Reed: Cheater? AMA Says Yes.

[Okiewan]

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 23, 2004) – AMA Pro Racing has announced that three riders have been penalized 25 points each for using illegal fuel at round 14 of the THQ AMA Supercross Series at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas on April 17.

Riders receiving the penalty include Tyson Hadsell, Chad Reed and David Vuillemin.

In announcing the penalties, AMA Pro Racing SX/MX Series Manager Steve Whitelock stated that fuel samples were collected from seven motorcycles at the Texas round and that the samples from the motorcycles of riders Hadsell, Reed and Vuillemin were found to be in non-compliance. Fuel from the motorcycles of Josh Hansen, Mike LaRocco, Ivan Tedesco and Kevin Windham was found to be in compliance.

The fuel samples were sent to a certified testing lab which confirmed that the fuel did not meet the requirements specified in the AMA Supercross/Motocross Rulebook.

AMA Pro Racing implemented new fuel requirements beginning with the 2004 season.

 

[Floobity]

AMA bites

That rule only exist to weed out the two-strokes, because four-strokes don't get a significant performance hit from using UNleaded fuel over leaded. I fail to see the reason for such a rule. The FIM is supposedly behind it, but the AMA is a joke just the same. They only needed to implement it in 250cc Supercross, but decide to make the restriction for all classes cause they're ******* two-stroke haters. Down with the AMA, they're the worst enemy of our sport. But never the less that was cheating, but don't blame Chad, he has no say in what fuel goes in his bike.

 

[mxer842]

Don't worry, Chad will appeal it and get all his points back :thumb:

 

[MXboy00]

Kind of makes you think...Maybe they've been cheating the whole season. I know Reed has no say in what fuel goes in his bike...however, if he knew and didn't do anything at all about it...you see where i'm going.

On a side note- I agree...We need to throw Steve Whitelocks :moon: out ASAP! The AMA is beginning to ruin the sport. Rubbing IS Racing... The season has been pretty boring to me, I don't know how you's all feel about it. :uh:

 

[showtime586]

I don't fully understand the rationale or the particulars about the rule. Is it an EPA driven thing,? Does it have to do with octane, or oxygen content?. I am confused.

 

[Senior KX Rider]

Aren't they made to run unleaded fuel this year.

Bet there were a lot of teams wearing big smiles when their fuel wasn't tested. If they are going to enforce rules they should pull a sample from every bike :p

 

[evenslower]

As much as I think the rule is silly, rules is rules and they got caught. Makes the next couple of races a lot more interesting fo sho.

 

[Okiewan]

Damage Control! Damage Control! Should interesting to read what comes next.

I'm not sure how an appeal would get points back? It's not like an aggressive move that can be interpreted differently by different people. It's a cut and dried disregard for the rules.

I'm sure Reed will still win the title, but it's a stain that seems so unnecessary.

 

[hug747]

Two races left, Reed could clinch the championship before vegas; talk about a coincidence. Why take the fuel samples now? Didn't seem to help Vuillemin win any races. Another excuse why Honda's 450f isn't leading the points race and maybe better ticket sales for Vegas. What a :joke:

 

[Okiewan]

Are we sure fuels samples haven't been randomly checked all year?

Another excuse why Honda's 450f isn't leading the points race and maybe better ticket sales for Vegas.

Let the conspiracy theories begun lol!

 

[MXboy00]

Aren't they made to run unleaded fuel this year.

Bet there were a lot of teams wearing big smiles when their fuel wasn't tested. If they are going to enforce rules they should pull a sample from every bike :p

Extemely valid point. What's with that?!?! Only 7 bikes tested? I'm telling you's...the AMA is severely tainting motocross/supercross now.

Showtime586: Yes...emissions. :ugg: It wasn't a move by the AMA to weed out the two strokes further, as some have stated. Ahh well...water under the bridge IMO. Can't dwell, what's done is done. Damned tree-huggers. :|

 

[Okiewan]

I don't think it's unusual at all to see random testing for rules violations. Isn't that the case in Nascar as well? Seems to me that's the case with Indy, CART and other motorsports. I don't think it's reasonable to expect a sanctioning body to "test" every vehicle prior to every race. I've heard of a car's legality being challenged after a race and points taken away when inspected. After the fact. Not much different than random drug testing. Just because everyone wasn't tested doesn't take away from the fact that one was busted.

The idea that the AMA messed-up SX because someone got caught cheating is the tail wagging the dog.

Either way, they passed a rule, someone cheated and got caught. The time for arguing the rule and the penalties is long past. Use some of these excuses in court next time you break a law (a new law or old) and see how far you get :). "But your honor! Everyone speeds there, how come I was the only one to get a ticket? It's not fair!" lol.

 

[jboomer]

Either way, they passed a rule, someone cheated and got caught.

The same could be said about the "No Contact" rule.

 

[Okiewan]

However... contact and who's fault it was, if it was intentional, is up to interpretation. Illegal gas is not.

 

[MXboy00]

The idea that the AMA messed-up SX because someone got caught cheating is the tail wagging the dog.

True about the fuel situation, however...I think it has gotten out of hand as far as the no-touch what-so-ever rule. If we can't bang bars, we might as well give up racing and just do leisurely (sp?) rides...Not that there's nothing wrong with that, but c'mon...Racing=Competition, and Competition=Fun if you look at it with a broad view. :p

 

[Jon K.]

Now there's an eye-opener! First I heard of it!

I gotta say that Whitelock has stuck to his guns all season, has my admiration and I hope he is back next year. Agree with him or not, he has done the job.

Windham and Reed both seem to be using VP fuel, though Windham lists them as a sponsor, and Reed does not.

I remember when Springsteen got caught racing a 1000cc bike in a 750 class and said "I didn't know!"

It didn't help Jay, it ain't gonna help Chad.

 

[mxer842]

The unleaded rule is a result of the FIM and the World Supercross Series piggie-backing onto the AMA series, FIM rules says that you must use unleaded fuel. This only applies to the 250's in FIM rules but the AMA tried to set one standard so they passed the rule saying unleaded fuel for both 125 and 250 classes for both mx and sx.

 

[biglou]

I guy I worked with once asked a cop why he was stopped for speeding and not everyone else. The cop's reply was, "It's like fishing: You can't catch'em all!" lol

As for random testing, it is meant as a deterent (sp?). Who knows who's going to be tested? Is it worth the risk of getting caught to try to cheat? Some gamble and win. Some gamble and lose. That's the way it is. Kinda like random urinalysis testing for drugs. If you wanna cheat, roll the dice and hope you don't come up snake eyes...

 

[BSWIFT]

Aren't they made to run unleaded fuel this year.

Bet there were a lot of teams wearing big smiles when their fuel wasn't tested. If they are going to enforce rules they should pull a sample from every bike :p

Test them all, no questions that way.

 

[Floobity]

MX Boy 100: No it's not emmissions. EPA has no current plan to enforce any restrictions on CLOSED COURSE machinery. The FIM adopted the unleaded fuel rule so they could have races in several European countries. Back when Clear Channel went behind the AMA's back to the FIM for the 2003 Supercross rights they struck a deal. (It was ALL about money, AMA wanted more, Clear Channel wanted more, their egos got too big for each other) So when the AMA and CC finally reconciled, the FIM wouldn't let their deal go. So the World Supercross GP was born. Basically it's the AMA Supercross championship with two or three European rounds attached to it like a wart. The FIM was being difficult, and the AMA decided to give into the unleaded fuel rule (which the FIM had no real reason to do, just to try and show that they were the pitcher, and the AMA the catcher; politics in other words). Leaded fuel has no real environmental issues compared to unleaded in MOTOCROSS. Performance is a different story, as four-strokes lose 1-2% power, and two-strokes lose a whopping 7-8%. Which bikes suffer the worst? 125cc two-strokes due to the fact their already underpowered. VP Racing's Bruce Hendel says "The U.S. is given an exemption on the use of leaded fuels for competition, so there wasn't a governmental or legal reason to switch. It was purely political. From an enviromental standpoint, unless you're using catalytic converters, there's absolutely no difference." (And no, MX bikes don't use catalytic converters) Now you may be saying "So there's just a power decrease.", oh but you're wrong. The primary reason lead is used is because it's a cheap was to improve octane. The higher the octane, the hotter an engine can run so the fuel doesn't detonate prematurely (pinging). Unleaded fuels can be made to have the same octane, but with one caveat. While 108 octane leaded race fuel might cost $8 a gallon (wow, some expensive stuff, right?), unleaded fuel with the same octane costs (are you ready?) in excess of $40 a gallon, no typo. See how this hurts the privateer two-stroke rider? He must switch to a basically stock bike, because a fully modified race bike needs high octane. Out of the stock bikes four-strokes are better (well at least in the 125 class). So I will repeat, unleaded fuel means death for two-strokes. If you only race locally have no fear, this only applies to AMA pro races. But if more and more pros stop riding two-strokes then the manufactures are going to stop developing new technology for them, and it won't be long before the two-stroke is a thing of the past. And I will cry, because even if four-strokes are better, I love to hear two-strokes, and the smell of premix.

 

[Floobity]

I mean MXBoy00, my bad.

 

[super rat]

I wonder if any of those 4strokes have been check to see if they are too loud.

 

[showtime586]

Here is something else that bothers me. Was a sample only sent to ONE lab for testing?
If so, it needs to be sent to at least two independent testing facilities. Otherwise, you have no concurrent verification of the results. Maybe AMA pro racing should just dispense the fuel themselves.

 

[nephron]

The rat bites..

I heard RC sabotaged the Yamaha fuel stock with lead additive.

 

[fiberglassflyer]

Nitrous Burn?

Could that have been a nitrous burn we witnessed on the section before the triple by Reed at Dallas? Either way that was amazing! RC spikeing Yamaha's fuel? Probably Windham saying thank's for the memories.