Quiet for Now

Here's the San Fran track covered for Friday night.

It rained a little on Friday and got cold, but there really isn't much water on the ground. Saturday is looking good.

RC is in this weekend, Reed is better and ready to mix it up.

Vuillemin is riding with a broken rib.

Kyle Cunningham is out due to a practice crash that ended with the bike landing on top of him - which is what happened to Reed as well just before the season started.

The Pro30.com team is having a big deal in the morning to introduce the team officially.

Adam Chatfield will debut on the MDK/Lucas Oil/Yamaha internship spot, and Brady Sheren starts with Solitaire.

Josh Hill on the Fuel Business

Just three races into his supercross career, Factory Yamaha's promising rookie learned what it's like to get hit with a fuel penalty, the same way Reed/DV, Stewart/Byrne, and RC did. This time the issue isn't lead, it's oyxgen content. Ironically, the problem may eventually be found to be relaxed specs for 2007 that allowed the fuel supplier to add some oxygen, but just three races into it they are out of spec coming off the track.

Right now in the pro ranks, that's how it works. The riders get hit for things they know nothing about, and this time Josh Hill's name came up. Let's see what he said Friday:

"I just found out at the test track yesterday. I got a call on my dad's cell phone from Steve Whitelock that said I was DQ'd from Anaheim 2. At first I wasn't sure if it was actually Steve Whitelock or was it some kind of joke or something. I was like "what's going on?"

I found out my gas failed a test with something. There was a problem with making the gas that gave it too much oxygen, something. It's some stuff straight from VP.

I have been torn down for years in my amateur career, people protesting. I never once cheated. Everything I ran has always been legal. This, I don't think anybody had a clue whatsoever. It's just something at the VP factory I guess.

Maybe they are trying to get VP to step in, but I don't know."

Fuel Again!

Fuel was the talk of the pits at San Francisco on Friday.

Thursday afternoon, Jason Thomas, Josh Hill, and Nick Wey got phone calls from the AMA telling them their fuel was found to be illegal at A2, and they will lose their points and prize money from that race.

Hill, who is Factory Yamaha in 2007 and three races into his supercross career, thought it was a joke when he got the call at the Yamaha test track, but it wasn't. He has been torn down plenty of times as an amateur with nothing found, but this was new to him. Fuel he really doesn't know much about was taken out of his bike and found to be out of spec. His first podium in supercross just got erased.

Nick Wey was at press at AT&T Park when the calls went out, so he didn't find out till later. His podium in SX, his first in 2007, just got erased too.

Both Hill and Wey's fuel had about 1.6% too much oxygen.

Jason Thomas was at home in Florida, when he got the call that said his fuel was illegal, and his wasn't oxygen, it was specific gravity - the fuel sample was too heavy.

Yamaha and Wey were running VP Fuel that uses newer oxygen limits allowed for 2007, a "dash 1" part number fuel. The limit is 4%, and the spec they use is known to be some radical stuff. It comes in at 3.8%, so its close to the limit.

For Thomas' fuel, it was not the same as the other two. He uses VP's Pro 4 fuel, and his was found to have too high a specific gravity.

All three riders and their teams don't have any explanation, and like the lead discovered in fuel in the past, there is no known tampering with fuel that would do this. Something else must be happening.

Someone left this tape recorder near MDK's team management that was having a huddle over the fuel business.

Hepler Injured at Test Track

Yamaha's Brock Hepler had a hard crash at the Yamaha test track and suffered what was described as a lengthy concussion, and will need to stay off his bike a couple of weeks.

According to unofficial reports from the pits at San Francisco, Hepler landed over a triple, lost the front end, and went down hard on his head, knocking him out for several minutes. He was checked out at a local hospital and released. So far we know he needs to stay off the bike for a couple of weeks, but this shouldn't affect his racing east regional Amp'd Mobile Supercross when the east series starts in Atlanta Feb 24.

Round 4, San Francisco Press Day

A strong turnout of riders at AT&T Park in San Francisco kept media busy Thursday before round 4 of the Amp's Mobile AMA Supercross Series.

Press featured Chad Reed and Nathan Ramsey from L&M Racing, Nick Wey and David Vuillemin of MDK (who had a shop grand opening nearby to attend too), Red Bull KTM's Josh Hansen and Marin Davalos, and Pro30.com's Jeff Dement and Tyson Hadsell. The new Pro30.com team has an official kickoff planned Saturday morning.

Press days are mainly local TV stations meeting the riders and getting some video for the local news. One news guy even put on a Dement jersey and sat on his bike trackside, but no triples!

The day was a little cold but at least no rain like last year.

Reed is not hurting so much and finally rode this week. His issue is endurance because of difficulty breathing, not the pain in his shoulder. His sternum was bruised along with his shoulder injury a month ago and that is the last thing slowing him down.

Reed has the fire in his eye once again and is ready to go.

Vuillemin was watching but is still sore. His crash at Phoenix actually broke a rib that was discovered this week.

Wey was feeling good, but he probably didn't know as he was riding for TV, he was one of the three that got hit for still another fuel penalty. Stay tuned.

Josh Hansen said he is OK, just worn from riding hurt a lot. Davalos is feeling good and ready to repeat his win in Toronto.

He wasn't at press, but as far as anyone knows, Travis Preston is in this weekend too.

Livin on the Edge

James is rubbing his shoulder on the podium at Anaheim 2 because during the main he actually bumped into the finish line structure. He didn't crash.

RC in the Booth

RC stepped away from racing for the night and joined Ralph Sheehan and Jeff Emig in the CBS Sports broadcast booth.

Photo by JH "I'm not Simon" Leale.