Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

.. ~. ~ . t- fiY p~p~ Wf4lLfY Suzu ki has an no u nced a new co rpora te na me - Ameri ca n Suzuki Motor Co rpo rati on - e ff ec ti ve i m medi at el y. Am er ica n Su zu ki Moto r Corporation resu lts fro m th e merger of U.S. Suzu ki Mo tor Corporation, Suzuki of America Automotive Corporation, a nd Suzu ki of Am eri ca Corpora tion, distributors o f Suzuki moto rcycle, a utomotive and marin e products, respectively. According to Suzuki. th e merger will strea m line internal systems an d increase opera tio na l efficie ncy for th e me rging com panies, wh ich are a ll h eadquarter ed i n Brea , Ca li forn ia. Each d ivisio n o f American Suzuki Mot or Co rporation wi ll operate a utonomous ly u nd er its own ma nagem ent team a nd th e Suzu ki dea ler networks which sell motorcycle, .automotive and marin e p roducts wi ll remain in d e pen de n t from o ne a nother. Tadaomi Shigen o ya will co ntin ue to be full y responsib le for th e, Motorcycle Division and a ll ma tters th a t pert ain to Suzu ki mot orcycle a nd ATV bu sin ess in th e U.S. T. Ara i, • wh o will co nti n ue to oversee th e Automoti ve Division, will a lso serve as president o f America n Suz u ki Mot or Corpora tion. American Honda and American Suzuki have posted manufacturer contingency programs for the eight-race Continental Motosport Club (CMC) Pac-West MX Tour. Honda will be offering a total of $34,000 in gift certificates in 19 selected Sportsman classes and $9000 in Honda gift certificates will be awarded in five Pro classes. Suzuki will be offering a total of $56,000 in savings bonds in 19 Sportsmen classes, and $11,200 in cash for two Pro classes. The 3rd Annual Pac-West MX Tour begins in Washougal, Washington, June 4. H o nda has a lso Am eri can an nou nced its 1988 T eam H o nda C R S u p p o rt C oru inge ncy P rog r a m . covering 104 events across th e co u ntry, in cl ud ing the AMA L oretta Lyn n 's Am at eur Motocross Champi onships in Hurricane Mill s. T ennessee, Au gust 9- 13. For m ore inform a tio n co nce rn ing whi ch events will be included in the co n ti nge ncy progr am , cont act Am eri can H onda Mo tor Co ., In c., C R Support, 100 West Alondra Blvd., G a rden a, CA 90247. The opening round of the World Championship 125cc MX Series at Castiglione Del lago, Italy, April 4 , saw Frenchman JeanMichel Bayle (Hon) capture the overall victory via a perfect 1-1 tally. Second place went to HoI land's Davey Strijbos (Cag) who went 4 -2, while American Bobby Moore (KTM) claimed third overall with a 2-4 tally. T h e opening ro u nd o f th e Worl d Ch am pi onshi p S u perbi k e R o a d Ra ce Seri es a t Don ing to n P a rk , Engla nd, Ap ril 3, was won by Ma rco L ucchinell i on th e factory 8-va lve Du ca ti. Lu cchi nelli fin ished secon d to Davide Tardozzi, riding th e wo rks Birno ta YB4E I, in th e first of two legs a nd wo n th e seco nd leg a fter T ardozzi cras hed o n th e last lap. Camel P ro Series cha m p Bubba Shobert (H on ) turned in th e fastest la p of the meeting but DNF bot h times o u t, Fo rme r AMA Superbi ke champ Fred Merkel (Hon ) finish ed second overall, 40 seco nds beh ind Lucchinelli in aggregate time. and Brit joey Du n lo p (Hon) was th ird. Team North America won all the battles but lost the war at the annual Easter weekend Match Races which were run at Eng land 's Brands Hatch circuit on Friday, April 1, and Donington Park on Monday, April 4. Doug Polen (Suz) won the first two of the three road races on Friday and repeated that performance on Monday, with Bubba Shobert (Hon) winning the last race each day. At Brands Hatch the American/Canadian team took all the rostrum positions, and at Donington all the Brits got was three thirds, but injuries and machine problems robbed the North Americans of their midfield and the home team packed the rest of the top 10 placings. Californian Scott Gray (Suz) was the third top points scorer behind Polen and Shobert. The final score was United Kingdom 586, North America 570. The team o f Danny La Port e/Ra ndy Mora les (Kaw) wa s cred ited with th e wi n in th e April 2 SCOR E Grea t Moja ve 25 0 a fte r wi nn er s Dan Sm ith / Gart h Swee tland (H us ) were di squalified . Smi th /Swee tla nd fin ish ed two m in u tes, 41 seconds a hea d of La Porte/Mo ra les, but were d isq ualified wh en a co urse offi cial sa id he sto p ped Sm ith off lh e co u rse a nd told him to ge t back on the co urse. Sm ith sa id n o o ne stop ped him a nd cla imed th e in cident was a case o f mista ken identit y. Seco nd o vera ll , first 250, went to Brett H owel l/T ed H unni cutt ( Kaw) , a n d th ir d was cla imed b y Mik e Baker/ Kurt Pfei ffer (Yam ). j oh n Braasch / Darin Ca rt wrig h t (Yam ) fin ish ed first in th e I25cc divisio n. Srnith /Sweetla nd protested th e resu lts. A tentative proposa l was s truck March 23 wh ich could reopen Anza -Borrego Desert State Park This issue of Cycle News is dedicated to the man who more than any other individual is responsible for the U.S . GP at laguna Seca Raceway taking place. We don't have to tell you that the man we 're referring to is three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts . He'll take a lap of honor at laguna Seca on Sunday, April 10. While you're cheering him, join us in saying, "Thanks, Kenny." in southern California to off-road vehicles, according to the California Off-Road Vehicle Association '(C O RVA ). Under terms of the proposal, off-road vehicles would again be allowed within the park under a permit system that is currently being reviewed by state officials and off-road user groups. The proposed reopening of AnzaBorrego comes more than a year after it was closed to off-road vehicles by Director of Parks & Recreation appointee Henry R. Agonia. CORVA spearheaded a recent effort by off-road groups to defeat Agonia's confirmation as Parks and Recreation Director during hearings in the California Senate Rules Committee, but recently voiced support for Agonia contingent on an AnzaBorrego compromise. According to the proposal, the permit system would require a simple form similar to a U.S. Forest Service fire permit. The 'p e rm it s would be available from any ranger or from parks offices in the Anza-Borrego area . Permits would be required ' on a per visit basis. j ourn alists w ho cove r the World C hampio ns h ip Roa d Race Se ries h ave been in vited to a ba rbecu e b y three-ti me World Champio n Ken n y Robert s. Wh at m akes th e in vite u ni que is th at th e barbecue is bei ng h eld at Ki n g Ken n y 's house in H ickm a n , Ca lifornia. Rob erts will be m anning th e gri ll on Tuesda y, April 5. " It's a n h on or," sai d Denn is Noyes wh o covers th e G P road ra ce circu it for Spain 's weekly mo torcycl e n e wsp a per, Solo Moto , " To b e in vited to h is house is some th in g special, particularly for Europeans, a nd a ll o f us are looki ng forward to it." Noyes, an Am eri can wh o h as ca lle d a town ' o uts id e o f Madr id ho m e for 18 years, is known to be a baseball fan of the first o rder in additio n to being a n expert o n th e G P roa d race scene. Evide nce of that su rfaced over Eas ter week end wh en Noyes, wh o Ilew to the U.S. a fter th e j a pa nese G P to cove r the La guna Seca GP , was Spoiled a t so u the rn Californ ia 's An ah eim S ta d i u m watchi ng a n ex h ib itio n ba seba ll ga me between th e L o s An g e le s Dodgers a n d th e Californ ia Angels, " An d I wa s a t Dodger Sta d iu m wa tc h in g these sa me team s la st n ight," said Noyes. who wears a Chica go C u bs h a t eve ry wa kin g moment. Guy Dana of Winnetka, California, came up the winner in the Southern California Honda Motorcycle Dealers Laguna Seca Sweepstakes. Dana won an all-expenses paid (airfare, hotel accomoda tions, ground t ra ns po rt at io n and race tickets) trip for two to the Laguna Seca GP. . Pro -Am classes have been added to th e programs a t seve ra l 600c c Natio nal Dirt Track Seri es events, accord in g to AMA Dirt Track Man- 1

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