About 130 feet of Air Fence Bike will be assembled and deployed at Texas World Speedway for use by CMRA and RPM racers, during the second week in July. The Air Fence Bike sections will be deployed in the turn that claimed the life of CMRA and WERA racer Ryan Smith in 1999, and will be positioned in front of an existing steel barrier and tire wall outside the corner.

The new Air Fence Bike will be in position for CMRA/CCS races at Texas World July 21-22 and October 27-28, and for an RPM/WERA race August 18-19.

The deployment of the Air Fence Bike at Texas World is being funded by the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund.

Details of a cooperative deployment agreement and provisions for storage of the Air Fence Bike when it is not being used remain to be worked out with RPM and CMRA, although representatives from both organizations have agreed in basic principle to the arrangement.

Assembly and installation of the Air Fence Bike sections will be supervised by Andy Coffey, Managing Director of Air Fence Safety Systems (Australia).

Air Fence Bike is a non-inflatable version of Air Fence which is designed to stay at a track instead of being transported from track to track. Each unit measures about 6.5 feet long x 4.0-feet tall x 3.25 feet deep. The deployment at Texas World Speedway will involve 20 sections purchased at a cost of $11,000 including freight. The deployment will bring Roadracing World Air Fence Fund disbursements to a total of $115,000.

About $130,000 has been pledged to the Roadracing World Air Fence Fund but several people and companies have not actually sent in their pledged money yet. Actual collections to date total about $97,000 with the shortfall to date being covered by Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. on a temporary basis.

A list of persons and companies who have pledged but not actually paid will be posted in the near future. Further disbursements cannot be made until more pledges are made good.

Coffey will travel to the Texas track immediately after the World Superbike races at Laguna Seca July 8 and will need the help of two or three workers from the Texas race clubs to assemble and position the Air Fence Bike. Volunteers are being solicited and can contact Coffey via e-mail at [email protected].