Well, as of earlier tonight at the AMA banquet it was announced that WERA and the AMA will be working together next season and into the future to provide a smoother transition for riders from grassroots level racing to Professional racing. Details are being worked out at this point but it will be a mutli year deal benefiting both sanctioning baodies and their riders. So basically, stay tuned y'all.
Whats next ? dogs & cats living together? maybe WERA will get to run Daytona [/QUOTE] No way Jose; Daytona is CCS' playground. Founder of CCS Roger E. is now a Speedway employee. Or "Consultant," as I believe his titie sez. However, I do like the cat and dog analogy. Maybe in the near future we will be able to run at Mid Ohio as well ...
I think that's great...WERA & AMA... But what's the big deal about running Daytona. I think that Road Atlanta is the ultimate track!!
As long as we don't have to buy AMA memberships I'm all for it. I quit the AMA after the Edmondson fiasco. Don't care to be part of an organization like that.
Having riden tracks all over this country Daytona is the ultimate. No where else can you hold your bike wide open for what seems forever. For one thing you have felt a good draft until you have run Daytona and drafted by someone at 175 mph to out break them into one!
Doesn't the AMA fight against helmet laws?? I'm with Tom (sorry Sheep and Doll ), I don't want to support them financially either.
No all WERA members will not need to buy an AMA membership. It may be required for certain classes but will have no effect on the Sportsman Series or National Endurance Series. That's all part of the details we're working on.
great!! i f@#king hate the ama. they still owe me money from daytona......two years ago. i've given up on them and anything there involved in.
Maybe in the near future we will be able to run at Mid Ohio as well ... [/B][/QUOTE] I don't know how many people have been on the track at Mid-Ohio, But it is awesome. I've heard some say if you can race at Mid-Ohio and do well, You can race anywhere. We need to push to get some time there.
I've been on the track before, and it is a great track, but is does need some serious repaving. Those concrete patches have GOT to go. Road America used a new asphalt for the corners that has held up, and most drivers/racers said it gives even more grip. You really have to know the line at Mid-Ohio or else the lip on the concrete patches will take you out in a heartbeat. Just ask DuHamel!
i am glad WERA and the AMA managed to work something out because it will help advance WERA to the level it deserves and also put the racers in a position to get sponsors previously not available.not to mention going to tracks we've never been to.i'm all for it.
You really have to know the line at Mid-Ohio or else the lip on the concrete patches will take you out in a heartbeat. Just ask DuHamel! [/B][/QUOTE] I went with a retired ama pro and he showed me a sweet line. It really wasn't that bad on the patches either, as long as it does'nt rain!
Your not kiddin. Like another post eluded too, club racin organizations might start to feel the crunch from the Sybil/PACE effort. Glad we may have some sort alliance against getting squeezed out. PACE gets pretty serious when they enter a sport. SFX are marketing wonders and if the AMA isn't careful it won't be long and the PACE series is going to be on TV, live coverage on a big network. Just watch. Their purses are already pretty big and the rules make your everyday Joe (or Lee in this case!) make a good chunk of change. Instead of running for 12th (top of the privateers) in an AMA race anybody can literally win a PACE race. 145 reliable horsepower is not too hard to achieve even on my measily salary. I am kinda excited about it. I have never had any bad dealing with the AMA and never been a member so I don't have a bad taste in my mouth (at least not from them...anybody seen my Crest?). AMA Horizon Award...here we (WERA Racers) come!!!
Maybe the AMA has turned over a new leaf but looking at their past does not look good. http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/issues/feb99/roger.htm or even current poilices don't look too good. http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/issues/jan00/amascrew.htm I am glad that WERA is not going to require everyone to be a member of the AMA but the national series sounds like it has been left open. I am wondering is the National series going to be run in conjunction with the AMA weekends? If so does that mean that the National sprints and endurance are going to be run as seperate series/events?
Some clarification - WERA will be running the races, the AMA will not, the AMA will be co-sanctioning them and we will all be working on sponsorship and promotion. The management at the AMA is totally new as far as the part we are dealing with and we trust them - otherwise we would never have agreed to even talk to them in the first place. Evelyne is a good judge of character and has been doing this long enough to know if it's right or not so if she's willing to do it, it's good for all of us. The races that will be sanctionied by both of us will be certain classes at our WNC events - it will not be all of the classes run at those events, just some. The schedule for now will not change appreciably from the way we have run in the past, the Endurance will still be on Saturday, Sprints on Sunday and a Friday Pracice day (Cycle Jam and the GNF being exceptions of course). All of you who have raced with WERA know how we are about the way we run our races and make our rules (anyone who isn't sure just hang out on the BBS for a few). This will NOT change, you are still our main customers and we will still listen to you. The entire purpose is not to fight Sybil, I honestly don't feel they will be an issue for much longer (stockholders don't like losing money). No matter what other people try to do, Pro Motorcycle racing in the US is the AMA - Supercross, Motocross, Dirt Track, Drag Racing, and Roadracing. We are doing this because WERA has been running amateur roadraces for 27 years, the AMA has been running Pro races for over 50, it's now time for us to work together and help get our sport to the level it belongs at. This isn't going to happen without all of us working together.
Still waiting for that fatory sponsorship for the Hawk huh? This is all really just so I have an exuse to go to Daytona....
