Switch U.S. Grand Prix, Sheene Urges

Former world motorcycle racing champion Barry Sheene called today for the United States Grand Prix to be moved from the Laguna Seca track in Monterey and urged a rider boycott if the race is held there next year.

Sheene, the 500-cc world champion in 1976-77, made his plea after Australian Kevin Magee was critically injured in Sunday’s race.

Magee, who broke a leg in a fall at the same track last year in an incident in which Bubba Shobert sustained head injuries, was in intensive care today after undergoing an operation to remove a blood clot on his brain.

Australian Wayne Gardner, another former world champion, and leading American racer Kevin Schwantz also fell during the race, and four-time world champion Eddie Lawson broke his right heel during a practice fall earlier in the week.

Sheene, a commentator on Australian television, branded the Laguna Seca track as dangerous and said it should be modified before being used for another 500-cc world championship race.

“The place is a dump,” Sheene said in an interview with the Brisbane Sun. “If I was still riding, there is no way I’d race there.”

Sheene said the main dangers at Laguna Seca are the lack of run-off areas and white markings on the racing lines.