#35L and #99A

We hate to post bad news but sometimes it just has to be done. This weekend, at the Santa Rosa Mile, there was a couple of horrific accidents in the GNC 2 support class. I woke up yesterday to the news that it had caused #35L Charlotte Kainz to lose her life. she was only 20 years old.

This morning the news was that a second young GNC 2 racer 17 year old Kyle McGrane #99A has also died from injuries sustained in a separate accident.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends at this very difficult time and we offer our deepest condolences. It is tragic loss of two talented, up and coming pro racers.

Motorcycle racing is such infectious fun that it is very easy to dismiss the very real dangers involved. As racers we accept the risk yet always think it won't happen to us. High risk for low reward.

Dave Skooter Farm

WATCH - The Black Hills GNC Main

If you only watch the delayed coverage of one GNC race all year, make it this one from Tuesday night. The AMA and Fans Choice TV haven't grasped the idea of no spoilers yet, so if at all possible, and you don't already know the result, avoid reading the caption under the video window when you click the link below. I managed to watch this midweek race from Sturgis live and it had me on the edge of my hotel bed.

Here is the link.

BTW, has there been a GNC main without a red flag stoppage this year? That isn't a spoiler, it adds to te excitement. G

Indian Back With a BANG

We ran a big feature on Roland Sand's modified Indian Superhooligans in Sideburn 24, Travis raced one and I interviewed the President of Indian, Steve Menneto,  about his company's entry into AMA Pro Racing. Well, it's just been announced that reigning champion Jared Mees will be their development rider.

In a press release sent today Menneto said "We are very excited to return to the AMA Circuit. We have established the new Indian Chief and Scout series as the cornerstones of our production line-up, and now is the time for us to return to racing in a big way. We know that fans of Indian Motorcycle have been anticipating this announcement and can't wait to see Indian Racing back in action."

Mees is quoted, "I can't express how excited I am to be the guy to bring Indian Motorcycle back into the forefront of AMA Pro competition. We will have a lot of work to do to develop a 100 percent new race platform, but I'm committed and excited at what I have seen on the drawing boards and what the plans are for Indian Motorcycle Racing. This is history for the brand, and being a part of it is truly exciting for me and this sport."

Indian Motorcycles will race the new motorcycle at a circuit to be determined in 2016 in preparation for a full season of competition in 2017. This is on the back of news of the development of the new liquid-cooled Harley-Davidson XG750R. This are getting very exciting. G

Gauthier and Wood BMW at the Arizona Mile

The footage of the Law Tigers Arizona Mile race is up online at fanshoice.tv
I was looking forward to this because SPOILER ALERT Dalton Gauthier won the GNC2 race on Ron Wood BMW F800. We'd already reported on this, so I'm not worried about saying it. The fanchoice website also caption the result, which is a bit daft, but perhaps they think everyone has seen the result on social media.

BUT... there are still a lot of reasons to watch the race. Chris Carr's commentary, for one. From an amateur racer point of view it is interesting to watch passes on what is basically a one-line groove in the corners. Also, in the first half of the race the leader, McGrane isn't tucking nearly as much as Gauthier. The commentators say because he wears glasses and can't see if he tucks in and cranes his head up. McGrane is also very tall for a bike racer, so that must have something to do with it.
I also noticed that Gauthier has the typical racer's body english, right elbow up high through the turns, McGrane's is held lower. We have a great Get Schooled piece by Chris Carr in the next Sideburn on body english.
Also, see how the track decomposes through the race, especially on corner exit. So, even if you know the result, if you're any level of racer there's still a lot to pick up.

If you just want to watch the race, it's from around 7 mins to 17 mins. Watch Arizona Mile GNC2 Main.

Also, the Sacramento Mile will be shown live on Fanschoice.tv later today. G

Mees buys rights to Lima Half-Mile

This is such a great story. Two of the highest profile riders in flat track have bought the rights to one of the favourite races, the Lima Half-Mile. It's great to see riders like Jared and Nichole (both pictured above) moving into running and promoting races, while still being in their prime (though Nichole has recently retired from the GNC).

This from the website - Lima Half-Mile

2015 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion Jared Mees and wife Nichole entered the race promotion business for the first time today, buying rights to the historic Lima, Ohio Half-mile. Lima, which runs on the last Saturday in June each year, is one of the most highly attended and historic races on the AMA Pro Flat Track circuit, dating back to 1984. The venue has sentimental value to Mees, who won his first AMA Pro Flat Track GNC1 race at Lima in 2005. Mees also won Lima in 2007 and again in 2014, on the way to his 3rd Grand National Championship. 

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy rights to Lima,” said twenty-nine year old Mees who lives in Clio, Michigan. “It’s an old school fairgrounds cushion half-mile with a passionate, loyal fan base just a few hours from our house. Nichole and I couldn’t be more excited to take this on. Nichole is retiring from racing after this season and I don’t plan on racing forever. Promoting Lima is a business venture that will keep us involved in flat track for many years.”

“Lima is such a great event, I wanted to make sure I found the right people to hand the torch to now that I’m retiring,” said longtime Lima promoter Dean Gallup. “Jared and Nichole Mees are the perfect people to take over. They’re hard working and have a vested interest in the sport. I can now retire knowing the event is in good hands."

The next Lima Half-Mile is 25 June.

Thanks to Roger F for the lead.

Go Sammy

Slammin' Sammy Halbert won Daytona I. More racing from Florida tonight, and you can watch livestreaming on fanschoice.tv

Sammy, running his late brother Jethro's #69, won from Brandon Robinson and Brad Baker was third. Interestingly, Bryan Smith, qualified through the semis, the tough way to make the main, and came fifth. A great result for his championship. Smith has narrowly missed out on the last two titles, because of poor results on singles, compared to Mees.

The Superhooligans were given a support slot, and Roland Sands one on one of his Indian Scout Sixtys. Read all about these bikes in the next issue, out at the end of March.

If you're in the UK or Europe and fancy racing your road bike, the DTRA is running a three-roudn Hooligan class at Peterborough, Hell's Race in Belgium and Dirt Quake. G

Daytona Short Track!

Praise the lowered!
The AMA season is back, TONIGHT!
The first night of two at Daytona. Watch it live on fanschoice.tv

Is Davis Fisher going to make the main in his first GNC1 race?
Is Davis Fisher going to make the podium in his first GNC1 race?
Is Bryan Smith going to make the top seven and give himself more of a chance to win the title?
Mees and Baker have been winning short track races all over the world all winter, who'd bet against them?
Is anyone going to come out a year early in leathers instead of MX kit? I know the answer to that one...
Briar Bauman gives our readers short track tips in Sideburn 24 (out soon). He won the final round of 2015, the short track at Vegas, and he's a bad ass and a big unit, could he muscle his way through?
And our buddy Johnny Lewis has won Daytona before, he's fitte than ever, but does he have the machinery to back it up?

We'll find out soon. Go to fanschoice for schedules.

Photo: AMA Pro Racing

2016 GNC Dates And Disquiet in the Paddock

Photo: Brian J Nelson/ AMA Pro Racing

There are a few GNC issues to talk about. Firstly, AMA Pro Racing have announced their 2016 dates, with some gaps still to confirm...

March 10: Daytona Flat Track I - Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
March 11: Daytona Flat Track II - Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
April 9: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
May 14: Arizona Mile - Turf Paradise, Phoenix, Ariz.
May 21: Sacramento Mile - Cal Expo Fair, Sacramento, Calif.
May 29: Springfield Mile I - Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
June 18: Oklahoma City Mile - Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Okla.
June 25: Lima Half-Mile - Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
July 30: Charlotte Half-Mile - Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, N.C.
August 9: Sturgis Half-Mile - Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, S.D.
August 14: Peoria TT - Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Ill.
August 20: TBA, New York State
September 4: Springfield Mile II - Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
September 17: TBA, Southern California
Early October: TBA, Northern California

Differences: a return, after a few years, to Arizona, Oklahoma and proposed race in NY State. No Delaware, no Castle Rock, no DuQuoin.

No Indy Mile, either, but a race at COTA in Texas the same weekend as MotoGP and the Handmade Show. I hope whichever track they use is better than it was for the X Games that was in the COTA facility last year.

In other news, we've heard a rumour that now even the all-leathers rule has now been shelved for 2016. If it's true, the governing body are doing more U-turns than a London taxi.

The CEO of AMA Pro Racing, Michael Lock, sent out an email last week that included these requests...

----------------

AMA Pro Racing is committed to developing a healthy future for all the passionate and professional members of our community. I mentioned last November in Las Vegas that we have a large number of challenges and opportunities in play at the moment in our sport. As we tackle the issues surrounding building a bigger fan base, attracting new corporate sponsors and engaging the OEMs to actively partner with us, there are and will be a number of questions that require analysis and discussion. Sometimes the right path can only be determined by giving air to the spectrum of experienced views within our paddock. 

It is with this in mind that we are seeking to establish and grow a new Advisory Group, comprising Riders and Team Members from our professional flat track community. I hear a lot of informal and anecdotal intelligence from all corners of the paddock and I know that AMA Pro Racing can benefit from a formal channeling and thorough cross-examination of those views. 

AMA Pro will organize regular meetings and administer the agenda. The meetings will kick off in March, with the first scheduled to be held during Bike Week in Daytona. We will follow that with 3-5 further meetings, in conjunction with GNC races, during the rest of the season. 

Do you have views and solutions for how we retain the classic Peoria TT once the GNC1 Class becomes twin-cylinder exclusively? Can you help us ensure that the balance between new technology and cost control stays in the 'sweet spot'? Are there better ways to execute the paddock load-in and manage the race weekend? All these questions and more will be addressed as we prepare for modernization and development in 2017 and beyond.

----------------

I'll be interested to hear who puts themselves forward. They need people who can demand respect, but also younger guys who look at things differently.

AMA Pro Racing seem to be locked in a damned if they do and damned in they don't situation. If they suggest a change, half the paddock moans about changing things, but if they don't everyone complains that revenue and sponsorship is down. Meanwhile, most manufacturers (the OEMs Lock speaks of) - with a couple of exceptions, pay only lip service to the sport, making big budget concepts to splash on social media, but not actually backing any teams. It's a mess.

Indian are supposed to be coming soon. That will be good and it is likely to mean Harley-Davidson will put even more effort and dollars into the sport, of which they are already one of the biggest, if not the biggest, supporters. Hopefully they will both bring some third party sponsors like drinks or oil company money and the increased marketing companies like that shine on the sport.

The excitement a comparatively low budget effort like the Scrambler rebranding of the Lloyd Brothers team, and the inclusion of a way off the pace, Troy Bayliss made last year shows that motorcycle people are desperate for dirt track stories. Imagine if a team brought back Nicky Hayden, or if Yamaha rolled out a title contender in full Roberts-style speed blocks. Babe DeMay could make it work, he's doing it on a shoestring already.

The key players in the sport are certainly not pulling in same direction and until they do, nothing much is likely to improve or even change. G

AMA National Number

This is a great one for the nerds (like me) out there. If you ever wonder who held number 5 in 1966, you go to amanationalnumber.com, type in the number and then view the results (Larry Palmgren by the way).
It also works for years and names, so you type in a season and it tells you all the national numbers from that year, or you type in a rider's surname and it gives you the number they ran. Genuis! G

GNC Flat Track Finale Online

Finally, the finale. A real fistfight in a phone booth. Make time to watch the heat races.
It's over a week since the flat track finale took place in Las Vegas and fanschoice.tv have, at last, put the footage online to watch at your leisure.
We've specifically avoided spoilers on the site. I used to do event reports, but think it's better to watch it. Leave comments if you want to discuss the racing.
Background: Jared Mees went into this round leading from Bryan Smith with Kenny Coolbeth having an outside chance if the night went badly wrong for the other two and perfectly for him.
Click www.fanschoice.tv/ama-pro to watch.

Hopefully the Superprestigio of America and Superhooligan will follow soon. G

Joe Kopp raced this striking Husqvarna with carbon-fibre BST wheels.

Photos: Courtesty of AMA Pro Racing

Lima Pea Gravel Protection

From Roger in Ohio

I took these with my phone while touring the pits at the Lima 1/2 mile national well before practice started. Many of these bikes have expensive paintwork and components that do not stand up well to the violent Lima pea gravel spray thrown off rear tires in the turns. You can see the extensive care taken by some of the teams to protect the bikes while maintaining the appearance of the machines. Almost the whole frame was done on Brandon Robinson's #44 Triumph.

AMA New Rules: The Debate starts

Reader Pat Riot left a comment to the post below  (Sideburn Talks AMA GNC Listens?) that brought up some good points that I've already been discussing with friends. I'm going to give me view on them below. Pat's comment are bold, my replies are italicised... G

Pat wrote, Well I have to say that I agree with and am excited about the rules changes except for two notes: 1) I don't like the bit about 'production motorcycles' for GNC2 - I'd love to see single cylinder framers make a comeback as well. Perhaps 'production engines' would be better. Chris Carr has commented (in your mag if I recall) that jumping from dirt-bikes to framers is a big gap for up-and-coming riders starting out in GNC1.

By production motorcycles, they mean 450 MX bikes modified for dirt track - DTX bikes as the sport refers to them.
The move to DTX bikes, and away from framers (450 or older Rotax motors in custom dirt track chassis), made some kind of sense. We at Sideburn never hidden our love of framers or ambivalence to the appearance of DTX bikes, but saw the sense or trying to attract manufacturer support by running production bikes they could market. But the support never came. If you're trying to sell MX bikes, it's easier to put all your marketing into MX or supercross. It's big budget, spectacular, the riders are more famous, the races are better attended. Really, why the hell would Honda support flat track 450s in any significant way when they had the huge US MX industry as a battleground?
And if there's a transition from DTX bikes to framer twins of the Expert class, then so be it. For years, Grand Prix road riders had to jump from 250 two-strokes to 1000cc four-stoke MotoGP bikes and just got on with it. The talented thrived, the others fell by the wayside. That is racing.  
Also, framers making a come back doesn't make sense. The GNC2 guys are on a real budget, and DTX makes sense for them. Also, they make sense for amateur club racers too. Be clear, we are NOT anti-DTX, they're good for the grassroots, but, I think, not for the elite. 

 2) 2016 is really soon. Especially for privateers, but even for well supported teams, that is a major reshuffling of the required bikes to solve by Daytona next year. All of that said, it will be awesome to see how short track and TT races evolve the formula for pro-twins bikes. I just can't see launching an XR750 as the best way to go at Peoria.

The bigger budget teams are always going to cope with transition better than privateers. That's life, but perhaps this opens a door for a privateer to put all their effort into building a great Peoria twin, and making a name for themselves, at the expense of another area of their programme. It's no different to now. Shaun Baer (featured in Sideburn 20) is concentrating on the twins races this season and has been a regular top six qualifier, but isn't racing any single races this year. So what's changed? If anything, it'll be easier for him and other twins teams (Ducati Scrambler, Bonneville Performance, Latus Triumph, Rogers KTM) to tweak their bikes for short track and twins than buy a whole new machine and tune it to compete with the top singles. 

I know the top teams have a half-mile bike and a mile bike, with the different engine tunes, but privateers don't. They change the gearing. They'll do the same for short tracks. 

Peoria. Everyone is mentioning twins at Peoria. That makes me think a few things. First, people are DESPERATE to see how the twins go at Peoria. When was the last time this many people were desperate to see a CRF450 at Peoria? Never. Secondly, let's be blunt Peoria is just a shit motocross race. If I wanted to watch motocross I'd watch motocross. But I don't I want to want dirt track. TT is part of the championship, but it's mutated so much it has virtually no link left. People get excited about Peoria because of its history. If it launched as a new race now it wouldn't get a lot of interest. I'm not saying the racing isn't exciting, to those really in the know, and who have favourite racers, but the GNC has to offer more to grow. 
Also, the 450s are flying so far they're missing the transition off the jump and landing on the flat. Won't the riders just back off, and land their jumps on the transition? Fans won't think, 'They're not jumping as far as a full alloy, lightweight 450, this sucks!' They'll think, 'They're jumping 'Harley XR750s? Those things must weigh a ton. Holy cow!'

The riders will suck it up and put on a spectacle. Perhaps Dirt Quake USA hero, The Rusty Butcher can give them a lesson on how to launch a really heavy Harley. who is telling me they'd rather watch a field of experts/GNC1 riders on DTX bikes or a field or riders on twins? 

Sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward. F1 has done it throughout history, and they're doing ok for sponsorship, last time I looked. 

If you want to read more on this subject read the Ronnie Jones interview in Cycle News p58-70 

Sideburn talks AMA GNC listens?

Back in early March, Michael Lock, a Brit who is the former CEO of Ducati North America and a big cheese at  Honda Europe, Triumph and Lamborghini North America, got in touch with me. He said he was consulting at AMA Pro Racing, or had just joined the organisation, and was looking at how to make flat track more successful. I was pretty surprised that he would talk to someone in the UK about American pro flat track, but we arranged a time he could call me. We spoke for 20 minutes and I gave him my enthusiastic fan's perspective, a perspective that has an ocean between the sport I love and where I live.

I'm sure Lock had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of people involved in the sport - riders, team owners, sponsors, plus thousands of people who have attended far more races and know far more about the GNC than me, but he clearly thought the view of someone who loves the sport, but sees it from a distance and doesn't have a vested interest, had some merit. So I told him what I thought, then  boiled it down to a blog post from March 30, not mentioning in the blog that I'd spoken to anyone at the the AMA. I have cut and pasted it below.

Then, earlier this week, I was checking instagram and saw a few posts from pro riders commenting on rules changes. Those in the screenshot at the top. And thought, perhaps someone did listen to what I thought...

This means the GNC1 riders (the elite) will only compete on one bikes, so if Brad Baker wins the title, he wins on a Harley, not a Harley and a Honda or KTM or whatever single he uses that year. It also means fans don't turn up and see MX bikes and riders in MX gear when they were expecting to see flat trackers.

People are complaining, people always complain, but the sport has been in decline for 30 years, playing to its strengths and USPs are crucial. G

DTX bikes* can produce good racing, and they're a good way for some into the sport, but the hope that killing framers** would bring more mainstream advertising and support into AMA Pro Flat Track has been proven not to work. Instead, the main thing it's done, from my fan's perspective, is lost some of flat track's unique identity. Imagine you were a motorbike enthusiast, travelling through the US on holiday and heard that a big flat track race was happening just up the road and you could get along to see it. 

You don't do any research; you don't know much about the sport, except what you've seen in On Any Sunday. So you just roll up and pay your money at the turnstiles and take a seat with a beer. But it's a short track race. And everyone looks like a motocrosser. No one is in the cool leathers you've seen photos of. And the bikes don't look like you expected. They all look like motocross guys. But they're not even doing jumps! Eventually you might get into the racing, because that's still good, but the whole experience is dulled. And sport has to be an experience if it's going to reach beyond the hardcore. 

 I don't blame the AMA for trying, but go back through the blog and you'll see we were never fans of the idea. And neither are we Luddites, kicking against progress and digging our heels in. But pro flat track isn't growing and no one is addressing this issue, yet. The aesthetic appeal of flat track bikes and flat track riders in their leathers is one of its great strengths.

Indy Mile

Another great race, showing how very different lines can work on a deep cushion mile.
But THREE red flags, so pick the bones out of this one.
AMA Pro Flat Track has been unpredictable and exciting this year, but the red flags aren't going to help those who want to get flat track on mainstream TV (the X Games put the sport in front of the masses, but I can't see it happening for the whole season).

Go to fanschoice.tv to watch the 2015 Indy Mile. G

Calistoga Half-Mile Expert Main Full Race

Very exciting racing. If you're tight for time, the race starts around the 10-minute mark and lasts for 10 minutes.

#7 Sammy Halbert running well. Remember, he's coming to the UK as a guest of the DTRA for a Sideburn/DTRA night, then over to the International Dirt Track Festival in Spain to be the star instructor.

More details on the Sammy Halbert night very soon, but it's happening on on Saturday 18 October somewhere in the Midlands. G

Springfield Mile II

Man, what a race. Eight-rider freight trains. Race starts at the 10-min mark and finishes 16 minutes later. Watch it. G

Bryan Smith at the Mega Mile

AMA Pro Racing are serving up some great video content this year: full races and smaller features like track walks with the top  races.
This is an interesting short. I'd like to see Bryan Smith win the #1 plate this year.

An in-depth tech feature on SMith and his 2013 Crosley Kawasaki 650 twin is featured in SB15. G

Mega Mile Main Event

You'll really want to watch this - 1.25-mile, engine-killing oval - the Mega Mile at Colonial Downs.
There's a load of fannying around at the beginning, that's worth watching - engines overheating, Joe Kopp's dead engine (yes, Joe Kopp out of retirement again and made the main on a Triumph), racers playing mind games - then there's a red flag. It just reminds me how highly strung these riders are when it comes to the main. I love it.

The race itself is wild. Loads of different lines on this deep cushion track. Loads of different makes in the main too - H-D, KTM, Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki. G

Peoria TT Main

The first start is red-flagged, so if you're pushed for time the re-start is around 18:30. G

Castle Rock TT Main Event

The best flat trackers in the world tackle the Castle Rock TT course in Washington state.
Just think, two months ago, 80 or so Dirt Quakers (and four shonky snowmobiles) started from that very same startline. It beggars belief. G