Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

with American sponsors, to ride new bike, four-valve (per cylinder) in America ," the Ital ian said. "We sell 20 or 30 bikes in America next year, make race next year, teach privateer rider good way." Belgian Georges Jobe (Hon) traded 1-2 moto scores with Gn;,at Britain 's Kurt Nicoll (Kaw) to win the World Championship 500cc MX at Farleigh Castl e in Wilshire, England. July 12. By winning the tie-breaking second rnoto, Jobe locked up the overall. Thi rd ove ra ll went to Britian 's Lawrence Spence (Kaw) with a 5-5 tally, while defending 500cc World Champion Dave Thorpe finished fourth via a 3-11score. Rounding out the top five was ano ther British rider Mervyn Anstie (KT M). Davey Strijbos (Ca g) captured the overall victory at the World Championship 125cc MX round in Rothenthurm, Switzerland, July 12 . Strijbos went 1 -2, edging Holland 's John Van den Berk's (Yam) 2-5 score. Strijbos' win puts the Belg ian rider back int o first p lace in the series point standings. In the last four 125cc GP rounds, the points lead has changed four times. Dave Sch ultz (Kaw) won the Pro Stock class at the July 12 NHRA Summer Nati onals In Eng lishtown, New Jersey; Schultz went through the lights in 8.295 seconds at 158 mph. T erry Vance (Suz) had the best ET of the .meet, clock ing an 8.142 run. " P izza" John Mafaro turned in the fastest top speed with a 162.95 mph clocking. The Bureau of Land Management has called for nominations to fill f ive seats on the BLM's Cal ifornia Desert District Advisory Council. The positions incl ude two publicat-large seats, while one seat each will go to an e lected official, a renewable resources representative and a transportation/rightsof-way representative. The terms of current council members holding these seats wi ll expire December 31 . Anyone can submit nominations for qualified ind ividua ls in any of the four categories. Nominations must be submitted by Ju ly 31 to the California Desert District Manager, BLM, 1695 Spruce St.. R iverside, CA, 92507. For more information, phone the BLM at714/351-6383 or 714/35 1 -6405 . The California Senate Transportation Committee voted 9-1 July 7 to reco ns ider AB36, a mandatory helmet bill which would req uire motorcyclists in Cal ifornia to wear helmets while operating motorcycles on public highways. The surprise vote, whi ch came only five da ys after the bill fail ed to clear the committee. will keep the measure ali ve until the beginnin g of the 1988 legislative session. A second hearing and vote on AB36 will be held in the Transportation Committee sometime in January. AB36 was introduced early this year by Assemblyman Richard Floyd (D-Gardena ). 2 Former 500cc World Champion Marco Lucchinelli announced July 12 during the AMA Superbike Road Race National at Laguna Seca that he w ill ride his factory Ducat i in the AMA Superbike Series throughout the 1988 season. "We arrange now, speaking 1986 AMA 500cc Na tio na l MX Champi on David Bailey is ge tting back in the groo ve of th in gs after his Janu ary 1987 pract ice acci de nt, _ whi ch left him confined to a wheelcha ir. Bailey did some Jet Skiing at his lake in Axton , Virgi nia, during the National MX weekend July 1112. The Jet Ski was fitted with a special wedge that keeps the machin e stable. Bailey reportedly was th rowing roosts and spin ning dou ghnuts in no tim e. National motocross, 125cc USGP and Blackwater 100 p romoter and Cycle News contributor Dave Coombs will be taking it easy at his Morgantown, West Virginia, home over the next few months. " He 's working about one hour a day now, and the doctors don't even want him doing that, " said his son, Tim. "He had a virus in his heart, but it's gone now. It's just going to take a lo ng time to get over it." There will be free park in g a nd sh u ttle bu s service from the parking lots to the race track at the July 19 250cc Motocross Grand Prix at Hollister Hills. in Hollister, California, according to organizers of the even t. Team Suzuki's Johnny O 'Mara was spectating at Lake Sugartree, and is still recove ring from a tailbone injury suffered in early June. "I'll be riding the 250cc USGP in Hollister (Ca lifornia , July 19)," said O'Mara. "That practice crash really set me back, but I've been training and getting ready to get back into it. It looks like I'll be riding a new prototype Suzuki at the GP." Spain 's Jordi Tarres (Bet) was the winner of the World Ch ampionship Observed Trials in Austria, July 12. Second pla ce went to Diego Bosis (Apr), who topped the U.S. round of the series in Pennsylvania, June 21, followed by Philippe Berlatier (Mon) and Theirry Michaud (Fan). Shell Thuet, former tuner for Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Hank Scott, Wayne Rainey and several other dirt trackers will be celebrating his 75th birthday on August 1 . Cards and lette rs can be sent to Th uet at 9581 Duncan Road # 9 6, Baldy Mesa, CA 92371,619/949-2229 HosPITal STOP: Peter Giammalvio, a class C Junior rider and race promoter from Westrninister , Massach usetts, recently suffered a spinal cord injury and is paralyzed from the chest down. Cards and letters can be sent to Giammal vio at Boston Uni versity Medical Hospital, Spinal Cord Unit, Room 525 'F.5, 75 East Newton St., Boston. MA 02118. Kosar Racing's Ottis Lance broke his left femur in six places during a practice crash at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, on Friday, July 10; the Texan crashed when ,he hit o il in turn eight and is expected to be in traction for six weeks. According to SCRAMP (Spo rts Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula) officials , a crowd count for the Nissan 200 was not taken and thus was not available as Cycle. News went to press on Monday, July 13. Proposed mandatory helmet law s have resurfaced in Oregon and Texas. HB2581 , an Oregon bill re ce ntly passed by t he legislature a nd expected to be s igned soon . by Governor Nei l Goldschmidt, w ill put the mandatory helmet issue before the public as a referend um vote. The measu re w ill be placed on the May 17 , primary ballot. In Texas, a mandato ry helmet bill almost became law earlier th is year before the legislature adjourned June 1. The sponsor of the origina l bill, Senator Ted Lyon (D -Rockwall) rece ntly reintrod uced t he bi ll during an interim le gis lat ive session that will end July 22. It will take the signature of Governor Bill Clements to put S2 on the legisla t ive calendar for consideration in the Senate State Affairs Committee. Both Oregon and Texas currently require helmets to be worn only by riders age 18 and under. The proposals would require all riders to wear helmets in both states. Upcoming hearings on Senate Bill 7, a measure by U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) which would close most of th e California desert to offroad riding, has spar ked th e Desert Tortoise Run. a 15 mph protest drive down a more-than-f Otl-mile stretch of Interstate 15. The protesters, to be led by the famed Ph antom Duck of the Desert, will drive from the Dunn Road exit at Afton Can yon on 1-15 (about 35 miles northeast of Barstow , California) to Stateline, Nevada. The California Highway Patrol confirmed claims by event organizers that the drive is not illegal as long as participants drive in the righthand lane of the freeway. A spokesman for the CHP said there is no minimum speed law in California. The drive will begin at Dunn Road at 8:00 a.m., Saturday, J ul y 18. T.J. Hofmeister of Westmont, Illinois, went more than 200 mph twice during eliminations at the International Drag Bike Association, Vance & Hines Sunshine Nationals in Cincinnati , Ohio, June 21, earning himself new Funny Bike ET and mph records. Hofmeister surprised everyone with a 200.44 mph, 7 .16-second run in the semi -finals, then clocked in with a 7.12/207.37 when he beat Bobby Baker in the final. In the Pro Stock d ivision, Dave Schultz, rid ing a fai ring equipped, Kawasaki Ninja-based racer, beat Terry Vance. be a World Championship GP • round in the hills of northern California on April 1 0 of next year.• Senate ponders catalytic converters for motorcycles WASHINGTON, D.C., J ULY 9 A clean air bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate wo uld requ ire motorcycles to meet the same emission sta ndards as automobiles, for cing motorcycle manufacturers to install catalytic converters. accordi ng to a statement released toda y by the Motorcycle Industry Council. The stringent motorcycle em issions requirements are proposed by Senate Bill 1351, a measure that would require motorcycle ma nufacturers to meet the new standards by 1992. Even wi th ca ta ly sts installed, many motorcycle model s would not be abl e to meet the new standards, according to the MIC. The catalytic converters reportedly wou ld raise the average price of a new motorcycle by 10%. The Senate Environmen t & Public Work s Committee is expected to consider th e bill before August 7. and the MIC conte nds the passage of some type of clean air legislation is virt ually assured. Riders who wish to protest SI351 should write to committee members as soon as possibl e. Members of the committee include: Chairman Quentin N. Burdick (DND ); Daniel Moynihan (D-N Y); George Mitchell (D-ME); Max Baucus (D-MT ); Frank Lautenberg (DNJ) ; John Breaux (D-LA); Barb ara Miku lski (D-MD); Barry Reid (DNV); Bob Graham (D-FL ); ranking minority member Robert Stafford (R - VT ); John Chafee (R-RI); Alan Simpson (R-WY); Steven Symms (RID); David Durenberger (R-MN); Joh n Warn er (R-VA); Larry Pressler (R-SD). Letters should be addressed and mailed sepa ra tely to each of the senators on the committee. Letters should be sent to, The Honorable (na me of Senator), U.S . Senate, Washington D.C., 20510. • Kell y Moran , o ne o f Am erica 's hopefuls for a World Individual Speedway Championship, broke hi s right shoulder in a crash at Ascot South Bay Stadium on Thursday. July 9, It was unknown at presstime how long the injury would keep Moran out of action. FIM officials were touring the Laguna Seca Raceway faci lity in Monterey, California, during the AMA Superbike Road Race . National July 11-12, exploring the possibility of adding Laguna Seca to the 1988 World Championship Grand Prix schedule. An FIM spokesman would make no definite comment concerning a decision for 1988, but he did say he is impressed w ith the race track and w ith trackside facilities. The odds are very good that there w ill Cranston bans street bikes Come on, you say. Rea lly, it 's tru e. Our perenn ia l OH V basher, prince of the Sierra Club zealots and champ ion of clos ing of every sq ua re cubit of public land to out door recreationists is outlawing street and road bikes too. T his rubs me ent irely, and as usual. the w-r-o-n-g way. In addi tion to the two Husky cross country bikes, (Continued to page 4)

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