Well-known international racer and Scottish Champion Roger Bennett is looking for a Superbike ride for the Daytona 200 and is willing to consider either a straight lease deal or a trade wherein his team, Bikeshire Racing U.K., reciprocates by running a U.S. rider at a European event.

Bikeshire Racing’s Ray Johnston can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]

Bennett’s career highlights follow:

2000: Scottish Champion and Supersport 600cc Champion on YZF-R-6. Macau GP, qualified fourth on Yamaha France YZF-R7/R1, bike DNF’d lap one. UK Endurance, pole sitter and race winner at Oulton Park 6-Hour.

1999: Second in Scottish 600cc Championship, by 2 points!

1998: Macau Grand Prix, qualified second, finished fifth riding GSXR750 for Harris Superbike Team. Missed Aug-Nov due to injuries.

1997: British Superbikes Privateer cup, best result 11th overall. Macau GP, finished fourth riding GSXR750 for Harris World Superbike Team.

1996: Macau GP, qualified second, finished second on private ZX-7R. Bol d’Or 24-Hour with Team Phase One, DNF while in 10th place. Finished second in British Formula 1 Cup series.

1995: Daytona 200, DNF (crash with Chandler), Daytona Superteams race second. Bol d’Or with Phase One Endurance, reserve rider. Out from Daytona crash until August.

1994: Daytona 200, 16th place, top European. WSB Donington, DNF in rain. British Superbikes, best result fourth at Mallory Park, April.

1993: Bol d’Or 24-Hr with Phase One Endurance, DNF while in fifth or 6sixh (Simon
Buckmaster/Graziano crash). World Superbikes Donington, 20th. British Superbikes, best result sixth at Donington, May. Macau GP, fourth.

1992: British Superbikes, best result fourth at Donington, May.

1991: UK BOTT Champion, four wins and three seconds in seven Rounds. European BOTT
wins at Assen and Carole (Paris). Macau GP qualified third, finished sixth.

1990: Le Mans 24-Hr with Team Phase One, finished about 16th.

1989: Le Mans 24-Hr with Team Bike RC30, DNF. Scottish Champion on RC30.

1988: Bol d’Or 24-Hr with Team Bike RC30, ran 11th place but DNF.

1987: Spa 24-Hr, 10th place finish. Bol d’Or 24-Hr, DNF after crash.

Pirelli/Metzeler Motorcycle Tire Road Race Manager Rich Munson has confirmed that the tire maker is developing a new DOT-labeled front racing tire. Due to the fact that Pirelli/Metzeler front tires in the softest current compound, known as the Blue or Super Soft, have worn so well in racing action, the tire company has decided to build a front tire with an even softer compound. Munson said that he didn’t know exactly when the new front would become available, but speculated that it would be “around mid-season.”

Apparently Roadracing World is becoming the place for foreigners to let it be known that they’re looking for a ride in America, as evidenced by this just-received message:

“My name is Shaun Harris,I am a New Zealander. I am currently Riding for Suzuki New Zealand on a GSX-R600, GSX-R750 and GSX-R1000. I am currently leading the SS600 class by 27 points and also the Superbike class by 9 points from Tony Rees and Andrew Stroud. I was the winner of the 750 Production race at the 2000 Isle Of Man races, I also hold the 750cc lap record at the TT.

“I realize I have left my run a little late,but I am trying to organize a ride at Daytona, I am not concerned what class,I just want the chance to show what I can do. I can bring all suspension components for the Suzuki range, my personnel preference would be Suzuki.

“I am currently working on a deal to bring over my GSX-R1000 Extreme bike.This would not happen until late April or early May. I have 14 years of racing history, including two years in the Japanese Championships. I also have one year of management experience in a World Grand Prix 250cc team. I have three seasons experience on a GP 250cc machine also. For my sake, I hope you can help me. I do not have a good contact base in the States. I hope to hear from you soon.”

Harris can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]

Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Product Line has announced a 2001 Michelin contingency program for the CCS California and Southwest Regions. Payouts are in the form of Cash Certificates that are redeemable from Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Parts Line or from an authorized trackside service representative like Dale Kieffer’s Racer’s Edge and are valid for 90 days from the date of issue. The payouts are for Experts and Novices in Lightweight Supersport and Superbike, 600cc Supersport and Superbike, 750cc Supersport and Superbike, Open Supersport, GTU, Unlimited GP, and Twins classes. The payouts range from $200 for first place in Unlimited GP to $40 for fifth place in many of the other classes. Michelin motorcycle tires must be used front and rear, Michelin decals must be prominently displayed on both sides of the motorcycle and the front fender or fork legs, the rider must list Michelin as a sponsor, a contingency claim must be filled out and verified by a CCS official before racing, and a minimum of 10 riders must start in each class for contingency to be paid.

The payout in Lightweight Supersport, Lightweight Superbike and Twins is $100 for first, $80 for second, $70 for third, $60 for fourth and $40 for fifth. In 600cc Supersport, 600cc Superbike, 750cc Supersport, 750cc Superbike, Open Supersport, GTO and GTU, payouts are $150, $100, $75, $50 and $40. The payout in Unlimited GP is $200, $150, $100, $75 and $50.

More information is available from Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Product Line, 7055 Speedway Blvd. Suite E-105, Las Vegas, NV 89115, (702) 591-8915.

While some AMA supporters are proclaiming a significant legal victory for the AMA, and while a recent website headline proclaimed “Court Favors AMA Over Edmondson In Suit,” a February 2 Appeals Court ruling requiring a retrial on the amount of damages the AMA owes to Roger Edmondson presents the AMA with a very difficult legal problem and the possibility of even greater damages being awarded to Edmondson.

The AMA’s problem is that the Court of Appeals has ruled that the association’s guilt has already been established and all that is at issue is the amount of money the AMA has to pay Edmondson over and above the $240,000 already affirmed. What that means, legal experts say, is that while Edmondson’s lawyers get to present their case again in front of a new jury, the AMA lawyers will not be able to present rebuttal witnesses or claim that the AMA is not guilty as charged.

The issues to be decided by the new jury include the value of the tangible and intangible assets of Edmondson’s business, including cash flow projections and good will, as well as the amount of punitive damages the AMA will be ordered to pay Edmondson. There is nothing to prevent a new jury from finding that the AMA should pay Edmondson even more money than the first jury ordered.

Edmondson also enters the retrial with a significant advantage in terms of proving the value of the disputed joint venture. At the time of the trial in December of 1998, Edmondson’s legal team had to estimate and project the cash flow the joint venture could generate. At the retrial, Edmondson’s legal team will not have to rely on estimates, because the exact revenues generated by AMA Pro Racing in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 will be known and available and can be used to put a value on what was the joint venture and is now run soley by the AMA. Furthermore, since CCS was purchased by SFX Motor Sports in 2000, there is now an accepted method on record used to establish the value of a motorcycle racing business. The combination of those three new pieces of information–the revenue generated by AMA Pro Racing across a six-year post-Edmondson span, the method of determining the actual value of a motorcycle racing business, and the actual sales price of CCS–gives Edmondson’s legal team a strong base to value the business as being worth significantly more than the first jury heard.

Edmondson’s personal income during the years the joint venture operated can also be compared with his personal income in the years after the AMA took over the joint venture entirely, and sources close to the case say that income dropped dramatically from (approximately) between $700,000 and $1,000,000 per year.

It is worth noting that in its statement issued February 3, the AMA characterized the joint venture dispute as a non-renewal-of-contract dispute, while the courts have ruled it was indeed the joint venture that Edmondson has claimed it was all along.

And because the Court Of Appeals ruled that trebling of damages under North Carolina law applies to the case, Edmondson’s legal fees will have to be paid by the AMA, again the only issue being how much the AMA will have to pay. Because significant legal costs are likely to be incurred in preparation for and during the retrial itself, the Court of Appeals vacated the order for the AMA to pay Edmondson’s legal fees incurred thus far and ordered that the judge in the retrial determine the amount the AMA owes Edmondson after all the litigation in the case is completed.

The bottom line is that the Court of Appeals ruling is not a vindication for the AMA, and that the AMA’s potential exposure in the case is as high or higher than it was prior to the ruling.

The purse for the Formula USA Unlimited Superbike class is now half of what it was in 2000, now paying $5000 for an overall win instead of $10,000.

The purse payout schedule included in Formula USA’s 2001 licensing kits shows that the purse for the class is now $20,000 per Unlimited Superbike race weekend instead of $40,000. The purses for the Sport Bike, Aprilia Cup Challenge and Buell Lightning classes are unchanged, and new purses are listed for the 200-Mile Team Challenge and Unlimited GP, Sportsman, and 600cc Supersport Amateur classes.

The payout in Unlimited Superbike is now as follows:
Race 1 Race 2 Total
1. $1250 $3750 $5000
2. $ 925 $2775 $3700
3. $ 675 $2025 $2700
4. $ 450 $1350 $1800
5. $ 325 $ 975 $1300
6. $ 250 $ 750 $1000
7. $ 225 $ 675 $ 900
8. $ 200 $ 600 $ 800
9. $ 175 $ 525 $ 700
10. $ 150 $ 450 $ 600
11. $ 125 $ 375 $ 500
12. $ 100 $ 300 $ 400
13. $ 75 $ 225 $ 300
14. $ 50 $ 150 $ 200
15. $ 25 $ 75 $ 100

AFM 600cc Production Champion Stuart Stratton was the big winner in CCS Sunday action at the Streets Of Willow course, in the absence of Saturday’s stars, Anthony Gobert, Aaron Gobert and Tommy Hayden. The Goberts and Hayden tested at the track Friday and Saturday but did not race on Sunday.

Riding a Yamaha YZF-R6 on Metzeler tires, Stratton won the Middleweight Supersport, Middleweight Superbike and $1000 Unlimited GP Shootout races. The Shootout race was red-flagged three times.

Although details have not yet been announced, Formula USA has brought back the Team Owner Program and points fund in effect prior to the 2000 season run by SFX Motor Sports. In 2000 the F-USA Unlimited Superbike Points Fund was paid out to individual riders, with Champion Grant Lopez being paid $50,000 and second-in-points John Hopkins being paid $25,000. Under the terms of the 2001 Team Owner Program, points fund awards will be paid to the registered owner of each team, and individual riders can own their own teams.

According to SFX Motor Sports’ Bill Syfan, the amount of money in the points fund and the payout schedule to participants in the Team Owner Program will be announced as soon as they are finalized.

Team Owner Program registration packets will be available from Nancy Selleck at SFX Motor Sports, (817) 332-4822, extension 102.

Reliable sources involved in Grand Prix World Championship Racing say that 400cc four-strokes may invade the 250cc class as early as 2003.

Four-strokes with up to 990cc are already slated to compete against 500cc two-strokes in Grand Prix racing’s premier class starting in 2002, and word that putting 400cc prototype four-strokes up against 250cc two-strokes is being discussed puts the future of two-stroke racebikes firmly in doubt.

The future of the 125cc class is also unknown.