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/126757
Whjtney Cycle Ranch in Texas, will run March 10-11. According to promoter jerry Surber. riders will be chasing $75,000 in trophies and a $10,000 Expert purse. Over 100 local and regional qualifiers were run and ~I the big support vans fro~ the likes of Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha. will be in attendance. We'll be there too, and have a full report. • H~dey-Davidson in conjunction WIth Pabst Brewing Company has produced a limited edition of 10.000 cans of Harley-Davidson beer exclusively for Daytona Cycle Week. The premium brew will be available through most retail packag.e goods stores throughout the Daytona Beach area and will also be featured at Harley Heaven (the grandstands located across from the chicane on the back straight of Daytona International Speedway) for the Daytona 200 on Sunday, March 11. Ride straightl THE NATIONAL PAPERS Daytona time...The first important road race in the world for ~e new racing year. On paper, It has the potential to be the best-ever at the Speedway and rival any other pavement event for the entire year. Entries: 113 riders filed ahead of time. Some will not show up but others ',"ill be there as latecomers. Only 80 nders can make the slarting field for ~he Sunday, March II, Camel Pro Senes "200." By eliminating close to 40 riders in time trials it insures fellow riders and paying fans that many of the "slugs" will not be around and on the track on Sunday and have the front-runners lapping tail-enders in the first five laps. By the brand: Yamaha has 38 riders listed on the bikes lhal are lhe prerace favnrilcs, having- won lhc event /2 years in a TOW (19'72-'83). The [aewry riders will be Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Wayne amey, plus a japanc'SC pilot. Roberts as won the event twice, (1978/83) nd Lawson was the runner-up last ear. Rainey will ride Yamaha for the irsl lime and is the only one of lhe hree-rider team that will also rid~ in alurda.v's J:ormula Two IOO-miler. hal Will gIVe Rainey a good work- out before he heads for Europe and the 250 RRGP . . Other, non-factory, Yamaha riders mclude former AMA National winners Mile Baldwin and Nicky Richichi in addition to veteran U .. road racers john Long, Dan Chivington Kurt Liebman, Steve Baron, Boony Knott, Hap Eaton and Doug Braun.eck. West Germany is sending two nders, Peter Haefn~r and Marty Wimmer. Honda has a record-breaking 33 entries total, by far lhe largest ever in any American event. The official factory learn riders wi II be headed by new World Champion Freddie Spen~er and backed up by tWO-lime AmerIcan Champ Mike Baldwin and England's Ron Haslam. The switch 10 privateer Hondas offers more than one surprise wilh veteran Wes Cooley, a former Suzuki a~d .Kawasaki factory rider, taking hiS fITs I red, white and blue Honda ride along with former ace Rich Schlachter, who has not raced since mid-'82 in Europe, and the surprise of all, former Canadian champ Yvon Duhamel, who has not raced in America for many years. . Also back asa privaleeron a.Honda IS former Team Honda member Mike Spencer, along with last year's Formula Tw~ ch:nnP, Randy Ren[row, ":lakmg hiS hrst Nalional big bike ~Id~. japanese privateer Yasuo MorIta IS also an official enrry. Honda won lhe Daytona 200 in 1~70 bUl. has not come up with a wmner smce and wilJ be classed as the underdog aU the way, even though Freddie Spencer has led the event the laSl four years in a row, the only [our he has been elIgible to compete in the event. Kawasaki, with no oHicial involvement, has 15 pre-entered riders headed up by Canada's Ruben Mc: Murterand California's Cary Andrew and a whole bunch of other riders looking for first time [arne. Suzuki has only nine riders but one of those names is, like Roberts a defending champion. It is Grae~e C~osby [rom New Zealand, the '82 wmner on a Yamaha then, butriwng a Suzuki this time around. He was nOt in Daytona for the '83 race. Suzuki also has long-time veteran and proven Daytona racer Harry Klinzmann. Randy Mamo.la's name does not appear on the lIst as o[ this time, but don't bet that he won't be riding in the Daytona 200 on March II. It ",ould probably not be on a Suzuki, smce Mamola has signed to ride [actory Hondas at selected events. The brand name Cagiva may not be a household word in the world of cycle racing but they have two riders e~tered that. any [an of road racing WIll recogmze. One is the former w~rld ~OOcc GP champ, Marco LucchinellI from Italy and the other is the year-arter-year Battle o[ the Twin kingpin, jimmy Adamo. Lucchinelli is a former factory rider for Suzuki and Honda who passed up Daytona lWO years ago for some reason, so lhis wiII be his first Daytona 200. Ha~ley-Dav!dson has a lone entry and hiS name IS not Springsteen. His name is jim Hollingsworth and he raced many years ago at Daytona as a Novi(:e. Other brands entered include Laverda, Ducati, Spondon, BMW and Buell to name a few. More lhan one rider entered himself but forgot to put down what brand he will be allempting to qualify on Thursday and Fnday. One of these is Greg Smrz, one of the 1983 National road race winners. The Superbikes: Honda has won Superbike events the last five times they have been run at the Speedway. Freddie Spencer has won for Team (Continued to e 13 PROVEN WINNER 1983 o SYNTHETIC OIL NEO OIL CO. 2885 Gundr, Avenue Long Be.ch, CA 90808 (213) 595-7208 OVER 350 First Place Finishes, with NEO 100:1 Oil -DEALER INQUIRES INVITED-