, Inc. is owned by Borge Larsen, who is President of the corporation. The project is being financed by Larsen, a businessman and motorcycle enthusiast.

Palm Valley Racing Vice President Julian Poczatek says that the track, although primarily designed for use by club racers and amateur organizations, would be open to hosting a National event.

The target date for completion of the track is July 4, 2001, but Poczatek admits that date may be a little ambitious. When the track is completed, Poczatek plans to hold an open house for racing officials, riding school organizers and representatives of the media. Plans also call for the establishment of a website with ongoing updates on construction.

North Florida Motorsports Park is located near Jennings, Florida, just off I-75 Exit 87, 100 miles West of Jacksonville and 90 miles East of Tallahassee.

For more information, contact Julian Poczatek at (904) 707-1737 or (904) 781-5814.

The oldest motorcycle road race in the world–the Isle of Man TT–is in danger of being postponed, or possibly canceled, due to an outbreak of Foot And Mouth Disease (aka Hoof And Mouth Disease)in the United Kingdom. According to British news reports, the Isle Of Man has been unaffected so far by the livestock epidemic that is crippling Great Britain’s international trade, and some Isle of Man officials want to keep things that way by postponing or canceling the 2001 TT.

Although island officials have already refused delivery of a shipment of 5000 haybales from England for use on the TT mountain course, no official word of cancellation or postponement has been issued by the Manx government. The 95th Isle of Man TT is still scheduled to take place May 26 through June 8 despite an ongoing disagreement between Minister of Tourism and Leisure David Cretney and Minister of Agriculture Alex Downie. Cretney wants to monitor the situation daily until the middle of April before making any decision on cancelling or postponing the TT. Downie wants the races postponed now to protect the island’s agricultural business, which is second only to tourism in impact on the Isle’s economy. Downie has asked Cretney to develop contingency plans to postpone the races but has also publicly acknowledged threats from Isle of Man farmers to block roads with their equipment if the races are held.

Other than in time of war, the Isle of Man TT races have only been postponed once before. That postponement was in 1966 during a national seaman’s strike, which disrupted transportation to and from the island.

Foot and Mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease affecting animals including cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, buffaloes and deer. The disease is not usually lethal to adult animals, but is deadly to younger animals.The United States and Canada have banned agricultural products coming from the entire European Union, and authorities in England have ordered that 300,000 animals be killed, burned and buried, and the movement of animals in or from affected areas has also been banned.

Foot and Mouth disease is very contagious and is spread by contact and through the air, and the virus can be carried by wind and infect animals miles away from its original source. The virus can also survive in fresh, frozen and cured meats and in non-pasteurized dairy products. The good news is that the disease has only a mild effect on humans.

The only way to control the disease is through quarantine and by killing and burning animals that have been infected or have been in contact with infected animals, followed by cleaning and disinfecting the premises.

Indicating just how seriously the United Kingdom is taking the Foot and Mouth disease problem, the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) in England (which puts on the Isle of Man TT races) has canceled all off-road motorcycle riding events, Scotland has placed its most famous sheep – Dolly the cloned sheep – in special quarantine, and Ireland has canceled the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade. The opening rounds of the Irish road racing season have also been postponed.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities are requiring that travelers who have been on farms in affected areas overseas disinfect their footware upon arrival at U.S. airports. At some airports travelers are required to wipe their shoes with an alcohol and water solution, while a bleach-and-water spray is being used at other airports.

A racer and eyewitness says that a critical delay in deploying the pace car set off the incident that resulted in the Daytona 200 being red-flagged. And, over the two weekends of Formula USA and AMA racing at Daytona, race control, cornerworker deployment and decision-making were seriously flawed with resulting delays causing needless crashes, says racer Chris Norman, who himself suffered a broken arm in one incident.

“I was sitting in the infield at the exit of the dogleg (during the Daytona 200),” said Norman, of Antioch, Tennessee. “Anyway, the crash that started everything was Mike Ciccotto highsiding coming out of the west horseshoe. It was a pretty ugly crash and Mike didn’t move for almost a minute. Mike’s a pretty fast guy so he wasn’t too far behind the leaders that early in the race. I was wondering if they were going to bring out the pace car to help him out.

“About the time (leader Mat) Mladin came (back) into the infield Mike started to sit up. When Mladin had already passed and the big pack for second was coming through, Mike was getting to his feet. At the angle I was at, I could see Mike in the horseshoe and Mladin on the banking at the same time. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the pace car take off. I said to my brother, ‘What the hell are they doing bringing the pace car out now, he’s already up and they didn’t even wave the pace car flag.’

“Only then did I notice that the cornerworker at the entrance to the west horseshoe was in fact waving a faded-looking orange flag. It was hard for me to see and I was just standing there. I’m not sure if the cornerworker in the left-hander heading onto the banking was waving the pace car flag when the big pack of riders came through—it would have been close. I’m almost positive it wasn’t out when they were coming into the west horseshoe. But they were racing so hard I’m not surprised they didn’t see it.

“It seemed to me that the powers to be thought about bringing out the pace car for a good minute-and-a-half and then they decided to hurry up and throw it to get in front of the leader since he’s almost at the pace car spot. Basically they had over a minute to throw the flag and didn’t until Mike was on his feet. I personally think that was a bad decision. And that’s what caused the pile-up with (Jamie) Hacking and (Aaron) Yates which ultimately led to the (Scott) Russell crash.

“Of course, I already had a bad attitude concerning decision-making after I crashed in the Formula USA Unlimited Superbike race in the rain. I highsided coming out of the chicane. I’m not sure how many people crashed there but it was a lot. Like more than a dozen. The officials then shut down the racetrack and told everybody there was some slippery spot on the track and they couldn’t fix it. As far as I know I was just the second person to crash there. But after the third or so, don’t you think there’s a problem that should be checked out?

“And I sat in turn one for the AMA 600 Supersport race and saw Roger Lee (Hayden) blow a motor and had to watch crash after crash after crash after crash after crash. I think there were five. But that was about three too many. They had to know they had a problem there—everybody in the stands knew.

“I’m not trying to start any war. I’m just relaying my experience at Daytona. And I feel there were a lot of people hurt and a lot of machines destroyed because of some bad decisions made by people other than riders.

“I feel I’ve earned my right to bitch since my brand-new GSX-R is all tore up and I’m trying to type with a broken arm. But hey, that’s racing. I’ll see you guys in five weeks.”

Norman’s statement was originally posted on wera.com and is reproduced here with his permission.

Sources at Willow Springs Raceway say that a second Formula USA National may replace the cancelled AMA Superbike National orginally scheduled for September 14-16.

As reported earlier on roadracingworld.com, AMA promoters Hansyllan Motorsports cited the cost of promoting an AMA event, difficulties encountered working with AMA officials, and a significant financial loss on the company’s 2000 AMA race at Willow Springs as being behind the decision to cancel.

If efforts within the motorcycle industry to revive the Willow AMA National fail and the track releases the date, Formula USA is eager to sign up for a second go at the Los Angeles-area market. A Formula USA race is already scheduled for April 19-22 at the Rosamond, California track.

Formula USA officials could not be reached for comment at post time.

Team Obsolete’s Rob Iannucci has sent the following proposal to various clubs, magazines, and tuners interested in Vintage racing. The proposal’s complete text follows:

“A Modest Proposal To Rationalize Classic Racing Eligibility:

“Classic racing is now two decades old. When we began, most 350 and 500 four-stroke machines were genuine originals. Today most such machines are replicas, many with more powerful short-stroke motors and greatly reduced overall weight. The genuine original machines have been forced out by unrestricted development.

“Perhaps our sport is now mature enough to welcome back the original machines (call them Classics) to race in a separate class alongside the replicas (call them Evolution machines or Evos). Two-wave starts would be the norm.

“What would be the eligibilty criteria for the Classics? Let’s keep it simple to avoid scrutineering hassles: Thoroughbred TT, Grand Prix, and Short Circuit racers, 1968 and earlier, period drum brakes, standard brakes, standard bore (0.040 overbore?)/standard stroke/valve
angle/motor height, WM 3.00×18/19 rims, maximum five-speed gearbox (waiver for original equipment 6-7 speeds), period type carbs and ignitions. Machine weight would be the same as the originals.

“Replicas of ‘specials’ or of limited production ‘works’ machines would not be permitted, but truly accurate replicas of racing machines that were once in production would be welcomed.

“This could be a win-win situation. The manufacturers of replica machines would have an expanded two-tier market, the genuine machines would return to the fray, older competitors could enjoy more relaxed rides, and the spectators would see closer racing in an expanded format. Nobody loses.

“Team Obsolete would like to continue to race original machines, including our AJS Porcupine, AJS Triple Knocker, and the Arter Singles. Others have said so, too. The time has come now for our sport to revitalize and to preserve an appropriate racing format for such macines.

“Rob Iannucci
Team Obsolete”

Iannucci, who is based in Brooklyn, New York, is a Vintage road racing pioneer and a co-founder of the AHRMA.

Pirelli riders finished first and second in the opening round of the Supersport World Championship, held at Valencia, Spain last Sunday.

Pere Riba and Piergiorgio Bontempi finished first and second on Pirelli Supercorsa tires, Riba on a Honda and Bontempi on a Yamaha. The seventh and 10th-place riders also ran on Pirellis, being Christophe Cogan on seventh on a Yamaha and Werner Daemen on 10th on a Yamaha.

Dunlop riders finished third, fourth, sixth and ninth, while Michelin riders finished fifth and eighth.

This just in from HMC Racing:




“HMC Ducati Teams rider, Scott Russell, is resting comfortably in Halifax hospital following surgery to injuries sustained to his left arm and leg in an accident at Daytona Speedway during the first round of the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship.

“Russell was rushed to Halifax Hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair the compound fractures to his left leg and arm. He lost a lot of blood both on his way to hospital and during surgery; a total of seven transfusions were made. Surgeons replaced the shattered bone in his left arm with a plate and placed a pin in his leg. Russell was moved out of intensive care on Tuesday morning but returned that evening after surgery to remove a broken drainage tube from in his leg persuaded doctors to leave the incisions open for several days to try and relieve the pressure build up caused by swelling.

“Despite pain and discomfort, Scott is in high spirits. He was sitting up eating breakfast this morning and complaining – a good sign says Scott’s sister Sheri. The former World Champion is confident he will be riding soon and has promised Team Owner, Mitch Hansen, that he will be back on the bike before long. His family has stayed on in Daytona to be by Scott’s side and thousands of get well wishes have flooded into Scott’s internet site.

“For updates or to send a message to Scott, please visit the Scott Russell website at www.screamingchief.com or for pictures please visit www.hmcracing.com.”

SFX Motor Sports has issued a press release announcing that it has done a radio deal for coverage of its motorcycle racing events. The release read:

“SFX Motor Sports Group announced that Open Road Radio* is the official radio program of Formula USA motorcycle racing including the National Dirt Track Series, The National Road Race Series, Arenacross and more.

“Under the mutual sponsorship, Formula USA will provide exclusive race reports, live in-studio and phone-in interviews after race weekends,
offering enthusiasts across America the ability to listen in every Sunday evening through a syndicated network of radio stations and via the web.

“The Chicago based famous motorcycle talk radio show, Open Road Radio*, kicked off its first nationally syndicated broadcast on November 12th,
broadcasting from the Love Ride 2000, which had over 20,000 participants.

“A little under a year from tying for 1st place in TSL in the Chicago market at WCKG 105.9 FM and 5th place for men 18-49 by Arbitron Audience Estimates, Open Road Radio is hitting the national airwaves to travel into your home/garage with its newly acquired 29 station affiliates. (See the Website: www.chicagomotorcycleguide.com for station affiliates, pictures and more.)

“Open Road Radio has been on the air since 1997 at smaller stations in the Chicago area. It has been broadcast on the 50,000-watt station WCKG since last September. The show can be heard nationwide from 7-8 p.m. CST on the Talk America Radio Network, 8-9 p.m. CST on Chicago’s WCKG (105.9 FM), and can be heard by visiting www.formulausa.com.

“Listener’s favorite segments such as The Formula USA Speed Shop, S&S Cycle’s ‘Tech Talk,’ Yamaha’s ‘Dealer of the Month Profile,’ Biker Billy’s ‘Hot
Tips’ and Paczolt Financials’ ‘Consumer Awareness Corner’ are regular favorites of the shows success.

“‘Open Road Radio* has tremendous national potential and offers great content to motorcycle enthusiasts every week. Their format and our division’s relationship with our parent company, Clear Channel Communications was a marriage that was bound to happen’ said Dan Krolczyk, Senior Director of Marketing, Motorcycles for SFX Motor Sports Group.

“SFX Motor Sports Group is the producer and presenter of the American Motorcyclist Association EA SPORTS Supercross Series presented by Speed Stick, The Speed Stick National Arenacross, The IFMA Freestyle Motocross
Series, The Formula USA National Road Race and National Dirt Track Series, and CCS Championship Cup Series racing. SFX, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU), is the world’s largest producer and marketer of
live entertainment events. SFX currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books 130 live entertainment venues, including 44 amphitheaters in the U.S. Each year, more than 60 million people attend approximately 26,000 events
promoted and/or produced by SFX, including: Live music events; Broadway and touring Broadway shows; family entertainment shows; and specialized sports and motor sports shows. SFX also provides strategic sports marketing sales
and consulting services to professional and college teams, leagues, venues and properties.

“In addition, SFX owns a leading full-service talent management company, specializing in the representation of athletes and broadcasters. SFX is headquartered in New York City. More information is available at www.sfx.com.”