Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126988
? race permit. The comment period closed tod a y. "The motorcycle gr oup's public land trespass resul ted in a com p letely unauthorized , lightl y graded 'road' over a n existing ro ute a nd mo re brush clearance th a n would have been permi tted by the Bur ea u," a BLM stat em ent said. " T he 5.5-m ile section.. .has been upgraded by th e unautho rized action to what appears to be a road." Almost immediately , the grading had en viro n men tal groups u p in a rms . U n der Se nate Bill 7, th e p ro posed 1987 Califo rnia Desert P rotect ion Ac t, a uthored by the Sierra Club a nd introduced by Senator Alan Cra ns to n (D-Ca liforn ia ), the Ea st Moj a ve Sce nic Area is recommended for Nati onal Park status .' Wh en env iron me na lists heard o f the grad ing, they a lerted Crans to n, wh o co m p la i ned b i tt ler ly to N ati onal BLM Directo r R obert Burford. T he California/Neva da chap ter of th e Wilderness Society, a n en viro nmental gro up which supports S7, ca lled for either the ca nce lla tio n of th e race or repair of th e " damage" done to the rac e course. • ~ ~ .. Bunl', BP,len Reign in IiB'R Beries W!Im the cIJecketed flags tel on the Suzuki GSXR 750a 8f1(/ 111XJcc fMH1IS at the 1!J87 Suzuki National Cup Finals at Rivetside, Dunlop rider Doug Polen emerged 8$ 1!J87 Champion in both 750a and lllXJcc 6SXR classes, by C8(1fJing an extTBonIinary season of w.iJs with two IT1Otr! here. In the 75IJcc class atRiwJrside, Doug Polen, lain Pero 8f1(/!JaIIe SadtNttski IirJished one, two, tIn!e on DIJIIIop K591 Eite SPs, proving once again that Dunlop ma/res the difference fDr winning performance. And in the l1llJcc class, Polen tepe8ted his winning WBA tJis time foIowr!dby SadtNttski in St!COI1d, 8f1(/ Pero in tIird. Another one, two, three finish for Dunlop K591s. These two class champKmships, on top of his 1987 AMAIEBC Brake Supersport ChampionsIJip, make Doug Polen 8f1(/Dunlop K591file SPs, the unO lSfJuted champions ofproduction motorcycle racing. Dunlop salutes aD the exceptional eompetitors. who helpedmala! our K591 file SP a witmer. Their vicJories am our victories 8$ wei. Dunlop road racing tires distributed by: &st w.t Executive faults riders, not ATVs P1W FiBck RaciIg ~ 1 8Sunset liMJ .4tiIlrJi1, NC 2IJta (7fNJ 2fi2.!J187 L ONG BEAC H, CA, OCT. 19 r- ao ~ ...... "' ao c-r .... ' V ..0 0 ~ U 0 , A(DUN"'£OP Tetsuo Chino , a high-level corporate exec u tive of 'H o nda Motor Company , was grille d by a persona l-injury la wyer last week duri ng an ATV product liab ili ty case heard in San Diego (Ca lifornia) Superior Court. Desp ite the grilli ng, Chino, a sen io r man ag in g director for H onda Mo to r Co. , of j a pa n a nd cha irma n of the board a t American H onda, steadfastl y contended th at the problems a ssociated wi th a ll -te rra i n veh icles rest wit h irrespo ns ib le ride rs, not wi th vehi cle design. Test ifying during a suit bro ug h t by th e pa rents of 15-year- old ATV accide nt victim Fra n k Cu simano jr., Ch ino sa id, "There is no problem with th e mach in e. T he problem is with the r ide r." C usi ma no wa s inj ured in Aug us t 1982 whi le ridin g o n th e back o f a friend 's Honda ATCllO; he suffered severe bra in damage. Cra ig McCl ell an , C usi ma no's a tto rney, for ced Ch in o to adm it th at while H onda reportedl y has condu cted sa fety tests on ATVs for yea rs," no reports of th e tests were ever put in writing, and Chino could not rem ember th e names of the engi neers who supposedl y conduc ted th e tests. During his seco nd da y of test im o ny, Chino b roke down on the witness stand, sobbi ng a fter viewing a compu ter read out which listed th e names o f 789 acci dent victims wh o died from injuries suffered while rid in g ATVs; roughly ha lf o f th e names o n th e li st re p resented ch ildren 15 years o ld and yo u nger. After a recess, ca lled by Su perior Court judge Ben Hamrick to a llow Chi no to com pose h imself , Chi no to ld the court, " I apologize fo r getti ng emotio na l. As a father o f a ch ild , 1 get emo tiona l." Ch ino's testim ony marked the first time tha t an u p per-ech elo n exec u tive from a ny of the four japanese AT V ma n ufacturers has testi fied during a p erso n al -inj u ry la wsu i t. H onda atternped to prevent Chino's testim ony, but th e executi ve was forced to testify by co urt o rde r a fter H onda a tto rn eys lost a bid befor e th e Ca lifornia Su perem e Co u rt to block the • testi mony. ?.. M8aiIger Raa1g P.O. Box 317 Solana 8BacII, CA 921115 (619/7552939 The Legend lives CONGRATUL TIONS ~. ~ LUBR ICANTS COA TIN GS Team r eznn)pOf1: in association with Metzeler t ires, Kal Gard lubricants and Shoei helmets, takes great pride in cong ratulating f ive time La Carrera veteran Geoff McCarthy' fo r his second , consecut ive 1987 victory. (SHDEI>~ (ann)I)Ort support rider Geoff "The Guy " McCarthy, winner of the Premier 1000c Open Twins Class at the La Carrera Classic in Mexico, Septe mber, 1987. 5