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/127176
Texan Kev in Schwantz and his Team Pepsi Suzuki teammate Ron Haslam also tested recently at the site of the April 9 Australian GP on Phillip Island. Schwantz and crew were the first of the GP teams to test at the revamped circuit in Victoria. Former World Cha 'mpion motocrosser Danny laPorte and Larry Roeseler (Kaw) teamed up to score t h e overall win at the SCORE Parker 400 in Parkin, Arizona, January 28 . Finishing a little over 10 minutes behind the winning team was Kurt Pfeiffer (Yam), who rode the approximately 300-mile long race solo. Third overall went to the Ted Hunnicutt/Paul Krause (Kaw) team. Im media tely follo wing the Parker 400, Roeseler headed to Hollister, California, to com pe te in the opening ro und of the AMA National Championshi p Hare Scrambles Series where the Kawasaki rider captured the overall victory ahead of Ro n .Na ylo r (Su z) an d for mer National Enduro Champ ion Terry 'Cun ningham (Kaw). Rou nding out the top five were Scott Plessmger (Kaw) and Scott Summers (Hon ). To ny Hend o n, th e d efe n di ng National Hare Sc rambles Champion, suffered a f ractured leg and a f ractu red hand at t he Ho llister Nationa l C hampionsh ip Hare Scrambles Series opener. Hendon c o llided head-on with another rider wh ile practicing his starts j ust moments before the beginning of the race. According to a spokesman at Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto, California, Hendon is resting comfortably and is in stable condition . Three-time World Cham pion Freddie Spencer failed to appear for his firsttest session on Marlboro Yamahas , scheduled for j erez, Spain , on j anuary 21-22. Spe ncer , who was reportedly sick at the tim e of the scheduled test in Spa in', did, however, make it to the team 's j anuary 28-31 test session in Phill ip Island , Australia. Spencer, along with his team mate Niall Mackenzie, rode the new 1989 Yamaha YZR5oo. Californian road racer Wayn e Rainey ha s tested the 1989 version of the Yamah a YZR 500 V-four a n d is happy with the new bike. " It 's q uite a bit faster, enough that you can feel it," Rainey said. " It handles the sam e as last year's bike wh ich is good, because it already handled very well. " Rainey rod e the new bike, a long with T eam Luck y Strike Rob erts team mate Kevin Magee, during Durilop tire test sessions at Goi ania in Brazil th e ,middle of january. The latest road racer t o t rain at three -time Wo r ld C hamp ion Kenny Roberts' Hickman, Californ ia , ranch is Switzer la nd 's , Jacques Cornu. Co rn u, who f inished th ird in the 1988 250cc Wor ld Championship, had never ri dden on dirt prio r to hi s t ri p to Roberts' ranch. He has since been rid ing dai ly w ith Way ne Rainey, Kenny Roberts J r ., Roberts and Hon da' s World Superbi ke co nt end er Step hane Merte ns , a second -year man at the Roberts spread . "It is hard to t ell how much i t hel ped m e l ast year because I broke my elbow in the first race," Belgian Mertens said on Sunday, J anuary 29. " But I thin k the training helps my concentration, and I'm now learning to slide the bike. I think this w ill help stop me from crashing so often. I have had a problem w ith e rashing too much." Roth maris Honda's World Champ ion Eddie Lawson recen tly participated in a H onda test session at the Suzuka Ci rcuit i n Suzu ka City, japan. Lawson was reportedly turning 2:17s during the cold-weather tests (Kevin Sch wan tz' lap record set during the 1988 j apanese GP is 2:15.225). Australian G P newcomer Michael Doohan also tested at Su zu ka and -repor ted l y crashed h is Honda NSR500 twice. Action Fours is offering a trackside services program to racers competing in ARRA and WERA Third-ranked AMA Superbike racer Doug Chandler tested a Rob Muzzyprepared Kawaseki ZX-7 at Willow Springs International Raceway on Saturday, January 28. Chandler rode the Supersport-spec machine, fitted with Dunlop K59 1 tires, Ohlins shock and a Muzzy R&D pipe, during ARRA open practice sessions, and turned lap times in the 1 :33-range. "We couldn 't ' get much accomplished," said Chandler afterwards. "There's so much traffic and the sessions are so short. I also haven't been here in awhile." races at southern California's Willow Springs International Raceway. Included in the program is housing and transport of the rider's machine, track support and service (from routine maintenance to complete rebuilds). Discounted parts and rent-a-racers are also available. For more information contact Action Fours, 123 'C' S. McClay, Santa Ana, CA 92701 , 714/541-534 1. Road racers seen practicin g a t the American Road Racing Assoc ia tion's first race weekend of the year included Kawasaki's Doug Chandler, former AMA Formula 'T wo cha mp Donnie Greene and Richard , Moore on 1989 Yama ha TZ250s, Ben Williams on the exT homas Steven s Nordica Robert s T Z250, and brothers Bjorn an d Sasha Pave on the ex-Richar d Oliveri Alan Carter j ohn La ssak Racing T Zs. Kevi n Clark has been appointed president of the American Federation of Motorcyclists Los Ange les Chapter (A FM L. A .), replacing Curtis Maddox who left due to tim e.constraints ca used by fam i l y an d bus iness . C lark stopped by Cycle News recently , t o show us a map of the new Riverside Raceway layout and t o t ell us about his quest f or suitable venues f or m ot orcycl e ro ad racing in southern California. ' (The AF M has been den ied dates at Willow Springs Raceway due to a alongsta nding fe ud w ith track owner Bill Hu t h .) Clark said that recent on-site inspections fou nd Mesa Marin in Bakersfield and Ca rlsbad (near San Diego) unsuitable, but an abandoned airfield in Holtville (near EI Centro, east of San Diego) may see AFM rac ing in the nottoo-distant future. According to Clark, sections of the airfield, which cu rrently hosts SCCA sports car races, needed to be repaved or filled because of large gaps between the concrete slabs. There is no water at present and min imal facilities, but the promoter is reportedly keen to 'm ake changes. For more information contact AFM L.A. at 15122 Kingsbury Mission Hills, CA, 818/365-8232. se . Senator Alan Cran ston 's Desert Protection Act which in previous years has been Senate Bill 7 is now Senate Bill 11 . The bill was in troduc ed on january 25 in Wash ington, D.C., and will be heard by -the IO lst Co ngress. According to CO RVA's Steve Kiehl , "SI I is the same as S7 except we're told it has, and I q uot e, ' mi nor yet sign ificant boundary changes' and 'acco moda tions for military overfligh t concerns.' '.' Connecticut's Richard Schlachter will return to road racing after a two year absence. " I look forward t o having a good time," said Schlachter regarding his return to racing in the Daytona ' 200 on March 12. "I didn't retire; I just didn't have the t ime to go f acing because I w as too bu sy bu ilding hou ses. I have my own bus iness now and t hat allows me some f ree ti m e." S ch lachter w ill ri d e a Honda superbi ke f or Gee Vee Racing's George Vincensi. The f ormer AMA Formula One road racing champ fini shed third in the 1981 Daytona 200 and was the w inner of t he 1982 250cc Int ern at ional Lig htweight race. He won bo th the Loudon and Road Atlanta Nationals in 1980. Miguel DuHamel, the youn gest son ,of famed Canadian road racer Yvon Du H amel, will make hi s U.S. road racing debut in the 250cc Inte rnati onal Lightweight race duri n g Ca mel Motorcycle Week at Daytona. After h is Da yto n a appeara n ce , Miguel will head to Europe to ride for Honda France in th e World Championship Endurance R oad Race Series. Camel Pro Series veteran Ronnie Jones of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is very glad short track racing has returned to the championship event calendar. "I think the Camel Pro Kickoff Short Track at Daytona will be great," seid Jones. "A dirt track National was the only thing missing from Cycle Week. I f igure anytime there's a short track I've got a real good chance ' of winning, so I'm really looking forward to it." Jones was the winner of the 1980 Houston Astrodome National Short Track. The Camel ' Pro Kickoff Short Track will take place Saturday night, March 11 , at the new Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium . Gary Nixon is another racer looking for war d to the Cam el Pro Kickoff Sho rt Track: T he 1967 and 1968 Grand Nat io na l Champion has been , named ho norary starter for the event. Alt ho ugh Nix on hu ng up his steel show ma ny years ago after winning 19 Nationals inclu din g four sho rt track Nat ionals, once a racer, always . a racer as evide nced by Nixon 's repl y wh en told abou t his bein g named ho norary starter: " Hey , you think I should brin g my lea thers an d helm et j ust in -case?" Doug Polen is the odds-on prerace favorite to be the rider opening the champagne after the Daytona 200. Polen finished third in the 1987 Daytona 200 by Arai Classic and was the second place finisher in last year's race. Polen figures it's just "logical progression" that he will win.- "Three, two, one. Isn, t that the way it's ' supposed to,go? " said Polen just before leaving for Japan on January 30 for a week-long test session. \ . " ! " I'Il be ri ding for Yoshimura j apan this year, ".said Polen. "T he only race I' ll do in the states will be the Daytona 200. My main objective will be to win the j apan ese Formula O ne ti tle. The class is for 750cc fourstro kes, so it'~ still superbi ke racin g, bu t the equipment modifica ti o n ru les, at least for everything but the engi ne, are q uite di fferent than U.S. ru les." Pol en will ride the opening round of the japanese series on March 5 and then jet to Daytona righ t after the fin ish of that race for the March 12 Daytona 200. Harley-Davidson will once aga in be offering demo rides during Daytona Cycle Week. All 19 of Harley's 1989 models will be available for the rides from March 5 t hrough March 11, 8 a.m. until 2 :30 p.rn., at the northeast corner of Daytona Int ern at ional Speedway's grounds. Harley will also unve il i t s travel ing museum , entitled The History of America 's M ot orcycle, d uring Cycle Week. The museu m is housed in a 48f oot semi-trailer and it features hi st ori cal exhibits and antique m ot orcycl es f ro m t hro ug h Harl eyDavidson history. The Holiday Inn Surfside will again serve as Harley's Daytona headquarters, and will be the site of an indoor show along with the show at the Ocean ' (Contin ued to page 4)