O.C. Motorcyclist Is Penalized for Failing Drug Test

Speedway motorcyclist Shawn Moran of Huntington Beach has been stripped of his second-place finish in the World Final and suspended for six months for failing a drug test, an American Motorcycle Assn. spokesman said Tuesday.

Bill Ammick, AMA communications manager, said a random drug test after the final in Bradford, England, detected Moran had taken the narcotic dextropropoxyphen napsylate before a race. Moran admitted he bought an over-the-counter painkiller, distalgesic, to help alleviate the pain of four broken ribs he suffered in Sweden three weeks before the race.

Distalgesic is on the International Olympic Committee’s list of banned drugs, and the governing body of the World Final, the Federation of International Motorcyclists, follows the IOC list.

Moran appeared at the FIM’s board meeting in Hungary last week and was notified of the loss of place and suspension. He does not plan to appeal the suspension, according to his older brother, Kelly.

Moran, who also has a residence in Bradford, England, was unavailable for comment.

“I don’t think the whole thing was handled very well, because Shawn wasn’t notified until 90 days after the race,” Ammick said. “But the drug he was taking is banned by the IOC.”

Ammick said Moran’s place in the World Final would remain vacant, but that the FIM board decided not to strip Moran of his gold medal for being a member of the winning U.S. team in the World Team Cup in Poland.

“The board felt it shouldn’t punish five other riders for a mistake that Shawn made,” Ammick said.

The suspension is the second for Moran during his 11-year career overseas. In May, 1989, he was banned from that year’s world championship events for racing in Korskro, Denmark, while under the influence of alcohol.