Meeting with AMA Al Ludington

[burn1986]

Well, I can honestly say that he is excited at this rule change. The conversation went better than I could have expected. He liked the proposal and stated that it was palatable, since it was not a large change. He went on to mention that he is tired of seeing the cost of the four stroke racing rise and the two stroke disappear. In fact, he stated that it would work better if the rule change said 150 instead of 144 (to which I agreed).

I asked him what the steps were for getting this in place. He said that he would open up discussions with Jeff Canfield (who he has already mentioned it to), Kevin Crowther (sp?) and the people over on the Supercross side.  (He said Supercross was important since the FIM was involved). From this point he said he would get his boss involved (the director of AMA Pro Racing) and the decision would be made. He said that they would consider Cost, Safety, and Good for the Sport - Is it cost effective for the racer; Is it safe and doesn't involve danger to the racer and others; and Is it good for the sport.

He asked if I could get him a copy of the petition (another one) and some cost comparisons for the modifications, along with the bikes in production right now that meet this category (which he said that this was actually his job to do, but this would help him a lot if I didn't mind getting it together). John Nicholas has gotten most of this already, so I will gather the information I need and put it all together. I will post it here for suggestions before I send it up.

All in all, it was a very encouraging conversation. I have no doubt that this guy is pro 2-stroke and wants to see it through. He was genuinely excited at the possibility of this thing getting approved since this rule would transcend over to Road Racing and other disciplines as well.
 
I know it's kind of hard to relay how a conversation went, but we both are confident that it will happen. The tone I got from him was that the AMA seems refreshed by the idea and is also aware that there is a growing problem with mx and sx, mainly the racing costs to the individual racer.

So, I will begin getting this stuff together and post it here, since I will probably need help organizing this.

It's still important to keep spreading the word about the petition. I would like to get about 2000 signatures. Man, that would be awesome: www.gopetition.com/petition/38076.html

Thanks,
Mark Slate

[Coop]

Good job!

[GlennC]

Sounds like they may be ready for equal displacement.

[Coop]

Sounds like they may be ready for equal displacement.

Not to me...

He liked the proposal and stated that it was palatable, since it was not a large change.

[rablack21]

Guys,

I am one of your 4 wheeled brethren from over at atvriders.com, namely the honda 250r area. I have made your petition aware to my group, and they have been signing this petition wildly, in case you haven't noticed  from the large surge in signatures. Just wanted to let you know that we are fighting for the same cause. All of this is for the preservation of the 2 stroke. If enough of us are banded together, more 2 strokes will emerge, and we will all benefit from that. Thought you should know.

[GlennC]

In fact, he stated that it would work better if the rule change said 150 instead of 144 (to which I agreed).

If the oppressors think we are asking for too little, They are probably right.

[Suzuki TS250/185]

In fact, he stated that it would work better if the rule change said 150 instead of 144 (to which I agreed).

If the oppressors think we are asking for too little, They are probably right.

I bet that's not why he said that.

It would make more sense to declare 150 because of the market's enthusiastic response to the KTM 150 model.

[Chris2T]

uh-oh. my bullshit radar is going off with some of Al's wording:

Is it safe and doesn't involve danger to the racer and others. Huh? I mean is he kidding?

Is it good for the sport. Translation - does it benefit our owners, namely the manufacturers.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict right here and now that he's full of shit and that it's going to get torpedoed.

[Dirt Addict]

the ktm 150 is 144cc's......  the 150 is just the model #.

[ford832]

Hopefully it's not BS.Al Ludington isn't just some AMA boob.He's Miguel Duhamel's ex tuner.
Oh,and good job rablack-but while you have the right number of strokes,you still have too many wheels.

[factoryX]

uh-oh. my bullshit radar is going off with some of Al's wording:

Is it safe and doesn't involve danger to the racer and others. Huh? I mean is he kidding?

Is it good for the sport. Translation - does it benefit our owners, namely the manufacturers.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict right here and now that he's full of shit and that it's going to get torpedoed.

x2, and I am sure it would benefit dollar wise by getting more people to race, but what do you mean safety issues?

[scotty dog]

Hopefully it's not BS.Al Ludington isn't just some AMA boob.He's Miguel Duhamel's ex tuner.
Oh,and good job rablack-but while you have the right number of strokes,you still have too many wheels.

x2 

good stuff burn, i reckon it sounds promising.

[RideRedMx2]

uh-oh. my bullshit radar is going off with some of Al's wording:

Is it safe and doesn't involve danger to the racer and others. Huh? I mean is he kidding?

Is it good for the sport. Translation - does it benefit our owners, namely the manufacturers.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict right here and now that he's full of shit and that it's going to get torpedoed.

Positive post of the day.........

[RideRedMx2]

Well, I can honestly say that he is excited at this rule change. The conversation went better than I could have expected. He liked the proposal and stated that it was palatable, since it was not a large change. He went on to mention that he is tired of seeing the cost of the four stroke racing rise and the two stroke disappear. In fact, he stated that it would work better if the rule change said 150 instead of 144 (to which I agreed).

I asked him what the steps were for getting this in place. He said that he would open up discussions with Jeff Canfield (who he has already mentioned it to), Kevin Crowther (sp?) and the people over on the Supercross side.  (He said Supercross was important since the FIM was involved). From this point he said he would get his boss involved (the director of AMA Pro Racing) and the decision would be made. He said that they would consider Cost, Safety, and Good for the Sport - Is it cost effective for the racer; Is it safe and doesn't involve danger to the racer and others; and Is it good for the sport.

He asked if I could get him a copy of the petition (another one) and some cost comparisons for the modifications, along with the bikes in production right now that meet this category (which he said that this was actually his job to do, but this would help him a lot if I didn't mind getting it together). John Nicholas has gotten most of this already, so I will gather the information I need and put it all together. I will post it here for suggestions before I send it up.

All in all, it was a very encouraging conversation. I have no doubt that this guy is pro 2-stroke and wants to see it through. He was genuinely excited at the possibility of this thing getting approved since this rule would transcend over to Road Racing and other disciplines as well.
 
I know it's kind of hard to relay how a conversation went, but we both are confident that it will happen. The tone I got from him was that the AMA seems refreshed by the idea and is also aware that there is a growing problem with mx and sx, mainly the racing costs to the individual racer.

So, I will begin getting this stuff together and post it here, since I will probably need help organizing this.

It's still important to keep spreading the word about the petition. I would like to get about 2000 signatures. Man, that would be awesome: www.gopetition.com/petition/38076.html

Thanks,
Mark Slate

Good job Burn,it looks promising i have spread the petition to a few other sites im on to......Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppppppppp

[burn1986]

Again, I appreciate the help and support. I think he just meant that 150 reads better in the rulebook than 144cc and would be more presentable, just like 300 reads better than 285 or 295.

Hey, does anyone know where to find some dyno reports on 144cc and 300cc horsepower results?


The petition is up to 1085!