Vital MX Pit Bits: San Francisco Recap and Fuel Update



Need a recap of the last few days to get caught up? You might want to start with the following links...

Click the following link for a Friday YWJsZS1Ub3BpYyw4NTE=
">"Flammable Topic" recap of the AMA's most recent fines and disqualifications for fuel-related infractions.

Click the following link for a Saturday's Pit Bits...pit and practice photos from the Amp'd Mobile Supercross in San Francisco.

Click the following link for bXBkLU1vYmlsZS1TdXBlcmNyb3NzLVNhbi1GcmFuY2lzY28sMTE5My9DaHJp
cy1Hb3NzZWxhYXItYW5kLVN0ZXZlLUJvbmlmYWNlLDMxMzMvR3V5Qiw2NA==
">Saturday's Race Recap of the Amp'd Mobile Supercross in San Francisco.



Ah, where to start? While the racing Saturday night in San Francisco was about as good as it gets, with an awesome showdown between Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart and Chad Reed awesome, the topic of fuel, penalties, and what happens next pretty much dominated the weekend. Speaking of domination...how about Ryan Villopoto in the Lites class?

Actually, we'd hoped that going up to San Francisco would help clear up some of the confusion over the AMA's fuel testing, and the riders DQ'd for fuel deemed out of compliance after A2. Some issues did seem to become clearer, but one thing is for sure…there seems to be a growing dissatisfaction with the whole fuel testing (and penalty) process among the teams and riders.

Below you'll find what we learned over the weekend…

For '07, the AMA boosted both the allowable lead and oxygen levels…basically allowing more leeway to ensure that pump gas would make it through post-race inspections. But VP produced a new '07 spec fuel, where they bumped up both of those levels to chase the AMA limits. That's what the MDK squad and Team Yamaha were using when they tested over the limit for oxygen,

Actually, Nick thought that he was using the same spec fuel as he was using in '06, but after consulting with VP, the team had made the switch. "I didn't even put two and two together until an hour after I'd talked to (AMA Supercross and Motocross Series Manager, Steve) Whitelock." said Nick. "He told me, 'You'd have been fine if you used the same gas as last year.'"

Yamaha's 450 rider (Grant Langston) and 250F rider (Josh Hill) would both have been using the same '07 VP spec fuel…if Grant was still racing, that is. He was in San Francisco to check out the action and was displaying the long row of staples over his recently-repaired collarbone. He'll be back in action a few weeks from now.

Two of the three riders disqualified after Anaheim 2 (Jason Thomas and Nick Wey) had also been tested in Phoenix. Initially there was quite a bit of confusion among the teams because they assumed that they'd passed inspection in Phoenix as well, and had only failed in A2. That raised questions about the stability of the fuel over time, which is now apparently NOT the case. Actually, both riders had failed the fuel inspection in Phoenix. So why weren't they notified before Anaheim 2? In large part, because of a holiday. Due to Martin Luther King day, the lab began work on the samples a day later than normal, which meant the AMA didn't receive the results until the Friday before Anaheim 2. That left them with no opportunity to have the B samples tested in time for Phoenix, and without that confirmation, they felt that they couldn't penalize the teams. Instead, they allowed them to race at A2 with the same fuel, knowing that they would be re-tested after the race.

Learning that there was a lack of at least a warning, or additional communication between the AMA and teams (not to mention the individual riders) raised additional howls of protest…though they don't want to complain too loudly, since they're afraid that the AMA will tell them that they're now disqualified for Phoenix as well.

After being penalized in the past for excessive lead content in their fuel, Yamaha is among the teams who send out fuel samples for lab testing on every batch that they get (though not necessarily each can). That's a cost of about $800 per test. Yamaha's Team Manager, Jim Perry, said, "When it works in your favor, that's what you're supposed to do. But when you do that and it doesn't work, that isn't very good."



Josh Hill

Team Yamaha's Josh Hill had his first Supercross podium yanked from him five days afterward.


"We had the fuel tested at the beginning of the season and it was well within the limits that it was supposed to be, so it's kind of a mystery at this moment. At this point, all I can say is that we had everything tested before the beginning of the season and it was where it was supposed to be, so we're looking into some other things."

While Josh Hill and Nick Wey were dinged for the oxygen content in their fuel, Jason Thomas' issue was the specific gravity of the VP Pro 4 that he was using.

Without trying to make your eyes glaze over at the prospect of too much technical data, it works like this. The specific gravity of fuel is its relative density compared to water. A fuel sample is poured into a glass cylinder, which contains a hydrometer that floats inside it. Depending on the specific gravity of the fuel inside the cylinder, the hydrometer will sink or float to different levels. The temperature is noted, along with the float level of the hydrometer within the fuel, and a chart is used to determine the specific gravity.

The AMA's allowable spec for specific gravity ranges from .715 to .765…in other words, the fuel is lighter than water (between 71.5% to 76.5%) measured in the same test rig. The BBMX sample was tested at .771, about 1/12th of a percent above the AMA's upper limit.

The AMA has a specific gravity test rig in their semi (that's less elaborate than the digital tester that the lab uses) to test for specific gravity, so on Saturday the BBMX crew took over a sample of their fuel to the AMA truck to have it checked out, and it tested close to the same numbers that the lab had produced.

BBMX's Forrest Butler explained that like many of the private teams they can't afford to send their fuel out for lab testing, but he's purchased a specific gravity test kit of his own, and will be using it in the future.


Jason Thomas

Between crashes, fines, and losing out on transfer spots in the last corner of an LCQ, Jason Thomas has had a rough start to the '07 season. Hang in there, JT$.


All this confusion has raised discussions in the pit area about the use of a spec fuel, or having a contracted supplier (like happens in NASCAR) bring out the fuel each weekend. That allows NASCAR to compare the basic composition of the fuel, and they just need to look for certain other additives, or for competitors who are wildly off the scale from everyone else.

While some like the idea, the privateers worry that it would be excessively expensive. For example, Jason Thomas is the only guy in the BBMX semi using race fuel. The rest of the riders are using much less expensive pump gas.

Nick's agreed that something pre-approved would be a step in the right direction. "Basically it's a bummer that we can't get a fuel that the AMA says, 'Yeah, this is the fuel you can use,' and it's fine before you go out there and put in a hard effort, to take all those risks and get what you think might be your best finish on that night. Hopefully we can come to that conclusion shortly, that the AMA can say, 'Hey, this fuel is legal, we have it on site to supply it for you, if you want to use it, cool.' If not you're in jeopardy of being disqualified. At that point, there's really no reason why if someone weren't in compliance, then obviously they're looking for a performance gain. From our standpoint, we would run pump gas, or would run whatever. We're not looking for a performance gain through our fuel, we're just looking to be in compliance."


Nick Wey and Mark Kvamme

Mark Kvamme is standing behind his team and riders, and is looking for a solution to the whole fuel situation.


Nick scoffed at the idea of trying to get a performance gain from his fuel. "The team's almost been detuning my bike a little bit. It's very fast, and with these slick tracks we've been running the jetting a little rich to get a little bit more traction and take a little bit of the snap away. It's kind of funny to me that we're now getting penalized for supposedly trying to gain performance through the fuel. I'm detuning it on the backside, but trying to gain performance with the fuel…it just doesn't make sense."

"Basically we did a great job last weekend at Anaheim, and our goal for the team is to be on the podium as much as possible. To get those accolades taken away is a bummer for myself, the MDK crew, and all of our sponsors like Xyience, MSR, and Honda."

VP issued a press release on Monday that appeared on the Motocross Action web site, which read…

VP Racing Fuels Investigating Latest AMA Fuel Violations

SAN ANTONIO, TX (January 29, 2007) In response to the latest penalties levied by AMA Pro Racing due to alleged fuel violations at round three of the AMA Supercross Series in Anaheim, CA, VP Racing Fuels announced it is investigating the situation. “First, we have to determine if the fuels involved were, in fact, off-spec," said Steve Burns, VP's President and CEO.  "With regard to two of the fuel samples involved, it's highly unlikely the oxygen content could measure as high as AMA's lab indicated, so we suspect there may have been some problems with the lab work."

"We’re working with the AMA and the teams involved to obtain samples of the alleged ‘off-spec’ fuel, so we can have tests run by an independent lab,” Burns continued.  "We hope everyone involved reserves judgment until this analysis is completed. As soon as results are available, we’ll publicize them -- hopefully later this week.”

The riders are looking at the penalties handed out this time around, which included both points deductions and loss of purse money, as severe. In the recent past, fuel-related penalties had only included points deductions. The seven points Jason lost for his disqualification after finishing 14th at Anaheim 2 left him with exactly one point for the season. (Though the AMA web site still showing JT$'s points intact in the overall standings results after San Francisco.) He also lost about $3,200 in purse money.

While Nick Wey, may have lost his third-place points, purse and holeshot money, Nick showed that he still has his sense of humor, as he quipped about the other awards, "I think getting the cardboard check and the trophy from my kung-fu grip's going to be pretty tough."

After receiving notification of the penalties on Thursday, it also left the teams scrambling a bit, trying to decide what to use for the weekend. As late as Saturday morning, Nick was undecided. "I'll have to talk that over with the team. For outdoors I use Pro 4, and it's a little more stable a fuel when it gets hot. It's not going to boil over, but Jason Thomas got in trouble for using that last weekend. Basically the options we have are MR9.1, the Pro 4, and pump gas. Last year the pump gas was not legal. I was told now that pump gas is legal, but the thing is, if you go to different places, the pump gas may be different. For different environments they use different additives. So for the AMA to say, any pump gas is legal, I don't really trust that, either. Maybe they had condensation in their fuel tank."

When we asked the Yamaha guys what fuel they were running for Saturday night, we got a terse, "Different fuel."

The other big topic among the teams and riders is how to attempt to resolve the issue. When asked if they were going to appeal to the AMA regarding Josh Hill's disqualification, Jim Perry said, "They said that you couldn't appeal a technical infraction. At this point we're just trying to learn what the situation has become so we can fix it for the next time."

Nick commented, " I'm not here to talk smack on the AMA, I'm just bummed that obviously there's kind of a problem, and hopefully we can get it solved."

"I don't know the process that the team would have to go through to do that. I do know that Mark Kvamme, the owner of our team, he has a lot invested in MDK Speed Equipment, basically to show the public that they can build a great engine to sell, and I think we've been proving that with the great starts and the good finishes between David and I. It kind of ruins their credibility a little bit, having the AMA saying we're cheating. They're going to do whatever they can to clear our name, and hopefully the fans will stick behind me and realize that I'm just here to race and do my best. Hopefully I'll continue to get more fans and people respect that I'm out there giving it my best every week, regardless. Hopefully the team will get everything resolved and we get back to normal."

On Monday, we received this Open Letter to the AMA from MDK Motorsports:

OPEN LETTER TO THE AMA

To whom it may concern:

MDK Motorsports in general and Nick Wey in particular has been wrongfully accused and irreparably harmed by an inaccurate and ill-advised ruling on non-compliant fuel by the American Motorcyclist Association. MDK Motorsports states emphatically and categorically that its procurement, storage, and use of VP Racing Fuel MR9.1 was consistent with all AMA compliance protocols and procedures.

For the record, we state that the fuel used for the first three rounds and potentially for the balance of the season has been an unaltered supply of VP Racing Fuels MR9.1. This fuel has been selected for its performance capabilities and compliance with AMA fuel requirements. Similarly, MDK Motorsports stipulates that no intended or incidental modifications were ever made to the fuel purchased, by the race team in general or Nick Wey in particular. We would ask that the AMA explain how both factory and privateer teams can participate effectively in AMA sanctioned events, when they cannot be certain that their fuel will be compliant with AMA requirements upon the conclusion of a race event. The current situation is untenable and cannot continue. MDK Motorsports demands that the AMA provide a workable alternative to current fuel sampling and testing protocols.

The AMA has demonstrated gross negligence in their handling of this situation, in that they failed to inform the team that we were out of compliance for both the Phoenix and Anaheim 2 Supercross rounds in a timely fashion. And for the record, MDK Motorsports was not informed of fuel non-compliance for the Phoenix round until after 9AM on Saturday, 1/27/07, at San Francisco Supercross. The AMA Pro Racing Rule Book outlines the Fuel Specifications and Fuel Test Procedure, but is clearly missing any statement about how the tests are actually performed. It appears that the AMA’s testing procedures are not sufficient to achieve any consistent test measurement and are wrongfully applied to the detriment of riders, teams, and the industry at large.

MDK Motorsports formally requests that we be provided the sample “c” removed from Nick Wey’s race bike at both Phoenix and Anaheim 2 for our own analysis and testing. Furthermore, we request that Nick Wey’s points and purse be restored, since clearly the AMA’s application of fuel testing is woefully inadequate and detrimental to everyone involved. We demand a written protocol of the AMA fuel testing procedures, not simply documentation of the test fuel collection procedure.

MDK Motorsports respectfully requests a formal meeting with the appropriate AMA officials to establish a system that will allow a privateer team to insure it has compliant fuel for racing in the AMA.

Nick Wey and the entire MDK Motorsports team is dedicated to a level of professionalism that reflects good sportsmanship and demonstrates the integrity of our brand and our sponsors’ brands. The capricious nature of the AMA’s accusations will not go unchallenged. MDK Motorsports intends to exercise all possible legal and civil means to restore our good name and recover both current and potential future financial damages.

Sincerely,

Mark D. Kvamme
Owner
MDK Motorsports, LLC

Here's hoping that everyone comes up with an amicable solution…and quickly. We prefer to see races won or lost at the finish line, and not in the laboratory.

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