Morgan Murphy to appeal AMA Pro Racing suspension. Top Shelf Motorcycle Tours co-owner and AMA Pro road racer, Morgan Murphy, will file an appeal for the penalty assessed by the AMA Pro Racing staff at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It has been erroneously reported that the Top Shelf Motorcycle Tours sponsored Suzuki GSX-R600 that Murphy qualified on was for the Supersport class; when in fact, Murphy was racing the Formula Extreme class last weekend. The press release that the AMA issued on September 20th, cites section 3.1 Homologation, a, of the AMA Superbike rulebook as Murphy’s violation. The AMA Pro Racing Staff alleged that Murphy’s motor was a hybrid (600cc lower motor case with a 750cc cylinder and top motor case), since the engine numbers clearly identified the motor as a GSX-R600. This type of motor arrangement is impossible to achieve. Also, the team contends that the motor modifications on the 600cc motor are within the guidelines set by the AMA for the Formula Extreme class in which Murphy was entered. At the race track, the AMA Pro Racing staff presented Murphy with the choice of a six month’s suspension or a $10,000.00 fine! It has since been reported on Roadracing World.com that the last time a rider actually did have an illegal hybrid 600/750cc motor, he was only fined $1000.00 and was not disqualified for the day’s event. Due to the huge discrepancy in punishment, and since Murphy has only been accused of violating the displacement limit set for the Formula Extreme class, the team feels AMA Pro Racing is using Murphy as an example for the rest of the paddock. “This incident has been a horrible blow to my 2008 racing plans,” stated Murphy. “I wanted to ride the Daytona 200 next year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my first race at Daytona Speedway. I’m usually the oldest rider out there, sometimes by 15 years, and it sure feels like they don’t want me racing anymore”. At 45 years old, Top Shelf Motorcycle Tours’ Murphy has been more than competitive. He finishing 20th in this year’s prestigious Daytona 200, and received championship points at most rounds of the AMA Superbike series that he raced in 2008.