Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

I especially WISh to maJr.e known my appreci ation for the people at Yamah a who have shown me Fat faith, patienc e and unders tanding in these past months . DAVE FERRA TO P.S. I hope to see you all at the Dealernews show in October. I can be reached at 4929 Perdue Drive, Metrair ie, LA 70005, phone 504/887-7512. Mor. pre-pl astic Presto n WIST Ame rica's week ly moto rcycl e news pape r Sharon Clayton. Publishe r Caroline Gendry Executiv e Secretary to ,he Publisher . Victoria Smith. Advertis ing/Edito rial Aaiatant . I Editorial Charles Morey. Managin g Edi'or. Dale Brown, f.,ditor. Mark Kariya. Editor. Adver tising Skip Johnson. Na'ional Sales Manager . Terry Pratt, Sales Manager . Duane Johnson. Wes' Sales Manager . Linda Brown, Advertisi ng Coordina tor. Graph ics and Produ ction Kristin Cooper. Graphic Artist. Barbara Traven, Auiltant . Marion Hataahita , Typograp hy. Dennis Greene. Labora,o ry. Accou nting Milr.e Klinger. Manager . Donna Bryan. Aceta. Receivable. Pa, Ba,ty. AlIt: Aceta. Receivable. Terry Dailey. Credi, Manager . Circulation Rheba Smith. Manager . Shirley Shon. Michelle Bernier. Cherilyn Bernier. Joanne McFadde n. Aau. Deale rs/Wa nt Ads Yvette GocIten. Dealer/W an' Ad Sales Manager . . Servic es and Suppo rt Chris Aitchel on. Receptio nist. joe Jamison. Judy Broolu. S&S. West 2201 Cherry A..,.. Long Beach. CA P.O. Box 498. Long Beach. CA 9080i (215) 427·7455 ; L.A. Line 656·8844 . East 4i9O Fin' A..,.• Tucker. GA. P.O. Box 80;. Tucker. GA 50084. (404) 954·78;0 . Cycle News/W est (USPS 141·540) is pub· lished weekly excep' 'be fint and I.., week of the calendar year for $20 per year by Cycle News. Inc.. 220i Cherry A.enue. Long Beacb. CA 90801. Second c1. . pootage paid a' Long Beaeb. CA. POSTMA STER: Send form 3li7I to Cycle News. P.O. Box . , Long BMch,C A..-J'l. Subscrip tion rates: One year. second c1us mail, S!O; two yean, second dati mail. $5;; 'bree yean. leeond c1. . mail. $55; 2; weelu. $il. ·Foreign ra'es a.ail· able on request. Cycle News welcomes UDIOlicited. edilorial material including atories, car'oona. pb""". etc. Sucb material. if pub· lished. becomes 'be exch";.., property of Cycle News. Such accepted matcrial is subject to revision as is nttelUry in the sole discretio n of Cycle News. Unaolicited material which is not URd will be returned if accompa nied by a ",If addresaed ..amped en..,lope . All un· solicited material will be handled with reasonab le care, however. Cycle News asaumes no responsib ility for tM safety, loss or dama~ to such material. Re· printing in wbole or pan only by per. mission of the publisher s. Advenili ng rates and circulatio n infonnat ion will be ",m upon reques,. See S.R.D.D . Copyrig ht a Cycle Newa, Inc. 1981. T........ ... Cyde News regieter ed U.S. Plltent Offlce. AU rights . . urved. ON THE FRONT PAGE: Kent Hower ton can very well jump for joy. In Colora do he clinch- ed his second consec utive 2!iIIcc NationIII MX ChaI i IIJioI r ship. The compl ete story begins on p. 6. Photo by Merk Keriye. Open s.ason ? I would like to offer my feelings. opinions. and suggestions concern ing what will probab ly be the richest, best promot ed "club" race in the world. Namely, the Americ an Federa tion of Motorcyclists Annual Six Hour Endurance Race. this year sponsored by Budweiser Beer and offering a $15,000 purse. First, salaried "factor y riders" should have a set limit of the purse availab le if any. Let them have the . fame and the glory, but not the club. racer's one shot at some money. Some local MX races have "pro" c1aases in which factory (Pro) riders compet e with locals who so choose. The Expen chua is for others. Since the Open class is the only place we will see the factory teams, why not split this class only, into two ranks? A "Pro class," consisting of AMA Pro Superbike riders wi.th factory backing , and others who feel they can be competitive in this ranking , and an "Expen class," for the riders who pour their time and money into what is really the only chance in a year that they could ever hope to make any decent money. Payouts to this class split should be at least equal, with possibly the higher ponion of the purse going back to the "Expen " class. It is realistic to assume that the factory teams come to the 6Hour for the exposu re, not to cherry pick at the purse. Their riders are al· ready well paid for perform ing their jobs. If the factorie s are so pouesse d with success at this "club" race, why not stimulate their riders with attractive bonuses for deservi ng perform ances. Let's face it, even the best of club racers jump into a differen t league when they mount up on a/aetor y bike. The true private ers, no matter how devoted. don't stand a chance of being in the hunt. Think for a momen t of what the Superb ilte class has produc ed for results for the past few years. Always factory VI. factory. Money talbl The majorit y of Open class elub racers don'lco mpete in the Nationa ls for two reasons: (1) A tota1laclt of funds to travel the circuit. (2) The cost of an AMA license, physicals. entry fees, travel ex· to run one or two west coast nationa ls and still not having a snowball's chance of out· placing the megabu ck factory dlon. Grante d, it is a real pleasur e to run with the big boys, but when you think of it, we help to pay their lucrativ e salaries by buying the motorcycles, parts. and accessories that their employers sell. Withou t the "ultima te enthusiast, .. which is what we club racers really amount to (with some exceptions), these gentlemen would be working regular jobs like the rest of us. If you could get truly honest answers from these professionals, I have to think they must conside r we club racers as just so many obstacles getting in their way. From my line of thinkin g, who really are the hazards? The club racers, who are used to compet ing with club racers and club racer horse-' power. or the factory boys who will slam the door making a WFO pass, leaving the amateu r spinnin g mentall y (and sometim es physically). One shon burst more of outrage : I was recently advised of one "factor y rider" who decline d to particip ate in this year's Budweiser 6-Hour Endurance Race because the promot ers would not pay him a four digit figure as stan money. My feelings? It's aboUt time the factories gave us, the club racers, some suppon instead of the opposite. Anybod y ebe out there care to dispute this? Speak upl Let the AFM know ... or does the victory go to the highest bidder? (Name and address withhel d by request ) Fenat o to leave Yama ha It is with deep regret that I an· nounce that effective June 17 I will be leaving my position as Assistant Manager of Motorcycle Public Relations at Yamah a Motor Corpor ation, USA. Due to a situatio n that had develop ed involving my family, it has become necessary that I return to New Orleans where I will be involved in the oil industr y and able to pursue my musical interests. I wish to thank all of you in the motorcycle industr y who have made the past few years most gratifyi ng for me and most produc tive for myself and for Yamah a. The article on Preston Petty by Brad Zimme rman was a treat to read. He's quite a guy and I know it did all his friends and acquain tances good to find out what's going on with his life since he moved to Gila Monster land. Just like Digger Helm, I've known Preston for more years than I care to thinIt about. He's a special friend going baclt to when I first entered the world of motorcycles ... so I too have many tales regardi ng Pres. He used to ride a Greeves at Ascot; (a defunc t British motorcycle) and win with it. Then there was the year at Hopeta wn when Maico distribu tor Frank Cooper was holding up Preston 's bike on the line, frantica lly looking for his rider. Preston was lticlted back reiaxed under the trees. As the biltea staned firing up, Preston appear ed, casually pulling on his helmet while at that point, Mr. Cooper looked ready for the coronar y ward. But there was no point being there in the sun all hot and sweaty until it was time for the flag to drop, right? My first time ever in a plane was with Preston as pilot. We took off on the Carlsba d drag strip, and then looped round and round watchin g one of the earliest motocrasaes going on below - Joel Roben , et aI. When we Janded there was a little group of Euro· peans all in line for their ride too; they couldn 't believe than an Americ an motocr ouer could afford his awn plane. In betwee n riding his Suzuki in class, Preston obliKed them all. Carlsbad's a tricky landing strip with wires at a couple of crucial points and if someth ing had gone wrong we'd have had an interna tional incident! If you raced in the same class with Preston , he was the man you Iuul to beat if you wanted to win. A tiger lurks under that placid looking exterio r. I really saw it the day he laid his chin open to the bone when he got off hard at Saddleb aclt Park. Ever tried. putting a pressure paclt on a tiger when he wanlS to get back out there but is bleeding too much? After he'd started. his business he also turned. writer, and the rest of us motorcycle scribes can be eternall y gratefu l to him ... he was the tint writer to use the term "berm. " Boy, did we all jump gleefully on that. A new word to use in race reports , and the motocross writen did it to death ... Preston , we could use a new one, old . buddy! To hear he's in control of his businesl again with his wife Mary is just great. His name has always stood for integrity and his produe tl for quality . Just one thing more. I've known and written about lots of racers and races over the years but Preston belongs to a very elite club (Malco im Smith is another) that I have'yet to hear the usual bitches or compla ints about (or Petti· ness if you like puns). He's special people. MAUREEN LEE "The Silver Fox" Long Beach, CA Publish ed letters do not nece. . .rlly reflect the pwltIo n of Cycle News. Inc. Send Ietbn Long Beach. to Voices. Box _ CA90801. - '.

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