Traxxion Dynamics’ Max McAllister obviously thinks he’s on to something. McAllister issued a press release that read:

“Max McAllister, President of Traxxion Dynamics, Inc. has recently formed a strategic alliance with Shogun Motorsports, an active sponsor of many racing teams and general positive force in the sport of motorcycle road racing. Shogun will provide Traxxion with funding to develop a revolutionary new damping system for Supersport racing motorcycles.

“McAllister’s vision and concepts, combined with engineering commitments from Penske Racing Shocks Vice President Jeff Ryan, will bring Formula One auto racing technology to professional and club-level racers around the world.

“The concepts, while currently unable to be revealed to the public, have been approved by all major sanctioning bodies except for the AMA. Prototype systems will be tested later in the 2001 racing season. Production components should be available to the racing public in 2002.”

Car road racer Frank Parise, a member of the five-man commission that oversees operation of the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona, is heading a task force to determine the feasibility of adding a road course to the drag strip and oval track already operating at the fairgrounds. Parise, 49, retired three years ago after a successful career in real estate and now spends his time on volunteer work–like serving on the fairgrounds commission–and on racing a Dodge Viper in the Viper Challenge Series. Parise is seeking input from motorcycle racing organizations, riding schools and teams to determine the level of interest in a road course.

“We’re trying to demonstrate that the track is financially feasible to operate, with cash flow sufficient to retire the cost of building the track,” Parise said in a March 22 phone interview, while driving to Buttonwillow for a car race.

Parise and his task force are asking the following questions:

1. How many weekend days per year should we assume that your club, school or race organization would be willing to rent the track for its exclusive use?

2. How many weekends per year should we assume that your club, school or race organization would be willing to rent the track for its exclusive use?

3. What do you consider to be a reasonable daily rental rate for the exclusive use of a desirable road course facility?

4. What are the most important factors in making your decision to rent a road course for your events?

5. On average, how many vehicles typically participate in your events?

6. Our current concept is to build a road course having the following features. Please list other features which you feel would be important.
a. Maximum length of 2.5-3.0 miles with a minimum of 11-12 turns.
b. Emphasis on safe and adequate run-off areas.
c. Multiple track configurations available.
d. Combinations of technically complex and high-speed sections.
e. Moderate elevation changes.
f. Spacious asphalt paddock.
g. Covered and/or enclosed garage space based on demand.
h. Conveniently located within two miles of an Interstate 10 exit.

7. Is there a maximum top speed you desire to see on a road course? How long should the straight be?

8. How long and wide should our hot pit lane be?

9. How wide should the track surface be?

10. What can we do to assure ourselves that you will use our facility?

11. What can we do to differentiate ourselves and be successful?

12. Would you be interested in participating in the ownership or operation of the track? In what capacity?

13. Would you be interested in establishing/operating a full-time driving school as the anchor tenant of the track during the week? Please describe the desired operating arrangement.


Parise has requested responses by March 31, and can be contacted via phone at (520) 906-6844, via FAX at (520) 290-3459 or via e-mail at [email protected].

BMW North America introduced several 2002-labeled new products and innovations to media representatives March 21-22 in Austin, Texas, including the updated R1150RT Tourer, the completely redesigned R1150R Roadster, and the third-generation BMW ABS system. Reporters present at the press launch included a mix of representatives from smaller motorcycle magazines as well as journalists from the New York Times and other large newspapers.

BMW’s new EVO integrated ABS system is lighter and produces more stopping power with less lever effort compared to earlier BMW ABS systems. During a test ride through the central Texas hill country, BMW technicians set up a test course to allow journalists to compare the new brake system against other systems. But few of the assembled journalists actually wanted to test the brakes.

One journalist who did want to test the brakes was Roadracing World’s David Swarts, and his antics led other journalists to break out the cameras and start photographing Swarts. BMW representatives ended the test session when Swarts started pulling the R1150RT Tourer up onto its front wheel from 60 mph.

The new integrated BMW ABS system applies all the brakes when either the front or rear brake levers are used. The system is power-assisted and senses brake-line pressure to distribute the stopping force to the wheel that has the most traction. When Swarts had the rear wheel of the R1150RT in the air, the system automatically sent more pressure to the front brakes and the rear wheel did not lock up. And unlike a conventional automotive ABS system that can go directly into anti-lock mode and cause the brake pedal to flutter, the BMW ABS system gives tremendous feedback at impending lock-up—which allows the system to work well under any circumstances and not just during panic stops.

The 2002-model BMWs should appear in dealerships in the next two months.

29 Dreams Motorcycle Resort, a motorcycle-only campground located on Highway 25 just outside Birmingham, Alabama, has scheduled a grand opening on April 21.

The new 29-acre campground features six four-person heated/air-conditioned cabins, along with a barbecue pit and pavilion, and numerous remote tent camping sites. The main lodge has a full kitchen facility, along with a garage area for patrons to work on their motorcycles if needed. A loft area complete with pool table overlooks the main lodge area.

The campground is a short ride from the new Barber Motorsports Complex being built in Leeds, Alabama. Campground owners Greg “Big Daddy” Calhoun and Tim Langley are both motorcycling enthusiasts and members of the Floribama Riders club.

29 Dreams is also sponsoring WERA racer Jeff “Jeffro” Rozycki, who will compete under the 29dreams.com Racing banner.

Additional information about the campground or race team is available from www.29dreams.com or via e-mail at [email protected].

Ducati North America is making plans to replace Aaron Slight for the balance of the AMA Superbike season as well as finding a substitute for the injured Scott Russell.

According to Ducati North America Racing Manager David Roy, Slight’s European Touring Car Schedule conflicts with the AMA Superbike Series schedule, and although there have been discussions concerning Slight competing in five of the remaining AMA races, that isn’t what Ducati wants to. Instead, said Roy on March 22, “We’ve been talking to a couple of people” about taking Slight’s place and filling in for Russell.

Slight agreed to come to America to test the Ducati and then run Daytona. At Daytona, Slight said that he has offers to race touring cars in Europe this summer, and he has now apparently taken those offfers.

When told that fellow World Superbike expatriate Carl Fogarty had no plans to go car racing, Slight then said, “That’s good, because Foggy can’t drive a car for shit!”

During the March 4, 2001 Formula USA race day at Daytona, the GPRA/F-USA 125cc Grand Prix race was started three times and red-flagged three times. The race was then postponed until the end of the day’s racing program, to be run if there was enough time. But there wasn’t enough time due to a lack of daylight.

In a phone call to Roadracing World, GPRA President Chris Wallace made it official that the 125cc at Daytona was canceled due to darkness, with no points or purse awarded. Wallace said that he is working on a make-up race date and will announce that date as soon as he has it.

Wallace added that the make-up race will only be open to racers who were physically present on the grid for the first start of the Daytona GPRA 125cc Grand Prix race. Wallace said that he could’ve put the make-up race at the next GPRA round to be held in conjunction with CCS at Road America in April but felt that venue wouldn’t be fair to everyone due to its distance from Florida.

Freddie Spencer’s High-Performance Product Line has named Alex Florea’s AF Motorsports the at-track Michelin tire distributors for AFM events at Thunder Hill Raceway, Sears Point Raceway and Buttonwillow Raceway.

Freddie Spencer’s High-Performance Product Line has also posted contingency for AFM events, in the form of Freddie Bucks redeemable toward the purchase of tires. In AFM Formula Pacific, the program pays $400 for first, $250 for second, $150 for third, $75 for fourth and $50 for fifth. In AFM 600cc Superbike and 750cc Superbike, the program pays $300 for first, $200 for second, $100 for third, $75 for fourth and $50 for fifth. In AFM Open Superbike, 600cc Production and 750cc Production, the program pays $100 for first, $80 for second, $70 for third, $50 for fourth and $40 for fifth. In AFM Formula III, the program pays $75 for first, $50 for second, $25 for third, $15 for fourth and $10 for fifth.

For additional information contact Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Product Line’s Morgan Broadhead at (702) 591-8915 or Alex Florea at (650) 400-3461.

POSTED March 21st, 2001:

In a March 21 e-mail headlined “RESPONCE” (sic) and sent to Roadracing World but addressed to former racer Allen Engel, Superbike Racing’s Andrew Wright denounced Engel and Roadracing World Editor John Ulrich and firmly placed the blame for the dispute between Superbike Racing and Engel–which is centered around Dymag wheels which Engel bought more than a year ago and found did not fit Engel’s Moto Guzzi, and around Engel’s attempts to either get wheels that did fit or a refund–at Engel’s feet.

In the e-mail, Wright wrote:

“I have no desire to communicate with you at all, now or ever dont (sic) bother wasting your time. As I told you yesterday Carol has issued your refund, before you start to criticize me, make sure that you are beyond any criticism yourself. I guess your (sic) perfect like John you never make any mistakes.

“When I shipped the Dymag wheels to you they were new. You returned them to me they were without security documents no original packing they had not even been cleaned, you just thru (sic) them in the box.

“Most DECENT people wanting a refund would return items in the SAME condition that they recieved (sic) them in. NO NOT YOU. If you returned items to any store for a refund in the condition that you return the wheels to me, you would not have been given a refund.

“All you are interested in is first of all lying to Ulrich, giving him an incorrect account of the transaction and admitting that your intention is to discredit me.

“See your letter to him December ’00.

“You are responsible for this whole bunch of crap, you created this, you and your buddy John. Both of you are immature viscious (sic) and vindictive people.

“Andrew Wright”

Attached to the bottom of Wright’s e-mail was a March 20 e-mail sent to Wright by Engel, after roadracingworld.com posted a news item revealing that Engel still had not received a refund for Dymag wheels which Wright admitted did not fit Engel’s bike and which Engel had ordered more than a year ago. At one point in the saga, Wright made the publication of an “apology” letter from Engel in Roadracing World a condition of Engel getting his money back for the wheels which never fit his bike. At another point in the saga, Wright promised to refund Engel’s money and told him to return the wheels, then refused to accept the wheels when they were delivered to Superbike Racing. Engel’s March 20 e-mail to Wright read:

“I will telephone you in the morning to allow you to explain to me why you feel I am vindictive. It has been nearly two years and I have written one correspondence to one publication. Days drag on to weeks that have dragged on to months. I have always given you every opportunity to do the right thing. You will not even return my calls or call when you say you will. Think about it Andrew – two years, and I have nothing to show for my frustration, time and patience. I am looking at a receipt dated May 28th, 1999. I have a thick folder of e-mails, letters, phone receipts, magazine articles where, when I read them again, it sounds like I am begging for you to either provide me with the correct wheels or return my money.

“I never ever threatened legal recourse, even though I was advised to do so. I have never sued anyone in my life. Certainly when one of our club members or an industry friend asked about Superbike Racing I do not hesitate to relay my personal knowledge. But I have had no contact with John Ulrich, until yesterday via e-mail, since I asked him to publish the apology letter, over two months ago. Once I get my money returned you will never hear my name mentioned again. It is a waste of my time and energy.

“You say your wheels went onto a 1997 1100 Sport. Have the person contact me so he can tell me how he did it. The 1996 Sport (Stan’s) that was at Daytona which had your wheels had a great deal of fabrication done to adapt your wheel and the ’96 wheel hub is very different than that which is on my ’97. The (sic) would love to talk to the guy who purchased the wheels.

“Regards, Allan Engel”

As a result of a horrific starting-grid collision during the first restart of the Daytona 200, former AMA and World Superbike Champion Scott Russell remains in Intensive Care at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach after several attempts to move him to a private room. In the crash, Russell suffered severe compound fractures of his left arm and femur and has undergone surgery to replace bones with metal plates in his arm and to have a rod inserted in his femur. Russell went through another surgery to remove a drainage tube that broke off inside his leg during its attempted removal. On Wednesday, March 14, Russell got up and took steps with the aid of a walker, earning him a ticket to a private room. Later that night, an artery in Russell’s injured leg burst. Luckily, Russell woke before he bled to death and went back to the ICU for another blood transfusion and for repairs to his artery. Russell has received at least eight blood transfusions during his time at Halifax.

Russell is slated for skin grafts to repair cuts made in his leg to relieve the pressure from swelling. It is possible that, after successful skin grafts, Russell could be transferred to an Atlanta-area hospital via an air ambulance, by the end of March. Russell wants to leave the hospital and begin his rehab as soon as possible. Russell has told friends and family that he intends on returning to racing this year.

When Scott Russell was laying injured on Daytona’s pit lane, thoughts could only be for his well-being. Now, a little over a week later, thoughts must now go to who will fill the seat of Russell’s HMC Ducati in the very likely event that Russell is unable to ride in the AMA Superbike National at Sears Point.

Also in question at this point is whether Aaron Slight has decided to commit to Competition Accessories Ducati for the entire AMA Superbike series or to concentrate on his own transition to car racing overseas.

The first name that comes to mind as a possible replacement for Russell or Slight is former AMA, World Superbike, and 500cc GP rider Mike Hale. Hale tested the factory Ducatis at the December 2000 Dunlop tire tests, but many observers figured that Hale would continue pursuit of his new car racing career and not race motorcycles.

Roadracing World spoke to Hale March 20, in a telephone interview.


Roadracing World: Are you in line to fill either Scott Russell’s or Aaron Slight’s Ducati seats?

Mike Hale: “We’ve been really focusing getting this car racing thing off the ground. We’re making really good progress. We’ve got a lot of good contracts for equipment, everything’s in order there, and we’re getting closer with our sponsorships every day with the car racing thing. But at the same time, I would definitely do one of those Ducati rides if everything was in place. There’s just a few things that you have to make sure are right. But I think both of those teams have their stuff together. They’re factory-backed teams. When I went to the tire test in December, I saw everything first-hand. They looked like first-class organizations.”

RW: Has anyone from Ducati or the teams been in touch with you yet?

Hale: “I’ve been in constant contact with them since the tire test. That’s about as deep as I really want to go with that right now. It’s one of those things that if I committed to doing the rest of the AMA Superbike Championship, I would do it. Then we would structure our car racing program around those Nationals. So I would make it (the Superbike series) my priority. I grew up racing motorcycles. That’s what I love doing, but it’s that time in my life to make that transition (to car racing). That’s the future.

“Look at the success that this new TV deal has done for NASCAR. It’s kind of almost taken it to another level. All of the tests and time that I’ve spent in cars over the last eight months has all been positive. I’ve done really good. If there’s an opportunity where I can get in to go all of the way with the cars, I’d be stupid to turn that down because of the success that they’re having. I saw a breakdown of this new TV contract. By the year 2004, the average purse for a Winston Cup NASCAR race will be $11.62 million and there’s 43 cars in a race. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look at that and figure if you even have a chance at getting involved in that to take it. With the contracts and agreements that we’ve got in place now, I have a real possibility at that in the future. I’ve got to go after that.”

RW: How are you able to succeed in that when guys like Dale Quarterley, Jamie James and Kevin Schwantz have fallen short of reaching the big NASCAR show?

Hale: “I think Dale is a success. Even though he’s still running the Busch North Series, I think of Dale Quarterley as successfully making that transition. For me, we are putting together a program for this ARCA series. That’s a pretty big level to start out on. It’s pretty expensive. I would say the biggest factor is money and sponsors. That is the probably the biggest determining factor. That and if you’re able to hang around long enough to prove yourself in cars. There’s not a question in my mind that Kevin Schwantz has the talent to get out there and be a successful car driver. I know he’s got the talent, but go ask Kevin how expensive that series is. For him to jump in and start in the Busch series, that was a big statement. He did good, but you’ve got to have the funding and the sponsors behind you for you to get out there and prove yourself and get the results and get the right people around you.”

RW: Do you have a car race scheduled for your debut this season?

Hale: “No, we do not have a definite debut race. We’ve got the cars. We’ve got the engine program. Basically we’ve got the team agreement. I can’t really go into it yet because we’re not ready to release all of that information. I’ll say I’ve got a Winston Cup team owner behind me. Which is a big, big benefit. We’ve got a couple of associate sponsors that we’ve got verbal commitments from. We’ve got three title sponsors that we’re working with now to be on the deal. When we get those things signed up then we’ll start scheduling.

“It depends on what markets they want us to be in as to what races we do on the schedule. If they have more stores down in Georgia, we’ll do Atlanta. It just depends what the sponsor wants. Our initial proposal now is for 12-15 races of a 25-race series. It’s expensive, but it’s not near the money to do the whole series or what it takes to do like the NASCAR trucks or NASCAR Busch series. We’re looking for a big company to come get involved with us at a lower financial commitment because we’re at a little lower level series.

“The ACRA series and Winston Cup cars are the same cars. Our motors have a little less horsepower. A lot of the races are support races for Winston Cup guys. So we would be racing Saturday when the Winston Cup guys are racing Sunday. So we’re still racing in front of 150,000 people. We have national TV. We’re racing on the same tracks. So you get that experience and you get that experience in the same cars. So it’s a really good training series and stepping stone. I guess it would be considered like 750 Supersport and the NASCAR Busch series would be more like 600 Supersport because it gets more recognition. The Winston Cup would be more like the Superbikes. That’s about how it breaks down.

“When I went to Daytona, we were looking at doing our own motorcycle team. The reason for that was we had a really big corporate sponsor that was interested in doing both the motorcycles and the cars which is kind of what I would like to do. I would like to do them both and be a crossover with the same company. Nobody’s really doing that. I think it would be really cool. I would like to go out there and podium at Laguna Seca on one Sunday and then the next weekend put it in winner’s circle in the ARCA series. That’s something that would be really neat to me, and it’s something that we’re still working towards. I think that if we can get some results in NASCAR and stay involved in motorcycles in some way, I think it would be great. If I could bring a corporate sponsor into AMA Superbike, it would just help the whole series in general.”

Ducati North America Race Manager David Roy said that he would know more about possible replacement riders in the last week of March.