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/127153
Chris Carr, winner of the two previous Ascot Half-Mile Nationals and the Camel Challenge, said that the Saturday, September 24, race was the best-ever at Ascot. "There was only one runaway heat race (Parker's): ' he said. "The ma in was kind of a runaway, but there was a lot of action beh ind. " : BY P.AP.A Wf.ALfY When we asked R ick J ohnso n if he had signed a . new contract wi th Honda at the final National Cham pionship MX of the season, he told us he .had. But when we reported it, Amencan Honda said that he hadn't causing some confusion. In phon~ conversations with both Johnson and an American Honda official it i~ nowclear that Johnson has ~ot SIgned a new contract with American Honda, but is expected to do so, When asked about TUmors that have him severing a long-time relations~ip with Fox -Racing, J oh nson says tliat he has not.signed any clothing con tracts for the 1989 season. M in nesota's Kevin Bennett (Yam) was the overall winner in rou nd eight of the AMA National Championship Enduro Series in WeSt Greenwich, Rhode Island, September 25. Bennett dropped a total of 31 po ints; edging defending National Champion Kevin Hines (KTM), who dropped 33. Third overall went to Jack Lafferty J r. (Yam), while fourth and fifth went to Burt Guerette (KTM) and Randy Hawkins (Suz). Hawkins holds a commanding points lead over Jeff Russell, 172-119, with two ro unds left in the series. Hines is th ird with 118. Micky Dymond (Yam) captured the 250cc ' Pro class win in ro und three of the CMC Dodge T ru cks TransCal MX Series in Adelanto, Californ ia, September 25. Second went to T y Davis (Suz) and , third to Larry Bro oks (Kaw). Davis took the 125cc P ro win over Damo n Bradsh aw (Yam) and Kyle Lewis (Hon). Buddy Antunez (Suz) claimed the 80cc Expert win, Craig Davis (Yam) topped the 500cc Pros, and Ro n Turner (Hon) won the Vet Pro division . We're told that Bubba Shobert w ill produce affidavits at the Oc tober 7 appeal meeting on his ' Sy racuse 'disqualification for his Honda dirt tracker being un der weight. Reportedly, Shobert's affidavits document that his crew weighed the bike four times within a few ~inutes at t he Hagerstown Half Mile the weekend after the Syracuse Mile and each time the AMA scale showed a different ' weight. AMA Grand National Championship points leader Scott Parker's Harley-Davidson factory XR750 was -weighed immediately following the September 24 Camel Challenge race at Ascot .Park in Gardena, California. The bi ke weighed 306 lbs., six above the 300 lb. minimum weight for a t~o-valv~ motor, passing the , test WIth f1ymg colors. The minimum weight for a four-valve (read Honda) machine is 320 Ibs. , Yamaha unveiled the new FZR600 at the IFMA show in Cologne, We~t Germany. The FZR600 weighs a claimed 390 Ibs. dry and features Yama~a s D.eltabox frame and a water-cooled, four-valve-per-cylinder GenesIs engine based on the FZR400 motor. Although the frame looks to ~e alumi~um, it .is act';lally steel. Yamaha felt that they co uld still achieve the light weight WIthout going to the more expensive aluminum frame. ' Does dirt trac k racing experience rea lly make for better road racers? One thing's ·for certain, there were p lenty of road racers spectating at the September 24 Ascot H a lf -Mil e. Among those spotted were T eam Lucky Strike/ Roberts' Wayne Rainey,and Dr. John's Moto-Guzzi rider Doug Bra uneck. Also seen were local racers Barry - Bur ke, Dave Bu sby, , J ohn Glover and racing journalist Danny Coe. The all-new BMW K1 made its world premier and was just one of the highlight bikes at t he IFMA ,Cologne Motorcycle Show held September 21-25 in Cologne, West Germany. The K1 features a 1 OOOcc four-valve per cylinder . engine which produces 100 horsepower and BMW's Paralever system which prevents shaftdrive induced rise and fall of the rear suspension. Other new bikes incl uded Ducati's 906 Paso, Ultra Classic Tour Glide and Ultra Clas- ' sic Electra ' Glide luxury touring machines from Harley-Davidson Suzuki's new RGV250, GS500E: GSX750F and GSXR 1100, and Yamaha 's all-new FZR600 and revamped FZR1000. Kawasaki un vei led an E-box framed ZXR750, whi le several other companies released exotic machines that won 't make their way to the U .S . Dual sport bikes also seem to be the rage as almost every manufacturer displayed some sort of a on/off-road bike. Team Suzuki (Suz) won the September 24 Texas World Speedway 8Hour, a round of the WE RA Tsubaki/GS Ba ttery National Endu~nce R,!ad Race Series, finishing five laps m front of ru nner-up BMH Racing (Hon). · P romotion Motorsports (Suz) finis hed th ird. Series points leaders The Human Race Team (Yam) suffered a series of problems and finished 24th. Sol max Racing (Suz), currently second in pomts, suffered handli ng problems in practice according to the WERA race bulletin, and did not start. Team Suzuki's win moves the series defending champs into third in th e point standings . Kay.o R acing (Yam) dropped fro m third to fourth in the standings after cras hi ng in the last hour of the T exas race, whi le run ning third, and finishing seventh. Idiot Trivia: Ever wonder where WERA Endurance Road Race Series competitors Fifty One Fifty Racing got their name? It comes from 5150, the police code for an insane person at large. &. Hines' Randy Renfrow, mJ,ured in .a road racing crash at Willow Spnngs International Race ~ay in Rosamond, California , durmg the September 17-18 WERA 24Hour West, was operated on for a blood clot in his left calf, and will miss the last round of the. AMA National Superbike Series at Sears Point on October 2. Y~nce Rac ing speeds at the October 8 Sacramento M ile, the final round of the AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series should be the fastest ever at the Cal-Expo oval, according to former Grand National Champion Gene Romero, promotions director for Agajanian Enterprises. " The dirt surface will be all new for t he race," said Romero. "It (the surface) will be primo." Harley-Davidson's Chris Carr set the one-lap q ualifying record at Cal-Expo last October, at 37.117 seconds, 96.991 mph. Harley's ScC?tt Parker holds the 25-lap mam event speed reco rd of 97.225 mph which he set in 1985. " T h ose records should fall:' said Romero. "I think you'll see average speeds above 100 (mph). " Three-time World Champion Eddi e Lawson , says his manager, Gary Howard, is negotiating a new contract with Marlboro Yamaha's Gia como Agostini. "Unless things fall apart, I expect to be riding for his (Agostini's) Marlboro Yamaha team next year to defend my title...' said Lawson. HI believe I will be ' competi tive for two more years - then I will think again about how I feel. I sure ain't quitting nowl" The next-to-Iast round of the AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series will take place in Reno, Nevada, on October 2 , not, (Contin ued to page 37) Anza Borrego battle not over By M ike Bishop SAN DIEGO, CA, SEPT. 16 California Parks Director Henry A;gonia announced a major concesSIOn by the Sta te Parks Commisson regarding the state's largest park, Anza Borrego, at the regular meeting of the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recrea tio n Commission in Sa n Diego. Agonia said, "The Parks Commission has agreed to send two commissioners to meet with OHV Commissioners regarding a policy for permitted use of the park." OHV Commission C hairman Gene Chappie quickly appointed himself and Commissioner John Motley of San Luis Obispo to represent