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/127181
on a fast section of the course. Sarron escaped without serious injury but was seen limping around the pits. If you 're headed for Daytona, stop by the AMA tent at Daytona International Speedway and say hello to Gary Bailey and his family. They'll be selling videos, T'-shirts and David Bailey's new training log in the AMA tent. For every Motocross des Nations video tape (1985 through the 1988 race ) they sell at Daytona, they 'll . donate $5 to the 1989 Motocross des Nations team. ~y 'P.A'P.A Wf.ALfY Multi-time AMA National Motocross Champion and current Supercross Series point standings leader . Rick Johnson could be out of action for up to six months after undergoing surgery on his right wrist as a result of a practice cras h on March 5, according to his father, Dick. Johnson crashed during practice for the opening round of the AMA 250cc National Championship in Gainesville, Florida, when he and Danny Storbeck collided off a jump. Johnson underwent surgery Sunday night at the University of Florida Hospital to pin bones and repair tom tendons in the . wrist, " They say it could be as long as six months," Dick Johnson said on Monday, March 6. "But with his past healing his tory they said it will p robably be three months - and eight weeks might do it, " Johnson was scheduled to return to his El Cajon, California, home Monday night, March 6. Team Suzuki Endurance (Suz) won the opening round of the '89 WERAIEBC Brakes National Endurance Road Race Series at Alabama 's Talladega Grand Prix Raceway on March 4. Torrential rains and t rack flooding brought the scheduled six-hour race to a Owen Coles of Perth, Australia, will ri de a Wee - Brook Ducati in the March 10 Pro Twins Grand Prix • . race at Daytona International Speedway. In preparation for the American challenge, Coles raced at t he January 22 Sound of Thunder meeting at t he Ruapuna race track in Christchurch, New Zealand, and posted a first, two seconds and a third. The bike Coles will ride is owned and built by Brook Henry with the frame constructed by Kiwi Ken McInt osh to Henry's specs. 2 halt after 2 hours and 48 m inutes and Team Suzuki Endurance claimed the overall and Heavyweight Superbike class wins w ith 159 laps in the books. Team . America (Yam) was second overall and first in the M iddleweight Superbike class with 157 laps,' while Human Race Team, the defending series champs, finished third with 155 laps. Gateway Racing (Suz) was 10th overall and f irst in t he Heavyweight Production class, We're Human Two (Suz) topped the Middleweight Production class and first in the Lightweight class went to R-K-N Rac ing (Yaml . Steve Morehead (H o n) won th e Daytona Busch Half Mile Expert main event at Vol usia County Speedway in Barberville, Florida , on Sunday, March 5. George Roeder (H -D) was second and Rodney Farris (H D) third. The main event was rednagged and called complete at the end of eight laps due to a get-off on the rough track that involved Dave Durelle and Do n Estep. Neither Durelle nor Estep were injured in the accident. The Junior mam was won by Mike H ale (H- D), while top honors in the Pro -Am final went to James H ar t (Yam). The Pro-Am final is under pro test. The half mile race scheduled for Friday was canceled due to rain and Saturday night's race was also canceled due . to a track that couldn't be brought up to racing specs because of the previous day's rain. The even ts were rescheduled for Monday, March 6, and Tuesday, March 7. Pepsi Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz returned on March 3 from two . days of testing at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, the site of t he open ing round of the World Championship Road Race Series . Schwantz' fastest lap on the 1989 Suzuki RGv500 was a 2 :13.5, an im pressive t ime co nsidering hi s lap record from last year's Japanese GP was a 2 :15.225. "I'm pretty pleased, " Sc hwantz said f rom . Los Angeles Int ern ational A irport on March 3 , en route to Ho uston, Texas. " We didn 't have any of t he problems we had in Australia. The bike's got plenty of power all over and it handles real good. " The new Suzuk i reportedly suffered cranks ha ft p r o b lem s during recent testing at Austra l ia 's Phillip Island . Schwantz reports that his teammate Ron Haslam circulated in the 2 :17 range. Also on hand f or the testing at Suzuka was Yamaha's Tada hiko Taira and Elf Ho nda's Dominique Sarron. Taira t urned times in the 2 :15 range while Sarron turned 2 :19s before crashing hard Speaking ofthe Baileys, Professor Gary Bailey will be conducting a motocross school for advanced and expert riders only, July 4 -7. Ca ll 703/650 -3030 for more information. Only 32 riders pre-entered th e April 8 Sacramento (California ) Mile round of the AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series by th e deadline so the AMA has extended the da te for pre-entries to Friday, March 24. Mai l entry to AMA, P ro D.T . Dep t" P. O. Box 6114, Westerville, O H 43081 or call AMA Rider Services Dep t. 614/8912425. BORN: Anne Martin, daughter of Bel-Ray's Gill Martin and his wife Karen, on February 28 in M ission Viejo, California; the M"artins win the " W hy I'm not going to Daytona" race, leaving Team Green's Mark Johnson and wife Becky and Paul Carruthers of Cycle News and his wife Joni to fight over the place and show positions. . ENGAGED: Cycle News associate editor Nate Ra uba to Pam Hanley; wedding to take place in Riverside, California, November 4. The bikes Honda will field in the World Championship 500cc MX Series are expected to run 19-inch rear tires at the majority of the GPs this year, according to new team manager Walter Fleck. The Honda motors are reported to .have internal engine modifications for increased acceleration without sacrificing a smooth power delivery, while suspension modifications are geared to improve handling . : European sources, the bike resembles a Honda CR250 in many ways. Another American 250cc GP contender missing from Beaucaire was Rodney Smith , who was entered but missed the event because of a broken thumb. Georgia's Billy Liles has finalized plans for the ' 8 9 500cc MX GP season and w ill ride with a luxembourg license in his chase of the World Championship, Sweden 's Hakan Carlqvist, who retired at the end of last year's 500cc MX Grand Prix season, will come out of retirement on March 19 in order to race a French international event at Sainte Cecile. The 35-yearold Swede also has a full season of French international racing lined up throughout the summer, but still says that he 's definitely finished with G P racing. Former 500cc MX World Champion Andre Malherbe, who was paralyzed in a crash while competing in the 1987 Paris-to-Dakar rally, has been named manager of the Millfix MX team which includes Malherbe's close friend, 1987 500cc MX World Champion Georges Jobe. Roswell Honda/Suzuki in Roswell , Georgia, has established a road race contingency program for AMAlCCS events for both Honda (CBR600) and Su zu ki (GSX600 and GSXR750) riders. For more information, call 404/442-8460. . The new AMA dirt track program called Formula DTX (DTX for dirt track eXJ)ansion), which we ment ioned in this section last week. is intended to be implemented iff 19 . It calls for standard productio o-stroke motorcycles to be used in four classes - 80, 125. 250 and 500cc - of amateur competition. The 'plan is in final stages of development and will be officially announced, complete (Continued to page 45) Kurt Nicoll will be th e lone works Kawasaki 500cc MX GP rider and will ride a KX500 fined with upsidedown 41mm Kayaba forks mounted in magnesium triple clamps. Magnesium will also be used for a new, hand-made Uni-Trak linkage. Davey Strijbos' and Pedro Tragt er' s Suzuki RA125 factory GP motocrossers retain a production low er end with works cylinder, carbu ret o r and ignition. Despite severa l top placings in the Ca mel Su percross Seri es, in cluding a second at the Miam i ro und, l 25cc World Champ ion J ean-Michel Bayle of Fra nce is reportedly in danger of losing his pl ace in th e hearts of his ho me-country fans . Bayle missed the Supercup MX Series round in I}eaucaire, France, February 19 in order to compete in th e Miam i Supercros s. Beau caire is Europe's big warm-up race a nd attracts most of th e top GP con tenders, Bayle had pre-entered th at race, bu t fail ed to show, op ting instead for th e Miami event, Broc Glover was unable to ride in Beaucaire because his new fact ory KTM 250 wasn't ready in time for the race . According to Busey remains pro choice on helmet use · BEVERLY HILLS, CA, MAR. I Despite suffering a near-fatal head injury in a 'Decem ber 4 motorcycle accident in Cu lver City, California, actor Gary Busey said tha t helmet use should still be an indi vidual's cho ice in his first pr ess co nference, held at the Beverl y H ill s H o iel , si nce the. accident . " I still believe. th at helmet use (Con tin ued to page 4)