Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

a" l8.Wind (Continued from page 59) ,- f: December. Dealers who need parts or seek more information . should contact Maico America, . 3580 Game Farm Rd ., Spring' . f ield, OR 97477, 503/7412361. ~ • 00 00 0"} The AMA has announced that effective with the 1989 riding season, it wiltonly sanction amateur and road riding events conducted by clubs and C'l : promoters that have been represented ~ at a risk management 'w orksho p Q.) conducted by the Association within the last 24 months. The AMA began conducti ng the workshops in 1986 in an effort to improve the awareness ~ . of AMA chartered clubs and promoters toward the issues that can result Q.) in legal liability. Since its inception, crJ the program has offered educational . information to approximately 4000 .district leaders, club officers and : promoters. Following a review of the AMA's liability and risk management program at their meeting on ' . August 19, the AMA trustees noted that insurance premiums ' h ad remained stab le for two Years, and attributed that accomplishment in part to ris k management education and greater efforts on the part of sanctioned amateur and road event organizers. Risk management workshops will be conducted at all AMA district sanction meetings during the fall and winter. Additional workshops will be offered throughout the country between January and May, 1989. . . r-l 00 ..c S o.. Three-time World Champion Edd ie Lawson will drive a f act ory Porsche 944 Turbo in a Porsche Cup race at the JIoJurb urgring in West Germany on September 25. Lawson competed in a similar event last year at Brno in Czechoslovakia. He w ill again be joined by 250cc GP competitor Martin Wimmer. Road racer Doug Pol en had planned to go to the September 17 running of the Brazilian Grand Prix . to spectate, but th e Texan didn't end up go ing. " I was go ing to go down there and watch, talk to a few people, and see what's happening," Po len said. When asked about his racing p lans for 1989, Polen answered . "Right now I'm just feeling out a few things -that I could do ." Polen will be busy prior to the final AMAI Came l Pro Series Superbike National a t Sears Point on October 2, doing promotiona l work for Cainel along with Bubba Shobert. A special advance purchase t icket is now available for the October 28-30 Daytona Pro-Am road race meet at Florida's Daytona Internatio.nal Speedway . The $20 " advance paddock tag " is avail- : able ,t hroug h the Speedway t icket office by calling 904/254-6767. It provides admission to all three days of the event, including pad dock/garage access and parking . The special t ickets will be sold until 5 p .m. on Friday: October 28. 60 The 10th Annual Daytona Pro-Am will feature 18 AMA/CCS National Championship deciding sprint ra ces and a three-hour EBC Brakes Endurance Challenge, th e final round of the U.S. Endurance Championship Series. Practice will be held on Friday, October 28, from I to 5 p.m . and admission to th e grandstands is free; only registered participants and advance paddock tag ho lders will be allowed in the infield. Saturday will see the run n ing of 10 R aces of Ch ampion s wi th racing begi nning at 1:30 p. m . Tickets for Saturday are $6, paddock p asses are $6, and parking is $2. Sunday's action begins at 10:20 a.m. with more Race of Champions events and the endura nce race will get the green flag at 2 p .m. Sun day tickets are $10, paddock passes are $6, and parking $2. broken leg when his engine tied up and he crashed in a road race at West Palm Beach, Florida's Moroso Motorsports Park on September 18. Blais was operated on Sunday night, and was scheduled to go back under the kn ife on Wednesday, September 21 . Cards and letters should be sent to 910 N .E. 157th Terrace, North Miami Beach, FL 33162. California's Central Coast Motorcycle Association reports that final prep is underway for the 2nd Annual .Leapin' Lizard Enduro at Ballinger Canyon. The date is October 30, entry lim it is 300 . riders, and the number to call for in f o is 805/543-6723 . Experienced and qualified corner workers are invited to work a t the AMA/CCS Race of Champions at Da yto na International Speedway, October 28-30. All comer ' wor kers will be provided with lunch, special event shirts and other goodies . Interested p arties should contact Roger Lyle at 3011939-2599. The La Carrera Panamerica Rally will take place in Mexico, October 28 to November 4. A modem day version of the Mexican Road Race of the fifties, the event is limited to pre-I 954 cars . What, no motorcycles? Right, no motorcycles! Whatever, motorcyclists will be taking part in the race - err, ra lly. Cliff Carr will compete in the Panamerica race in . a 1950 Oldsmobile. Carr,· owner of Harley-Davidson of Santa Barbara (California), is seeking a co-driver who'll not only help pilot the O lds but put up $5000 to help defra y expenses. Carr's also looking for motorcyclists who would like to serve as crew members, etc. And anyone who has an airplane is "more than welcome" to join Carr's team . Give the former world-class road racer a call at 805/966-2787 if you 're interested in taking part in this modem day adventure. Currently ranked second in the AMA National Champ ionship Enduro Series, Indiana's Kurt Hough, who injured his knee September 7 at the Intern ational Six Days Enduro i n Mende, France, will undergo surgery to repair torn cartilage. "It'll be operated on somet ime this week," said Hough, during a phone conversation. September 19. "It's feeling pretty good now, and I'm shootin ' for the California round of t he Nationals (October 91. I w ill miss the Nat ional in Rhode Island next week." Suzuki 's Bob Hannah piloted his Pitts Special biplane to the Sportsman class win at the International Acrobatics Competition in Pendelton, Oregon, September 10-1 I. It was Hannah's _ first-ever airplane competition. SuperTrapp inf orm s us that Tricia Lyons of Oregon City, Oregon, will be riding a Honda NS750 at the October 8 Sacramento Mile, the final round of the AMA Grand National Championship /Camel Pro Series. .Teaming with Doug Chandler, Ms. Lyons will be sponsored by Shoei, Jerry Griffith and SuperTrapp. Former Nationa l Hare Scrambles Champion John Martin will hold a cross country riding school on Monday, October 10, following the previous da y's National Championship Hare Scrambles at Millville, Minnesota. Assisting Martin will be ATK's Tony Hendon. No entry fee will be charged for the school, but donations will be accepted to ben efit the top placing Minnesota rider in the ·'89 National Hare Scramble ' Series. For more informa tion, call Martin at 5071753·2779. Floridian Kevin Blais suffered a The Motorcycle Industry CounGiI has published the 1988 Motorcycle Statistical Annual, the 12th edition of this reference booklet w hich covers ma ny aspects of the motorcycle industry in the U.S . The 48-page document reports that an estimated 7 .5 million motorcycles, scooters, and ATVs were in use, and that the industry . generated an estimated 6.9 billion dollars in consumer sales and sources and state taxes and licensing in 1987. The booklet contains a wealth of data including the number of retail outlets by state, the number of motorcycles used on and off-road by state. annual m ileage estimates by type of motorcycle, motorcycle accident statistics, and ri der educat ion information. The Annual may be ordered prepaid at $25 per copy from the MIC, Research & Statistics Dept., 2 Jenner St. , Suite 150, Irvine, CA 92718 . Motorcycle retail outlets ' and educational institutions may order the A nnual at a' special cost of $10 pe r copy, paid in advance. Hagerstown (Continued from page 4) taking care of the evaporation process were quickly passing. Because of the delay in the program, several riders went into the stands and mingled with the spectators and signed autographs. . Shortly after 2 p.m. , in an effort to do whatever possible to get the race off, a fleet of trucks and cars were sent on to the track to once again try and pack it in. Drivers included ' defending Grand National Champion ShobliP and former Grand National Champion Gary Nixon. The true mess of the track was best proved by the car Shobert was driving, a front-wheel drive four- ' wheeler whose rear wheels locked-up due to the large amount of mud which collected in the wheel wells. Shobert's rear wheel lock caused his . car to fishtail, almost sending it into Nixon's car while the former champ was attempting an inside pass of going down th e front straight. The sun decided to try and help th e cause by coming out around 2:30 p .m. By 3:30, it appeared as though the tra ck was finally getting packed in, however, the surface was extremely rough and tacky. At 3:45 p.m., it was decided that there was nothing to lose, so the .Caterpillar was brought out to blade down the top layer of mud in turns three and four. While the blade was su ccessful in shaving down the top layer , there was still a couple of inches of spongy clay underneath. According to three-time Grand National Champion Jay Spring- steen, there wou ld be no way for a rider to even put hi s foot down in the comers. "The tra ck is so tacky, that as soon as you put you r foot do wn , it's just going to come back and hit you in the back of the head," said Springsteen . His sentiments were echoed by many of. the riders who had congregated in turn four. In fact, the only ri der who was openly vocal about wanting to ride was veteran 'Steve Morehead who stated, "I came here to race." R iders were also concerned that after the sun went down and the evening cooled off, more moisture 'wo uld stan seeping u p to the top of the surface, creating an even more sli ppery and more dangerous track. By 5 p.m., turns three and four were showing no significant impro vemen t. AMA Dirt T rack Manager J.B. Norris, Olliges, and rider reps Ronn ie Jones and Parker too k several la ps around the circuit and discussed the sit uation. Jones and Parker were concerned over the safety of the track. "I think there were some guys that could have gone out there and raced on it and had no problem, but we don 't need to take any more chances than we normally take," said Parker. . "In myopinion, it wasn't the safest track." . .. When Olliges called the riders to the tech area at 5:20 p.m. and made the announcement that the race had been canceled, the only rider openly disagreeing wi th the decision was Morehead. The consensus of the other riders whe had been out on the track was that it was indeed unsafe. ' "I don 't think it was safe enough to ride on, " said Tim Mertens. " I , think they made the right decision (to cancel the race) ." . Factory Harley rider Chris Carr agreed: "It's unfortunate that the track wasn't safe enough for us to race on. Believe me, I'd rather be out there racing. But for the interest of safety, it's probably the best move. "I didn't really see how you could . run 12 guys around there, much less three or Iour. .and have a safe race without pitching people off th e guard rail," added Carr. In a generous move, P lessinger paid $150 " show money" to each of the 41 Grand National entrants who ' made the trip to Hagerstown, $100 to each of the 600 Na tional entrants, and $20 to each of the Pro-Am entrants. In addition, Plessinger gave programs to the fans free of charge. Pl essinger 's efforts to accomodate both riders and fans received high praise 'from Norris at the riders' meeting, for which the promoter was given a rousing round of applause. Going into the fina l two rounds in California - the September 24 Ascot Half Mile and th e October 8 Sacramento Mile, the Grand ' National Championship points race . is still up in the air sin ce Shobert is appealing his disqualification at Syracuse. As things stand now, Parker has an J6·point lead over . Shobert, 208 to 192, with Carr still in the hunt with 184 points. Should Shobert's appeal be upheld, he'd be four points up on Parker. With a .maxiumum of 40 points availab le in the two remaining rounds, only Parker, Shobert and Carr have a shot at the Number One plate. Morehead, who is fourth in the point standings with 150 points, has been mathernaticallyelim inated. "It's a bad deal (the cancelation ofthe Hagerstown race) for me," said Shobert. "I need all the races I can get for the cha mp ionship ." . With Shobert's appeal hanging in the balance, Parker said, ''I'm just going to go out th ere (California) and put in 100 percent at Ascot and hopefully we'll come out on top."

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