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/126835
Li ma, Oh io , retai ned Doug Gon da' s ProT ax, In c. to h andle publ icit y fo r th e event. Television co verage arranged by Gonda incl uded II local televi si on sta tions in C levela nd , Tol edo, Columbus, Lima and Dayto n with a cu m u la tive a udi ence (cal cu la ted from Neilson rati ngs ) o f 1,305,000 people. Newspaper coverage included 25 loca l and na tional publica tio ns with a cu m u lative circu lation of 2,823,450. Gonda a lso represents Bubba Shobert . and rece nt ly arrang-ed sponsorship from Ma rsee Leathers and Boll e Sunglasses. ~Y P4IP4I Wf4lLfY . Supercross championship on the line: Yamaha wants Ward disqualified LONG BEACH, CA, AUG. 19 The ~ 985 AMA/Miller High ilie Supercross Series Championship is hanging on a protest filed by Yamaha seeking the disqualification of new champion JeffWard. Kawasaki's Ward beat Yamaha's Broc Glover ~y o~e point in championship standings by finishing fourth to Glover's fifth In ~he ~ugust 17 Rose Bowl Supercross in Pasadena, Califomia. ~ut dunng his heat race, Ward crashed on a jump and rolled down the Jump - backwards on the course - to restart his bike before continuing. Yamaha filed a protest seeking Ward's disqualification' Ward was docked a lap and fined $500. _ ' _Yam~ha has appealed that decision, saying that Ward should be dlsqu~hfied from the event. According to the AMA rule book, any rider who ndes on the track b~ckwardswill be either suspended, disqualified from the eve~t and/orflned. In 1981, Mark Barnett was disqualified in ~ supen;:ross In New York; a year later Danny Chandler was disqualified In a National at Saddleback and Glover was o Qed this year at the 500cc USGP, all for riding backwards on the course. John and Rita Gregory, owners of JT Racing and sponsors of Glover, hav.e se':'t a te!ex to. AMA Director of Competition Wayne Moulton asking him to dlsquahfyWard. According to the Gregorys, " It 's incredible that Jeff wasn't disqualified for riding backwards on the track. The AMA rule book clearly states what action is to be taken, and there have been precedents set - if the rule applies to one, it must apply to all." Yamaha's Larry Griffiths said, "A precedent has been set over the years, and we have to have consistent judgement." "Apparently the referee on the spot has the decision-making power to do as little or as much a~ ~e decides, and the referee det;:ided at that point to dock Jeff a lap for ndlng backwards on the course In his heat race " said Kawasaki Public Relations Manager Mel Moore. "That meant J~ff had to ride the se!'1i to qualify for the race, which he did. We feel the AMA did the right t~lng and we hope they will defend their position." If Ward is disqualified from the event, Glover will be awarded the championship. Terry Cunnin gham (H us) added an o ther win in th is year's AMA Na tional Champio ns hip End uro Series wit h the victory in the August 18 j ack pine National in Moores town , Michigan. Cu nni ngham a nd Bri an Mu ll (Hus) tied at five points apiece at the end of the 200-m ile event wit h Cu n ni ng ham's tie-break er chec k time better by five seconds for the decider. john Martin (C-A) edged Dave Bertram (H us) for th ird overa ll wh ile Alan Rand t (H us ) rounded ou t the top five. Ricky Orlando and Kirk Dimic k won t he 12th Annua l MRA Aspen Six-Hour road race at Woody Creek Raceway in Aspen, Colorado August 18, despite crashing their Yamaha FZ750 twice. Look for complete coverage in an upcoming issue. 6 johnny O 'Mara signed autographs for two hours aft er the Pasaden a Supercross, and when he turned h is back for a couple of mi n u tes, someone sto le his gear bag. O ' Ma ra is 'm <;> st upset about losin g his hel met, in wh ich he wo n the supercross cham p ionsh ip last year, and he's wi lli ng to trade a brand new helmet for the ret ur n of h is helmet, no questions as ked . For more information, or to report anybody wearing O'Ma ra's helmet, ca ll AI Bak er a t 6 19/9480979. On August 17, Sam Ermolenko defeated A lan "Crazy " Christ ian, Lance King and Brad Oxley to win t he opening rou nd of the U.S. National Speedway Quali f iers in A uburn, Cali forn ia, Earlie r in the evening Ermolen ko tried t o get the meeting boycot ted because of rough track conditions after an allday rain. After more than a half hour of track p reparation, the meeting went on in f ront of a huge crowd . Qualifiers continue on Tuesday (August 20) at Ventura, Wednesday at San Bernardino, Thursday at Ascot, Friday at Costa Mesa and the final round Sunday at Carlsbad . The way it sho u ld be done: Pau l Schegel. promot er o f the j un e 29 Camel Pro Series half mil e held in $1080 was collected for the Wes Cooley Recovery Fund at the recent Mid-Ohio Road Race National through the sale of hats bearing the Michelin logo. The sale will go on during the August 31-September 1 National at Minnesota's 8rainerd International Raceway. Camel Pro Series riders Ted Bood y a nd jon Corn well celebrated their 27t h a nd 24th bi rt hdays, respectively, at th e Peoria TT last weeken d. According to J im Savoie of Goodtimes MX, the Austin, Texas and Corpus Christi, Texas motocross tracks are closed while the Whitney, Texas and Rio Bravo, Texas tracks remain in operation. Whitney runs races every third Sunday and Rio Bravo running on the first, third and f ifth Sundays. Fram / Auto lite is sponsor ing the August 22 broadca st ESPN coverage of the Pasaden a Supercross, which wi ll include a tu ni ng tips seg me nt by form er 250cc Motocross Wor ld C hampio n Danny LaPorte and eight-t ime Nationa l End uro Cham p ion Dick Bu rleso n , both of Husqva rna . T he o ne-hour show wi ll begi n a t 5 p .m. on the west coas t. Autoli te spark p lugs w ill be origi na l eq uipment on 1986 Husqvarnas, and there will be a co m ple te li ne of Autolite p lugs and Fram filt ers for mot or cycles in 1986. Fresh from their win at the 24Hours of Nelson, Fabulous Speed Boys used their Yamaha FZ750 Superbike to top Cycle Tech Rac ing (Suz) and Team Hammer (Suz) in a six-hour round of the WERA/ Wiseco National Endurance Road Race Series at Road Atlanta Raceway August 17. Litt le Known Fact: Perry Kin g , costar o f TV ser ies Ri p ride, is a motorcycle enthusiast a n d was recentl y featured on Entertainment Tonight with his BMW sidecar rig. Dr. John's Team Moto-Guzzi collected the overall win in the August 18 eighth round of the AMA/CCS U.S. Endurance Road Race Championship Series at Lexington , Ohio 's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Larry Shorts and Gregg Smrz, on the Moto-Guzzi entry, fi ni shed just ahead of Team Lockhart' s Wendall Phillips and Dale Burroughs. Both teams completed 160 lap s on the 2.4-mile course. Ca liforn ia Mo torcycle Rall ies is hol ding a street bi ke enduro August 25, run on paved roads; more in forma tion is availa ble by calling 213/3728 175. Four years after the regulation was proposed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSAI has finally approved the use of modulating headlights on !'10torc:ycles. Modulators vary the intensity of a headlight beam about four times per second. In a 1979 study contracted by N HTSA, the pulsing headlights were found to be one of the most effective methods of making motorcycles more conspicuous in daytime traff ic. Under the regu lation published in the July 22 issue of the Federal Register, modulators may be used to pulse a headlight's upper or lower beam at 200-280 times per minute. The devices whether offered as an option on new motorcycles or as aftermarket units - must include a light sensor that prohibits their use in darkness, have a failsafe circuit allowing the headlamp to be used normally if the modulator fails, and be labeled to indicate the maximum headlight wattage they can accomodate. The rule is effective 30 days after its publication . The original petition asking NHTSA to permit modulating headlights was filed in July 1981 by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, which wanted to offer modulators as an option on its motorcycles. The An n ua l Hap j ones Golf In vita tiona l will be held on Septem ber 16, 1985 at th e S u no l Go lf Co u rse in Suno l, Ca lifo rnia. Trop hies will be presented a n d th ose wish in g to donat e a troph y, merch andise or adverris ing. rna te r ia l ca n co n tact Mar y Dudl ey a t 408/263-3425. California Racing Club (CRC) is holding the IRC Tires-sponsored 7th Annual Tri Race Series beginning August 25 at DeAnza Cycle Park. The second race will take place at Perris Raceway, September 1, and the motocross series ends at Sunrise Cycle Park, September 8. Each race features a $1500 pro purse. For more information contact CRC, 24518 Island Avenue, Carson, CA 90745, or call 213/830-7519/ joe Hun t, a well -known mo torcycle enth us ias t and a giant in th e world o f Har ley- Davidso n motorcycles, passed a way a fter a two-year bou t with ca ncer. Bel ieved to be th e for emos t a uthority on electron ics as a pp lied to fueled motors, Hunt is survived by h is son T om , who ha s been running th e H un t Magneto firm for the past yea rs and will co ntin ue to su p p ly magnetos for H arley-Davidsons. Stage 11 fire restrictions are now in effect in the Angeles National Forest in southern California, which means that off-road vehicle use is restricted to Rowher Flat, Littlerock and San Gabriel ORV areas. Massimo Ma tt eo ni a nd Maurizi o Rossi fini sh ed first a n d second at an FI Ital ian Championship road rac e .i n Sanrm onica on th e new Birno ta DBI Du cati. The Donner High Two Day National Trial, sponsored by Pacific International Trials Society (PITS), will be held August 24-25 at the Donner Ski Ranch in California. For more information call (805) 7354854. A desert bi ke based on th e Yam aha FZ750? R umo r ha s it th at Yamaha will try to win back th e prestigi ous P a r i s-D a kar d ese rt ra ce with a 100bhp trai l bike based o n th e fourcyli nder FZ750.