Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Au stral ian J eff Leisk wo n th e seco nd ro un d o f th e Australian Supercross Series o n Novemb er 16 near Perth, Aus tra lia. after beati ng fellow Au stra lia ns Gl en Bell and J a mes Deak en . J imm y Ell is wa s th e top American wit h a fourt h pla ce fini sh ; Brian Man ley fin ished third in hi s qualifier bu t illness for ced him to m iss the main event . - r- C'J ~ Q) ..0 S Q) ;> o Z Austra lian Wayne Gardner has signed w ith the Rothman 's Honda t eam t o compete in next year 's 500cc World Road Racing Cham pionship. The 24-year-o ld , who f inished fifth in th is year's championship, turned down an offer to j oin Randy Mamola on Kenny Robert's Lucky Strike team and inst ead will team up w ith double World Champion Freddie Spencer on V-four Hondas. Engla nd 's Rob McElnea ha s sig ned as the seco nd rider on the G iacomo Agosti n i-ma naged Marlboro 500cc Worl d Cham pi onsh ip Road Racin g tea m . replaci ng France's Ra ymon d Roch e, who reported ly left th e tea m aft er demandi ng a 100%pay in crea se over h is'1985 sa la ry. The team 's first rider is 1984 World Ch a m pi o n Edd ie Law son . Ago stin i will a lso mana ge a 250cc G rand Pri x team , with riders Martin Wimmer o f West Germa ny a nd Tada h iko T aira o f J apan o n new V-twi n Yam aha s. Rob McElnea's departure from the England -based Heron Suzuk i Grand Prix team to j oin Team Marlboro has left the company sc rambling for a new rider. Heron Suzuki also has to find a new chief mechanic since long-time tuner M ike Sinclair has left the company to j o in Kenny Roberts ' new team, which includes riders Randy Mamola and M ike Baldwin . AMA presiden t Ed Yo u n gblood ha s a n no u nced the prom ot ion of Bill Am ick to vice p resid en t o f professio na l com pe titio n fro m hi s previo us posi tio n as di rector o f professio na l co m pe titio n . Am ick, 34, rep la ces Wa yne Moulton, who ha s resigned . Am ick will over see a ll professiona l raci ng ac tivities wi th the support o f managers Bill Boyce, Pat rick Mu rp h y a nd Bill T om ich . Motocrosser Rick Johnson ha s agreed to work with supe rc ross promote r M ike Goodwin and Sta dium Motorsports Co rp. starting w ith the A na heim (Cal iforn ia ) Supercross on J anuary 18. "I'll be working with him to make t he t racks better, " Johnson said . " He has had other people do in g it and the sport is going down the drain . He 's got an ego j ust like everyone else and he was real unhappy w ith the Coliseum race (t he Rod il Cup in Los A ngeles on November 9 ). I will be working with him on the tracks and other people will be helping with t he rest. He wants to get supercross rollin g again; it w ill work out better for everybody, the ri ders and the spectators." In addi tion t o Johnson 's he lp, SMC is asking for fans to submit designs for t heir own obstacle at the upcoming Anaheim race . 6 A War ren Wilson Benefit Dinn er will be held a t the Hespe r ia (Ca liforn ia) Co u n try Club No vember 23. Wil son d ied of a brok en neck suffered in an O ctober 20 desert race in Barsto w, Ca lifo rnia; the di n ner is to ra ise mo ney for Wil son 's wido w, Lori, a nd son, Warren J r. Formula One series originally planned to run in conjunction with ARRA events. T he future o f the 500cc USG P MX a t Carlsbad a fter the June 29. 1986 run ni ng of the event is up in th e ai r u n less major wo rk is' carried o ut on the circui t. KTM announced their MX t eam for the 1986 season at a Nov em ber 18 banquet in A ust ria to honor two-time 250cc MX World Champion Heinz Kinigadner. Kinigadner w ill move to the 500cc GPs next season and w ill be j oined by Kees van der Ven, Andre V romans and Laurence Spence. The 250cc GP squad will have Arne D reschel, Jacky Martens and Romano Nannini. Florida businessman Ron Howard has agreements with road racers Sa m McDonald and John Ashmead t o race Superbike and Formula One in 1986 under t he Mach One Racing banner. At this point, the team w ill also consist of Kevin Brunson for Superbike and Formula Two w ith Lynn Miller and Roby Head contesting endurance events. Howard says he will an nounce the names of the two corporations backing the program on January 1. . Am eri can H onda Mo tor Co . will pa y contingency money to Honda 500cc Int ercept or Cha mpio nsh ip Stock Prod uction Series riders a t eveIllS sanc tioned by AF M, WERA, AAMR R, MR A a nd OM R RA in 1986. T he events wi ll pa y $700 10 win a nd 400 for seco nd pl ace, with $200 for third, $125 for fourth a nd S75 fo r fifth p lace. The top five in points from eac h orga n izatio n wi ll be in vited to a S20,ooO-p urse final that will pay $5000 for first pla ce, $2750 for seco nd, $ 1700 for third, Sl400 fo r fourth, 1200 for fifth , 1000 for sixth , 850 for sevent h, $800 fo r eig hth, 750 fo r n inth, 700 for 10th a nd o n ba ck 10 150 for 20th ; a 5000 tra vel expense fu nd will be dis tri bu ted 10 out-of-sla te riders tra velling 10 the series fin a l. which ma y be hel d in co nj u nct io n wi th th e an n ua l \VER A fina ls a t Road Atlanta. Cycle T u ne of T orrance, Cal ifornia will beco me the fourth Van ce & Hines Perform an ce Center in sou ther n California . Unde r a n agreement recen tly co ncl uded bet ween Vance & H in es' T err y Va nce a nd Cycle T u ne coow ners Denn is Smi th and T erry Newby, the Cycle T u ne trad em ark wi ll be taken off th e sho p a nd repl aced wi th th e Vance & H in es Performance Center logo. " I' ve never been mor e exci ted a bo u t a bu sin ess associa tio n th an I a m a bo u t Cycle T u ne becom in g a Vance & Hines fra nch ise center," said Vance. "The join ing o f the two co mpa ni es will be a perfec t partner sh ip , a llo wing Vance & H ines to be mor e involved in road racing a nd furtherin g the gr owth o f ou r retail cha in." Frank Falley, the legal coordinator at Bell Helmets Inc. for 1 2 years, passed away on November 12 after suffering a stroke; Falley worked in t he Corportate Affairs department at Bell assisting with inhou se legal ma tters. In co nj u nc tio n with th e 1986 Great Ameri can Motorcycle and ATV sho ws in Ft. Wo rt h , Los Angeles , Atla n ta , San Francisco, Ch icago. Ph iladelphia a nd New York, G rea t Ameri ca n will host a wo rl d class custom a n d sho w bik e co m pet ition. Cas h, tro phies a n d conti nge ncy pr oducts will be a wa rded in each of the seven shows; a S25 en trv fee ma iled wi th an entry form and ~ pho tog raph of the entry is a ll tha t's needed to enter th e com pe titio n. For entry fo rms wr ite or ca ll Great American at 15 1 Shipyard Way, Newpo rt Beach , CA 92663.7 14/ 675-0132. AFM Honda 500 Intercept or Series winner Steve Reynosa 's winning VF500F was prepare d by Cu rt Jordan , a freelance engine builder and race bike t uner who works o ut of the Action Fo urs shop in Santa Ana, Ca liforn ia . J ordan ca n be reached at 7 14/541 -5343. Vance llt Hines Racing will prepare andtuneenginesforTeam Hammer's 1986 WERA National Endurance Series road racing effort. Recentlyhired Vance llt Hines Road Racing Manager Bill Foster, who engineered Cycle Tech Rac ing 's WERA-championship winn ing 1 9 8 5 season, will coordinate Team Hammer' s eng ine preparation, under t he direction of Byron Hines. New Team Hammer crew ch ief Gary Hilgenberg, who prepared RS500 and RS250R Hondas for MacLean Racing in 1985, will supe rvise chassis preparation and t rac k si de tun ing and pit services. Assist ing Team Hammer will be Cycle Tune Racing, winners of the 1985 WERA 24-Hours West; Cycle Tune, owned by Dennis Smith and Terry Newby. recently became a Va nce llt Hines Performance Cen t er. " This is a serious, full-o n group effort. a combinat ion of a lot of talent ed pe o p le a nd their re so urces. and it should be ab le to pro duc e some ex trem e ly good results in 1986, " said Sm it h . Accordi ng to Mary Whi ta ker o f Sport P romot ion Ente rta in me nt , Perr is Ra cew a v in Perr is, Cal iforn ia , is working o n a new speedway trac k whi ch will open in early 1986; for mor e in format ion ca ll 714/658-6355. T he Am eri can Federa tio n o f MOlOrcycl ists (AFM) six-hour end urance roa d race sched uled for Rosa mond. California 's Will ow Sp rings Raceway o n November 24 ha s been cance lled. Accord ing 10 AFM Presid ent Harry Bresach , the o rga n ization needed 45 ent ries to cover basic tra ck renta l a nd ins ura nce expe nses . As o f Novem ber 15, on ly 15 tea ms had entered th e even t. M ike M cKen zi e wrapped up the A MA 0 -36 Cross Count ry C hampions hip w ith a w in in t he N ovem ber 1 7 Lilliputian Ha re Scrambles at t he Pra irie City OHV Park near Sacramento, Ca lifornia. McKenzie won on a Suzuki RM250, followed by RM250-mounted Duke Dowell and J im Robertson on yet another Suzuki RM250. If current negot ia t ions between Willow Springs Raceway and the American Fede ration of Motorcy c lists (A FM) go well, AFM w ill sanct ion t he 1986 W illow Spri ngs Next year's U.S. ro und of th e World Cha m p io ns h ip Observed T ria ls Series will be held J u ne I in Mt. Vernon , Wa sh in gt on. The Ca nadia n rou nd o f the series will follow on June 8, in Vancouver, British Col umbia. Informed sources s.y that Honda plans to debut the first turbocharged Grand Prix road racing motorcycle next year. The 250cc water-cooled V-twin will produce close to 170 ho rsepow er and will be used in the 500cc class because FIM ru les state that turbocharged engines must be half the capacity allowed by normally aspirated machines. T h ree-time 500cc Mo tocross World C ha mpion Andre Malherbe has resigned with Ho nda for the 1986 Gra nd Prix sea son . Malh erbe had rejected H on da 's init ial o ffer a nd negotia ted with KT M prior to resign in g with Ho nda. Look for a feature story on Camel Pro Series Champion Bubba Shobert in the November 25 issue of Sports Illustrated. • , MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRYS CffANGE Quit R ider magazi ne Fea tu re Ed itor David Ma llet, a fter 10 months, for persona l rea so ns. Quit Wa yne Mo u lto n, the AMA's director ofprofessional competition , to pursu e o the r interests, Wadded A 1986 Ya ma ha FXZ700S Fazer during th e U.S. press in trod uction at Laguna Seca Racewa yon N overn ber 14, by Cycle World magazine Fea ture Edi tor David Edwards ; bike a nd rid er were essen tia lly unhurt in the turn n ine incident. Hired As Assistant Ed itor o f Black Biker magazine, Bren t Ross, 25; Ross, a n ex pert-ran ked ro ad racer , for mer ly freela nced an d worked at Mo tor cycl ist magazin e. Quit R ider magazine T echn ical Ed itor Mi ke Stu bblefield, a fter two years a nd ni ne mont hs, for persona l reasons. Resigned Larry Ma iers, from his posit ion a s president of H i-Point Racing Pro d ucts after 13 years with th e O h io -based , J oh n Pen to n-own ed co m pa ny; Ma iers will reloca te 10 Georgi a 10 co nce n tra te o n MOIOWorl d , th e USA Cable TV sho w, a nd o th er TV ass ignments. Purchased A new office comp lex in Fo rt Wa yn e, Ind ia na by Klotz Specia l Formul a Prod ucts, Inc.; Klotz . has also added a 1011 free p ho ne number 800/242-0489. Promoted Chuck Gi ebel to Vi ce P resident an d Gen era l Manager .of Vetter Pro d ucts, Inc.; Gi ebel ha s been with Ve tte r for I I years and most recen tly was the director of opera tio ns. Hired Bill Bu rban k, formerly vice president o f Sure-Fire Distributing, a nd most recently in cha rge of sa les for the newl y opened Part s Unlim ited Wareh o use in North Carolina, by Ka yo Co rpora tio n o f Somervill e, New J ersey. as vice p resident .

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