Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

letters can be sent to 5547 Elmer Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601. Team Lucky Strike Roberts' Randy Mamola (Yam) won the opening round of the 500cc World Championship Road Race Series on March 29 in Suzuka, Japan. Mamola beat' Rothmans Honda's Wayne Gardner and Suzuki's Takumi Ito in the rainsodden event. In the 250cc class, apan's Kobashi (Hon) took the win ollowed by Siro Pons (Hon) and Reinhold Roth (Hon). l Defending 600cc World Champion Eddie Lawson failed to finish the opening round of the championship after encountering tire problems early in the race. Threetime World Champion Freddie Spencer didn't start the event due to the injuries sustained in his preDaYtona crash. MARRIED: Daytona 200 winner Wayne Rainey to the former Shae Gri~by on March 28, in Norwalk, California. . KlaK Insurance- Company of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, the firm which notified several Califomia-based sanctioning bodies that minicycle riders under age 12 would not be allowed to compete in motocross events after April 1, recently told the groups thet riders under 12 would be permitted to race es long es the organizations paid a 26% surcharge on top of existing liability insurance premiums. Both CMC (Continental Motorsports Club) and NMA (National Motorsports Association) said they will pay the surcharge, and outside sources indicate that Califomia Racing Club (CRC) will also purchase the additional coverage, at least for some events. The surcharge comes on top of a 1987 premium increase of between 10% and 36% (depending on which organization you're talking to), and in at least one case will result in cost increases. A spokesman said the surcharge will mean a .2 increase in rider entry teas at CMC races, while an NMA spokesman said his organization willat.orb the cost. CRC officials were unavailable for comment. Mike Bishop has been named the California Off-Road Vehicle Association's "Off-Roader of the Year." Bishop was honored for "his unselfish service on the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission and the many hours he has donated to the ATV safety issue." Ed Lojak (Hus) won round three of the AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series at Hurricane Mills, TennesHe on Sunday, March 29. Kevin Brown (Hon) was second with Mark Hyde I (Hus) third. Defending series . champ John Martin, a Can-Am factory rider, suffered a broken I right leg in the race and underwent surgery in a Nashville hospitaI on Monday, March 30. 2 Veteran motocrosser Ken lahrt suffered vertebrae damage in a CRC race at Sunrise Cycle Park in Adelanto, California, on March 29. lahrt is recuperating at home. Cards and Paul Krause powered his Honda CR600 to victory at round three of the AMAINational Hare Ia Hound Championship Series, held March 29 near Las Vegas, Nevada. Charlie Morris Jr., riding a 260cc Suzuki, finished second. Series standout Dan Smith finished third after suffering a flat rear tire and switching rear rims with Husqvarna teammate Garth Sweatland; Sweetland surrendered his rear rim atter mechanical difficulties put him out of the race. Scott Morris and Dale Knapp, both riding 260cc Huskys, rounded out the top five. Round 5 of the AMAINational Hare & Hound Championship Series, scheduled for May 24 in Cherry Creek, near Provo, Utah, has been cancelled, according to the AMA. The Sugar Loafers, the Utah club holding the event, apparently withdrew from the promotion after repor~edly encountering problems with msurance coverage: The AMA is attempting to reschedule Round 5 of tlie series to a southem California location; there is a possibility the date of the event will be changed. Illinois House Bill 2 which was proposed by Representative John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and would require all riders and passengers of motorcycles and mopeds to wear helmets, passed committee on March 19 and will go before a House vote in the near future. Team Suzuki, formerly Team Hammer, won the March 28 opening. round of the WERA National Endurance Road Race Series at Roebling Road Raceway in Faulkville, Georgia. Team Suzuki's Peter Carroll and Mike Harth turned in 227 laps, 477 miles in the six-hour race on a Suzuki GSXRllOO. Second went to Dutchman Racing (Suz) with Sanibel Racing (Suz) third.. Starting positions are still available for the May 3 Rosarito GP in Rosarito Beach, Baja Califomia, Mexico. The race will consist of six laps on the 23-mile course; for more information contact 2131 428-4971. The AMA CCS road race meet at Georgia's Road Atlanta on March 28-29 was dominated by Kevin· Rent·zeU who rode Suzukis and Hondas to wins in the Formula One, Formula Two, Unlimited, Heavyweight, Mediumweight, Supersport 600 and Supersport 750 classes. Expert Steve Morehead (H-D) won the March 29 AMA Regional' Championship Dirt Track Series round, a short track race at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia. The Junior final win went to Scott Stump (H-D). Kevin Atherton (W-R) won the Pro-Am m,in event. The motocross portion of the March 29 Mickey Thompson Off-Road Championship Gran Prix in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana, used inverted starts and side-by-side, two-man starting rows. Fast Qualifier Shaun Kalos (Yam), starting last in a field ·of 12, won the first moto. Kalas also started last in the second moto, caught the front runners in four laps and was making a charge for the lead on the final lap when he collided with Dale Spangler (Kaw). Both Kalos and Spangler went down and the win went to Kenny Bollmeier (Yam). Bollnieier's 4-1 earned him the overall win, Kalos was second overall. The Bayside Expositions Center in Boston, Massachusetts, will host the Boston Motorcycle Ia A TV Expo on April 10-11-12. Show hours are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Discount coupons are aveilable through Nissan dealers and participating motorcycle dealerships. Smoke a Harley? According to Ad Age magazine you might just be able to do that in the near future. No, not on your crotch rocket but in the form of cigarettes.. Lorillard, the nation's fourth-largest cigarette marketer, has licensed the name Harley-Davidson from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based motorcycle manufacturer. Sources say they believe a product could be readied by Lorillard for introduction this year, even as soon as this summer. Harley's licensing program includes Harley-Dav~dson Wine Cooler. Don Richardson, 31, of Pine Grove, Califomia, won a patent suit that lawyers for both sides egree will range from $6 million to .19 million from Suzuki Motor Co. on Friday, March 27. A federal court jury, following a six-week trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, decided that Suzuki stole Richardson's floating shock absorber suspension design, which they began marketing in 1981 with the introduction of two models equipped with Full Floater suspension. The jury decided that Richardson wes entitled to a 60cent royalty on each motorcycle equipped with the suspension design that Suzuki sold and .12 per motorcycle for appropriation of trade secrets. Suzuki lawyers will challenge the latter portion of the verdict in post-trial motions this month. STOLEN: A rare 1975 Silk 700-S, from vintage road racer Dave Roper. The Silk is green and brown, frame' number 700/1/2, NY license plate number 67001. Stolen at the same time was a 1966 Honda CBI60, black, frame number 101l01l82. If you come across either bike, contact Roper at 211 Rover Lane, Hicksville, NY 11801, 516/7111-79160r 718/624-7126. AM Racing of Redwood City, Celifomia, will be ~nting RK Chain, Bell helmets, and Goodyear and Cerlisle racing tires at the April 4 Sacramanto (California) Mile and all other AMA Grand National Championship dirt track races, according to AM's Chris Cartar. For more information, call 416/368-6292. . Team Yamaha's Broc Glover broke the tibia bone in his leg a few inches above the ankle in a crash at the HanglOwn National motocross, March 22. According to Yamaha's Keith McCarty, .Glover will be out of action for at feast five months. 60 Minutes, the television news magazine produced by CBS News, had originally intended to broadcast an investigative report on A TV safety sometime in late March, but the report had not aired as of Sunday, March 29. A spokesman for 60 Minutes told Cycle News Monday. March 30, "We don't have a scheduled date for that yet. Try back next week." Look for the anti-ATV report to air sometime in April. A public hearing on AB1l6, a proposed mandatory hehnet law which would require motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets while riding on California highways, will be held before the Assembly Transportation Committee on April 22. AB1l6 author Richard Floyd (DGarderta) will introduce the bill at the hearing, speak in its favor and introduce witnesses to support the proposed legislation. Representatives of the AMA Government Relations Department will be on hand to oppose the bill. Since the hearing is open to the public, anyone who attends can speak for or against the measure. The bill will probably reach the assembly floor wlthin two weeks, if passed by the Transportation Committee. The hearing will be held at II p.m. in the State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Riders who oppose the bill and who are unable . to attend the hearing should write in haste to Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), chairman, Assembly Transportation Committee, State Capital, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, California 94249-0001; letters may be addressed to Floyd at the same address. According to a spokesman for Kau's office, the committee has received numerous letters opposing the bill; Kau has not taken a position on the measure. • Mexican track to allow betting on motorcycles? LONG BEACH, CA, MAR 110 Parimutuel betting on motorcycle races? It won't happen anytime soon in the United States, but race fans from southern California and other areas borderin~ Mexico' may have an OpportUDlty late this year to wager a few bucks on their favorite riders. The Agua9lliente horse race track in Tijuana, Mexico, has been named as the site for a proposed series of motorcycle, ATV and automobile races which would include on-site parimutuel wagering. The program, which would include six major races each year, held on three-day weekends created by U.S. holidays, reportedly will begin with one-mile, dirt track motorcycle competition and later will expand into motocross, sprint car and ATV events. Plans include the construction of a special infield track for motocross racing, which would also be used for four-wheeled and Odyssey ATV events. Sprint cars, like the dirt track bikes, would compete on the 1 1/10mile oval horse track:. A typical day's program would include each type of racing. A project spokesman added that promoters also are exploring the possibility of introducing, "a new type of motorcycle racing," but he declined to elaborate. The proposal, if approved by the division of the Mexican government which regulates race tracks and betting, would create the first motorsports race track in North America to allow wagering. An application was filed with the government about three months ago and a reply is expected sometime in April. If approved, The first race could be held as soon as Labor Day (September 7). (Continued 10 page 11 )

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