Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

In a secret test held late Tuesday afternoon, May 8, Erion Honda joined AMA Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick at California Speedway to determine if it is feasible to hold an AMA race at the Fontana, California track.

After being tipped to the test by a mole deep inside AMA Pro Racing, Roadracing World assigned David Swarts to visit the Speedway and see what was going on.

But Swarts’ visit to the Speedway was cut short when Barrick asked him to leave the facility.

“The track wants to keep this real low key. They don’t want any publicity of this,” Barrick told Swarts.

Before leaving, Swarts was able to learn that the Speedway, best known for its 2.0-mile D-shaped banked oval, also has an existing 1.3-mile road course in the infield, although little if any of the existing track would be used for AMA Superbike racing if the track signs on as a promoter.

Barrick confirmed that there are plans in the blueprint stage to build a completely new infield road course to accommodate motorcycles and other road racing vehicles. “What they have now is just for testing purposes,” said Barrick, who added that a new road course could be ready in time to put it on the 2002 AMA schedule.

Erion Honda’s semi-truck transporter was casually parked in the huge paddock area, where two CBR600F4i and one 2000-spec CBR929RR Hondas were unloaded for Jake Zemke and Mark Miller to ride.

One of the 600s had Miller’s #24 on the plates even though he does not race 600s for Erion in the AMA series. The bikes did not appear to be equipped with data acquisition systems but were fitted with Daytona gearing, according to Erion Crew Chief Rick Hobbs. The initial plan was for the riders to ride the oval as it went “green” at 5:00 p.m. PDT, then to move on to the road course.

Miller asked Hobbs what he should do when he ran out of gearing and Hobbs replied, “Just roll out of it.”

Along with Barrick, Miller, Zemke and Hobbs, the test was attended by Erion Honda owner Kevin Erion, several members of the Erion crew, a large number of California Speedway safety crewmen, and many men in shirt and ties believed to be executives with the track or its parent company, International Speedway Corporation.

Orange traffic cones were arranged throughout the infield course, blocking crossroads and serving as braking markers. Cones were also placed on the front straight and entering turn one. Braking reference point boards, labeled 3, 2, 1, were attached to the oval track’s outside catch fencing approaching turn one.

The infield of the California Speedway is relatively flat and free from any major obstructions. This will allow some freedom of creativity in the design of the new road course.

The Speedway’s infrastructure is well developed, and the track recently hosted a sell-out crowd of 120,000 for a NASCAR event. There are permanent garage spaces for what looked to be close to 100 cars, water fountains and bathrooms on the end of every paddock building, a dedicated parking area for 18-wheelers with power hook-ups, 71 corporate hospitality suites above the garages on pit lane with rooftop viewing areas, and Sky Boxes on top of the 86,000-seat grandstand.

Built in just 18 months prior to its 1997 opening, California Speedway features 14 degrees of banking in the turns, 11 degrees of banking on the front straight, and four degrees of banking on the back straight. According to the California Speedway website, Mauricio Gugelmin used the track to set a record for the fastest lap around a closed course at 240.942 mph in 1997. The speedway racing surface is 75 feet wide with a 15-foot apron road around the bottom edge of the entire track. The facility offers extremely easy access for the Southern California area as it is located at the intersection of the I-10 and I-15 freeways, approximately 50 miles west of Los Angeles, 60 miles east of Palm Springs, 90 miles north of San Diego, and 250 miles southwest of Las Vegas. The track has paved parking for up to 32,000 vehicles and even features its own Metrolink train stop. The $133 million facility has been used in the making of several feature films, including “Charlies Angels” and “Driven”.

International Speedway Corporation bought the track from Penske in 1999. International Speedway Corporation owns several major racing facilities in the United States, including Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Raceway, Phoenix International Raceway, Virginia International Raceway, North Carolina Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nazareth Raceway, and Watkins Glen.

William France is the Chairman and CEO of International Speedway Corporation, which is based in Daytona Beach, Florida. Roger Penkse is the Vice Chairman of the Corporation.

International Speedway Corporation trades on the NASDAQ as ISCA and reached a 52-week high price of $48.00 per share on May 2, 2001.

Before Swarts left the track, Barrick asked how Roadracing World found out about the test.

“This is what we do,” Swarts told Barrick.

Recently retired Honda Racing Manager Gary Mathers showed up at the Sears Point AMA National wearing an AMA Pro Racing shirt, serving as a new Operations Consultant reporting directly to AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth.

AMA Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick was quick to tell reporters that Mathers’ appointment made a wealth of valuable experience available to AMA Pro Racing.

But when a reporter asked Mathers about longer-than-normal Tech Inspection delays at Sears Point–it took team mechanics and individual riders about three times longer than normal to get racebikes through tech, with long lines stretching out of the tech garage–Mathers said he hadn’t paid any attention to tech.

Roadracing World and Ballzee Aggressive Wear will host a Friday evening, May 18 Air Fence Contributor Appreciation Party and Barbeque for contributors to our Air Fence Fund.

Contributors will also have an opportunity to autograph sections of Air Fence/Air Module that their contributions helped pay for.

The party is being organized by freelance public relations consultant Dorina Groves and will be hosted by John Ulrich.

A Speedvision crew may videotape the event.

Further details will be posted as they are available.

Willow Springs International Raceway will install gravel traps outside turn two prior to the AMA National scheduled for September 13-16 at the Rosamond, California track.

Willow Springs’ Greg Huth revealed the plan in a May 8 phone call to Roadracing World headquarters.

In the same phone call, Huth pledged $3000 on behalf of Willow Springs Raceway toward the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund.

Aaron Yates’ high-speed crash into an air barrier at Sears Point during the televised 600cc Supersport race made a big impact on viewers, including racers and crew members who saw the crash on TV monitors along pit lane.

In what may be karma, Yates and his wife Heather upped their donation to our Air Fence fund by $300 to a total of $500 the day before his crash into one of the few Air Fence modules in action at Sears Point.

Yates went into the air barrier neck and shoulders first, and his father, Lucky, pointed out that such an impact into haybales (or worse, into a bare concrete or steel barrier) can be very, very serious.

Yates went out of his way to mention Air Fence on the Superbike podium later in the day and in the post-Superbike-race press conference, and to specifically mention roadracingworld.com’s efforts to obtain more Air Fence for our racers.

The section of inflated air barrier that Yates hit was an Air Fence module. Although it was not tied down properly, it was still effective and prevented Yates from suffering any injuries.

The AMA currently owns three Air Fence sections and Sears Point itself owns an additional seven sections of Air Fence. Sears Point deploys its Air Fence sections in turns one and 10 for all motorcycle races.

TV coverage of the impact led Rob Nance of Austin, Texas to send this e-mail to roadracingworld.com:

“I am curious what the folks at Roadracing World have to say about the Speedvision coverage of the AMA weekend, more specifically, their comments about Air Fence in the AMA Supersport 600 race. When Yates went down, the announcers quickly stated that the Air Fence placed by the AMA saved his life in more or less words. Nothing was said about the fact that he hit one of just several at the track that day, and the fact that the AMA had put off requisition of the aformentioned 29 sections they had been talking about.

“Yates lucked out; thankfully, due to the efforts of John Ulrich, Roadracing World, and the great fans of motorcycle racing everywhere, the next guy won’t have to get lucky. I guess the Speedvision guys could have gotten in a lot of trouble for mentioning the fact that there was very little Air Fence used at Sears Point, but I think the additional ‘AMA cares about racers’ they alluded too was a bit much, considering how false the assumption is.

“Keep up the great work Roadracing World!”


There will be 15 new sections of Air Module at Road Atlanta May 15, along with two representatives of Alpina Safety Systems to oversee correct deployment and installation of the sections. Additional sections of Air Fence will arrive shortly after the Road Atlanta weekend.

Meanwhile, OMRRA President Spiros Gabrilis sent this message of supprt:

“On behalf of its membership, the OMRRA Board has pledged $500 toward the Air Fence safety fund. OMRRA employees a small section of Air Fence and we can attest to the life-saying benefits of the barriers. It’s a comforting feeling to see that so many in the industry and the sport have answered your call. More important, though, we can all draw certain unambiguous conclusions from the glaring absence of certain names from your list.

“In any motorsport event, rider safety must be the first concern of all involved. Alot of people seem to understand that. One wonders why others who should, don’t.

“Thanks for your efforts.”


At Sears Point, Dennis Pegelow’s DP Enterprises and Stratton Racing’s Stuart Stratton contributed to the fund.

An updated posting of new contributions and total donations will be posted soon.

Ducati issued a press release at the Spanish Grand Prix stating that the company will investigate building a four-stroke GP bike but will remain committed to the Superbike World Championship. The release read as follows:

“THE STUDY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FOUR-STROKE GP CLASS DUCATI PROTOTYPE BIKE GETS UNDERWAY – OFFICIAL INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP TO CONTINUE

“Jerez de la Frontera, May 4, 2001

“Ducati Motor Holding SpA has decided to entrust its dedicated racing structure, Ducati Corse, with the task of studying the construction of a four-stroke prototype, which will eventually take part in the Grand Prix World Championship in the near future.

“Racing forms part of Ducati’s ‘DNA’ and has always represented the main promotional ‘vehicle’ for the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer.

“Ducati is the most successful manufacturer in the history of World Superbike, the championship reserved for four-stroke, large capacity production-based sportsbikes, and has won 17 titles (8 Riders’ and 9 Manufacturers’) in this category of racing since 1990.

“This remarkable record, which has been achieved with its ‘desmodromic’ twin cylinder bikes, has contributed to the extraordinary commercial success of the Ducati marque, which has paralleled success in the World Superbike Championship.

“A careful analysis of the opportunities offered by the new regulations, which allow 990cc four-stroke prototypes to take part in the GP category, together with the company’s recent success, which saw a record production run of 39,000 motorbikes in the year 2000, has convinced Ducati to embark on this ambitious new project.

“Ducati Corse engineers are working on taking the concept of the twin-cylinder ‘desmodromic’ engine to its extreme limit. This radical new engine will eventually be inserted in a tubular trestle frame, in the best tradition of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. The aim is to build a competitive and innovative prototype while at the same time maintaining the features that have made Ducati famous and successful throughout the world.

“Innovative and avant-guard ideas, which have become the key characteristics of the success and exclusivity of Ducati bikes all over the world, will in the future be experimented not only in Superbike but also in GP racing and will help to further increase the quality and performance of Ducati’s road models.

“In the coming years Ducati will therefore be involved with factory teams on two fronts: in Superbike for the promotion and development of its own production bikes and in Grands Prix for the experimentation of new technologies.”

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Four-time AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion Rich Oliver has split with mechanic/fiance Jocelin and is looking for a new mechanic, and has also signed with a new agent, Jeff Haney of OMS Ltd.

Oliver announced his engagement to the racer formerly known as Jocelin Veilleux at the Pikes Peak AMA National last August, after working with her as his mechanic for part of the season. Veilleux changed her legal name to just “Jocelin” prior to meeting Oliver.

Until he can find a new full-time mechanic, Oliver is being helped out by long-time sponsor Wilson’s Motorcycles of Fresno. At Sears Point, Oliver was assisted by Robert Ward, a mechanic who formerly worked with Erion Honda and Muzzy Kawasaki and now is a line mechanic at Wilson’s. At Road Atlanta, Oliver will work with Gary Georges, a former racer and line mechanic who is now General Manager of Wilson’s.

Oliver crashed while leading the 250cc Grand Prix race at Sears Point, in turn one, but was uninjured.

Oliver said in an April 30 phone interview that he is happy to have signed with OMS Ltd., a management firm, and to be working with former racer and long-time friend Jeff Haney.

“It means alot to me that Haney is involved with them (OMS),” Oliver said. “Haney and I go way back, to high school.”

As for working with OMS, Oliver said “It’s nice to have a little bit of backing behind you. I don’t mind working on the little deals, the product sponsors, but as far as actually searching for a major team sponsor or negotiating my contract with Yamaha, I’d rather have OMS do that.”

Oliver said that Jocelin’s desire to be a professional racer instead of concentrating on his career contributed to the break-up, and that information was posted on Roadracing World last week. But in an e-mail to Roadracing World, Jocelin disputed that, writing, “To start off, I split with Rich, and it had nothing to do with racing, the truth, actually is quite hair-raising. I respect Rich’s career, and have kept my reasons for leaving Rich quiet for this because I do, however, I don’t feel it is fair that I am the one attacked for this. I’m sure you know that I did nothing short of supporting Rich and his ‘Championship-winning program’. Rich cannot deny, I offered to quit racing SEVERAL times to concentrate on only his program, especially after Daytona, he did not want that. The four race weekends that I attended while I was with Rich, was not only his idea, but pretty much set up by him.”

Jocelin, who crashed and broke a wrist during practice for the Formula USA weekend April 20, riding her TZ250, also denied reports that she caused the collision with Michael Hannas that led to her fall. “As for the crash at Willow involving…Michael Hannas,” wrote Jocelin, “it is a shame. I went looking for him many times with Tom Sera (who saw the incident, and had a bit of a different story). I wanted to chat with Hannas and find out what happened. When I passed Hannas, he was on the far left of the straight and I was on the far right. I never pulled in front of anyone. I held my line and pulled my brakes at my marker. I feel badly we were involved in a crash on only the first lap of practice, and I am sure he does, too.

“Anyway,” concluded Jocelin in her e-mail regarding the original post on roadracingworld.com, “I hope I am not coming across in the wrong way, I am in no way telling you what to write, just frustrated by the slack I’ve gotten over the article. Although we all enjoy a good story, it’s even better when it is the truth.”

In a May 7 phone call to Roadracing World, eyewitness Tom Sera confirmed Jocelin’s version of the incident involving Hannas at Willow Springs, and said he saw Hannas move over behind Jocelin after she passed him. Sera did say, however, that Jocelin put on the brakes relatively early for the corner, and that it appeared that Hannas was surprised by that.

Sears Point Raceway issued a press release announcing a new sponsorship deal with Kawasaki, but the racetrack will continue to be known at Sears Point and will not become Kawasaki Point.

The release read as follows:

“Sears Point Goes Racing With Kawasaki

“Sears Point Raceway has formed a partnership with Kawasaki that will make the manufacturer the ‘Official Motorcycle and ATV’ of the raceway.

“The deal is three years in length, with Kawasaki providing cash sponsorship and vehicles to meet the needs of Sears Point Raceway.

“‘We are excited to partner with Kawasaki and their quality products,’ said Tim Schuldt, Vice President of Sales/Marketing at Sears Point Raceway. ‘We also look forward to working with Kawasaki and helping the company achieve its goals in the marketplace.’

“Kawasaki begins its relationship with Sears Point Raceway as the facility continues work on its $35 million modernization plan that will transform the raceway into one of the premier entertainment and motorsports venues in the country.

“From the class leading Ninja® sportbikes and thundering Vulcan* cruisers to the rugged Prairie® ATVs and Mule* utility vehicles, Kawasaki products lead the powersports industry around the globe. The secret of Kawasaki’s success is in designing and manufacturing products that offer balanced performance, high quality, reliability and excellent fit and finish.

“Sears Point Raceway is owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc (NYSE: TRK)., a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. SMI also owns and operates the following premiere facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. SMI also provides food, beverage and souvenir merchandising services through its Finish Line Events subsidiary, and manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars through its 600 Racing subsidiary.”