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/126753
riding that brand. For more information on the race and all the cash/ contingency deals, call Chris Billings at 619/579-1320. John Glover, a member of Champion Spark Plug Company's international racing staff for over 20 years, has been named to supervise the reo structuring of the company's worldwide performance activities. Glover will coordinate the consolidation of Champion's diversified motorsports programs, both two and four wheel, into a single international racing division which he will supervise from Champion's corporate headquarters in Toledo, Ohio. Glover, as acting manager of racing, will continue many of the domestic racing programs begun by RichardJ. Gail, who was the company's manager of racing coordination in the U.S. for 21 years prior to his impending retirement this year. The top 20 riders in last year's Camel Pro Series point standings shared in a $32,116 AMA Grand National Championship rider points fund payoff. Champion Randy Go.. collected $6,332 for his efforts which included a 10 percent share of the fund plus $10.50 per point for the Camel Pro points he amassed. "Johnny Martin will again be spearheading Can-Am's off-road racing efforts," said competition manager Jeff Smith. "Martin will concentrate on the National Championship Enduro and Hare Scrambles Series. Ray Cosgrove will concentrate on the hare scram bles series. Australian Geoff Ballard will also ride for Can-Am (in THE NATIONAL PAPERS Houston Afterthoughts The Best' Department: It was the best weather in the 17 years of the annual event, but boy did it turn cold the next day... We saw best-designed TT track since the first one in '69... The jump was great; rides who full-bored it flew higher, further and faster than ever before - it separated the men from the boys. Little Chris Carr became only the third Junior to ever win both the short track and TT the same year... Bubba Shobert and Jim Filice did it before him... More than one person told me that Carr will be the Grand National Champ in the near future... Lee's give Chris a break and wait a couple of years before planting that burden on his shoulders. Hank Scott told me the day before the shon track that he did not really know why he even came down for the races... Hank went out the next day and was the fastest qualifier, but that was about it for the weekend... Brother Gary had his usual Houston week· end - failed to make the final in the shon track and was third alternate after time trials for the TT. Jimmy Filice was all decked out in his new two-tone brown leathers... He is now backed by the Harley Owners Group... His agreement is for no road racing of any type so he will not be out to try and win the Daytona Formula Two final this time around... His backers, Eddie and Jack, have to be two of the most pumped people we know of at this time... the U.S.). His first ride will be in the February 19 National Enduro in California. Ballard will also ride hare scrambles. We're looking forward to a very good season." Martin and Ballard will have a choice of the 250 ASE or 500 MX while Cosgrove will stick with the 500 MX. ~ Tours of another sort are offered by Volker Beer's Western Adventures. The organization, in its seventh year of providing motorcycle vacations throughout the Southwest and Mexico, where your only task is to ride, begins its season on March 3. Using Tucson, Arizona, as their base, Western Adventures has tours to/from Mexico City, Denver, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Drop a line to Western Adventures, 6141 Camino Almonte, Tucson, AZ 85718 or call 602/299-4691 for more informatiOn. The inaugural AMA Bare Tire Ice Racing National will take place on February 19 at Rainbow Falls Lake, Colorado, west of Colorado Springs. For more info write the host club: Harry's Roamers M.e., c/o Thelma Stonebraker, 9332 S. Jennings Rd., Morrison, CO 80465 or call 303/6979593. 00 0') Last week we showed you the engine; this week the entire bike. Husky's WR400 is the first liquid-cooled Open class production bike that we're aware of. The WR displaces 396.5cc and carries the title of ISDE Replica, because Swen-Erik Jonsson rode a proto to win the ISDE. Price: $3195. Camel Pro Series Champion Randy Goss has signed a contract with Wheelsport to endorse Esprit Products. "We are proud to have Randy back with us for the 1984 season," said Wheelsport vice president Cliff Reback. "We have been working with Randy since the mid-1970s and he is an outstanding individual." The fifth annual Yamaha Family Affair will take place on June 1-2-3 at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. The gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts offers a field meet, street rides, a bike and aftermarket product show, stage show, picnic and a drawing for a Yamaha Venture. Over 4,000 enthusiasts attended last year's Yamaha Family Affair and more are expected this year. Yamaha dealers who are interested in being a part of the event and those of you who would Jimmy came away without any points at Houston but as we all know, the Sacramento and San Jose miles are coming up soon. Bad weekend for Mickey Fay... He set a new record of sorts, falling down three times in less than 24 hours... Fay took Doug Chandler with him twice, once in the short track and once in the TT, and they hardly know each other. Darryl Hurst, the Houston dealer who won the short track years and years ago, so it seems, was an official entry once again... He had a smile all weekend and said his age is still his racing number, 34N, but he has been saying that for at least 10 years. Young Pete Hames was most impressive both times out... He went through the usual first-year rookie ups and downs last season, but he sure had it together for the '84 openers... His dad Don, a most avid backer, was watching both events from the stands for the first time... If that is what it takes for Pete to get perfect starts and Camel Pro Series points then maybe all racing fathers should follow this lead... Pete already has more points than he scored all of last season. It looks like the battle is on for the dirt season... Nine Harley riders came out of Houston with National points along with seven Honda runners ... Randy Goss looked more like a "gunner" than ever before... Long-time gunner, Ricky Graham is in the best physical condition ever and is superserious about getting the title back... Graham has won four of the last five AMA National dirt track events... Is anybody ever more excited about winning than Scotty Parker?... It's a joy to watch him even when it is just a semi win... More riders should follow the example he sets after he takes a checkered flag. When Jay Springsteen's bike went sour on the line in the TT heat it must have been a record... When was the last time he ever had any mechanical trou bles? Honda's Gene Romero was really pleased after Graham's TT win... Romero said the mechanics did a great job building the bikes from the frame up in less than three, repeat, three weeks... The new 6oo's came close to a 1-2-3 finish ... Honda teamster Doug Chandler had to start II th in his semi due to the earlier Fay putdown ... He was second at the end of lap one. Impressive Riders: Mark down Randy Green and Fran Brown along with Hames... They rode alongside and ahead of many veteran short track and TT racers with a lot less experience' than their better-known competitors... When is somebody going to "discover" Tim Mertens?... He still is taking on the big boys and has shown many flashes of being more than capable if everything is right... The only non-National number to make the final in either event was Kenny Tolbert, who pulled a 12th place finish in the TT... Another rough outing for the rookies at Houston. Only one rider won his heat race both times... It was the second-year Expert, Hames... The veterans wore him down in the TT final but not on the short track. In the Sunday's TT more Experts fell off than Juniors... Of course, the white platers were going about twice as fast and jumping about five times higher and farther... Parker nearly went from baritone to tenor over the jump on at least one occasion... Steve Eklund looked like he was trying to set new height records trying to catch Graham during the first haH of the main event. On hand to watch was the promoter and the sponsoring group for the new National Short Track slated for Busch Stadium in St. Louis in July... like more information should contact Norm or Lucy McDonald of K&N of Tulsa by calling 918/446-6657. Round ofthe U.S. Endurance Road Racing Championship Series will be run at selected AMA Championship Cup Series events. The eight-race series, of which a team's best six finishes will count toward the title, will feature competition in four classes in six-hour events. • They have more seats to fill than the Astrodome, but they say they know how and will get the job done... San Jose track builder Harold Murrell is slated to lay the oval for the first time in the baseball/football facility in Missouri... On hand to watch were two former riders that raced in the first 'Dome event, Sammy Tanner and Bart Markel. The Camel crew was on hand at sign-ups, getting all the riders" pictures for later program use... They even got eastern region referee, Bob Anthony - smilingl Mert Lawwill was also there watching... Mert was also smiling... He says he and Kenny Roberts are goin~ to team up for some "selected" dIrt track races this season... Men also rode the first event back in '68 and came very close to winning it from Gary Nixon who was not on hand to watch this year. How come we had to wait 23 years to get 500s on the short track?... They sounded great, looked great and ran great... Wekome back and now let's keep a few simple rules regarding the engines and gearboxes from now on and go racing... How Quickly They Forget Dept.: Hardly any 750 twins were entered for the TT... Just a few short seasons ago that's all there was... Randy Goss said to me when he saw the slick·looking TT track, "How come they finally put in a good one for our big twins now that we (H-D) are riding the smaller singles?" Randy finished a strong fourth so it really didn't matter for the rider who looked better than ever for so early in the season. A breather now until the Ascot TT and Sacramento Mile in April for the dirt riders... On to Daytona now and the March 5-11 Cycle Week which looks like it may be the best of all when you see who is entered... It has perhaps the best field of potential winners over any of the past 2oos... We will dwell on that next time. Roxy Rockwood 7