Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Bruce Ogilvie, co-winner of the Baja 1000, announced his retirement following the race. "I've been second overall four times and I've won my class, but this tops it. I could have run Class 30 (for riders over 30), but winning Class 30 means nothing to me. Winning overall means everything. I'm going to hang 'em up now. I'll run Barstow-to-Vegas because I have 'an entry in." In addition to his success in die Baja 1000, the Riverside, California rider has earned one gold and two silver medals in ISDE competition. Castrol Oil has announced point fund sponsorship ofthe 1987260 Grand Prix Road Race series. The Castrol Grand Prix Championship will pay $40,OOQ in total award money, to be divided among the top 16 riders. First place in the series will be worth $10,000. Walter von Schonfeld of Castrol also announced that the company would be posting championship awards in Superbike ($2000" Pro Twins ($1000) and dirt track ($4000) through the AMA contingency program. A new award was presented for the first time at the November 7 AMA Pro Awards Banquet on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Dr. David Kieffer was recognized as Professional Sportsman of the Year for his many contributions to the AMA and his fellow road racers. In presenting the award, AMA president Ed Youngblood mentioned that Kieffer, who races in Pro Twins (formerly Battle of The Twins), has given the AMA orders to black flag him during a race if his medical services are needed to aid another rider. Califor.nian Aeron Hill was named Camel Pro Series Rookie of the Year at the AMA banquet. . Regarding an item that ran in this section last week, Yamaha Razz scooters' will be awarded to Olympiad winners in 10 classes of the Florida Mini Olympics competition, not in Winter Nationals competition. The Mini Olympics and Winter Nationals. will be held at Gainesville, Florida's GalOrback Park over the Thanksgiving Day weekend. PURCHASED: Trail Rider (formerly New England Trail Rider) maga- . zine by Paul Clipper, former Dirt Bika magazine editor and KTM employee, from John Menze and Gail Pells. Over 600 motocrossers turned out for the Kyle Fleming Memorial MX in Blythe, California, on November 16. Willie Surratt (Hon) won the 125cc Pro class, with the 250cc Pro class win going to Tom Watts (Kaw) and the Open Pro win to Frank Brundage (Kaw). 2 While you're reading this, the companion volume to American Racer, 1900-1940 Is rolling off the press. American Racar, 1940-1980 by Stephen Wright covers Clan C ,competition Including mile, haH mile, TT and road race events, plus dry lake record attempts, drag racing, enduros and speedway racing with the emphasis on Clan C racing. The "coffee table" book features 375 large photos with detailed captions. A limitad edition of the book is being produced. Bound in leather and embossed in gold, the special volume is individually signed by every rider who has won the Grand National Championship title since its Inception in 1964. A brochure containing ordering information is available from Megden Publishing Co., P.O. Box 217, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. "I had the whole Baja experience," said eight-time National Enduro Champion Dick Burleson after the Baja 1000. "After my teammate Casey Folks had put in a real good ride, I took over our bike (Husqvarna 510 four-stroke) and got about 100 miles in. But then the head gasket started leaking and after severallenglhy stops 10 work on it, it quit 12 miles from anything. I Iemembered passing a burned-out VW bus and I ended up spending the night sleeping in it. Despite all that, I'm hooked on Baja - Malcolm Smith and I spent some time together pre-running the course - and I'll have to work out running it next year." Burleson added, "I really liked riding at night. During the day I was hitting dust covered rocks and my front wheel was going two or three-feet up in the air. That made me keep a death grip on the bars. But at night the lights would point out the rocks and they were like landmarks on a map." DAMAGED: The Bell Helmets facility In Rantoul, Illinois, by fire over the November 16-16-and; fire was contained in the office area and did not d8mage manufacturing areas. CORRECTION: Contrary to what the CRC ad in last week's paper 'said, there will not be an Old Timers Association event' at the November 23 CRC Wild Turkey GP at Los Angeles Rac~way near Palmdale,. California. However, there will still be a race for CRC Vets and Old Timers. Larry Huffman and his Motorcycle World film crew were at Road Atlanta for the finals of the Suzuki GSXR760 and 1100 Cup Series. Using eight camaras including one mounted in a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, the crew obained what Huffman seys is "the greetestfootage of the best road racing I've ever sean." Suzuki plans on putting together a special dealer videotape of the '86 series. According to Huffman, Suzuki executives Hank Ota and Mark Blackwell were so impressed with the Road Atlanta footage that they are firming up plans to produce a one-hour special in hopes of having it shown on cable TV. Dave Sadowski, who finished third in the October 9 Suzuki GSXRlloo race at the Grand Nationals in Road Atlanta, Georgia, was disqualified for illegal cylinder head modifications. According to WERA's Buzz Pritz, Sadowski's Suzuki had .0008 milled from its head. The disqualification will give Ron Ewerth third place, Dan Chivington fourth and Joe Pittman fifth. Barstow-to-Vegas race officials have aaked us to relay the following information regarding the November 29 event: You can't sell or transfer your entry. Identification. will be required at sign-up and the rider of record will be the only one allowed to start the race. Anyone who rides without the special B-' to-V number on their bike will jeopardize future races. Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (DGardena) will introduce a proposed mandatory helmet law in California when the legislature reconvenes in December, according to a report in the November 17 edition of the Orange County, Register. The Registerreport outlined the lobbying efforts of two California mothers - Mary Price of Rio Linda and Janice Baerg of El Toro - who lost sons 10 head injuries suffered in separate mOlOrcycle accidents. The mothers have joined forces with safety groups, trauma surgeons and crash suvivors to lobby for the Slate's first mandatory helmet law. The AMA attacked the proposed legislation, arguing that it is up to each individual 10 decide for himself whether or not he should wear a helmet. Proponents claim a helmet law should be 1lpproved for the "common good" because society often must pay the cost of medical bills, insurance claims and life-long subsidies 10 helmetless mOlOrcyclists injured in accidents. Interested motorcyclists may write to Assemblyman Floyd at 1-6921 South Western Ave., Suite 220, Gard~na, CA 90247. HIRED: Mike Larson, 22, as assistant editor of Cycle News: Larson is a May g~dU8te of Grand View College In Des Moines, Iowa. larson has relocated to Long Beach, california, from Ankeny, Iowa. HIRED: Joe Colom bero, 28, as edit~r .of ATV News, formerly editor of HiTorque's Din Wheels magazine. Former World Champion Bernie Schreiber wiN compete in the EI Trial de Espana at Uttle Rock Reservoir near Palmdale. California, on December7. • How Cranston won The results are in. We blew it again. Our most feared and powerful adversary, California Senator Alan Cranston, was reelected - by default. Our default. A mere 1% of the electorate, about 150,000 votes squeaked Cranston into office. That's a mere 6% of the mOlOrcycle/ATV rider population in California. This travesty should have and could have been prevented. Of my near-30 years as a biker, 20 have been spent working with and for the publishing industry. Its power and influence is unmatched in the motorcycle and ATV sports. Publishers can (and have) make or break companies, products and-even people. Collectively they sell in excess of' 1,000,000 publications each month with upwards of 8-million readers. I know, without any question, that the publishers could have made the difference. So why didn't any of the magazines or publishers or editors campaign unseating Cranston? With the state of the industry being in the worst slump in memory. why did the pub- lishers do "nothing"? Alan Cranston is bad, very bad, for business. I could not have wrillen a worst scenario were I still an edi tor. There was hope however. Alan Cranston is far from our only enemy, but unquestionably his zealot views are the most far reaching. He was my main target for defeat this election. He's pro-55 mph. He's anti-off-road. He and his cohort Ted Kennedy support abolishing ATVs. His propOsed I2,100,000 acre "Wilderness Bill" will close down this immense area 10 all outdoorsmen forever. Bad News is his middle name. Starting last February I began a campaign 10 Slan a "Cranston awareness" media program. Thereareeditors and publishers I've dealt with for five or 10 or more years who would suppon this campaign. Get out the vote. And vote the bum out of office. I knew it would be uphill. After all, no magazine publisher had ever touched politics in this industry. They never fell they had to. But times have changed and too much waS' on the line to ignore Cranston this time. Our livelihoOds and our sport were on the line. One by one I spoke with virtually every publisher. edilOr and advertising rep I could about political aw

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