Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Greetings Race Fans;

We read with great interest Mike Ciccotto’s excellent comments on the value of opening the Formula Extreme rules to accommodate a wider range of Pro Thunder specification motorcycles. We would like to add our name to the list of riders, racers and enthusiasts who support this change. At Moto Guzzi we are hard at work building a broad line of exceptional v-twin motorcycles and we hope racing will be as much a part of our future as it has been of our past.

It’s not difficult to look at our current line up of bikes and future models like the MGS-01 and see that we will have platforms suitable for Pro Thunder style racing. Moto Guzzi plan to race motorcycles in 2004 and the only question is the class and sanctioning body. Mike’s suggestion would open the door to an entire range of models built by a variety of manufacturers. The end result would be good, close racing, broader participation of manufacturers, and more opportunities for riders and fans alike.

We applaud the AMA for working to refine the classes to better reflect today’s model mix. Unfortunately the current proposed rule changes effectively eliminate air cooled twins and go a long way towards limiting the viability of liquid cooled twins as well. The long term effect of the changes if implemented would be to force manufacturers who wish to race twins to focus on inline and v-fours in order to be competitive, or eliminate many companies from AMA Racing grids much to the detriment of the US Racing scene.

We encourage all race fans regardless of brand preference to contact the AMA in support of broader OEM participation in pro racing. We encourage this point of view generally and we specifically support the inclusion of Pro Thunder type air cooled twins. It is a classic win-win for European and American manufacturers, racers, riders and most importantly fans.

Very Best Regards,

Bill Martin
General Manager
Moto Guzzi North America
Woodstock, Georgia