A Few Interesting Links Concerning AMA/DMG Road Racing....

While checking out Mat Mladin trying to check out from Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Eric Bostrom, Neil Hodgson, Aaron Yates, Miguel Duhamel, and the rest of the field in race 2 at Road America,
during the June '08 w/e, here are a few interesting links to stories that have come out in the
last couple of weeks about the current regime of the AMA Road Racing series as we know it being run by the DMG folks.
These will help you to form your own opinions as to the current and future state of road racing
in the U.S. as it is presented and run by these people. And to the level of discontent, name-calling, rules-bending and the 'what we will do to handle things today'-way that they have
taken in running this once great series into the ground. And their very own interpretations
of how they have been doing so, what they plan to do to change it, how they plan to change it,
and most likely how they eventually will kill it off like a dying animal. Or something to that effect.
And as I said, you can make and form and think your own opinions on this level of mayhem that
has infected what was once a great championship series, once you have read these stories and
tales and then you can realize, as I have, that the animal may just be begging for mercy. Or a
good hospice to wait out the inevitable.......

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/09/19/a-spec-harley-xr1200-class-for-ama-racing

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38226

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38227

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38237

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38197

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-sbk-new-world-order-prepare-for-invasion/

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Sep/090910a.htm

I can guarantee one thing. When you get done reading this short link list of articles, you'll
either be laughing your a.. off about the whole discombobulated situation, or you won't be
able to sleep. Or you'll be laughing so hard you can't sleep. Or you may just want to lay
down and beg for mercy just like that animal.......your option......or theirs.

Thanks to the fine folks at http://www.roadracingworld.com/, http://www.cyclenews.com/,
ww.SpeedTV.com and http://www.superbikeplanet.com/ for the links and the great coverage
of all that is messed up in AMA Road Racing as we know it under the DMG umbrella. And for
being able to report the truth of the whole situation as well as the truisms as spouted by the
DMG phobes. You are not dead to us.

A BIG Domino Takes a Fall at the Hands of DMG/AMA Road Racing...

The following articles were posted yesterday by Dean Adams and his fine people from the SuperBikePlanet.com site as well as from the fine folks at CycleNews.com. It appears that after

putting up with the Damaged Motorcycle Guys running the AMA Road Racing series (into the ground) that Honda will no longer be supporting any of the classes beginning with the 2010 series--which now is still way off in the distance as no race schedules, tv schedules, and only a

small handful of rider contracts having been signed for the future.

The future for our beloved AMA Road Racing series is now officially looking even more bleak then what it did during this year. Read on, and you can make your own evaluations and form your own opinions based on what you see and/or read here and elsewhere over the course of

the last year or so:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Sep/090918hondaout.htm

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Sep/090918hondaout2.htm

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/09/18/honda-won-t-renew-corona-deal

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Sep/090919a.htm

And also from John Ulrich and his hard working people at RoadRacingWorld.com:

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38148

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38149

The attached shots were taken during the AMA round at Road America in Elkhart

Lake, WI., during the w/e events of June '06. They were taken in the paddock area

during the w/e events and feature the AMA Superbikes and FX bikes of Miguel

Duhamel's #17 and Jake Zemke's #98. Both bikes and riders claimed multiple

championships in the former AMA Road Racing series before the DMG-run take over

of late '07 and all of '08.

Looks like the only thing red now is the bleeding from the added fallout of people leaving

the series.......such a shame.

This is also starting to catch on to the followers--like myself--of the AMA Flat Track series--also run by the Damaged Motorcycle Guys--on the great site FlatTrack.com forum. Take a look see for yourself and add to your opinions and thoughts of the fallout beginning to ensue:

http://www.flattrack.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=46&func=view&id=63372&catid=3

And just to show that I DO believe in showing both sides of a story, this was the 'official' release

from the AMA/DMG folks on their outlook and vision for the 2010 season:

http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/news/index.cfm?cid=23688

I gotta say at least they are taking away the pace bike/car/moving obstacle and also

doing away with the rolling starts. They do seem to have a wee bit of sense when it comes

to safety.....at least THAT is a partial relief!

Mat Mladin Doubles at Road Atlanta AMA American Superbike W/E and wins his 77th Superbike race!

As we view some shots of Mat Mladin in various forms of racing

and smiling for our camera at Road America in 2004, we celebrate

and congratulate the 6-time Champion for his 77th win in AMA

Pro Road Racing's Superbike class. Having won yesterday by over

15 seconds, he still managed to pull today's event win off by over

5 seconds. And the 51st win in a row for the Yoshimura Suzuki

Rockstar Makita Team. That in itself is a way to celebrate greatness,

but without Sir 'Mad' Mat, almost 60% of those wins would not have

been possible. The man is not only ON a mission, he IS the mission!

Go get 'em Mat and even the championships up with the new #7 plate

you are wearing this year. I hope everyone else is listening as closely as

I am.

The shots above were all taken at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI., in

June of '04. In no particular order we have Mat running his familiar lines of

using the berms as a strengthening tool coming out of turn 14 as he gives chase

to Jake Zemke on the #98 Erion Racing Honda CBR-1000RR, who in turn is giving

chase to ultimate Sunday race winner Miguel Duhamel, himself a former series champ,

on his Team Honda #17 CBR-1000RR.

In another shot we also see Sir 'Mat' coming out of the carousel at R.A. during

Friday practice. And finally, after all of the work he put in and was about to put in

for the w/e, he was gracious enough to sign a couple of my pics and give us a nod and

smile for the camera. A very gracious, but very intense man. This wasn't the first time

he took to sign some shots for me over the years--and I hope not the last!--and has always

been as approachable as ever and always having the time to shake my hand and sign and

comment on the shot(s) at hand.

And, just in case you are interested, YOU can buy the very bike that Mat Mladin has won

the first 5 races in the first 3 events this year. And if you can still make it to Road Atlanta, in

beautiful Gainesville, you can still pick it up...for $59K no less:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=36005

Now, the bike MAY look just a BIT different after what happened to it, let alone Mat, after

this happened this morning:

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/us-superbike/ATLANTA/66crash/

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/us-superbike/atlanta/matcrash/

But, then again, he DID win after this happened, and did I mention by over 4 seconds?!

For 59 thou, not a bad deal at that, even taking into effect it is based on a 2008 model that

was pulled off of a dealer floor 3 weeks before Daytona. And also considering that this new

American Superbike class isn't the old Superbike class of old, now more like Stock-class

bikes. But, over 5 or 6 years ago Erion Honda won the old Extreme class on a liter-based

bike that they at the time valued at $85K. So considering......a pretty killer deal by anyone's

current economy. But don't think you can or will beat or even run with Mat. He'll be on

the '09 model at the next round at Barber in good ole Sweet Alabama the first w/e in May.

So good luck with that part of that thought.

Thanks again, Mat, and thanks for all the great memories and for those about to be formed!!

And thanks to John Ulrich and his crew for the link from http://www.roadracingworld.com/ and to

Dean Adams and his bunch from http://www.superbikeplanet.com/ for their links of the crash incident.