Pit Notes: Pre Phoenix

Last minute bits and pieces going into Phoenix

By: Scott Hoffman | Friday, January 13, 2012

Last Minute Pit Notes-Pre Phoenix

Lots can happen in 7 days or even in one day. Here are some notes from the past week.

Good News: Looks like Trey Canard will be riding in Phoenix. A video at the Panic Rev website announced he will be back at it in Phoenix.

Wil Hahn out with an injured hip


Bad News:
-Hart & Huntington’s Josh Hill is out with a broken lower leg after a first turn crash at A1. He injured the same leg that had sidelined him for the last year—although the two injuries are unrelated.
-Troy Lee Designs’ Christian Craig will probably miss the rest of the series due to a wrist injury. He broke the scaphoid bone (navicular) in his left wrist awhile back and it never healed all the way. He rode Anaheim 1 but the pain was too great to ride R2 and he has decided to have it repaired.
-Wil Hahn is also having a tough time. While practicing for Phoenix at the Honda test track, he went down and landed on his hip and suffered a fracture. He will be out for 2 to 6 weeks.

Sound:
We figured it was going to be a big deal after seeing several team bikes run back to their trucks several times to get their race bikes to pass the new 2 Meter Max sound requirements. We saw a few heated discussions between teams and mellow talks between AMA staff and team managers. The rules are solid but also a tiny bit vague and there is room for them to be interpreted differently. The first few weeks of the series it looks like there is a little wiggle room until teams and riders are comfortable with the new procedure. Basically the rule is that the bike has to blow 115db or less at tech before the race and no more than 116db after the race. If they are too loud post-race, the rule says a rider will get docked three positions. Will the AMA take away points from the winning rider? After the leaded fuel rule debacle a few years back, it would have to be a boldface infraction for the AMA to deduct points. The rules do not say 115 or 116 and below, they just say 115 and 116. This means that one can argue that 115.9 is still in the 115s, and 116.9 is not 117. Bikes are also tested in neutral. And we all know that technology makes it possible for a team to program an ignition timing, fuel mapping, and rev limiter differently in neutral than in 1-5 or 6th. In regard to post-race testing, the rule does not say they have to be tested right after the race when the bike is piping hot. This is good for teams because when they cool down they are not as loud. Is the rule better for the sport? Yes. It is not perfect but it is going in the right direction. The rule is also worldwide, meaning the FIM and the AMA have adopted the same rules for sound. Sound is power and power is part of sound but if everyone plays by the same rules, it is an even playing field. Are there teams that are bending the rule or taking a different look at the rule—most definitely.

This is not Stewart's wheel but a shot of a Works Dunlop


Stewart tire debacle or just blown out of proportion?
Wow, the chat boards blew up when they discovered that James Stewart rode with a Dunlop Works tire during the second practice session at A1 and logged in the fastest qualifying time. Dunlop was not happy that a non-sponsored rider had their hands on a Works tire and quickly went over and commandeered the tire. It was not known where the team got the tire. We know Dunlop did not give it to him to test since they know he is a Pirelli rider now. And having a Works tire in the hands of a Pirelli tech is not good. Stewart has struggled with grip and tire issues ever since Bridgestone pulled out of motocross and stopped offering special tires for supercross and motocross races. Stewart allegedly tested with all sorts of tires pre-season and went with Pirelli. The dirt and track conditions changed a lot during the day/night and you could see Stewart struggle to find his groove during the main event. Let the tire wars rage on! Why this got so much press and had the chat boards flaring up about it is kind of unbelievable. Of course Stewart wanted to test different tires against his Pirellis under real race conditions. The only people it probably upset was Dunlop and it had them wondering how he got his hands on their tires.

Nick Wey

Privateer Struggles:
The field is stacked this year and it is not easy for a privateer to make the main event. There are only 20 spots and there are often 40 fast riders on any given Saturday. Last week’s crowd favorite and longtime pro Nick Wey failed to make the main. Austin Stroupe was on fire in practice at A1 but also could not find his groove as the track conditions changed at night. Stroupe is said to be riding a full Factory Yamaha under the Star Valli Rockstar Energy tent.

Jeff Alessi, brother to Mike Alessi

Brothers:
The brothers are out in force this year—brothers meaning siblings. Check it out: Alessi bros Jeff and Mike; Stewart bros James and Malcolm; and the Hahn’s Will and Tommy. I can’t remember the last time three sets of brothers raced in the same season. Famous brothers in the early years included Gary and Dewayne Jones; Chuck and Ron Sun; and Jim and Ron Pomeroy to name a few.



Ladies:
It was hard to find a product that was not promoted by some sort of good-looking spokesmodel wearing form-fitting clothing. Not a bad thing in our minds. You have seen one Monster girl, you have not seen them all. Here we have a Rockstar girl.


Blast from the past - Billy Laninovich showed up at A1 unexpected.

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