Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

First Person/Opinion

By John Ulrich

AMA Pro Racing’s much heralded news rules comment procedure is little more than an attempt to create the illusion of participation by and communication with the people who actually race with AMA, the riders, mechanics and team owners.

The AMA Pro Racing press release announcing the new procedure, issued on September 12, was headlined “AMA Pro Racing creates open forum for two-way communication regarding new racing rules.”

The release continued, “AMA Pro Racing announced today the creation of a new forum for two-way communication with the racing community, an avenue that provides racers with the means to review and comment on proposed changes regarding racing rules….The proposed rules changes can be viewed at AMA Pro Racing’s new racing community website…This website is password protect for exclusive use by AMA Pro Racing credentialed riders, team owners and managers, mechanics and other key industry members….The comment period serves as the official forum for AMA Pro Racing participants to communicate their thoughts and reactions to the proposed rules changes, and comments are encouraged. This new venue for two-way communication is the first in a series of anticipated changes in the rules-making process designed to engage the racing community in an early and more active role in the process.”

The release went on to explain “The catalyst for this newly formalized means of active communication is an outgrowth of a six-month consulting study by former Indy Racing League executive director Leo Mehl for the expressed purpose of enhancing consensus and participation within the racing community. Mehl gathered input from participants of each AMA Pro Racing discipline and melded that with the best practices from other race sanctioning bodies in his recommendations.

“On a regular basis, rules changes are proposed, drafted and recommended to and by AMA Pro Racing Competition Advisory Boards in each racing discipline. These advisory boards consist of riders, mechanics, other team members, manufacturer representatives and promoters. These boards meet quarterly to discuss potential rules changes for proposal to the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors.”

Even ignoring the fact that at least one rule change first posted for comment on September 14 had actually been put into practice in June, without comment, the entire process remains flawed. To start with, the Road Racing Advisory Board is non-representative, stacked with factory team representatives who seem more interested in convenient parking of their semi-trucks than in the greater good of the majority of the paddock. Nobody racing in Pro Thunder or 750cc Supersport is included, and all the members are hand-picked by the AMA Director of Professional Competition.

But the biggest indicator that the system is fatally flawed is the fact that nowhere in the proposed rules changes for 2002 is there any mention or discussion or consideration of the need for unrestricted Thursday practice, despite the fact that 133 Pro Racing participants—76 licensed racers and 57 team owners, mechanics and crew members—signed petitions in support of unrestricted Thursday practice, with copies going to every member of the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors as well as being delivered to the Road Racing Advisory Board at Brainerd, in July.

The signatories included a who’s who of non-factory team owners, managers, crew chiefs, mechanics and crew members. Rich Oliver of Team Oliver Yamaha. Chuck Graves of Graves Yamaha. Richard Stanboli of Attack Suzuki. Carry Andrew and Landers Sevier of Corona Ebsco Suzuki. Keith Perry of Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki. Gary Ricci of Ricci Motorsports. James Siddall of Corbin Yamaha. Brian Turfrey of PJ1 Techstar Team Turfrey. Tom Montano of Munroe Motors Ducati. Jeff Nash of AMS Ducati. Henry Duga of Buell. That group alone accounted for first, second and third in the 2001 AMA 250cc Grand Prix Championship; first, second and third in the 2001 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship; first, second and third in the 2001 AMA 750cc Supersport Championship; and first, second and third in the 2001 AMA Pro Thunder Championship.

Yet despite support from the men who run the teams that took the top three positions in four out of six AMA Pro Racing Championships in 2001, the proposal to allow unrestricted Thursday practice apparently didn’t even merit consideration, and never even got to the comment stage.

And instead of even considering the expressed support for unrestricted Thursday practice, AMA Pro Racing has instead actively sought to eliminate Thursday practice altogether for 2002.

Whatever that is, it isn’t “two-way communication” and it isn’t “active communication.”

What it is, is the same old BS in a new package, providing the look of change without actually delivering change.

And another convincing argument for the total overhaul of AMA Pro Racing, from the top down.



See related posts:

7/28/01, Who Attended AMA Road Racing Advisory Board Meeting At Brainerd Friday Evening

7/28/01, 76 AMA Pro Racers And 57 Team Owners And Crew Members Support Thursday Practice Opposed By Factory Few

Former racer David Sadowski, racer Steve Rapp and former racer (and current stuntman) Tom McComas are in italy working on a World Superbike-theme movie directed by American Jeff Jensen, according to an e-mail from McComas.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC) is celebrating its 10th anniversary during the final weekend of the 2001 WSMC season, December 15-16 at Willow Springs International Raceway.

Racers will have a chance to win commemorative 10-year anniversary plaques and winners of Expert races that do not feature a cash purse will be awarded a certificate for a free Saturday practice in 2002.

In addition, the top five finishers in each of the three Novice classes will be awarded free Saturday practice certificates with a sixth certificate being given away in a drawing for the 11th through 20th place finishers in the Novice classes.

The overall WSMC Championship is still to be decided at the December round with Chuck Graves, Jeremy Toye and Brian Kovarick in contention. Also, the top 10 overall Championship finishers are still to be decided. Top-10 finishers receive a free WSMC membership for the following year, a $110 value.

The December Toyota Cup Unlimited Grand Prix Formula One event will also mark the last chance for racers to earn an entry to the annual WSMC drawing for a Toyota Tundra pick-up truck. Top 10 finishers in the race each receive an entry in the drawing. Vincent Haskovec won the Toyota Truck drawing at the 2000-season WSMC awards banquet, held in January 2001.

Each racer at the December WSMC event will be required to bring their helmet to techn inspection on Saturday, December 15.

A new rule will also go into effect at the December WSMC round: Any racer who crashes during the weekend must bring all of his or her riding gear to tech be re-inspected, prior to riding on the track again.

Cruise America Grand Prix Racing’s Jason DiSalvo closed out his 11-month-long 2001 racing season with mixed results, competing in the final two rounds of the Spanish National 250cc Grand Prix Championship on November 18 and 25.

DiSalvo qualified 12th at Valencia on November 17 after having been as high as eighth before crashing out on the damp track. Racing in a field of World Championship regulars, 17-year-old DiSalvo finished 11th on his A-kitted Honda RS250, moving into 12th in the Spanish Championship points standings.

The next weekend it was off to Jerez for the New York teenager. DiSalvo quickly got up to speed with top-10 practice times early in the event before qualifying 11th for the final race of the season. DiSalvo hoped to finish well enough in the final race to move up into the top 10 in points in the Spanish series. Unfortunately, DiSalvo was collected in a first-corner pile-up, crashed and was forced to retire with bike damage.

“It was tough luck but that’s all part of racing, I guess,” said DiSalvom quoted in a press release issued by his team. “It’s been a long season but I’ve enjoyed it and learned a lot. I’d like to say a big thanks, not only to my parents and my team, but to all our sponsors who’ve made it possible. Roll on 2002!”

Team owner Jim DiSalvo was quoted in the same release as saying, “We set out on a huge learning curve this year and we’ve achieved a lot of our goals in our first season on 250s. We have a number of options for next season, one of which is to go to the World GPs and we are in positive negotiations with those authorities at present.”

This just in from racer Jeff Wood:

Could you please put a note in Inside Info asking if anyone knows how to get ahold of Chris Wallace of GPRA? I have not received purse money from the Daytona or Willow 250cc GP events ($1000). I spoke to Chris about four times throughout the year, each time he said he had already mailed the check.

Now his phone number is disconnected and his address has changed. I tried e-mailing him and received no response. I get the feeling he is hoping I will just go away without the purse I earned. The worst part is being lied to multiple times this year.

Anything you can do would be a help.

Jeff Wood
347B Pratt St.
Mansfield, MA 02048
(508) 339-5772
FAX (508) 339-5760

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

In response to positive public reaction, Aprilia is considering selling the head-turning Blue Marlin concept bike in the U.S. for the 2003 model year. As debuted at the Milan motorcycle show in September 2001, the concept bike featured a full-power RSV1000 Mille engine, top-notch suspension pieces and brakes, and OZ wheels, wrapped in 1960s retro-musclebike styling.

“It’s my understanding that they are considering (the Blue Marlin) for a 2003 model,” said Aprilia U.S.A.’s Robert Pandya in an e-mail to Roadracing World. “However, the spec (Ohlins or not, OZ or not, etc.) has yet to be decided. Reaction to the bike in the U.S. has been very positive. Personally, I hope they bring it in. We need at least one bike where the headlight turns with the handlebars!”

From a press release:

MARLBORO YAMAHA TEAM TESTS
Phillip Island, Australia
November 27/28/29/30 2001

MISSION ONE ON TARGET AT PHILLIP ISLAND

The Marlboro Yamaha Team entered into MotoGP’s new four-stroke era at Phillip Island this week, conducting four days of promising development work on the all-new Yamaha YZR-M1 racer.

Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa rode alongside Yamaha tester John Kocinski during the tests, the trio completing almost 600 laps on five different YZR-M1s. The three riders met every target assigned for the four-day session, including lap times and durability, and will continue testing at Sepang, Malaysia, next week.

This week’s tests are of particular significance, for this was the team’s first outing with the YZR-M1 since the last-ever 500 World Championship concluded earlier this month. Both Biaggi and Checa are now totally focused on the YZR-M1.

The Phillip Island outing also gave the riders their first chance to acquaint themselves with several new staff, including YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda and new team technical director Ken Suzuki. Yoda was delighted with progress during his first track days with the crew.

“The team last tested the four-stroke at Brno in August when Carlos did a very impressive race simulation time,” said Yoda, who used to be responsible for 500 GP engine development and was project leader of the YZR250 during its successful World Championship campaign in 2000. “We established our target for this session from that performance and I’m glad to say that we have achieved that goal. Like Brno, we’re not aiming at one-off fast laps but at consistent race-distance performances from the bike, the riders and the tyres. I’m very happy with this week’s work and I’m enjoying working with the team. Both Max and Carlos are giving excellent feedback and I’m looking forward to continuing our work at Sepang next week, where we will have the same kind of target, taken from the race pace at this year’s Malaysian 500 GP.”

For obvious reasons of secrecy during this crucial interim period between the last 500 championship and the first four-stroke-based MotoGP series, the Marlboro Yamaha Team has decided not to reveal lap times from Phillip Island and Sepang, but both Biaggi and Checa are quietly confident after their Island outing.

“Last time I rode the M1 during August my main priority was still to get the best out of the 500,” said Biaggi, who finished second overall in the final 500 World Championship. “So this was the first time I could dedicate all my efforts to the four-stroke. I’m enjoying the process of adapting my riding style to suit the bike, especially getting used to the four-stroke’s extra engine braking, and once I’ve fully achieved that process I think I’m going to enjoy riding the M1 more than I enjoyed the 500. The four-stroke’s power delivery is much smoother than the 500’s, and though the chassis is similar to the 500’s, it’s not identical.”

Biaggi’s only real problem during the tests was with the local wildlife – on the second day he collided with a seagull, breaking a windscreen, and later he had to take avoiding action when a hare ran on to the track.

“These tests have been very useful,” added the Italian. “I’m very happy with the new staff that have joined the team to work on this new project, I think that we now have the best group I’ve ever worked with. The factory is working very hard and they have an excellent reaction time – next week we will have some more new parts to test at Sepang. That session will be very interesting because Sepang is a very different track from Phillip Island. There’s a lot more heavy braking there, so we’ll be working on getting that right. Sepang is also very tough on tyres, largely due to the hot conditions, so we’ll be able to do a lot of work on tyre endurance. Tyres will be particularly important from now on because there’s more than one tyre manufacturer involved in our championship.”

Checa, who has made no secret of his enthusiasm for the four-stroke project, was very happy with his pace at the Island. “This was an important test for us because it was the first time we’ve been able to fully concentrate on the four-stroke without having to go back to racing the two-stroke,” said the Spaniard, who recorded impressive lap and race-distance times when he rode the YZR-M1 at Brno during August. “Like Brno we’ve been focusing on running consistently fast laps and looking at where the M1 performs better and worse than the 500, so we can improve the bike in every possible area. It’s been tough, because concentrating so hard for four days isn’t easy, especially when you’ve so much stuff to try. But I’ve enjoyed myself and it’s been good
to start working with some new staff within the team.”

Yamaha have made various detail improvements to the powerful YZR-M1 over the past three months, and much of the Phillip Island tests were focused on evaluating different specification engines and chassis.

“We spent some time mixing and matching the various different combinations,” said Marlboro Yamaha Team manager Geoff Crust. “We have several different engine and chassis specs, so we’ve been playing with them between the five different bikes we’ve got here. This is the first time since August that Max and Carlos have ridden the bike and it’s their first chance to focus totally on the four-stroke, so they’re concentrating on getting used to the bike and learning its character. They’re forgetting the 500 and learning a whole new package.

“We’ve also done a lot of work here with Michelin. We assigned one day to tyre testing alone, trying some development tyres which we’ve never used before, and continuing to focus on race pace, rather than one-off quick laps. The results are promising and we’ll continue learning at Sepang next week.”

The Australian weather mostly smiled on the team this week, though the morning of the last day was lost to rain and a few light showers interrupted proceedings on Tuesday.

Next weeks’ Marlboro Yamaha Team tests at Sepang run from December 6-8, then the squad takes a well-earned break before resuming testing in Europe in January 2002. Next season’s inaugural MotoGP series kicks off with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on April 7.