Ricky Carmichael received his 25 points back today from the AMA. The reason? The AMA and the FIM (which controls the World Supercross GP) utilized different testing methods. Read the press release below for details. Suzuki’s press release on the same topic is also included below. The bottom line is that Carmichael is back in the title hunt — just a few points behind Yamaha’s Chad Reed.
AMA/FIM Reach Resolution on Carmichael Penalty
AMA Pro Racing News Release (March 3, 2006) The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) have announced a joint resolution to the points penalty imposed by the AMA on Ricky Carmichael following the February 11 San Diego round of the AMA Supercross Series and the FIM World Supercross GP.
In a post-race tech inspection, the fuel in Carmichael’s motorcycle was found to contain more lead than allowed under a standard jointly adopted by both sanctioning bodies beginning with the 2004 racing season.
The AMA has enforced that fuel regulation in its AMA Supercross Series and AMA Motocross Championship for the past two years. However, this is the first time that testing has revealed a fuel violation affecting a competitor entered in both the AMA and FIM series, and while the fuel standard is the same in both rule books, the two sanctioning bodies call for different testing protocols.
The AMA initiated an investigation into the fuel requirement and testing protocols. It then became apparent that this difference in testing protocols would make consistent enforcement of this standard difficult, and the two sanctioning bodies have agreed to cooperate in the investigation, with the goal of creating a unified unleaded fuel standard and testing protocol for the 2007 season.
Meanwhile, the AMA and the FIM jointly agreed that, because of the disparity in testing protocols, a points penalty would be inappropriate in this case. As a result, the AMA has rescinded the 25-point penalty imposed on Carmichael in the AMA Supercross Series standings, and the FIM has said that it will not impose a points penalty in the World Supercross GP standings.
Both sanctioning bodies agreed, however, that a penalty is still appropriate for this fuel violation, and the decision was made to impose a $20,000 fine on the Suzuki team for which Carmichael rides. The AMA and the FIM will equitably donate the fine to the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center, which provides trackside medical support to riders at all AMA Supercross Series/FIM World Supercross GP series and AMA Motocross Championship events and to Riders for Health, a humanitarian organization working in Africa for 15 years reaching nearly 11 million people with regular health care workers riding motorcycles.
“It was clear that the differences in testing protocols raised serious problems for enforcement of this rule,” said Steve Whitelock, AMA Motocross and Supercross Series manager.
“We think this is a fair and equitable resolution of a difficult situation” said Wolfgang Srb, President of the FIM Motocross Commission.
The AMA has announced that the fuel investigation will be conducted by the Southwest Research Institute’s Fuel and Lubricant Lab, an independent consulting organization with nearly 60 years of experience. It is expected that teams as well as fuel suppliers, among others, will be interviewed in this process.
Makita Suzuki’s Carmichael Back in Supercross Title Chase after AMA Rescinds 25-Point Penalty
BREA, Calif. (March 3, 2006) – Team Makita Suzuki Racing announced today that defending AMA Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael regained the 25 points that he lost when the AMA penalized him for use of illegal fuel at round six of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series in San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 11, 2006.
“I’m super-pumped about the points — not just for me, but for my Makita Suzuki team and the fans,” said Carmichael. “I’m happy for my team because they’ve put in too much effort this year to just sit back and watch the other guys compete for the championship. Everyone in Supercross has been working hard to make the racing better for the fans and having the top three guys all going for the title will make the racing even better. Finally, the AMA and FIM’s solution is fair for everyone and will help all the teams in the future.”
After the San Diego round, Carmichael led the points chase in the AMA Supercross series. The AMA’s 25-point penalty, however, moved him into a distant third place, strongly hindering the multi-time champion’s possibilities for a fifth AMA Supercross title. With the withdrawal of the penalty, however, Carmichael is back in the championship hunt.
“Obviously we’re happy with the decision,” said Mel Harris, ASMC vice president of the Motorcycle/ATV division. “Suzuki feels strongly that the Supercross Championship should be decided on the track, by the racers.”
According to an AMA press release, the points penalty was rescinded because of the differences in gasoline-testing protocols between the AMA and the FIM, the sanctioning body for the concurrently running 2006 Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, which Carmichael leads. The AMA and the FIM agreed that imposing a points penalty on Carmichael would be inappropriate and instead fined the Makita Suzuki team $20,000, which will be donated to the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center and Riders for Health.
“Of course we’re happy that we got our points back,” summed up Makita Suzuki Team Manager Roger DeCoster. “I am also happy that the AMA and FIM were able to come together and resolve this issue. Several unfortunate comments were made in the heat of the moment and I’m glad that cooler heads prevailed and a solution was found.”
Carmichael and Team Makita Suzuki Racing will compete at round nine of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series in Indianapolis, Ind., Saturday night at the RCA Dome.
