AHRMA out at VMD

[rd400pi]

Brian,
  If this guy was the original founder then how did he find himself on the outside looking in?  Was there a coup at some time?  Cheers.

  Mike H.
  Tulsa POG

[sixdazed]

Ok,i just was wondering-will the AMA have a local/district AMA sanctioned club do all the work so they (the AMA) can just sit back and collect money like they do at most of the amateur races,district desert races,etc. and if so can we ride "Pie Plate" as a form of protest?Probably not since the coveted AMA card must be shown to ride the race,correct?If it's like D37 used to be you could ride pie plate expert without an AMA or district competition card-i think row upon row of pie plate number plates might send a message to the AMA,but they may not care.Don't get me wrong-I think AMA competition clubs do a great job putting on races on a shoestring budget with little or no support from the AMA-it will be interesting (if nothing else)to see how this turns out.
                                                 Ric

ric emmal

[firstturn]

Mike,
  If I remember correctly it was a three member board and two votes beats two everytime.  So he said he would sue and he did....

Ron Carbaugh

[Larry Perkins]

Before I begin I want to say I am not pro either way on this.  Nor am I completely con either way.  I write this as observation of the big long-term picture.

First of all many know that AHRMA has had troubles for sometime both in monetary ways and in slow to change ways.  This has invited several attempts at organizations like AVDRA and others to attempt a better mousetrap so to speak.  Perhaps the AMA is seeing the weaknesses and that is their attempt too.  As much as AHRMA has done for Vintage it has not been without the many helps and crutches provided by the AMA.  

AHRMA has been hard headed in many ways and run off great workers like Dave Boydstun and Bobby Lucas and this has not helped their casuse.  They have fought things the membership were for like the 100 class and youth involvement tooth and nail.  AHRMA has also often operated with poor judgement and logic.  From the moneysoaking lawsuit they would not settle to the illogical methods they have often used.  An example was seen at Diamond Don's.  In Cross Country you went to one location to signup, a different location to get your transponder or get it checked, and yet a different location for Tech.  If you went to Tech after signup you lost your sheet and they needed it at the transponder area.  Surely these could have been closer together and one hand could have known what the other was doing.

Please do not get me wrong and go off on me.  Though I am often not a big AHRMA fan I appreciate their work and have at many events including Diamond Don's thanked AHRMA officials for their work and the joy they have brought me extending my racing career.

My bigger point is that all things will change and this may be a change that will eventually bring about the better mousetrap of Vintage racing many would like.  In Missouri we have one of the biggest Vintage State Series in the United States and we split from AHRMA several years ago over the youth issue and this series has survived and grown bigger each year with some races drawing 300 riders.

I am not saying that the AMA is right in method or that they have our interest at heart but this may be the change that brings about the better somewhere down the road.  There has been much support for less Nationals to earn a Championship and that is one of the ideas that the AMA brings to the table.  If you have ever raced for the Amatuer Championship at Loretta Lynn's it is an exciting weekend.  Perhaps as this unfolds there will be more ideas that we will like.  Many will surely agree in their hearts that the road we were on was limited in it's duration and somewhere it would end perhaps in our older years without fresh members.

Please don't be too hard on me for my honest opinion.  Regardless of our opinions we are Brothers in this and change IS going to happen NOW no matter what we feel.  AHRMA and the AMA will now morph a bit and hopefully in the end a whole new thing will be born.  It is my hope it will be something better and that we can look forward instead of backwards.

Larry P

[Cowhouse]

I'm just wondering what role the recently-settled lawsuit plays in this whole thing. The conditions of the settlement are "sealed," yet it appears there was something in it that prompted the AMA's recent move. Either that, or it's one heck of a coincidence in terms of timing. Also, the plaintiff in the case was obviously very upset with AHRMA, and it doesn't seem hard to imagine that any settlement would have included some attempt to put AHRMA out of biz, or a least undermine what they've built over the years in terms of racing series.

Being a member of both AMA and AHRMA, I'm with Larry in the sense that I'm not feeling a passionate allegiance to either side. I just want to race my old bikes now and again. Don't really care who's sponsoring the race, as long as it's somewhat well organized and worth the money I pay in entry fees and any required membership dues.

Just my 2-cents (not adjusted for inflation).

Cowhouse
79 Husky
79 Suzie

[OhioTed]

If there is one thing I have learned from 35 years in business affairs, it's that there is no such thing as a coincidence, in the Corporate world.  EVERYTHING but EVERYTHING is executed as the result of a carefully thought-out (but not necessarily destined for success) plan.  Don't doubt for a moment that all this was pre-written, somewhere, by someone.  RC will back me up on this one.

[DKWRACER]

Just imagine....Captain of a ship off the coast of Somalia........what did he do, gave a shot and tried to swim, for his life. I think I would have done the very thing.....do not let words between AHRMA and the AMA detract from virtuous qualities of owning a Penton Motorcycle..............the campfire,and it's burning embers, are always there! If you doubt this, return at once, to your shop.

Tom Brosius
MIle High Pentons

[evomx244]

Found this on vintagebikeracing.com

quote:Let's cut right thru the bull**** and lay it all out there.

There was some earlier BS that AMA wanted JS removed. False. Trust me on this: the AMA doesn't care about JS right now. Maybe later if there's a lawsuit either civil or crimminal against Smilie and JS gets drawn into (which is a likely possibility).

The AMA wants RI reinstated. This is mandated in their settlement with RI. The AMA demanded that AHRMA reinstate RI as an AHRMA member. The Board refused. Case closed. AMA pulls the sanctioning and AHRMA loses VMD. The time table was dropped when it became apparent that there would be no comprimise by either party.

[marsattacks]

I would think that any AMA or AHRMA member has the right to inspect the books and records of the ogaization, which oight to include the right to know settlement terms in most instances. Perhaps it could be made inconvenient but probably not impossible.

Click here to see Mars attack:
http://www.ufodigest.com/news/0208/images/marsattacks.jpg

[vmxracer]

i am really worried about the future for vinate racing. it scares me to think of how some people* could have ruined it for the majority.
I don't think mid-ohio is sounding like it is going to be very good for the vintage racers. i guess im glad i won't be able to be there!

*AHRMA.
Go Navy

Ambr Milakovic
"Black Beauty"

[tooclose racing]

It's a safe bet that Dingman is speaking with a bit of a forked tongue in this interview, but sure looks like he has the high ground in this situation.  His PR machine is able to instantly frame the AHRMA press release and again put them on the defensive.  One of the feedback comments at end of article is very informing...

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/04/16/ama-vs-ahrma

I'm a just a second year racer looking forward to having fun on my Six Day and swinging a leg over the newest family member (76 MC5) later this summer (at VMD, actually!).  But I guess it's just not that simple, huh?

[brian kirby]

Whether you side with AHRMA, AMA, or Ianucci in the end this sport/hobby is about the bikes and the people not the bureaucracy of whatever organization that "runs" it. No matter what happens, if AMA and AHRMA split or dont split, Ianucci gets his membership back or not, its about the bikes and the people. If AHRMA were to disappear and AMA stop VMD people will still have their old bikes and they will still find a way to gather together and enjoy them with each other. The POG already does this with its events.

Brian

'73 Berkshire

[CharlieT]

I most certianly would not say the AMA has the high ground on this. In fact I would say just the opposite. It would appear to me that they have willingly allowed themselves to become a party to extortion. From statemetns released, they have said they have no horse in this race anymore, so to speak, yet they appear to have allowed themselves to be used as a tool by RI in his never ending quest to destroy AHRMA. The AHRMA/RI case was settled with prejudice in Tenn., so he side-steps that settlement by using the AMA agreemetn to accomplish the same thing, by forcing the AMA to do his bidding for him by getting them to agree to cease AHRMA sanctioning unless AHRMA settles with him...which was already done in the Tenn settlement.

Personally, as a dues paying member, I find the AMA's statemetns in several places concering their disgust of making the issues surrounding this public to be disturbing.

I find nothing in the AMA's behavior being of the "high-ground".

[Larry Perkins]

I personally; after studying and reading, have come to the conclusion that AHRMA is where this could have ended long ago except they had the hard head and would not give.  Sometimes it is for the better to the masses to walk away and mumble about it under your breath.  It is easy to have the hard head when you are spending someone else's money and it is our $$$ that they squandered.  

I am not saying Mr. Ianucci did not get this rolling or that he too has not been hard headed and I am not saying the AMA is perfect and handled all of it for the better but I truely think the AMA and Mr Ianucci are ready to get it behind them and AHRMA still has the hard head.  

If this is true it will be a wonder if AHRMA gets through the season and a miracle if they field another year.  After being lied to, having my money squandered, and the constant change the rules in the middle of the season, I ;and others I have spoken with, may quit the National season and those dollars will be lost too.

I am anxious to see how the AMA is going to do Mid-Ohio as it sounds like they are prepared to take Vintage racing to the next level to give it even more legitimacy.  Change and advancement is something the good old boys at AHRMA have fought tooth and nail for years now.

Larry P

[Tahitian_Red]

Larry,

I don't know how progressive AMA will be.  I've seen nothing from AMA that suggests kid's vintage racing, allowing bikes beyond 1984-85 or a national series or qualifiers for the VMD Blue Plate National Championship.  What do the Novices and Intermediates get?  A baby blue plate? Diddley squat?  

The press release looks like smoke up the a** to me.

Racing the "FaltaNator" in 2009