Ups & Downs

Ups & Downs

ROUNDUP

UP: To Ducati, for a half-century of winning. Brit Neil Hodgson’s victory on the Team Fila 999 in round two of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island, Australia, came on the 50th anniversary of the Italian firm’s first-ever race win. On March 30,1953, Silvio Malaguti topped the 50cc class in the first leg of the inaugural Moto Giro d’ltalia, a 275-mile grind from Bologna to Rome. Ducati riders ended up second and third overall in that year’s multi-day stage race.

DOWN: To Bank of America, for implying that motorcyclists and creditcard fraud go hand-in-hand. A television commercial touting the bank’s “zero-liability” Visa features a couple that discovers someone has used their account to make purchases at a tattoo parlor, leather shop and motorcycle dealer. Talk about cliché! According to chairman and CEO Kenneth Lewis, “Bank of America is in business to help make communities stronger and to help people achieve their dreams.

We fulfill this purpose by reaching for higher standards in everything we do.” Yeah, right.

UP: To everyone who participated in the inaugural Joseph C. Parkhurst Education Fund silent auction, for raising a whopping $35,021 in support of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s continuing education programs. The event, held this past February at the Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, featured one-of-a-kind historical memorabilia, autographed helmets and apparel, VIP passes to races and suites, and even two vintage motorcycles.