Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

result in the Yugoslavian GP on June 14 as Frenchman Raymond Roche rode the Ita Iian bike to a fift place finish. Australian Wayne Gardner (Hon) won the sixth roul'ld of the World Championship 500cc Road Race Series in Rijeka. Yugoslavia on June 14. Gardner beat Randy Mamola (Yam) by 2.43 seconds with defending World Champion Eddie Lawson (Yam) finishing third. DeCending 2SOcc World Champion Carlos Lavado (Yam) won his Cirst GP oC the 1987 season in Yugoslavia on June l4. Lavado beat Loris Regianni (Apr) and Reinhold Roth (Hon) to take the win. The series point leader going into the Yugoslavian round, Anton Mang (Hon), Cinished eventh. In 80cc action, Jorge Marti nez (Der) took the wi n over SteCan Dorflinger anti Ian McConnachle. Three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer crashed in prac- , tice for the Yugoslavian Grand Prix and rebroke his right collarbone which he fractured in a preDaytona 200 practice crash in March. Spencer did not compete in the GP and was being examined by his doctor in Shreveport, Louisianna, as Cycle News went to press on Monday, June 15. Belgian Goor es Jobe (Hon) turned in a 2-1 moto tally to capture the overall victory at the ItaJian round of the World Championship SOOcc Motocros ries in Ponte E Egola on June 14. Second went to Great Britain's Kurt icoll (Kaw), Collowed by Iralians Romano Nounina (KTM) and Claudio DeCarli (Han). and Sweden's LeiC Persson (Yam). American Billy Liles (Kaw) Cinished eighth overall. Jobe now leads the SOOcc MX standings with 192 points, 47 ahead oC defending 500cc World Champion David Thorpe, who mis ed the Itllhan round with a broken right arm. Thorpe is expected to be back in action' at the July 12 round of the series in England. HB Honda's Niall Mackenzie joins Freddie Spencer on the road racing disabled list after. breaking his ankle during practice in Yugoslavia. Another non-starter in the GP was Frenchman Christian Sarron, who suffered a concussion in a practice crash. Bob Hannah ( liZ) \\Ion back-to-back supercross races in Paris, Fran e, on June 11-12. Acombined total of more than 9000 s-pectators watched Hannah capture the overall (each night counted as a moto), beating Americans Mike Fisher (Kaw) and Trampis Parker (Kaw). Johnny "O'Show" O'Mara was a no-show for .the second straight race at the 250cc National motocross in Denver, Colorado. on June 14. O'Mara is recovering from a practice crash injury he suffered prior to the June 7 Meadowlands Supercross. O'Mara cracked his tailbone and bruised his pancreas while practicing near his Simi Valley, California, home. 2 The Cagiva 500cc V-four Grand Prix road ra e machine had its best-ever Team Nordica Roberts' John Kocinski rode a factory Yamaha YZR250 V-twin to an eightsecond win over Honda V-twinmounted Masahiro Shimizu (the fastest qualifier for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzukal in Sugo, Japan, on May 24-25; the race was the fifth round of the Japanese Road Racing Championship Series. Kocinski, who moved to Modesto, California, from his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, to train and Pfllctice under the tutelage of three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts, also participated in four days of ~esting prior to the race. Kocinski reportedly impressed Yamaha officials with his overall performance in Japan, beating the factory Honda NSR250 V-twins which have been dominating racing in both Japanese international events and Grands Prix in Europe. Lectron carburetor technician C.B. Rice will be on hand in the pits at the June 20-21 Loudon, New Hampshire, round of the AM A/Camel Pro Series. For morelnformation contact Rice at 805/604-0642. Australian Jeff Leisk will ride for Australia in the upcoming Motocross des Nations in Unadilla. New York. in September. Leisk has been granted a one-day clearance from his AMA license. so he can compete for his home country. Ireland's Joey Dunlop won his fifth consecutive Formula One TT race at the Isle oC Man TT on May 30. Dunlop 5-Ct one lap and race records aboard his Honda R VF750, turning in an average lap speed oC 117.285 mph. According to Yoshimura Suzuki's Dave Wolman. Satoshi Tsujimoto is "doing remarkably wei"" following his crash during practice for the AMA/Camel Pro Series road race round in Brainerd, Minnesota. on June 6. Tsujimoto fractured a cervical vertebra and his left ankle -in the accident. and later underwent surgery on the ankle. Wolman said Tsujimoto is expected to return to California during the week of June 15-19. Mall Carri, the owner of Luftmeister, his turbo-charged BMW KlOO to a new world record on June 14 in EI Mirage, california. CaTTi went 180.262 mph to break the 1937 re ord of 173.29 mph 5-Ct by BMW. The LuCtmeister BMW was Cilled with a stock Luflmeister turbo kit. rod~ FAX it! Cycle News. Inc. has installed high-speed digital facsimile machines at its Long Beach, California. and Tucker. Georgia. offices. The Long Beach number is 213/427-6685 and the Tucker number is 404/934-3112. Dave Benram (Hus) won the June 14 AMA National Championship Enduro Series round in Travis Cily, Michiga'n. Brian Mull (Yam) was second with Jeff Fredelle (Kaw), Kevin Hines (KTM) and Jeff Ru'ssell (Hus) rounding out the top five in the 140-mile long run that was run in record-setting high temperatures. Bud Ekins, who helped pave the way for American participation in the annual Intemational Six Days Enduro. lost the five gold medals and one silver medal he earned in Six Days events in the 60s when his North Hollywood, California, shop was robbed last week. In addition to the Six Days medals, other racing memorabilia was stolen, including his winner's trophies/badges from Catalina, Big Bear and Greenhorn events. Many of the items had his name engraved on them. and needless to say he's anxious to recover them. If you have any information that can help recover the stolen items. call 818/980-5965. Reaction, a Daytona Beach, Floridabased band, wiJl be performing on aturdaynightoftheJuly 11-12Lake Sugar Tree National MX weekend in Axton, Virginia. Rumor has it that David Bailey and Rick Johns-on will be sitting in with the band. Bailey plays guitar, while Johnson plays the drums. Both have earned formidable reputations in another Cield. . Debbie Chapman of the Mammoth MX Club of Mammoth Lakes. California. tells us the club still has openings for the Pro. Women and Mini classes at the June 26-27-2B Mammoth Mountain MX. All other classes are full. RESIG ED: Larry Matre, Crom American Honda where he was a sistant adveni ing manager, to pursue other interests; Matre can be reached at 415/961-711 I. ~ Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter signed the motorcycle rider education bill. SB-1134. into law on May 17. creating a statewide program and safety fund. The program will become effective July 1. 1988. and WIll provide funding and administration for rider training courses and instructor training. The fund is created through the collection of $2 for each annual motorcycle registration fee. An additional $1 from each motorcycle learner's permit and operator'slicensing endorsement fee will also be credited to the fund. APPOINTED: Ron Thomas, as dislri l sales manager for Cagiva North America; Thomas will be responsible for sales and new dealer set-up in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma; Thomas replaces Bill Halbert who ha opened a Cagiva/Hu qvarna dealership in Washington. APPOINTED: Dennis Crane. as national sales coordinator for Cagiva North America; Crane will handle all phases of shipping and warehouse transfers for Cagiva, Ducati and Husqvarna motorcycles. - declines AMA to sanction Superbowl of Motocross WESTERVILLE, OH, JUNE 15 Citing safety concerns, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) today announced that it will not sanction the June 27 Superbowl of Motocross in the Los Angeles Coliseum as long as it incorporates downhill start. "We have come to an impasse with Supercross, Inc., which is promoting the event," said AMA Vice President Bill Amick. "SXI insists upon a starting area for the event which would route riders down a steep hill directly out 0(' the starting gate. Unless the track design is modified to eliminate the downhill start, AMA will have no involvement in the r.ace. '1 Amick expressed regrets about the decision, nOling that the Superbowl of Motocross has been anctioned by the AMA every year but one since its creation in 1972. "The Superbowl of Motocross is a very important race to us," Amick added. "But AMA is responsible for limiting to the greatest extent p0ssible the inherent dangers of motorcycle racing. Living up to that responsibilily is more important to us than involvement in this event. Due to congestion at the start of races, we simply believe that SXI's proposed track design creates undesirable and unnecessary hazards." According to the AMA, the "door is not closed" on providing AMA sanction for the race. 1£ SXl eliminates the downhill start from its track design, AMA will again be interested in officiating the event. AMA officially notified SXI of its opposition to the tentative track design in mid-May, hortly after being asked by XI to review iL "We've gone around and around on the matler with SXI's Mike Goodwin,'" Amick said. "He is adamant about having the donwhill start and we are adamant in our belief it is an ill-advised plan that raises serious safety concerns." AMA has no plans to sanction any other major motocross event on June 27 and Amick said that AMAlicensed motocross rider are free to compete, aJthough AMA points will not be paid. "We still hope that a re olution to this matter will be found," Amick said. "Whether the race runs with or without AMA sanction, we hope that it will be a safe and successful evenL But our decision not lO participate, barring satisfactory modificdtions to the track design, is firm." • Wilson sits on fence; delays decision on S.7 By Mike Bishop SA LUIS OBI PO, CA, JUNE 6 U.S. Senator Pete Wilson (RCA), on hand for the first convention of the newlyformed Sierra Club California, told the gathering thal he wi II listen to bOlh side before making a decision on whether or not lO support SenaLOr Alan Cran LOn's (D-CA) CaliCornia Desert Protection Acl. "I will make my position known only after listening to the other side, the mining interest, the grazing interests and, yes, even the off-road vehiclerecreationalists," Wilson told Sierra Club members. His reference to oCf-road vehicle users drew'hisses and boos from the audience, aCter which Wilson ~aid. "Believe me, they will be heard, as you are well aware." When Wilson arrived at the convention, he was greeted by members of Earth First, a radical environmentalist group. They were dressed as lizards, sheep and Olher desert anim(Continued to page 65)

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