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/127161
" I' m happy with it. When I last spo ke to him he was enth us ias tic a bo u t raci ng aga in, and I th in k he wi II do well. " o Join ing Spe ncer at Team Marlbo ro Yam aha is Scotland 's Niall Mackenzie. Mackenzie. who f in ished sixth in the 1987 500cc World Championship and fifth in 1986. comes to Marlboro Yamaha after rac ing HB Hondas for the past two years. Mackenzie and Spe ncer trained together in northern California prior to the 1988 rac ing season. ~ eo ~ (1) ..0 8 (1) ;:- o Z ~Y PtiPti WftlLfY T h ree-time World Champion Fred - . die Sp en cer ha s signed a one-yea r contract to ride for T eam Ma rlb oro Agos tin i Yamaha in the 1989 Wo rld Champ ionship 500cc Roa d Ra ce Seri es. Sp encer. 27. signed a contrac t on Nov ember 19 that will see him return to raci ng after a one-yea r reti reme nt du e to a tendo ni tis p rob lem wit h his rig ht wri st. Ap pa rently, Spencer a nd doctor s feel th e o ne -year hi atu s has given the wrist a chance to heal. " It sho uld be a lot of fun ." Sp encer said o n Monday. November 21. " T here ar e a lo t of good thi ngs abo u t the deal. It 's a fresh sta rt. Fro m wat ching it. the Yamaha ha ndles real good and that'll be a rea l asset. It 's a lo t like the three-cyli nder (H o nda). It's going ' to be a lo t o f wo rk, but th ere's five months until j apan (the o pe n ing ro u nd of the 500cc World Championship ). I' ve already been checked ou t (by doctors) and the strength I don 't have to worry about. T he biggest thi ng is goi ng to be m y weigh t. I want it down to wha t it was in '85 or earlier. I p la n to rid~ the bik e four o r five times befor e th e first G P." Spencer was first approached by Marlboro Yamaha crew chief Kel Carruthers in October - after it was announced that Eddie lawson had left the team and would ride for Rothmans Honda in 1989 - at the Del Mar, California, Barber-Saab Pro Series car race in wh ich Spencer was competing . Spencer later flew to Switzerland to meet w ith top Marlboro brass. team owner Giacomo Agostini and doctors chosen by Marlboro. The fo rmer Rothmans Honda racer is still under contract with Honda until December 31 . He was scheduled to leave for Hawaii and Japan on November 22 to spend two weeks doing promotional work for Nankai leathers. Rega rdin g Spe ncer 's signing wit h Marlboro Yam aha. Ca rru thers sai d, The signing o f Spe nce r a nd Mack enzie ends a ll specu la tio n rega rd ing " Marlboro Yamaha team. Followthe ing World Champ ion La wson 's leavin g the team to go wi th th e Rothrnans H onda team a nd "Did ier de Radigues being let go a nd later sig n ing to rid e 250cc April ias, at o ne po i n t it a p pea re d th e Gi acomo Agostini-owned tea m would sig n Au stra lian Ke vi n " g ee. w h o Ma wanted o u t o f hi s co ntract with Tea m Lucky Stri ke Robert s. Lucky Stri ke. however, wo uld no t relea se Mag ee, prompti ng Agostini to loo k elsewhe re. " " Jeff Ward (Kaw) won the November 20 6th Annual Japan Supercross of Tokyo. which was run in a co ld and steadily falling rain in Tokyo's J ingu Stadium. A stand ing room only crowd of 45,000 saw Ron lechien (Kaw) f in ish second and Rick Johnson (H o n) take th ird . Guy Cooper (Hon) and Johnny O'Mara (Suz) rounded out the top five, finishing f ou rth and f ifth, respectively. Australia n Rob Phillis (Kaw) topped fellow Austra lia ns Mich ael Doohan (Yam) a nd Michael Dowson (Yam ) in both heats o f the open ing ro u nd o f th e Swan n In su rance Road Race The Bue ll RR1200 was unveiled in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 7 . Powered by the 1200cc HarleyDavidson Evolution V-twin motor, the bike is based on the Buell RR1 000. It features numerous design changes but reta ins the fully-enclosed body work and the patented Buell powertrain mounting system (patent for " m ot orcycl e chassis with un iplanar motor vibration isolation" issued on October 11). The Evolution motor allowed changes to the chassis that. according to Buell, make it lighter and stronger. "We were able to do some things with the frame that just didn't work with the XR motor:' said designer Erik Buell, president of the Buell Motor Co. "It uses the same basic design concepts as the RR1000 but has a totally new frame. Buell-designed brakes and wheels are being used on the RR1200. The wheels use a Performance Machine rim with Buell hubs and spoke design . The front brake calipers are the new Buell four-piston design and the rear brake features a larger caliper and disc and a new fully floating disc. The RR1200 will be available this month through Buell dealers who are select members of the Harley dealer network. Suggested retail price is $13,695. " Seri es at Aus tra lia 's Oran Park on November 20. The American Motorcyclist Association announced on Wednesday, November 16, that Vice Pres ident of Professional Racing Bill Am ic k has res igned t hat position f or medical reasons and will accept other duties w ith the Association. AMA President Ed Youngblood stated. "Mr. Amick is a va lued employee and has contributed substantially to our professional racing program. I am pleased that he will be on hand to assist me with our professional racing leadership transition and assume new respons ibilities involving marketing , planning, and commun ications. " Rum ors th at 250cc Ll.S. GP winner jimmy Fili ce has sig ne d a deal wi th H RC that will see him contest the Castrol 250cc Grand Prix Series plus a sched u le of selected G Ps a nd internati onal races in japan could not be co nfirmed or deni ed a t presstime. Phone ca lls to hi s home found Filice sic k in bed with his wife saying. " H e's not rea l su re wha t he's doin g next year. " Sta y tuned. There has been ashakeup within Derbi's factory 80 and 125cc World Championship road race team following it s double World Charnplonship-winnlnq season. Double World Champion Jorge Martinez will return to defend both his t itles in 1989. but his teammate in 1988, Alex Criville. has been fired . Martinez will be backed in the 125cc class by Julian Miralles (fourth in the 125cc championship), and by Manuel Herreros (f ourth in the 80cc championship) in the 80cc class, Criville put himself out of favor with Derbi by disobeying team orders in 1988. Multi-tim e World Ch ampion road racer turned GP team o wne r An gel Ni eto 's Du cad os 250cc Grand Prix team has a lso su ffered a sha ke-u p during the orr season. Ni eto cou ld no t obtain eq ui p me nt from Honda for the 1989 season . a nd will instead put Du cad os' money into a Co baseq uip ped team. Both Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki held victory parties on November 19. Harley honored Grand National Champion Scott Parker and 600 National D irt Track Champion Chris Carr at the Marc Plaza Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kawasaki celebrated its f irst-ever Baja 1000 victory, which was won by Team Green riders Paul Krause, larry Roeseler and Danny laPorte, at the firm's Irvine, California. headquarters. Twenty-tw o da ys and th ree operations a fter h is \VERA 24 Hours o f Willow Springs cras h in September, roa d ra cer Rand y Ren fr ow was released fro m a Ca liforn ia hosp ital a nd retu rned to h is Fredericksbu rg, Virgi nia. ho me. Renfrow was origina lly d iagnosed as ha vin g a hem a to ma in hi s ca lf, but it turned out to be wh a t is kn own as com pa rtment syndro me. Renfro w ca lls the wh ol e ordea l a " Nigh tmare. I'm fin all y walking without a lim p , a nd I'v e been riding a n exercise bike and lifting weights," Renfro w said o n October 15. HIRED : Scott Hodgson, as plant manager by Progressive Suspension of Hesperia, California ; Hodgson was formerly vice. president of XR's Only. " 2 (Con tin ued to page 4)