Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Busch. Budweiser will sponsor the March 5 AMA 600cc National Short Track at Da yto n a 's Memoria l Stadium. . Larry Roeseler (Kaw) was the overa ll winner at the 17th Annual Quicksilver National Enduro, the openi ng ro und of the AMA National Championship Enduro series held February 21 near Coalinga, California. Roeseler dropped eight points to edge out Randy Hawkins (Suz), who dropped nine points for the overall win. Terry Cunningham (H u s) rounded out the top three. If you're riding/driving from the north to Daytona for Cycle Week you'll be interested in hearing that the speed limit on over two-thirds of Georgia's interstate highways has been raised to 65 mph. Georgia Gov. Joe Frank Harris signed the bill raising the speed limit on rural interstates to 65 into law on February 19. Harris also signed a bill into law that will require drivers and front seat passengers to wear- seat belts but that law won't go into effect until September 1. R ichard Kosar of Kosar Racin g informs us that three Suzukis were stolen fro m Kosar's San Antonio, Texa s, faci li ty. Fram e/ engine numb ers are JS I G R 75A OG2106388/R 705 . 125984, J SIGR75A X G2 1063 79/ R705 125930, JSI GR75A 2G2106487/R705 125936. T wo of the fra mes have extensive weldi ng a nd bracing as do the swingarms. T he triple clamps are Kossman adjustable clamps, the WOO Ninja carbs with major modifications by Dynojet. Two of the bikes had Marvic 5.5 x 18 rear wheels, one had a Marvic 3.75 x 18 front wheel, and one had an H RC 3.25 x 17wheel. T wo of the motors were kitted and had dry clutches, and all three bikes had an added oil coo ler that sits verti cally and is flat grey in color. If you spot the bikes, call Kosar a t 512/490-3515. Roy Janson has been named motocross manager for the AMA professional racing department. Janson, 37, has served as land use coordinator for the AMA's . government relations department sinCe 1981, where he has managed the association's off-road leg islat ive program. Janson also serves as president of the American All-Terrain Vehicle Association (AATVA), a position he has held since 1983. He will continue to guide the AATVA racing program in addition to his duties in professional motocross. A former professional MX and dirt t rack racer, Janson has been involved in various aspects of the motorcycle industry since 1964. The Rochester, New York, native holds a bachelor's degree in environmental planning from the State University of New York, and a master's degree in geology from the University of Rochester. T he February 26 and 27 rounds of the 14th Annua l Da yto n a Budweiser/Wiseco Dirt 'Track Series at Barberville's Volusia County Speedway will be sponsored by American Motorcycle Institute and Joe Robison Harley-Davidson, respectively. The February 28 half mile at Barberville is once ,again sponsored by Les French of Great Motorcycle Adventures inf orm s us that slots are still open for the 16-day Yucatan Maya Pyramid Road Tour that starts on March 10. The tour takes participants to relative ly little known Maya ruin sites in add ition to visits to the well known sites. For info, call French at 800/642·3933 or 409/8667891 . PURCHASED: Beach Yamaha of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, by Jim Walker's Honda-Suzuki of Daytona Beach; Mark Sheldon, former Ama teur Hare Scrambles National Champion will manage the shop; name has been changed to Jim Walker's Yamaha. The February 15 deadline for the filing of final .c on sent decrees between ATV manufacturers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been extended to March 7, according to a spokesman for ... - U.S. Justice Department. ;.... ....akers filed preliminary ccnsent decrees w ith the CPSC in federal court December 30 and were given 45 days to negotiate final settlements. In the preliminary decrees, manufacturers agreed to no lo nger market three-wheeled ATVs in the United States and promised to develop extensive public relations/advertising campaigns on ATV safety. In return, the CPSC promised not to file suit against A TV makers for marketing an alleged hazardous product. As .eported earlier, ticke ts for the United States Grand Prix to be held April 10 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased , directl y from the raceway office by calling 408 /373 -1811 weekdays betwee n 8 a.m. and 5 p .m . Visa and MasterCard are being accep ted. General admissio n tickets for Sunday, April 10 are $30 wi th a two-day general admission ticket selling for $40. The VIP crede n tia l, which includes admission on both days, reserved grandstand seati ng on Saturday and Sunda y and " Pit Tours" whe n they are available, is $75. Childr en under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by a parent. There are no Saturday-only tickets and prices will be higher at the gate on race weekend. Camping for the Grand Prix in Laguna Seca Raceway is on a f irst-come, first-serve basis. Camp stickers, available from the Laguna Seca office, are $15 per night from the day of arrival through Saturday of race weekend for motorcycles and $25 for RVs and other veh ic les . Three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts announced February 15 that road racer Thomas Stevens will team with John Kocinski on Team Nordica Roberts. Stevens, whose racing experience thus far has been limited to the 600cc Supersport class and the WERA Endurance Series, and . Kocinski will compete in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series on 1988 Yamaha T Z250s prepared by Bud Aksland. Kocinski, the defending 250cc National Champion, will also compete in selected Grands Prix in Europe and in the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on April 10. Stevens ma y also ride in the U.S. GP at Laguna in addition to possibly competing in selected eve,:lts in Ja pan. When asked how he chose a rider he'd never seen race before, Rober ts said, "The names were put forth from Dun lop and they go to a lor of races. Some of the other guys on the list still want to do the street bike stuff, and he (Stevens) said he ,want ed to learn to ride 250s. He's young and he's about the right size." In regard to Stevens riding in the Grand Prix, Roberts said, "There's a possibility. We don't want to put him ou t there if he's not ready . I think he' ll be there. Ishink he'd gain a lo t of experience. We'll know more after Daytona." Stevens said he was happy to have the opportunity and that the upcoming season would be a "real learning experience." When John Kocinski does venture to Europe for selected GPs, it is likely he will ride a carbon-fiberframed Yamaha, according to Roberts. The bike, wh ich is being built in England, will see use only in GPs, however, and there is no chance of Kocinski using the bike in the U.S . "He will be riding a standard TZ here, just like last year," Roberts said. Australian road racer Michael Dowson broke his wrist while testing a 750cc Yamaha at Ora n Park near Sydney, Australia, recently. Dowso n , who has assumed the role Kevin Magee held in 1987 on the Marlboro Yamaha Dealer Team, didn't crash, but suffered the inj ury when the Yamaha tried to highs ide him. Do wso n will be com peting i n selected J a panese events th is year for Yamaha since ' Magee has taken up G P raci ng for Team L ucky Stri ke Roberts . Team Lucky Strike Roberts' Wayne Rainey and Kevin Magee left on Tuesday, February 16 for Spain to test the' 1988 Yamaha . YZR500 at Jarama. Marlboro Yamaha's Eddie Lawson and Gauloises' Christian Sarron recently returned from testing the new Yamaha in Japan . AMAlCCS Endurance Series Champion, T eam Lockh art's Dale Q uar terley has a busy year p la nned. In addition to his end urance racing obligations, Quarterley pl ans to race the AMA Superbike Seri es o n a Lockhart Suzu ki GSX R750 and the Pro T win s class on a Fast by Ferraci, Harris-framed Ducati. Q uarterley's Lockhart teammate, AMA P ro Twins Champ ion Dou g Bra uneck, will again be riding the Dr. John Moto Guzzi, which this year is fitted with overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. Bra un eck will also compete in the 250 Gra nd P rix class on a J ohn H asty-own ed Yamaha TZ250U. Kevin Rentzell is another road racer who'll be getting around this year. Rentzell will be competing i n both the AMA and WERA Endurance Series for Dutchman Racing and Solmax Racing, respectively. In the Daytona 200, Rentzell will be riding for Jeff McCloud 's Massachusetts-based Cy-Tech Racing. The Atlanta, Georgia, resident will also be making his car racing debut in SCCA GT3 events at Moroso Motorsport Park in West Palm Beach, Florida. Roa d racer Richard Moore will no t ride Vance & H in es Motorcycle Center-sponsored motorcycles this year. The Whittier, California, resident will instead be riding a Yamaha TZ250 in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series . "It's a mutual agreement between Terry (Vance) and I," Moore sai d on Wednesday, February 17. "T he AMA Na tio na ls conflict with some of the local races that he wanted me to do, and the 250s are more important to my career right now." Calvin Rayborn III w ill ride a Tony Murphy-tuned Rotax in this year's AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series. Rayborn, who finished fifth in the ser ies last year on a Team Nordica Roberts Yamaha, however, is w ithout a ride for Daytona . beeause the Rotax will not be ready in t ime. The southern California road racer has been replaced on the Team Nordica Roberts team by Florida 's Thomas Stevens. "To th is 'day I haven't seen or heard from Kenny (Ro berts) since Japan (the Suzuka 8-Hour)," Rayborn said on Wed nesday, February 18. "He wants younger kids to ride for him and I guess he doesn't have any confidence that I can do the job. I'll prove him wrong. I don't have anything against him, but I figure at least he could have called me." Rayborn, who is 27 years of age, is also planning to ride a Suzuki GSXR750 in the 750cc Supersport class at Daytona and throughout the season . Rayborn can be contacted at 714/2451370. Marlboro Yamaha ' crew chief Kel Carruthers reports that the team will again use Marvic wheels in . 1988, including the 6.0xI7-inch cast ma gnesium alloy wheel the team used "on an d off" durin~ the 1987 seaso n. H onda also occasio nally used the 6.0x I 7-inch wh eel s o n their NSRSOOs, including World Champ io n Wayne Gardner 's, during the 1987 seaso n. Marvic wheels are manu factu red in Italy, close to the town of Varese, The San Diego Union reported on February 19 that motocrosser Ron Lechien completed a onemo nth stay at the McDonald Center for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction and Treatment in La Jolla, California, on November 4, 1987. The Kawasaki factory rider was quoted in the daily newspaper as saying, "I didn't do cocaine on a regular basis. I didn't go out of my way chasing it, I just did it when it was there. But I couldn't give up the marijuana cigarettes." Lechien's drug use became public record when he was denied entry in Japan on October 10, 1985, after Narita (Tokyo) airport security offic ials found a small quantity of marijuana in his luggage. The AMA/CCS sprint road races, the seven-lap, 25-mi le dashes that kick off Daytona Cycle Week a t Daytona International Speedway on February 27-28 have a record number of entries a t 749. It marks the second time the CCS has gone over 700 entries at Daytona, with the first bei ng last fall for the CCS Race of Champions National Champioriship Sprints. AMA /CCS director Roger Edmonston reports 128 entries for the February 28 Daytona round of the 1988 EBC Brakes Endurance Challenge . Eighty eight entries have been accepted for the three-hour race . Dr. Dave Keiffer 's Team Wyoming has entered two bikes in the Daytona round of the Endurance Challenge. O ne of the bikes is expected to be a Honda RC30 wh ich may see AMA Grand National Champion Bubba Shobert at the controls. O ther riders (Continued to page 33)

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