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/127135
Suzuki's Bob Hannah was back in ~ action at the Sou thwick National MX af ter a lo ng layoff due to a wrist injury suffered in a Florida WinterAMA crash in February. The Hurricane was in great spirits, was the , ~ crowd favorite and pos ted a 10-9 for eigh th ov ~rall. Freedom lost By Chuck Clayton P rison ers havea cynicai phrase for the world outside the walls. T hey call i t "minimu m securi ty." I prefer to th in k of it as Freedom. Bu t I sense a serious attack, humiliating as a full-body search , massing against th e most visibly free people in California u s . . , , h?erty-fl aunung m otorcycl ists. When .the .s ta te bu ys th e Helmet Law It will la u nc h tha t attack on us. What crime have we com m itted , that deserves to ha ve this law passed against us? Do we mock secu rit y? Are we an affront to timid fo lks? If so, I a po logi ze, b u t ' seriou sly, fo lks, Californians, o f all people, should know appearance differs from real - ' ity, a nd that is seldom wh at it seems . T he Motorcycle Hat Law is a watershed, a precedent, a turn in g point in gov ernment's rela tion to the ci tizens. It will be all down h ill for Freedom from now o n. If th e gov ernment can tell its motorcyclists that they must wear a hat, then yo u can' t call it a " Free Country " an ym or e. Without firi ng a sho t, America w.iIl have beco me a. rmrumum secu rit y em b ryo of a po ltce state. The task falls upon th e leasteq ui p ped to turn the nation bac k fro m this sli p pery slide to ty~ n ny : us independent motorcycle ri ders. What ca n we do? Write letters to Governor George Deukmejian asking him to use his veto power a nd kill AB36, Mr. Floyd's motor cycle helmet bill. T he Hat Law I S a litmus test that tell s the liberals fro m t~ e co nserva tives . The G overno r IS Republican a nd he ought to kill it on principle, before it multipl ies. But we don 't know what political pressure he works under. Your letters will help Duke do wh at's right. Beyond th at, I don' t kn ow wha t to do. Wh en the policeman stops me for breaking a law that I can no t in good conscience, live . w i.t.~ . . . do they le t you read books In ja il? The Honorable George Deukmejian Office of the Governor State Capitol Bui lding Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Governor Deukmejian: Please veto AB36, the Motorcycle Helmet law. I am a motorcycle rider and voter who values this FREEDOM most highly. Sincerely, Charles Clayton President, Cycle News, Inc. Oregon voters okay mandatory helmet use SALEM, OR, MAY 17 Oregon 's mandatory helmet referendum, Ballot Measure 2, passed with 68% of th e vote during today's state primary, according to a n elec tio n report from the AMA. As a result, all mo to rcyclists in Oregon will be required to wear helmets beginn ing June 16 of this year. Unofficial results of th e ballot, with 85% o f a ll precincts reporting in, showed 389,771 voters in favor o f manda to ry helmet us~ for a ll riders, while 181,515 voted against it. . The helmet issu e was pl aced in the han ds of Oregon's vot ers aft er th e state ' leg isla tu re fail ed to pass a manda to ry hel met bill during the 1987 session. House Bill 2581, sponsored by Rep resentative Mary Alice Ford (R- Port la nd), sought to man- date helmet use for motorcycle riders but fai led to garner enough su p port for pa ssage. The AMA worked extensively to defeat the bill a nd nearly was successful. When state legislators failed to approve Ford's measure, however. mandatory helmet use proponents in the legi slature put the decision in th e hands o f voters by placing a man da to ry helmet referendum on th e May 17 Presidential Primary ballot. " Pred ic ta bly, voters with little interest and kn owledge of motorcycli ng have determined th e fate o f O regon riders," said AMA Legislative Affairs Sp ecial ist Jim Bensberg. " Voters look to their elec ted o fficia ls for lead ership. This time, however, the sta te legisla tu re passed th e. buck to the voters who were ill-prepared to decide such an important issue." In addition to mandating helmet use, the new la w forbids passengers on mopeds. Oregon joins Nebraska as sta tes that have passed ma ndatory helmet laws in 1988; Nebraska's law takes effect January I, 1989. Two-time road race World Champion Eddie La wson (Yam ) topped defending World Champion Wayn e Gardner (H o n) by 15.51 seconds to win his th ird 500cc Grand Prix of th e 1988 season, during round five ' o f the World Championship Road Race Seri es in Irnola, Italy, May 22. Third place went to Wayne Rainey (Yam ) with Kevin Schwantz (Suz) and KevinMagee (Ya m) rounding o u t the top five. Ra ndy Mamola (Ca g ) finished seventh. Lawson now holds a 15-point lead ove r Gardner in ' the standings, 92-77. Rainey is third wit h 65 points. In the 250cc GP in Italy, Frenchman Dominique Sarron (Hon) beat Spain's Sito Pons (Hon) by 8 .64 seconds with Juan Garriga (Yam) f inishing third. Fourth place went to Masahiro Shimizu with Luca Cadalora (Yam) rounding out the top five. After five rounds, Pons leads Garriga, 71-68, in the title chase with Jacques Cornu third ., with 58 points. Californian John Koc inski debuted his carbonf iber-f ram ed Yamaha TZ250, but ran off the track on the first lap and DNF. Kurt Hough (Kaw) was the overall winner at the first round of th e AMA National Reliabil ity Trials Qualifier Series held in Rose Ci ty, Michigan, May 20-22. Randy Hawkins (Suz) was second overall foll owed by Larry Roeseler (Kaw ). • Team Honda's Rick Johnson has decided to ride the July 24 Unadilla, New York, 250cc USGP this season and will opt to sit out the upcoming 50 0 cc USGP at" Hollister Hills, Calif or nia. "I'm headed for Unadilla," said Johnson . "There's a big crowd there, and I want to be a part of it." Under FIM rules a rider can only ride in one GP class each season. Long- tim e motocrosser Andy Stacy tied the knot with Susan Weihing o n Friday, May 20, in Buffalo, New York. Fellow motocrosser Tom Carson served as best man. " I' ve got a gr eat 'honeymoon planned," said Sta cy. ''I' m taking Susan up to the. Montreal (Ca nada) Supercross on May 21; it 'll be a great wa y to start the marriage." Kawasaki's Jeff Matiasevich, 1988 AMA Western Reg ion 125cc Supercross Champion, suffered a broken fibula and tibia in his low er right ' Ieg on Friday, May 20. while practicing in t he New England area prior to the May 22 Southwick National MX. Matiasevich hit a rock while setting up for an "easy" double j um p. "1 came off crooked and landed in some weeds and cased it on a boulder hidden there: ' . Matiasevich said shortly after returning home on Monday, May 23. "The jolt just broke it. (He didn't faiL ) It was one of t hose one-in-a-million things that can happen." Matiasevich said that he will be working with trainer Jeff Spencer in order to return to action as soon as possible. New Eng land hotshoe Joe Waddington was on the sidelines at 00 Southwick. unable to ride after 00 suffering a broken j aw while 0') practicing in Canada prior to the ,..... Montreal Supercross. "I'm going ,....." to be wired shut for four to six ' weeks," said Waddington V through ,the " grillw ork" doctors C had install ed. "I'm going to head ::l to California and vacation while ~ this thing heals," Dave Schultz (Kaw) bea t T erry Va nce (Suz) in the Pro Stock final a t the May 20-22 IDBA National Championship Drag Race Series round at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Schultz turned in a winning run at 8.06 seconds/I64.23 mph to top Vance's 8.16/161.29. Bobby Baker (Kaw) was the Fu nny Bike class winner over Mark Miller (Ka w) with a 7.30/ 187.50 winning run, while Dwight Seldon(Kaw) turned in a 7.76/ 171.75 to down Steve Jones (Ka w ) in the Pro Comp fin al. NAMED: Jim Mcilvain as director of marketing by JT Racing of Chula Vista, California; Mcilvain formerly held sales and marketing management positions with Husqvarna, Bell He lmets and Suzuki; Mcilva in's marketing responsibilities will encompass all of JT's ' product lines, including .moto rcvc le apparel, protective equipment and eye wear. and bicycle, ski , and pa int ball products. Perris Raceway in Perris, California, will host the May 29-30 Pro Circuit Racing / W h i te Bros'!ATK/Spo r t P r o m o t io n -sp o n so r ed Memori a l Weekend Bash that will include free camping, a barbecue, ping pong tournamen t, the USA National 4Stro ke MX Ch am p io nship a nd a ni ght supe rcross on Su nday, and the Mem orial Day MX Bash on Mo nday. For more in formation, call 714/6586355. . RESIGNED: Sandy Bergeron, as regional sa les assistant with Yamaha Motor Corporation's Southern Region .division, based in Atlanta, Georgia, after 14 years of service; Bergeron will be , replaced by Connie Bullock. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Russ Darnell Motocross School, to P.O. Box 1616, Hemet, CA 92343, 714/ 658-RDMX. Speaking of Russ Darnell , he recently returned to the U.S . after a 70-day "around the world " trip that saw him conduct motocross schools in 16 countries. Darnell is now busy preparing his , new' southern California facilitynear ',Hemet. Motocrosser Dean Mats on crashed during a heat race a t th e Coors , Meadow lands Supercross 10 E. , Ru th erfor d , New Jersey, May 14, and suffered a broken shoulder blade-and kidney' da mage. It 's estima ted he'll be out of action for up to th ree weeks. Team Honda's Rick Joh nson, recen tly c rowned 1988 AMA Supercross Champion, will be at the Butterfield Motocross Park in ( Con tinued to page 44) 3