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/126393
for the AMA National Amateur Road Race Championship Program . The. program will in,flude five to 10 " Regional" races which will pa y points towa rd both Regional and National Championships in va rio us classes. The program is the brainch ild of th e AMA Amateur Road Race Boa rd wh ich was established last year a t Da ytona . Reps to t hat boa rd a re Nelso n Led ges' Don Ba rtram , AFM's Ha rry Bresach. : Mountain Racing Associa tion 's George Ch ester , Cent ral Road Ra ce Associa tio n's La rry J ohnston . Florida GP Riders' Bernard Perkins, AAMRR's Steve Ross and W ashingt on MIC Road Ra cing Associati on 's Kristy Tenneson. AMA Am at eur Activit ies Manager Hu gh Fleming coo rd inates things for th e AMA . Uke the Fether TIme end Baby New Vear on our front page, we're back In the office and running WFO toward an action-packed 1979 MaSOn. Vacation is over, but with the excitement of the Jan. 28 Oak· land Supererou, the Feb. 2-3. H~n TT and short treck Nationals an" the Feb. 10 seattle Superc:rOsa, not to mention the Jan. 20-22 Anaheim trade ahow, _'re too pumped to care. Papa's Iookln' forward to another great yeer. Join usl Tickets for the Jan. 28 Bay Area Supercross in Oakland Coliseum are available at over 60 BASS and Ticketron outlets. more than 50 northern California Honda dealers. as well as locations at Macy's , Sears and Emporium stores. For info on BASS locations, call 415 /855-5849 . To order BASS tickets by ' phone using Visa , Mastercharge or Bank-Americard, dial 415 /855 -4542 . . Vamaha Gold Cup Motorcycle Racea, sponsored by the Houston Chronicle, tickets are on sale at all Top ticket outletS, Voucher outlets, the Astrodome and Houston area Vamaha deale.... The TT is Feb. 261e short track Is Feb. 3. Yamaha Gold Cup Supercross tickets for the Feb . 9-10 Seattle, WA events to be held in the Seattle Kingdome are now on sale at the Kingdome box office. Ernst Home Centers, area Yamaha dealers and Fidelity Lane ticket outlets. The address for Fidelity Lane ma il order is 1622 Fourth Ave.• Suite 2, Seattle, WA 98101. Tickets go for S14 (which includes access to the pits), S10 , S8. S6 and a special for kids under 12: Free with a Safeway stores coupon. 2 A Goodyear tire testing ....ion et Daytona last week Produced some quick tinles by Mike Baldwin and a blown englna for Kenny Robarts. Baldwin, riding his Vamaha TZ75O, turned In a 2:03.9 lap, without restrlctor plates. Cold weather didn't help things, but Bill "Mr. Goodyear" Robinson predicts guys like · KR end Mike will turn laps under 2 minutes come Cycle Week '79 in March. "The newly paved oval has helped overall speeds. Vou'll remembar that Kenny turned twoo-two in 'n, but last year he didn't have anyone pushing him so his lap times during the race were down ' - not too mention the rest rictors. But both Kenny and M ike said t hey' d rather ride with restrictors. Without them they both say the Vamahas are a handful in the infield and coming out of the chicane," said Robinson via phone. Kenny Roberts, reached via phone at his Modesto. CA home , said. "Get back to me next week" when asked whether or not he was any closer· to inking a '79 contract with Yamaha . The same answer wugiven to the "will KR race Houston?" question . Reportedly, Roberts wants to reca at Houston but naither Vamaha nor Pace Management, the promoters of the double header Winston Pro Series weekend, are WIlling to ente UP. some greenbacks for King Kenny's participation. The ninth annual confrontation of American and British road racers in the Trans-Atlantic Trophy Easter Match Race Series will take place April 1'-16. The six race, three venue series kicks off at Brands Hatch on April 15 followed by Mallory Park on April 15 with the final two races at Oulton Park the followingday . Britain currently leads the series with six wins . Corky Keener, who has been hustling for a sponsor since losing his full factory backing from Harley· Davidson, is still without a backer for the upcoming Winston Pro Series season. "It looks like I'll be footing the bills this season:' said Keener in a conversation from his ho'me in Golden, CO. "The sport has been good to me and I intend to keep on racing. I've got some prospectS, but they're for 1980. By now most potential sponso... already have their budgets accountedfor." Ted Boody . also dropped from th e Harley team , has been rumored to be picking up a ride on Bill Kennedy's American. " I've helped Kennedy with some test ing," said Bood y, "b ut as fa r as a ride goes . there is nothing firm in the works . In any event I'm looking forward to a good year . I've got something to prove." Amateur road racers wishing to • 'com pete In the Daytona Cycle Week races on Wednesday, March 7, better get it in gear. The Daytona event is a pre-entry only rece. Entry blanks are available from the AMA, P.O. Box 141, Westerville, OH 43081, and must be returned no later than Feb. 2. The Da ytona amateur road ra ce will be th e firsr.ra ce under a new format Can-Am's 1979 'm ot ocross effort will be spearheaded by none other than thr....time 250cc National MX champ Tony DiStefano and returning Can·Am .team member Rich Eierstedt. Tony 0 will ride the 250cc Nationals on a machine prepped by Mike Stark, while CanAm Is still looking for a mechanic for Eierstedt. Can·Am will also sponsor Greg Robertson, Donnie Hansen and Kippy Pierce. They will compete In the Rorida Winter· AMA and the AMAlToyota Supereross Series when it arrives eaat in Atlanta. DIStefano and Eierstedt will race the opening rounds of the Supercross SerIes'ln Oakland and Seattle before heeding east. The Texaco Heron Suzuki assault on the 500cc World Road Racing Championship will again be led by Barry Sheene, with Tom Herron and Steve . Parrish making up th e remainder of the team. The results of the popularity poll done by Britien's Motor Cycle Weelrl, were published and Mike "The Bike" Hailwood, winner at the Isle of Man TT races after an 11·year absence from motorcycle . racing, won the poll. Barry Sheene finished as runner-up. Honda is reportedly developing a 650cc version of the CX 500 watercooled V-rwin . According to Itfotor c,de WHIrIy, the Imola 200, one of the world's most prestigeous road rac", has been cancelled. The problem apparently originated when the Italian federation (their "AMA") failed to help the promoters find a suitable date In the erowded FIM schedule. Instead, they'll put their efforts toward the AGV World Team Cup event, run first in October of '78. Rumor has it that Kenny Roberts has been approached by Honda to join their team in t he marque's return to World Championship Road Racing in '79 . Will he accept? We should know next week . There's also a story go ing around that Gregg Hansford will replace Kenny on Team Yamaha. Don't miss the motorcycling action on CBS Sports Spectacular's presentation of the Hollywood Stuntman's Competition. That. you'll recall, is the series of stunt events where Debbie Evans tied for second overall. It's scheduled for 4:30 p.m, on Saturday, Jan. 13. At presstime, Team Honda has signed Rick Hocking and Mickey Fay to ride XR500 -powered bikes at the Feb . 2 Houston TT. " Li ttle John " Hateley has agreed to ride a 250cc short tracker at the Feb . 5 Houston short track rac e . Word has it that there are two additions to the AMAlWinston Pro Series: a mile race Apr. 22 in Seeramento, CA. and a half mile at Laurel, MD, on May 26. MX riders of all sizes a nd abilities ma y ride in DPW Product ions ' S2,500 Suzuki Super cross to be held Jan . 20 in EI Paso (TX) Coliseum . Pros get moto money as well as overall pa yoff in the fou r disp lacem ent classes: 80 , 125, 250cc an d O pen . Ca ll 915/ 592 ·6699 or 915/566 -7631 for more inform ation. T he folks at Ann ie " D" Suzuki can also offer info: d ia l 9151592-6643. Malcolm Rathmell has signed with Monte.. to contest the '79 World' Trials Championship and of course the British Championship. The factory will provide bike, parts and a substantial bonus program; Britlan's Montesa importer Jim Sandiford will furnish financial backing. Greeves Motorcycle Accessories. according to England's Motor Cycle Weekly, is out of business. Greeves also manufactured Invaca r three-wheel tricycles. and when the Min istry of Pensions phased out those vehicles. the company failed . . Our caption writer was so anxious to get out.of the office for V8C8tion. he screwed up both captions on p. 33 of our year-end ~. Dick Burleson is now five-time AMA National Enduro Champ, not fourtime as the caption reeds. And the Can-Am rider Is not Skip Olson, but Dick France from Fairmont, I L Sears Point (nea r Sonoma, CA ) cycle park fees recently went up to S5 per motorcycle and S2 for any additional riders or spectators. That 's for a full day of riding, and there's no longer an afternoon discouni. Vandalism was listed as the reason for the increase. Riders are urged to call 707 /958 -8448 to confirm availability and conditions. Twelve miles of motorcycle trail, project name: Sadie Creek Trail and Trailhead, will be the subject of a public hearing Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Clallam County Courthouse In Port Angeles, WA. To be locilted about 24 miles west of Port Angeles, the trail will be on public land and financed by the ORV fund. If Washington trailriders are interested in having the trail prepared, they'd better join forces on Feb. 15 to support the project. California Racing Club has signed an agreement with Riverside Raceway for the Mar. 4 running of their Outlaw GP . Good thing to note on your new '79 ca lend ar. The Bates Leathers people have been receiving requests for free catalogs. The problern1 They don't have anyl And it's our fault for pasting a line from the ABC Leathe... listing too closa to the Bates listing lin our Dealer and Service Directory). It's ABC who's offering the free catalogs, not Bates. Brad La ckey . on his new factory Kawasaki , will be featured in the upcoming movie On Any Sunday 11. His first filming session will take place at the Oakland Coliseum prior to the Jan . 28 AMA /Toyota Supercross Series ope ner. A.C. and Sandy ' Bakken are the proud parents of a Sib. 100z. b8by boy, Brian, who was born Dec. 13. Team Husky keeps on gr.owin'.