Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ BY 1>411>41 WfJILfY 00 Q') ...... ...... ..... ... 0. < Great Britain used strong mid-field placings to beatthe U.S. squad in the Anglo-American Match Race Series held over Easter weekend at England's Donington Park, 316212. The star of the rain-plagued series, however, was Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz who won a $7400 bonus for being the top individual scorer with 84 points. Second point scorer was England's Roger Burnett (Hon) with 83 points, while American Honda's Fred Merk.1 finished third with 79 points. Saturday's racing action saw England's Rob McElnea (Yam) winning the first race over Burnett while Schwann crashed. But the young Texan bounced back to win the second race over American teammate Merkel and England's Kenny Irons. On Sunday, Burnett led off with a win over Roger Marshall (Hon) and Ron Haslam (Hon) in race three with Schwann beating Merkel in race four and McElnea in race five to score a double win. Action from Monday, March 31, saw Merkel beating Schwann in race six with Schwantz returning the favor in race seven. The final race held in sleeting conditions went to Merkel with Schwann taking second and McElnea third. Team Honda's Ricky Johnson showed up at the March 30 NMAIAMA TriState MX Series round on March 30 at Barona Oaks in San Diego, California, but the Californian saw his win streak broken when he DNF due to mechanical problems in the first moto of the 250cc Pro class, which Brian Manley (Hon) won. Johnson was also entered in the 500cc Pro class, but that division was cancelled by the promoter, who said there were too few riders entered. Bader Manneh (Yam) won the 125~c Pro class, while Colin Karcher (Yam) topped the 80cc Modified Expenclass and Kyle Lewis (Hon) won the 80cc Stock Expert class. Road racer Doug Polen pocketed $2700 on Easter Sunday by winning the Honda 500 Interceptor Series and Suzuki GSXR National Cup races at the March 30 WERA meet at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. Suzuki contingency money was also pocketed by Alan Statterlee and Scott Gray on Easter Sunday. Statterlee won the GSXR750 race at the AFM road race meet at Sears Point in Sonoma, California, while Gray wa first across the finish line in the GSXRI 100 race. AMA Championship Cup Series road race action at Georgia's Road Atlanta on March 30 saw' Mike Harth win both the Unlimited Superbike Expert final and the Heavyweight Superbike Expert final aboard a Yamaha FZ750. ATV antagonist Stuan M. "Ban 'em" Statler announced March 26 that he will resign from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission effective June I. Statler is an attomey who gained fame during his tenure with the CPSC by advocating a ban and recall of ATVs, and his term as Com\ - =- '\ *.. . . •• .. ~ \.~ ~ missioner would have expired October 26. Statler says he's leaving to take advantage of a new job, which, according to newspaper repons, "would permit him to continue working in the area of risk identification and avoidance." Statle.r recently came under fire from members of Congress, including Congressman Larry Craig of Idaho, who urged an investigation of charges that Statler used a CPSC staff attorney to research whether or not Mrs. Statler was entitled to back pay from a former job she held with the Environmental Protection Agency. Our coverage of the March 23 AFM road race meet at California's Willow Springs Raceway (see page 16) lists the Honda 500 Interceptor Series race as being under protest. A protest concerning engine displacement was filed at Willow Springs, but all of the bikes involved were subsequently found to be of legal displacement. Billy Debere has been declared the offical winner, with Steve Reynosa, Nigel Gale, Joe Solis and Richard Moore rounding out the top five. After catching a red-eye flight to Los Angeles, California, following last month's Daytona Supercross, Team Honda's Johnny O'Mara competed in the Los Angeles Marathon; he finished 250th after starting 7oo0th. O'Mara ran the 26-mile course in two' hours and 55 minutes for an average speed of around six minutes and 50 seconds a mile. O'Mara followed that with a win in the 19-30 Amateur class and ninth overall while mixing it up with the Professionals in a biathlon in Lake Castaic, California. Fellow motocrosser Jeff Ward finished second behind O'Mara in the bicycling-andrunning event. Todd Brubaker signed up to race for Team Sunset in the St. Louis round ofthe AMA U.S. Endurance Racing Championship on April 5, in place of the injured Walt Nitto. Brubaker finished third in the 1985 AMA Superbike Championship, but has been unable to find a ride following the collapse of Starlire Racing. The Fifth Annual Frontier 500 will run without motorcycles and ATVs for the first time this September, according to the High Desert Racing Association (HDRA). HDRA's Walt Lott told Cycle News that concerns about safety with the race now being run in loops rather than point·topoint has caused him to cease running motorcycles with the cars. "It's just too dangerous with only 100mile loops," Lott said. A belated tip of the Cycle News helmet to'the Super Team folks Jim France, Tom Tucker, Gary Nixon et al - for the hospitality area they set up as part of their garage workshop in the paddock area of Daytona International Speedway during lastmonth's Daytona Cycle Week. Refreshments were provided throughout the week to invited guests, including the press corps, at the facility which featured green indoor / outdoor carpet, tables complete with Cinzano umbrellas, and great Southern hospitality. Speaking of Gary Nixon, the twotime Grand National Champion (1967·68) will compete in the May 3 La Carrera Classic Road Race in Mexico. "Cliff Carr called me and wants me to ride," said Nixon, the 1967 Daytona 200 winner who retired from racing in the late '70s. "I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but Cliff tells me that entrants get a ,~,,,, i, jl,JJ.J_ J.~/« ..... c.0-t City, New Jersey, and Birmingham, Alabama, on dates to be determined. Check local listings for details. Maggie Laughlin, a 25-year-old PSA flight attendant from Oakland, California, has been named Miss Sears Point for 1986 by Sears Point International Raceway in Sonoma, California. Kevin Schwantz, top Anglo-American Match Race point scorer. 'get out of jail free card' so I'm goin' for it." Entries for the 11th Annual Rock Island Riders' Mauna Kea 200 enduro are now available for the May 24-25 event. The event is held on the island of Hawaii, starting in Hilo, and runs 200 miles throughout the island. Entry fee is $125, which includes breakfast (Sunday only), lunch, dinner, lodging (Saturday night) and Sunday's banquet. Deadline for entry is April 30. For more information about motorcycle shipping, hotel reservations, etc., contact Nate Wood at 808/367-8448, or Kenoa Motorcycles at 808/936-2470. Promoter Gavin Tri ppe has changed the date of his 500cc National Motocross in Hollister, California from the originally scheduled date of June 15 to sometime in August. Trippe changed the date of the race so it wouldn't conflict with the Magoo Invitational Old-Timers Championship, a benefit for Danny Chand1er, being held on June 14-15 in Sacramento, California. Stadium Motorsports Corp. (SMC) has announced that Coors will sponsor both the May 10 Phoenix Supercross in Tempe, Arizona, and the June 7 Los Angeles Colisium Supercroll in Los Angeles, California. Was Camel Pro Series champ Bubba Shoben scared of racing when he began competing at age eight? "The only thing that really scared me about racing was being in front of so many people. The racing itself didn't really scare me. At that age, you're too dumb to be scared." said Shobert. Califomia Racing Club (CRe) President Jack Barbacovi has announced that the Phoenix Amateur Supercross has been set for May 11 in Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. All classes will be run, with entry fees at $40 for CRC and NMA members, $50 for non-members. A one-hour television special shot at the January 18 Nippondenso Supercross Classic supercross at California's Anaheim Stadium will air on ESPN April 13, 17 and 19. A onehour program featuring the November 9, 1985 World Supercross Finals from the Los Angeles Coliseum will air in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on April 23; San Diego, California, on May 4; Greenville, Nonh Carolina, on May 25; and in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Atlantic ,tl1JJtl(' jJI ~Jll J/.~~ '1' Erv Schoppe of the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Program has received the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's John E. Harley Award for outstanding individual contributions to motorcycle safety in 1985. The MSF also gave the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) its Public Service Announcement Award for an alcohol awareness advenising campaign; the MSF's Oustanding State Program Recognition Award went to the Illinois Department of Transponation and the MSF Motorist Awareness Award went to Minnesota for programs urging automobile drivers to be more conscious of motorcycles. The MSF also honored Wisconsin with the Outstanding Statewide Promotion Award; Mississippi with the State Licensing Award; Hawaii and Michigan with Licensing Improvement Awards; the U.S. Air Force with the Military Achievement Award; and Eastman Kodak with a Television Media Award. What they say are heavy-handed tactics used by armed security guards at La Vegas (Nevada) Cycle Park motivated 38 parents and racers to sign a petition of protest. The petition was circulated by parent Mitch Durbin, who says he was manhandled by guards at a recent N MA Tri-Stata Series event when he left the signalling area to help his son, who was being ignored by comer and safety workers, get out from underneath his crashed bike. "If a parent is not allowed on the track, we should school the flag people or someone else to help get the bikes off the kids," said Durbin, of Alpine, California. In a recent test session for American Honda Motor Co., Jay Gleason rode a 1986 VFR750F to a 10.847-second, 125.17 mph quarter-mile at Baylands Raceway in Fremont, California. And in tests at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for an FIM 24-hour speed record attempt, Gary LaPlante averaged 151 mph aboard a VFR 750 for 35 consecutive laps. The company plans to bill the VFR as the world's quickest and fastest 750. Speaking at a press conference in Daytona Beach, Florida, last month, Harley-Davidson chief Vaughn Beals said "People get involved in motorcycling because their friends ride, not because Pee Wee Gleason can burn up a drag strip. And, I don't think there can be any doubt that kids' mothers are more likely to let them get a bike when they see them being used and promoted in safe and wholesome ways, than when they see street racer mentality ads touting 150 horsepower and smoking tires." Beals also told the press that HarleyDavidson remained second in the 10000c and over segment of the market in 1985, with a greater share of the market than Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki combined. According to Beals, the company moved into second in sales of machines 680cc and larger last year, and that Harley-Davidson sold more touring bikes than thecombined sales of Yamaha Ventures, Suzuki Cavalcades and Kawasaki ' J t 1')11.l I .........T'-\.'-r. J ,._ ..... f J ~

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