The latest demonstration of resolve from the new AMA Tech regime led by Jim Rashid and his hand-picked crew involves drain holes in fairing lowers. Fairing lowers are required to be sealed and able to catch oil in the event of a serious engine failure during dry track conditions. Several bikes were kicked out of AMA Tech at Infineon Raceway Thursday afternoon due to a lack of two 1-inch drain holes drilled in the fairing lower, which in the case of a wet race are supposed to allow water that collects in the fairing to drain. In dry conditions, the holes are supposed to be sealed with plugs supplied by the AMA. The new AMA tech regime takes this requirement seriously, and didn’t want to hear anything about the drain holes not being needed at Infineon, where the AMA does not race in the rain. Besides that, the plugs that AMA officials issued at Infineon were made of a hard, plastic material with a very narrow engagement lip, making the diameter of the holes cut into the fairing lower far more critical than would be the case with plugs made of a more compliant material with a larger engagement lip. The material and construction of the plugs issued at Infineon make it more likely that a plug installed in an imperfect hole could fall out on the racetrack, increasing the likelihood of an oil spill even on a dry track. When a long-time AMA mechanic pointed out that AMA does not race in the rain at Infineon Raceway and that requiring installation of the issued plugs actually INCREASES the chances of an oil spill this weekend at Infineon Raceway, Rashid ordered him to leave tech.