Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

header as was written previously, but not at Daytona. "There are too many demands on his time because of the new engine," explained Judy Maely. Spectro Oils President Robert H. Wehman has announced a $30.000 mechanics' award program for 1983. It will be divided into three areas (New England, southern California and National competition) with $10,000 in funds and Spectro products going to each area. Mechanics, to qualify, must list the Expert-class motocrosser and/or road racer who will be riding the motorcycle he services. Po ints (three for first. two for second, one for third) will be awarded to winners of championship races. If a rider is his own mechanic, he can q ualify for the award. Spectro products, stickers and consultation with Spectre's staff will be provided to each entrant. Ap plications for sponsorship should be directed to: (New England) Ken Ciocci, 26 Brooklaw n Rd., Wilbraham, MA 01095; (southern California) Marty Miller, Spectro O ils of Ca lifornia, 477 Industrial Way, Placen tia, CA 92670; (National competition) George Petetin, Spectro Oils of America, P.O. Box 208, Broo kfield, CT 06804. The latest r u m o rs concerning Harley-Davidson's to-be-releasedat-Daytona XR1000 is t hat the manufacturer will s imultaneously re lease a hop-up kit for those owners int erested in going recing. As reported here last week, HarleyDavidson's Jay Springsteen may race one of the new XR1000s in the Daytona Battle of the Twins rece. At a recent banquet at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas; Baja 1000 cowinner. ISDE gold medalist and sometime car racer Jack Johnson was named as Nevada Motorsports Athlete of the Year. Drag rece star Terry Vance and tuner Byron Hines will be associated with Honda to some extent in 1983. "We're going to be drag recing," said Vance, " but we're putting a lot of emphasis on road racing." Specifically, Vance and Hines will be taking care of the preparetion and maintenance o n the Interceptor Superbikes of Honda support riders Roberto Pietri and Fred Merkel, at least through the first four races of the season. HosPITal STOP: Former Grand National Cha mpion Mike Kidd fell while practicing at his Boyd, TX, track and dislocated his wrist and shoulder. Kidd should be out of the hospital by the time you read this, but he's on the doubtful starter list for Houston. Speaking of the crash. Kidd said, " I wasn't going very fast, and when I landed I put my hand out to break my fall and dislocated the wrist. It was one of those things you could do in the shower. My bikes and leathers will be in Houston just in case, but the doctor says the injuries will take three or four weeks to heal, so realistically I' ll pro bably have to miss it." Honda dirt track team manager Ge ne Romero said that no consideration was being given to loaning Kidd's equipment to any other rider. The format change in the 1983 Wrangler Super Series outdoor events means that the traditional Hangtown Sportsman Day will be limited to approximately 250 entries. The reason for that is w ith a ll three Pro classes racing on Sunday, practice and qualifying ~!I,~,h,e}d on ~aJjJ~~Xa~'n~.n . So the Dirt Diggers North, organizers of the Mar. 26-27 event, are limited on entries, especially since they've a lready run three qualifiers to qualify about 100 riders. The rest of the field will be first come, first serve when the entry blanks appear in Cycle News in early February. So keep your eyes open; when the Dirt Diggers North say limited entry, they mean i~1 Harley-Davidson has designated the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute of Phoenix, AZ, as an official training center for Harley-Davidson mechanics. As a result, update training seminars taught by factory-trained instructors are provided to mechanics currently employed by HarleyDavidson dealers. In addition, there . is now a six-week, 150-hour HarleyDavidson elective offered to students and graduates in addition to their 650-hour career program. The elective program uses trai ning aids and materials provided by Harley, and graduates receive a certificate, congra tulatory letter and job pl acem ent assistance from Harley- Davidson. MMI is located at 22246 N. 19th Ave., Phoen ix, AZ 85027, 'and the phone number is 602/869-9644. Race fans can get a free '83 Camel Pro Racing Guide by sending one carton end flag from any Camel brand style to: Camel Pro 1983 Racing Guide, P .O . Box 1614, Winston-Salem, NC 271 02-1614. The offer is limited to fans 21 years of age and older. The history of the Grand National Championship Series, biographies of past champions, the rules a nd point systems, advance ticket info, ra c e day schedules, race track locatio n maps, etc. pack the 128 -pa ge s w ith faets.lfyou 're going to Houston for the Feb. 5-6 Camel Pro opening rounds, you can pick up a copy of the free guide at the Camel Pro booth inside t he Astrohall, the site of the Houston Motorcycle Expo. Don't forget your Camel carton end flap. If the offer of a free race guide doesn't knoc k you out (i t sho ul d , beca use the guide is excellent), ho w abou t a free Camel Pro cap? The first 10,000 adult fans to enter the H ouston Astrodome gates for the Saturday night, Feb . 5 Ca mel Pro short track will receive a Camel P ro baseball-style cap - freel The dates for the 1983 Hi-Point sponsored Golden State Championship Enduro Series have been set. Only A and AA riders will be scored d uring the series, with the best seven out of 10 ride s counting; AA riders will be eligible for the overall only. The dates and information telephone numbers are as follows: (2/6 ) 0 -37 Gold Rush, 805/251 -3790; (2 / 2 0) 0 -36 & 0-37 Quicksilver, 408/384-4495; (3/6) 0 -37 Coyote Derby, 714/ 528-3007; (3 / 13) CRC /AMA Hobo 100, 714/689-6114; (4/ 24) 0-36 UttIe Polecat, 209/5210799; (5/ 14 - Sat.) 0 -36 Fools Gold , 415 /462-7988; (5 / 2 2 ) 036 Buckhorn, 916 /222 -2437; (10/30) 0-37 Last Chance, 213/ 448-8351; (11 /5) 0-36 Cowbell, 415/651-6413; (12/4) 0-38 Desart Dog 100, 714/421-8399. For Golden State Series information, dial Jeff Henning at 916/7438640 or Grant Palenske at 213/ 691 -4186. These dates are also out for the AMA 1983 D-36 enduro season. The Q u icksilver National is in Clearcreek (2/20), the Little Polecat in Sonora (4/24), the Buckh orn in Redding (5/22), the Ratt lesnake in CresentCitv (5/1 ) ,th~ Fools Gold in Georgetow n (5/14), the 4ger in Placerville (6/5), the Diamondback in Susanvi lle (10/2), the Jackhammer in Stonyford (10/23), th e Cowbell at Lake Pillsbury (1115), and the Bearfoot is at Stonyford (11120). Watch the eN calendar section for more details. The air dates for the ABC telecast of the Superbikers has been moved forward one week. so the two segments will air Jan. 29 and Feb. 5 . C heck local listings for time and channel. If you reall y want to plan ahead, the 1984 International Six Days Enduro will be held in Holland. Ted Boody and w ife Terry a re expecting a little Camel Pro racer as are Randy Goss and his wife. THE NATIONAL PAPERS For racers the H o uston Astrodo me is o ften known as the heartbreak hotel. Each time the do ublehead er is run dozens of riders go down there pumped high, but come home with spirits way down. To qualify for just one of the two finals is a feat. and to make both main events is a rare happening for all but a few. Several riders have at least 10 previous Houston twin rides behind them and experience does help - if you can get through time trials, not get knocked off the groove in the heat races, don't have to line up in the back row of the semi and th en get a good start in the final. Over the years the best riders at the end of the season are not often heard from at the Housto n opener. The season doesn' t end there, it is just the start. But the bonus points before April's Sacramento m ile sure hel p. Yamaha's Kenny Roberts is an entry for only the secon d time since he gave u p dirt for the G P roa d racing scene . The last time he was there he won the TT in the la te laps over Alex Jorgensen and then lost the short track to a then new kid on the block by the name of Ron nie Jones. Kenny wou ld pass Jones and Ro nnie would repass. The total repasses by J ones totaled seven or eight. It was one of the few times Ro berts ever took the lead in a dirt track race and then did not win. But that was several years ago and Kenny will find that time on pavement does not keep one sharp on the dirt. Plus the fast that there are too many variables at Ho usto n, as outlined above. Speaking of J orgensen , it is about time that the short iron man from . Stockton wins the double ' Do m e events. He has come close several times and if he makes it this year he joins Steve Eklund as the on ly rider to ever do it. Looking a t Ek lund, his record in Houston shows that one year he will do great and then no t so great the next. T he pattern says he will be back at the top this time. Are any rookies going to make either final at Houston? It looks doubtful. H o w many rookies as Juniors in '82 even rode a single TT? A lot have had short track experience but not against the competition that shows up on the southside of Houston each year; Houston is no t o nly th e first race of the '83 Camel Pro Series, but also the first public outing for new AMA competition director Wayne Moulton. Mo ulton was a part-time Texan a few years ago when he hea ded up the Kawasaki office in Dallas. The native of Salt Lake City is indeed a motorcyclist as we rode with him on a recent industry ride that covered· over 300 mi les on a weeke nd. He will be feted at a special gathering at the 'Dome during the races. I saw Scott Pearson at a recent Long Beach dealer show. Old #95 is pumped high , even though he lost out in a bid for full time team status with Honda. Scott will again ride Honda short trackers and has strong backing on a pair of proven Harleys for the other events. He is going for it all in '83. Dethroned champ Mike Kidd picks ' up National number seven beginning in '83. The num ber dates back to Readin g. PA, and the late Bill y H uber who raced with it for ma ny years before he was fatally injured on a two- mile dirt oval (yes, two mile) at Dod ge City, .KS, in the '50s. The number was then assigned to Sammy Tanner who raced and wo n many times with it until he retired from racing in the early '70s. Then the system was changed to where only former Grand National champs got 2-9. The first to get it under this plan was Mert Lawwill. Like Tanner and Huber, the number was good to Mert. Lawwill kept the number until he retired and the digit has been unused for several seasons. For some reason or another the word is that Gene Romero, holder of number three, is going to get a license this year - but is not planning on racing now that he has a job with the Honda din track team. The other number is four, held by Bart Marke l for many, many years. Bart stays eligible under the odes by getting a license each year and com peting ~ n the midwest's winter ice race senes. For many years Bart raced like he could wa lk on water and later found out he could not, but that he co uld race o n it (frozen). Mark el and Sonny Bu rres are by far the two oldest racers to hol d Pro licen ses in '82. Bo th are on the high side of the 45-year·old mark. Among the single digit number holders, Roberts and Jay Springsteen have mo re in commo n than their combined 63 National wins. They're the only ones to have pulled off con secutive wins in the short track, Ro berts doing it '72-73, and Springer '81-82. In fact, wit h a Saturday night win, the Harley-Davidson factory rider could be the first to win a Houston event three years in a row. Roberts has the most 'Dome wins with two each in the short track and TT, while Springsteen has three short tracks to his credit. Ricky Graham will debut his number one plate under the roof. Last year he missed the short track after crashing in practice, but came back and flew fast to win the TT even though he was hampered by injury. The flash of the evening. high-flying ex-motocrosser Steve Wise , had high words of praise for Graham after the race was over . Get ready for H ouston an d Dayto na. Check o ut the many special air fares for $99 each way fro m anywhere by severa l airli nes . I haven 't flown down to Day tona and back to Los Angeles for under $200 for at least 10 years, but I am this time. Next time around we get into all the Dayto na facts and rumors and there are more than enough to go around. Roxy Rockwood : 3

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