Top bikers poised to return to Loudon

LOUDON – Since North America's top professional riders left the Loudon Classic seven years ago, New Hampshire has never been in a better position to invite them back.

"I'm willing to do what it takes within reason," said New Hampshire Motor Speedway's general manager, Jerry Gappens, top rep here for aggressive new owner Speedway Motorsports Inc. "There's a lot of pride and history involved with the event ... You can't create history and tradition overnight so I think that's one of the values of this great event. It kicks off Bike Week for Laconia and for this region. It brings in a lot of tourist dollars and people to our area."

Adding more fuel to the fire for the return of top pro racing here is the fact that a Daytona-based group now owns the American Motorcyclist Association's Superbike Series, which previously raced here. The new group has made informal contact with the Loudon speedway's director of new projects, Ron Meade.

In March the AMA, long the sanctioning body of the Classic, sold its professional superbike series (and five other motorcycle racing series) to the Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG). DMG is essentially a branch of NASCAR with co-owners Roger Edmondson (former AMA racing head) and Jim France of the NASCAR controlling family now leading the future of professional motorcycle road racing in North America.

One AMA insider said of the superbike road racing, "everything's on the table." The AMA pro racing series is off this weekend, its traditional stop in Loudon.

The insider continued: "The pro series and the major motorcycle manufacturers need NASCAR's expertise and marketing savvy. However reluctant they are, they need to include some NASCAR venues in their series. They need to bring back that audience they've lost."

In the early '90s, Edmondson directed pro road racing for the AMA at Loudon and all across America. Eventually there was a falling out. Edmondson won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the AMA and started his own road racing series that drew many experts in AMA clubs across America instead of the factory-backed pros. Now in a strange twist of fate, Edmondson owns the group he sued.

He said NHMS officials have not "formally" contacted him to initiate a return of AMA racing, but he added there is "certainly a possibility." Edmondson confirmed he has spoken with Meade.

"It's impossible not to address potentially a return to New Hampshire," added Edmondson yesterday from his Daytona, Fla., office.

Outspoken multi-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin of Australia was part of boycotts against racing in the rain in Loudon in two straight seasons, 2000-01. It was said he led the boycott of 2001 and after that season the AMA left Loudon.

The New Hampshire Union Leader in 2001 reported: "A tradition that took fearless men 76 years to create was torn apart in a matter of minutes."

And: "The AMA factory pros sat on the pit road wall at NHIS, boycotting the start of a support race, while 15 regional riders were revving on the starting grid and eventually took the green flag. Spectators had lined the front straightaway fence above the superspeedway retaining wall shouting streams of obscenities at the unmoved pros."

In his telephone interview yesterday, Mladin said if the 1.6-mile road course in Loudon remained as it was (and it hasn't changed much since Mladin last raced here in 2001) he would not race on it. His recollection of the New Hampshire track that ended the career of Harley-Davidson's Thomas Wilson and nearly ended the career of champion Miguel Duhamel, was "an accident waiting to happen."

Mladin said, "It needs changes ... honestly the changes would have to be dramatic."

"I never complained about a race track's layout or its surface," said Mladin. "I can deal with that. As long as I have nothing (walls) to hit ... With DMG now promoting some sort of racing in this country, rider safety is pretty much at the bottom of the list of preferences. Rider safety is certainly a low priority for the new group."

Edmondson said DMG would have to "weigh the hazard and the risk" of any venue. They will do that with site visits and a pro rider committee. He added that the audience for Bike Week in New Hampshire (past estimates of 250,000 to 300,000 enthusiasts) must certainly be a place "where manufacturers want to be."

Without safety upgrades, Mladin said Suzuki would not force him to race in New Hampshire.

"There's no more conservative group of people than motorcycle racers," said Edmondson when speaking of changes to AMA racing, including adding different venues. "They have a comfort zone the size of a gnat."

Mladin said he would be happy to visit NHMS and offer advice for changes. He continued, "I've been a track safety advocate. I've paid my share of fines and I will continue to advocate for the riders.

"We take a lot of risks racing motorcycles ... the fact that a promoter wants to put a racer's life on the line (he paused), I believe Roger Edmondson said it's all about the pay day.

"We'll call the shots," said Edmondson of Mladin's past strong influence on the sport.

"With all due respect to Mat Mladin, who is one of the best racers on the planet, he's not the future."

Mladin replied: "I agree with (Edmondson). Finally he said something that makes sense. I won my first championship 27 years ago. I believe I could help going forward. My concern is for the sport and the kids."

Edmondson was last hands-on with the Loudon Classic in 1993-94. Both he and Mladin know this event intimately.

"It has a great heritage," said Edmondson, "and it's a sad state of affairs. We'd like to be a part of revitalizing it."

In the meantime the 85th Loudon Classic soldiers on opening today with racing in 14 classes that includes many of the country's top expert riders, past pros and pro hopefuls. Tomorrow a champion will be crowned in America's oldest motorcycle road race with the green flag for that 600 supersport race waving at approximately 2 p.m.