Sideburn Stories: Alta and Anders at Santa Rosa

I was fortunate to see Alta Motors competitive flat track debut at the CFTA's Santa Rosa short track meeting. The electric motorcycle company put a local hot shoe hotshot, Evan Anders, on the bike and both he and the bike were impressive.
Alta sent a bunch of beautiful shots from the weekend, so we had Alta's Jon Bekefy write his take on proceedings and put it in our burgeoning STORIES section on the new website. Go give it a gander. G

Santa Rosa Mile now on Fanschoice

Last month's Santa Rosa Mile was unforgettable for a number of reasons, good and bad. We've covered the bad, now the good. This race was something special. 25 miles of incredible skill, tension and groundbreaking performance.
It marks the beginning of Indian era.
Click Santa Rosa Mile 2016 to watch it, and you really should. G

Our friends: Electric

Alta Motors of California are building seriously capable electric off-road bikes. MX legend Kurt Nicoll raced one in an EnduroCross race (indoor assault course for motorbikes) and won his class. The same weekend, Alta prepped a dirt tracker for Evan Anders to compete on at the recent CFTA Santa Rosa short track round. Alta have experienced dirt track mechanic/engineer, Dale Lineaweaver on board. I saw the bike, and was impressed by the whole set up. I'm not sure if electric bikes are the future, but I like the idea of them. Silent motorcycling, stealth blasting through the countryside. Yes, please.

We're going to race it over the winter. Until then, this is what the company said about their Santa Rosa experience.

Think of [the short track] format like the Roller Derby to EnduroCross's Tough Mudder. It is handlebar-to-handlebar chaos, with riders skating on the edge of traction non-stop from start to finish around an 1/8th mile dirt oval. Dirt track racing has tremendous ("hyuuuge") historic and cultural significance in America as the roots of our motorcycle racing, and has experienced a recent revival with major manufacturers like Ducati, Triumph, and Yamaha introducing street bikes based on the dirt track aesthetic. 

'This format should be a stretch for the Redshift MX, built as a Lites class (250cc equivalent) motocrosser with 40hp, competing against tuned 450cc gas-powered bikes putting down 50% more horsepower. Under up-and-coming rider, Evan Anders #32z, the Redshift blew some minds, taking a 2nd place in a Friday night heat and taking a holeshot and leading for three laps of the Saturday night semi-finals. As with the EnduroCross, no one outside of Alta was expecting this kind of result. This same event was Polaris' Indian Motorcycles' first race campaign of their brand new purpose-built FTR750 flat track racer, with a massive presence at Santa Rosa including a top pro rider, banners, booths and sponsorship of a few racing classes. In the pits, despite a much more modest presence, the buzz was about the Alta. It's hard to describe what it feels like to hear that excitement and enthusiasm from such a traditional crowd, but it tells me that the revolution has started and because we did this right, from the inside out, it's actually being welcomed.

Santa Rosa Deaths: Update from AMA Pro Racing

This email was sent from AMA Pro Racing, which I thought was now American Flat Track. Maybe that new name is being saved for next season, or perhaps they're using the old name, and header on the email, to keep the tragic accidents linked to that organisation's name. It was an AMA Pro Racing event, so I suppose it keeps it in the same house.

The stand out for me is that Santa Rosa has be dropped, only one week after it was confirmed on the 18-race 2017 schedule.

Here is the communication in full...

It is with great sadness that I find myself writing to you for a second time this month.

This week we have lost two of our athletes, Kyle McGrane and Charlotte Kainz, in accidents at the Santa Rosa Mile. Our hearts go out to their families and friends and they will be sorely missed in our paddock community. Both riders were popular figures at our events and many of you have special memories of them. In the coming days we will be working with the families to determine how AMA Pro Racing can best assist them in their time of need and honor their lost loved ones.

  

My staff and I are currently collecting all information and data from the weekend, speaking with staff and supporting Dirt Trackers who were hosting the event. During a time like this, everyone is eager for immediate answers and we live in an immediate and 24 hours a day news cycle. Staying in front of unfolding events is a sizeable challenge. Many of you have reached out to me and my team and I want to thank you for your feedback, observations and support.

While it is tempting to draw immediate conclusions, I feel that it is important to come together as a professional family. As the sanctioning body for the sport we have a duty to care for our competitors and this will be central to our thinking. I will report further to you once we have concluded. However, at this early point I can confirm that both races were red flagged immediately and motorized EMT's were at both scenes within a very short time. Our series chaplain and family liaison, Raymond Rizzo traveled to the hospital and remained onsite throughout the afternoon, only leaving to attend the AMA Pro Flat Track banquet and communicate an update to the audience on Sunday evening.

As we look forward, my team and I will be reviewing a number of areas touched on by this tragedy. You may well be aware that it had already been planned that from 2017 onwards the junior class of AMA Pro Flat Track racing, the GNC2, is going to be based exclusively on racing 450cc engined motorcycles. In addition to this measure we are considering further steps and, to assist in this process, I have asked some of our experienced members of the 2016 Advisory Group, including our new GNC1 champion Bryan Smith, Mike Hacker and Dick Weirbach to participate in the discussion and forming of conclusions.

After deep discussions with our partner and promoter, Steve Delorenzi, we concur with his decision to remove the Santa Rosa Mile from the 2017 race calendar.

The goals of our team here at AMA Pro Racing are to capture the opportunities presented to our sport, deliver value to all of our partners and work closely with our paddock community and Advisory Group to continue to deliver a safe and fair environment for all. Absolute safety is never assured within racing disciplines but maximum priority must always be given to delivering the safest possible racing. We remain acutely conscious of that and will be steadfast in our efforts to deliver that environment to our community.

Yours faithfully

Michael Lock
CEO. American Pro Racing

Photo: Brian J Nelson/ AMA Pro Racing

CFTA Santa Rosa on Fans Choice

Tonight's Santa Rosa short track is on fanschoice.tv. I was out at Friday night's racing and the track is short and tight, which makes me* a little nervous as I'm racing one of Roland Sands' Indian Sport Scout Superhooligans in a field of fast and rabid hooligan regulars tonight. Big thanks to Indian Motorcycles and Roland Sands Designs for the opportunity. It'll be the first time I've ever sat on one these. What could possibly go wrong?

Practice/Qualifying: 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. PT)
Afternoon Heats: 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT)
Opening Ceremonies: 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT)
Evening Heats: 9:45 p.m. ET (6:45 p.m. PT)
Super Hooligan Main: 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT)

Read about Travis's debut on the Indian Superhooligans at the US Superprestigio in SIDEBURN 24.

The short track meeting is organised by our friends at the CFTA, and is the curtain raiser to Sunday's AMA Pro season finale on the mile race, that will see Bryan Smith v Jared Mees, Kawasaki v Harley-Davidson for the 2016 title. Only 2pts separate them. It's a Sunday afternoon race and also live on fanschoice.tv

Practice/Qualifying: 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT) Pre-race Show: 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT) Opening Ceremonies: 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT) Heats: 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) GNC2 Main: 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT) GNC1 Main: 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT) * Sideburn ed, Gary Inman

Springfield and Santa Rosa

I've stopped posting round-ups of AMA GNC racing the day or two after AMA GNC races because Fanschoice.tv posts full races for the world to catch up with at their leisure. It's awkward for European viewers to get to see the races live because of the time difference, so I don't want to spoil the possible excitement of watching a recorded race you don't know the result of.

There was another great race at Springfield last weekend. If you haven't seen the result, I won't mention it. Click fanschoice.tv to watch the 25-lapper. It'll take less that 18 minutes of your life and this is one of the few mains of the season that didn't get red flagged and restarted.

Mile racing is what people think of when they think of dirt track, but there isn't often the same excitement as good short track racing. This race is an example of cat and mouse and pure racecraft. I loved it.

Also on the agenda for this post: the commentators, Chris Carr and Scotty Deubler, regularly refer to Bryan Smith's appeal. Not a lot has been said about this on public AMA channels at least, just that it happened. Here's what I know....

At the previous race, the Central NY Half-Mile on August 20, Smith came second to championship leader, and reigning champ, Jared Mees. Meanwhile, there was a protest, it seems, by Mees' Las Vegas H-D, Rogers' Racing team about Smith's Crosley Kawasaki.

READ ABOUT BRYAN SMITH'S RADICAL CROSLEY KAWASAKI TWIN IN SB26

The protest, from what I can discover, was about an overweight rear wheel. If you're not 100% embedded in flat track that may sound strange. Every other motorsport spends £1000s making their wheels lighter, right? Well, yes, but a heavier rear wheel, in some circumstances and only up to a point - you wouldn't want a lead wheel, aids traction. Because of this, there is an upper weight limit in the AMA Pro Racing rulebook, for complete wheel and tyre assembly.

Riders fit the heaviest, heavy-duty tubes to help their bikes hook up, some riders have even been known to fill tubes with water rather than air to weight a rear wheel, but no one would risk that at an AMA race. So Smith was disqualified and his team appealed. Some buzz is saying they had approval to run the wheel and tyre assembly that later led to their disqualification.

Below is the report from AMA Pro Racing's tech log. It doesn't mention any pre-approval.

The Smith/Crosley Kawasaki appeal is a week today. That is crucial, because the final round is coming up on Sept 24 at the Santa Rosa Mile.

Conspiracy theorists are pointing to this being the XR750's final year and H-D doing everything they can to win the title. Firstly, teams are still going to race XR750s. No private teams are going to ditch the XR for an unproven XG750 until they're forced to, and XRs are still legal as far as I'm aware. Indian have just entered with a bespoke race engine, that has no production bikes roots.

Others point out that Mees was accused and proven to use banned tyre softening chemicals last season, but didn't lose points. Other conspiracy theorists point out that Mees now does a burn out celebration to cover up his continued use of those chemicals. I don't believe he'd risk getting caught and losing a hatful of points, he's too good and is always in with a chance of a win/podium, but what do I know?

I'll tell you what I know, Santa Rosa is going to be a great, high pressure finally. Including 2016, the season has gone down to the final race, between Mees and Smith three times in a row now. Bryan Smith has been second in the championship the previous three years (to Baker is 2013, the Mees twice). But don't believe he's going to win just because it's his turn. Ask Dani Pedrosa about coming second...

Our good friends at the CFTA are involved with promoting the Mile race. CFTA head man, Randy Kremlacek, has contributed features to Sideburn for years, before he got to busy race promoting.

There is going to be racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And it sounds like Sideburn is going to be there! G

Indian FTR750 x Kopp at the Santa Rosa Mile

Big news from AMA Pro Racing. This is taken from the press release, but I cut out some of the over the top marketing hyperbole. This is going to be exciting. Sideburn is going to be there...

Indian... today confirmed that its all-new Indian Scout FTR750 race bike will make its racing debut on Sunday, September 25 at the Ramspur Winery Santa Rosa Mile AMA Pro Flat Track race in Santa Rosa, California. The race takes place at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennett Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa, with gates opening at 11 am PDT. The Indian Motorcycle FTR750 will be piloted in its debut by AMA Pro Flat Track racing legend Joe Kopp. Joe is one of 15 riders to complete the Dirt Track "Grand Slam," with victories on short track, TT, half-mile, and mile courses. In addition to his 2000 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship, he took the 1999 and 2000 AMA 600 Hotshot and Supertracker Championships. The Indian Scout FTR750 will feature Kopps' #3 for the weekend.

The Indian Scout FTR750 is a clean-sheet design racing machine developed by the Indian Motorcycle Racing engineering and design teams. The bike is powered by a purpose-developed, high performance 750cc V-Twin engine and features a unique, ultra-light steel frame, large centrally located airbox and sleek lightweight carbon fiber body.  Much like the design philosophy behind Indian Motorcycle's family of production bikes, the design and engineering teams built the FTR750 to artfully combine state-of-the-art technologies with design elements from legendary Indian racing models from history.

Leading up to the AMA Pro Flat Track event, Indian Motorcycle will sponsor the Pro/Am Hooligan and RSD SuperHooligan races in Santa Rosa on September 24. Saturday's action kicks off at 4:30 pm PDT at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in the Chris Beck Arena. Participating in the SuperHooligan race class will be Roland Sands as well as various special guests. Roland Sands and his team from Roland Sands Design (RSD) will be racing their custom Indian Scout Sixty dirt track racers in the SuperHooligan class in what is sure to be an epic day of dirt track racing.

Burn out, don't fade away

Sideburn reader Adam Woods sent a link to this gif. I didn't recognise the rider, but, using my Columbo-like detective skills, worked out who was the last Pro singles rider to ride the class running the champion's number 1 plate. I knew it was Pro singles, because it's a red number on a white background. It was Stephen Vanderkuur in 2013. He was the last to run a red number 1 because most champions move up a class to Expert/GNC2 as soon as they can.
A quick google of those two clues threw up the video below, clearly the source of the gif. The engine's gone, locking the back wheel. Scary.
You're welcome. G