Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

and tllet will continue to the end of March, when he'll be put in a cast for three to six months. HosPITal STOP: Desert racer Scott Rugg suffered head injuries as a result of a fall while practicing in the dez, but we're happy to report. that Rugg is on the mend and out of intensive care. Cards and letters to Rugg, a founder and membe.r of the Sodbusters M.C. can be sent to room 776A, Riverside Community Hospital, 4445 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92502-1669. DC Pro owner Lee Chapin and wife Shelly are the proud new parents of a future Women's MX Champ. Cara Louise Chapin post entered at 7:07 a.m. March 19, weighing in at eight pounds, four ounces, and passing tech at 19.5 inches. Our congratulations to the familyl The Cal Poly Penguins will be hosting their 34th annual version of the Hi-Mountain Enduro on April 15. Entries are open for the event, with a 5OO-rider limit. For an entry form, send self-addressed, stamped envelope to Cal Poly Penguins, CPSU ASI Box lll, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407. For more details on the event, caJI805/5440357. Marcal Fortney has left Yoshimura R8aO after almost five years with the organization citing differences with Fujio Yoshimura as the reason. "I'll take a couple of weeks off, then start looking for a new job. I want to stay in the motorcycle industry," said Fortney when we talked with him. After 15 years of weekly flat track racing, Ross Downs in Colleyville, Texas, will be the site of weekly motocross events. The organize.rs say that they have gotten the bu ilders of the Astrodome and Cotton Bowl Supercross tracks to build a stadium-style course for Ross Downs. The season, which starts March 31 and runs through October, will not be AMA-sanctioned, although promoter Bob Bagwell says that several special AMA Pro-Am events will be scheduled through the season. Bagwell can be reached at 817/488-9133. The American Federation of Motorcyclists promises a special treat for motorcycle-riding spectators at their March 25 club road race at Riverside International Raceway. Providing they have a helmet. those riders can take a lap on the track before the races begin. More on the California Air Resources Board hearing on March 23 over motorcycle emissions standards: The. meeting will now begin at 8:30 a.m. All those who want to speak at the meeting must show up by 8:30 in orde.r to registe.r to speak. Whether or not California motorcyclists will be saddled with catalytic converters is the issue to be decided at the meeting. Try to attend the meeting, which will be held at the State Building Auditorium, 107 Broadway, in Los Angeles. Whether you go or not, send a letter explaining your opposition to catalytic converters to Chairman Gordon Duffy, C.A.R.B., P.O. Box 2815, Sacramento, CA 95812. Desert entrepeneur Casey Folks is busy again, this time with the eighth annual Les Vegas 400 professional desert race. April 6-8 are the dates for the event, which will feature two-man teams going for the gold in 125, 250, Open, Over 30, Over 38, and three-wheel clasMs. There win also be three categories of sportsman cl.._ . Entry fee for the Pros will be $280 including insuranca, and $100 for the sportsmen. For information, contact Casey at 702/457-0343. Casey at 702/457-0343. conducted to raise funds for the Motorcycle De./emews Pro Rider Benefit Fund, White bid $500 for a Team Kenny Roberts T-shirt. Nobody topped thatl The Over the Hill Gang is sponsoring a hare scrambles event on April 8, 1984. The race will be held in Hungry Valley, Nevada, just north of Reno, and is a benefit race for Dylan Wiggins, a young boy who needs a bone marrow transplant. For complete details, contact the OTHG at 714/7831240, and ask for Ron. The JT Racing helmets which were banned from use at the Gainesville (Florida) National MX on March 4 were in use in Daytona. "The helmet had already met the standards for DOT approval before the Gainesville race," said Jrs Dan Melbourne, "but it was simply an oversight on our part that they didn't have the stickers in place. With the stickers on the rear of the helmet, it was all.systems go at Daytona." • Tatum Communications and its division, The Recreation Network, have signed Yamaha's Broc Glover to a personal management contract. The Recreation Network, which syndicates sports programs including Suparcross coverage, includes in the signing an agreement for Glover to co-host future MX shows. Glover will also appear in other programs. films and commercials produced by the company. And according to Tatum, negotiations are underway for product endorsements and other television commercials. Road Rider will be celebrating its 15th birthday in September, and the publisher of America's first magazine devoted to the touring rider note the RR editorial staffers have collectively ridden more than 2.5 million miles. Congrats to the Road Rider gang from Papa, whose typewriter has run up similar mileage. At the recent Les Veg.. show, the Randers Company introduced the Carevich line of microphones, speakers and hook-up kits for the Hondaline and Yamaha/Mitsubishi radio/intercom units. Some dealers have had trouble getting these components from the OEMs, but Flanders says that they have them in stock right now. Dealers only can contact the Flanders Company, P.O. Box 93605, Pasadena, CA 91109-3605. Rumors have reached our sensitive ears that Pee Wee Gleason and the Yamaha Motor Corp. engineering crew went to Baylands Raceway drag strip in northern California to make a few quarter mile runs on the new FJllOO. And, according to what we hear, Pee Wee lowered the mark for stock motorcycles again, turning in a 10.43-second run with a top speed of 128.93 mph. Be sure to tune into Cycle IJIews next week, when the full details of the 1984 c,de IJIe.s Pick a Cagiva Sweepstakes will be announced. The lucky winner will be able to take his/her pick of a Cagiva 125 motocrossar or a 200 enduro bike. All the pertinent scoop will be in next week's issue. Suzuki unveiled a new works bike at the Daytona Supercross, which sported an entirely new frame and rear suspension design. Gone are the struts on the FuJI-Floater system, and in place is a linkage-type system with the shock mounted rigidly to the frame at the top. The frame also has a removable rear section. The motor is basically a stock RM250 unit. Monkton, Maryland's Taylor White III was once again a top bidder in an auction of racer memorabilia which was conducted Saturday night of Daytona Cycle Week at Roxy Rockwood's Hawaiian Inn show. In the auction which was THE NATIONAL PAPERS Daytona Review: For the first time in the history of the annu~l Cycle Week, there was no rain of any kind through the entire affair. It started to rain the day after it was aJ lover. Kenny Roberts became only the second rider to win three times at the Speedway; Roger Reiman being the other ace. Reiman was also in town once again and rode in not one but two events. He says he is only three pounds heavier than when he last won at DIS, nearly 20 years ago. Roger looks like it, and wore the same leathers he wore during his final 2oo-mile win. One of the best races of the week was between Kurt Leibman and Reiman on Wednesday during one of the many "Vintage" races. The two went at it from start to finish with Leibman on a BMW Rensport model taking the win just two turns from the finish. Kurt later stuffed his 200-mile bike and did not race on Sunday. Conflicting stories as to who is the owner of the Yamaha TZ250 Wayne Rainey rode to victory against a class field of international riders in the Saturday morning race. The official entry blank said it was fi'om the factory. California Yamaha dealer Dick Brandt swears that the bike was bought and paid for by himself and Kenny Roberts as well as the expenses for both rider and machine to and from Daytona. Will the real owner of this rocketship please stand up? Freddie Spencer proved early that both his three cylinder and his newer four banger were fast. During a Fridaybefore-Cycle-Week-test he ran them both around the track in under two minutes! Three laps on the four and once on the three. Honda has now won the Superbike final the last six times Daytona has hosted a race for these machines. This translates to even more sales for the Interceptor model that was hard to get during all of '83. Men Lawwill, please call Kenny Roberts. Mert was telling us in Houston last month that Kenny was indeed going to race some dirt events. Kenny was telling the press in Daytona that he was not. KR says his next race in the U.S. will be in mid-July at Laguna Seca. Freddie Spencer has also confirmed that he too will be at Laguna Seca for at least the F-I event. Did not say either way about the Superbike class. Spencer had the press asking for more. He did a super job of cooperating with the newspapers, radio and TV people all week long and they were talking about it long after the last flag had dropped. The World Champ also took time to make a dealership appearance, complete with one of his F-I machines and to sign autographs for over an hour at a cocktail party attended by over 2000 people. He signed un til the photos ran out. Mike Baldwin rode one of the best and smartest races ever, but running out of gas just far enough away from the finish line to coast cost him several positions. New Zealand's Graeme Crosby the only rider in the 200 that could make a four-stroke look even halfway competitive. This has to be one of the smoothest riders to ever road race. "Croz" was also the hit of the show one night when he appeared at the Camel Pro Show that I host at the Hawaiian Inn. A lot of guys have a fast mouth but Cr01 has the wit to go with it - ask Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Randy Mamola, who were all there and bore the brunt of some of his. "Down-Under" type quips. It was all in fun for the standing-roomonly crowd. Note ro Kenny Roberts: About that pie you planned on planting-in my face on the last night of the show at the Hawaiian and did not show up fo.r. I was tipped about it ahead of time and I had two of my own ready and waiting - plus I had Crosby all set to take over and interview you while I was eating and wiping. Maybe next year. Plans are already underway for a cours'e change at the Speedway during the summer. It will be shor.ter through the infield because they need more parking area for the twO stock car races h.eld there each year. The entire infield portion of the track is also going to be resurfaced. Roberts and third-place runner Ron Haslam were the only front runners going fast who did not make a rear tire change. Spencer's likable dad, Fred Sr., is now into boat racing on a near fulltime basis on the lakes and rivers in the deep south. He only took in one GP race in Europe last year. Did you know that Randy Mamola is carrying a torch? Randy laid out $2000 of his own money to buy one of the distances for the comfng Olympics and will carry it himself near his hometown in the Bay area. Randy has done several other good things off the track that people are not aware of, including having a room in a deaf childrens' hospital named after him due to his donations. Let's hope the winner of five GP events gets it all going again in '84 on his new Honda 500. A few years back we had to put up with the "streakers" in Daytona. This year it was the guys who could not resist "mooning" in several l()j:ations. No names mentioned here as the word will get around fast enough as to who they were. We thought that went out a couple of years ago? "FoodFighting" may be the new in-thing, if you can believe what you hear. Wheelie King Doug Domokos set a new record of sons during the Daytona week.' He rode a Honda ATC three-wheeler into the Hawaiian Inn show, spun it around on the small dance floor and stopped. Total running room, about five yards. More than one person a t a ringside table thought they were going to have Doug and hislHonda for dessert. Doug also made it official on the talk show. He will attempt to. ride from the Pacific to the Atlantic this coming August. That is confirmed. Doug and his agent, Jeff Immediato, have to be one of the best promotional combinations we have ever run across. Jeff also has other talents - he can play eve.ry instrument except (Continued to page 35) 3

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