Re: Good idea...hope it works
For those of you that don't read Roadracing World regularly, I can understand your confusion. I hope this serves to clarify some of the butter (if you will).
The AMA is a big, slow, bureaucratic nightmare. The AMA rarely responds to important issues raised by its members and racers.
The Airfence is a very effective device.
Ulrich is about as serious as it gets when it comes to issues surrounding bikes, racing, and general whimpy whining by the AMA. He is also very influential and powerful in the racing biz. If he decides that something needs to happen for the safety of racers, then he will do whatever he can to make it happen. All he did was post a simple suggestion, and less than 2 days later he has almost gathered enough money to buy all the needed airfence. Frankly, I'm surprised he was patient enough to wait this long.
It is VERY interesting to me that the major manufacturers have not pitched in any money to his project. This means that either they don't read the news on the web or that they don't give a damn. Why not? Strange, some airfence would likely have helped their marketing efforts by helping to keep more of their riders safe over the past few months and years, thus helping to maintain their corporate image at large AMA events. Seems like simple math to me - buy some airfence, it's cheaper than paying for an ad in a national magazine or TV station (cough), and if it keeps your rider from being crushed at poorly designed tracks, well then it's paid for itself tenfold and more.
Sorry, my english skills are fading at this hour...