AMA Tech Director Suspended for Chastising Backmarker for "F'ing up the Show" at Mid-Ohio

We don’t even know where to begin with this…The AMA Pro Racing has announced that it has indefinitely suspended Al Ludington for his interactions to during Race 1 of AMA’s stop at Mid-Ohio. Page was accused by Ludington for not abidding to a blue flag (over-taking rider approaching), as Aaron Yates looked to get around the slower Page. Pretty standard stuff in racing, especially in the AMA where there can be a wide gap in lap times of teams and riders.

The issue here though is the handling of the matter, as Ludington goes off his rocker, threatening and cursing Page, all while misquoting the rule book. During his rant, what becomes clear is Ludington’s lowly perception of privateer riders. He also sheds light on how the AMA perceives roadracing in America. It’s a sad state we live in folks.

Without seeing the incident, we can’t say for certain that Page was in the clear. We’ll let others who follow the AMA series comment on that, but clearly Page seemed to think he was within the rights of the rule book.

What bothers us the most about this video though, is clearly Ludington’s perception of what AMA Sportbike racing is all about, and what the value of ALL the riders on the grid are in his eyes. Quotes like “You raced the leaders, and fucked up the show” and “What were you? 28th?…you’re not ‘it’ [the show]” make us cringe. Page is right, every rider counts on the grid, and what place he was running in the series shouldn’t matter on how the rules are applied to him. All an over-taking rider can ask of a lapped rider, is to stick to the rules, and hold their line as they get around them in a corner.

For the record the rules are as follows (Al, you might want to read these), Section 7 (Race Rules And Procedures 7.14 Flags/Lights) of the AMA racing rules states that:

“Blue Flag: Indicates to a rider that they are about to be overtaken. Riders are advised to keep their line and allow the faster rider to pass. Riders disregarding this flag may be blackflagged at the discretion of AMA Pro Racing.”

This incident is sadly an inside look of what the AMA racing series has become (and why we don’t cover it…well, sorta). It’s sad when a Technical Director treats the riders in a purely dollars and cents fashion. We can barely handle it when we see it from the marketing/advertising folks, but you want to think that someone in the Race Director’s office still loves the sport of roadracing for what it used to be. You stay classy AMA.

Al Ludington’s Written Apology on the Matter:

To the AMA Pro Racing Community:

I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the fans of our sport, all AMA
members, competitors, AMA Pro Racing officials and Johnny Rock Page for my
behavior in the Tech Garage at the recent AMA Pro Road Racing event at Mid-
Ohio.

My actions were out of line and detrimental to the well being and the growth of
the sport that we all love. Mr. Page is a professional racer and should have been
reprimanded for his actions in a professional manner. He was not, and the blame
is entirely and solely my own.

I am regretful for offending anyone’s sensibilities, and I vow never to conduct
myself in this manner in the future. We expect cordial dialogue and behavior from
our competitors and, in turn, they should expect the same from us. I failed to live
up to this code of conduct.

Once again, I am offering my sincerest apologies to everybody that was affected
by my poor decision to conduct myself in a non-professional manner.

Sincerely,

Al Ludington
AMA Pro Racing
Technical Director