Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126327
Husqvarna's Chuck Sun put together a 3-6 afternoon at the Aug. 13 Swedish 250cc MXGP to take fourth overall behind Maico riders Neil Hudson (2~1 and Hans Maisch (4-31. Swedish Husky teemmate Hakan Carlqvist took third with a 5-2. KTM teansters Guennady Moiseev and Vladimir Kavinov won the two motos but couldn't put two finishes together for a good overall placing. Team Yamaha's Mike Bell tried to return to action at Carlsbad Raceway this weekend , bu t th e L.A . Superbowl of Motocross winne r was forced to call it qui ts in his first 500c c Pro moto when the injured kn ee began hurting. Team Honda's Brad .Lackey took a trip to th e hospital following a first moto crash while T eam Yamaha's Heikki Mikkola went on to clinch is second consecu tive 500cc World Championship MX Series title in th e Aug. 13 Grand Prix of Luxembourg near Ettelbruck. According to mechanic Bill Buchka, th e injury, "seemed awful at first ; they had to take him to the hospital on a stretc her." But Lackey returned to th e course in tim e to watch th e second moto after a preliminary exa mi nation of his back injury. He's now ha ving it checked over by Dr. DeWuidermann , a well known doctor who's assisted Roger DeCoster and Gerrit Wols ink with past inj uries. He expects to contest uhe Aug . 27 GP in Holland. Heikki Mikkola won the Aug. 13 Grand Prix inLuxembourg.finishing 2-1 ahead of Roger DeCoster's 1-3 and Graham Noyce's 4-2. Gerrit Wolsink followed with a 3-5. Mikkola's win makes it two straight 500cc World Chamionship MX titles for Team Yamaha. It was Brian Lunnis' first week of wrenching Graham Noyce 's factory Honda , and according to Lackey's tuner Bill Buchka, Mr . Brian "did a hellof a job." Lunnis, you may recall , served time as Billy Grossi's mechanic on T eam Su zuki before acc epting a position at Scott USA as a tr a vellin g rep . Terry Poovey. riding his Tex Peel/Bel-Ray Harley-Davidson. topped the Aug. 13 AMA Regional Half Mile at Sturgis, SO ahead of Phil McDonald and Frank Word. both also Harley-mounted. California's Wayne Rainey put his Yamaha at the head of the Junior results column, and Yamaha rider David Jones beat Jeff Haney in the Novice segment. 2 While scanning his copy of th e Sunday, Aug . 13 issue of th e Long Beach Independent Press-T elegram newspaper , Papa came across and . edi torial wri tte n by Don Shoemaker of th e Knigh t News Servi ce enti tled, " Is thi s why we invent ed th e wheel? The motorcycle: hideous sounds and noxious od ors ." In the ac ricle, Sh oem ak er reports that the motorcycle is "a clea r and pres ent danger to peace of mind , th e Gross National Product. t he eardru ms, U.S, 1 throught U.S. 532, household pels an d ride rs the mselves." He conti n ues, lat er in th e edi to rial, sta ting that " ... th er e are too many of t hem killing peo ple, lousing up th e a tmosphe re and crea ting more International Six Days ,Trial teams have been announced by the AMA. Previously announced were the KTM-sponsored U.S. World Trophy Teem IGary Younkins. Jack Penton, Jeff Hill, Kevin Lavoie. Ted Leimbach and frank Gallol and the Husqvarna-sponsored U.S. Silver Vase Team (Dick Burleson. Greg Davis. Larry Roeseler and Bob Popiel!. Now the AMAlISDT team listing is complete with both manufacturers' and club teams on tap. Club teams are as follows: CATRA (Frank Piasecki, Jr.. Rod Jeff Fredettel, Perry Bush, Mountain M.C. (Mike Melton. A.C. Bakken, Barry Higgins( United Enduro Association (Bruce Kenny. Kevin Piasecki. Steve Whitworth. Cycle Nuts and Bolts (Ron Lamatus. Danny Schuler. Russ Powell( and the ~ Hood Dirt Riders (Denny Vandecar. Tom Krehbiel. Steve Hell). Manufacturers' teems are as follows: KTM America IJack Penton, Gary Younkins. Frank GaUol. Husqvarna USA (Dick Burleson. Larry Roeseler. Bob Popiell, U.S: Suzuki 12 lOon Cichocki. Ted Worrell, David Hulsel and a second Yamaha USA team IDennis Reese. Dane Leimbach, noise th an a truck with a load"of em pty milk ca ns colliding with a truck full of geese," That he believes th ese th ings is incredible; that he ha s th e power to put th em in print is incomprehen sible , Perhaps th e people responsibl e for th e contents of the Lo ng Beach Independent Press-T elegram and the Knight News Service could use some accurate, constru ctive and rational inform ati on concerning bik es. You ca n send that info in the form of a letter to t he editor, 604 Pin e Ave. , Long Beach , CA 9080 2, T hey need it. MXers take note that the Western Regional MX Championship originally scheduled for Indian Dunes on Sep~ 3 has been changed to Carlsbad Raceway. The date stays the same. T here will be no Cam el Pro Series in 1979 . According to informed sources, the AMA Grand National Championship Series will be ba cked by anoth er R,J. Reyn olds Tobacco brand, probably Winston . The mo ve is seen as a grouping by th e com pa ny of all their motorsport sponsors hips under a single b rand . AlanD~yol. Dave Knight. Camel Pro Series team manager. was questioned at the Pocono National on the sponsorship change. "I "can't confirm or deny the rumors." said Knigh~ " how ever. I can say that R.J. Reynolds is firmly commited to the sport of motorcycle racing:' In last week's Pine Top National MX coverage, it may have appeared that " Rocket Rex" Staten rudely "d um ped . his Bassett Racing Products Sponsorship for Yamaha' factory" support. But Yamaha Team Manager Kenny Clark went to" John Bassett before spea king to Rex and discussed th e possibility of putting Staten on Mike Bell's works bike. Bassett, according to Clark, was enthusiastic over the idea and very happy for Staten. Saturday'S practice sessions at Pocono wer e bad news for th e fem ale rid ers competing. Liz W emett, who was to make her e debut in th e Superbike Production class, crashed after hitting a n oil spill and suffered a shoulde r separa tion , bruised ribs a nd a broken thumb. Novice W en d y Epstein crashedand broke a collarbone. While Clark was talking with Bassett. the arranged another deal in chich Staten's Bassett mechanic, Marty Smith. would wrench for Jeff Ward, another new Yamaha Teamster in the 12Scc National class. Ward will be aboard a works Yamaha 125 for next week's Charlotte National. Carter Alsop had mechanical troubles in Sunday's Superbike Production race at Pocono and dropped out after six laps. Ms. Alsop spent the week prior to the event doing promotional work for the races. Kenny Roberts , Johnny Cecotto and Steve Baker are among th e confirmed entries for th e Sept. 10 F750 World Championship Road Race Series event at Laguna Seca, Other likely contende rs will be Patrick Pons and Christian Sarron, al though they haven't yet sign ed on the do tted line. Gen e Romero and Da vid Aldana will spend Labor Da y weekend in a true labor of love: making money guaranteed money, The pai r will race in th e F750 World Championship event at Assen , Holland on Sep t. 3. Aldana sign ed for $6 ,500 gua ranteed against his winnings while Rom ero will take home $8 ,000 . " If my name was Roberts, " said Aldana, " I'd need an armored truck to haul away t he loot," • _.. Kawasaki is presently negotiating to bring two top road racers. Kork Ballington and Gregg Hansford, to the U.S. during the Se~ 10 Laguna Seca f750 weekend. Speedway riders cla im that the Ascot oval needs more lights. Maybe if every fan brought a candle to Ascot on . Thursday night . _. .. of ,. • ,. :. .. A passage from the California Parks and Recreation Department book entitled. " O ff- H igh wa y Vehicle Recreation in California," says. " In addition to the benefits derived by users themselves , the off-highway vehicle industry has become a significant factor in the economy of California ." Remember that. because money speaks. "We hope that this decision will be vigorously enforced so that Harley· Davidson will be able to compete in the domestic market without being at an unfair disadvantage. From the beginning. we heve been seeking ' fairness and nondiscrimination in Japanese motorcycle pricing In this country. and not any form of protectionism." seid W. Thomas York. AMF Chairman, about the Treasury Departinent's finding that Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha were "dumping" motorcycles into this country at "unfairly low" prices. The dumping case now goes to the International Trade Commission, which will conduct a three-month study to determine if the dumping has caused injury to the U.S. motorcycle ind ust ry . 1£ the Commission finds injury. duties will be imposed on those three companies' motorcycles entering the U.S_on or after April 26, 1978 . Over half the land in California was owned by government agencies In 1915, and since then more has been added. The Federal government Is the biggest land holder. and its properties add up to about half of California. Bob ' Hannah , holder of the 1978 AMA /Mr . PiBB 250cc National Championship MX Series and the AMA /Toyota Supercross Series titles, has announced that he will donate his winnings from the Sept. 17 Sabaru International Olympiad II to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation. "I want to make things a little easier for people who are not, as fortunate as, I am," said the Hurricane. 2 1 Oregon's Northwest Challenge motocross program will not take place this year. Pians are being made for a 1979 running. however, with the posslbirrty of a major parts and aftermarket supplier as a sponsor. The iast-mlnute loss of a major sponsor and one of the five tracks was cited as the reason for this year's cancellation. Gary Scott says his feud with HarleyDavidson is over. Scott, after sponsor J.R . Kelley and Harley-Davidson chairman John Davidson had a chat June 25 , submitted a two page list of parts needed. He received everything, but one item . " I'm satisfied," said Scott in a telephone call from his Springfield , Ohio home. "Now I can go racing. I've got a lot of catching up to do:' The RM has notified the AMA that it will ecept 37 entries for our ISDT squad. That announcement broUght a sigh of relief from Denny Vandecar since his name was the 37th on the selection list. The AMA has returned to Ted Boody the Harley-Davidson engine claimed by Randy Carthel at the DuQuoin National. The reason given for the , return was that the bank draft that Canhel presented for the $4500 claim could not be readily turned intocash. Carthel showed up at Peoria with a cashier's check and another claim on his mind , but that w,as thwarted when