Jorgensen still alive
Ludington signs with Kawasaki
Schwantz drives for somebody elseSaturday News
A rumor swept through the cyber community on Friday stating that injured dirt tracker Toby Jorgensen had died. It's not true; Jorgensen still fights for his life as of last night, and is actually improving to a degree.
Miguel DuHamel's mechanic, Al Ludington, signed with Kawasaki on Thursday to become the crewchief/lead mechanic for Eric Bostrom's side of the effort for 2000. Ludington has worked for Honda since 1991 and has worked with DuHamel since 1994. The two have cut a wide swath through the AMA 600 Supersport and Superbike win lists: DuHamel, on Ludington tuned bikes, leads both classifications.
"I'm looking forward to getting on board with Kawasaki," said Ludington. "They will be setting up shop down in Irvine and from what I can tell it's a top flight effort all the way. They want the best looking and most prepared team in the paddock and will do anything to accomplish that. It's a new challenge and I'm ready for it."
Insiders find it hard to believe that DuHamel did not fight tooth and nail to keep Ludington as their pairing has been one of the most successful in recent Superbike history. Ludington stated, "I talked to Miguel and he seemed understanding of the situation. Initially, this wasn't really of my choosing, to leave Honda, and Miguel knows that. We've won a lot of races together, won Daytona twice and the Superbike championship in 1997. We'll always be friends."
Suffice to say, Ludington is a veritable sponge when it comes to new technology and practices as they apply to Superbikes and Supersport bikes and many, many HRC secrets are escaping with him. Don't expect to see a V-4 Kawasaki Superbike any time soon, but the very top secret metallurgy technology used in the bottom ends of those 175 horsepower RC45s and many other groundbreaking tips and tricks will now probably be known to the green team.
Ludington was known to have been on the Hire Him Now list at several manufacturers once it became clear he would not be staying at Honda. Yoshimura wanted him to work with Aaron Yates, and other teams wanted him as well.
Of course, it didn't look like the Kawasakis needed that much outside help last Sunday, now did it? Muzzy left the Kawasaki fold in grand style and threw down an example of how it should be done, for future reference, with his bikes winning the two premier classes (600 Supersport and Superbike).
Other mechanics update: Mitch Leonard, who worked with Tom Kipp this season, will join Honda in place of Ludington; and Vic Fasola, who helped Yates last weekend at PPIR, will probably work with Yates at Yoshimura.
DuHamel's B-mechanic, Joey Lombardo, is getting his share of calls as well from factory Supersport efforts wanting his thorough touch to their bikes.
Yoshimura will test at Sears Point in a few weeks, and if Yates can get all parties involved at Kawasaki to release him from his contract, he will test the GSX-R750 there.
Kevin Schwantz is driving a Busch car at Dover this weekend. Schwantz sold all of his Busch stuff; and not long after a team contacted him about driving for them on a part-time basis. Schwantz was jazzed about it at PPIR because he will actually make money driving this car, not spend money as he did on his own effort. He's qualified 30th for today's race and is driving, as they say in NASCAR, a "Chev-row-lay".
Steve Crevier to World Supersport rumblings are being felt.
More later, maybe.
-- Willy & Gretchen Abbott
