Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

tion of the accident was inaccurate. As letter writer Steven Holt said in last week's Cycle News, "Of course, it can also be argued that Bubba is responsible for his own actions and he, too, broke a non-written rule that one should always watch ahead and pay attention while riding forward. Unfortunately for all involved, the issues are moot as there is nothing' that can remedy the current situation." ... Editor. 0") 00 0") .-4 America's motorcycle newspaper Volume XXVI Sharon Oaylon, Publisher Mike K1in~. Comptrolkr Skip Johnson, Associate Publislat:r! NtJlional Soles Monogn Jack Man~s. ASSocUJlt Publishnl Editor R.heba Smllh. Circulation MGn/JgtT enol inc Gendry. Exuuliw Secrtl4ry 10 the Publifher e_ Jack Mangus. Editor Kit Palmer, AnOOdle Edilm Paul CarrutMrs. AJS0ci4te Editor Nau~ Rauba, Associate Editor Brian Catterson. Associate Editor Ken Faught. Assistant Editor Edwina Mangus. Calendar Editor Advertising Skip Johnson, Nat'l Sales Manoger Mike Church, Senior Salts Manaln' Terry Pratt, Senior Sales Managn Mark Thome. Western Sales Ma1t4ga Ron Da\'idson, WtSkm SAles Mtm4geT Thomas R. Genter. Wesum Sales Mtmagtr Mark Mitchell. £Astern S4aks Allmager Joan RusUan. Wt.rtem Ad CoordiUlOJ' Carla Borden, &stem Ad Coordi,uJlm G"""ica _ Kid heaven Re letter from George Penick of Tallahassee, Florida: I have an easy solution for lhe problems Mr. Penick encountered when bringing his children to a motorcycle race - come to Road Atlanta. Here, he'll find that his children, up to age 12, are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. He'll find new playground areas in lhe infield and paddock, a gazebo picnic area and lots of amenities to make lhe day enjoyable for all. He can attend lhe AMA Camel Pro road race on May 6-7 or any olher AMA/CCS or WERA events, including the WERA Grand National Championships in November, and will be sure to have a good time with his family. ARDY A. ARANI President, Road Atlanta Braselton, GA Production Ret Johnson, Produ£tion AI.PUlger Mandy Loo. Art DirectO'r Dennis Grecne,1.A.b. Tech. SI3Ct)' Cuesl, Graphic Artist Jimmie O'Dell. GTaphic IfTtist Michael Cruszka. Graphic Artist Carolyn Branham. Typesetter Ariome Telias, Typesetter Accounting/Detll Proc:euing Donna Bryan, Accts Recrivcble Coordina.tor Geneva R~, Assistant Fran Hamwcy, Credit Circul8tion Sarah Taylor, Assistant Alma Anguiano. Assistant Marita Nelson. Assisltmt Herlane Richmond. Assisl4nt Carol Scannell, Assistant Circul8tion Development Alan Caa. Manager Went Ad. herri Conter, Want lid ales Service end Support Chris Ait.eheson, Headquarters Receptionist Leonard Herring, Service andSupport NetioneIH..dquerte~ Hurrica"ne's help I recently had a very gratifying experience wilh lhe Suzuki motorcycle division. I complained of shock problems, via Bob Hannah, and was rewarded wilh the most cooperation I have ever received from any corporation. Bob Hannah went way beyond lhe call of duty to see that my complaint was settled wilh complete satisfaction, wilh his and Suzuki's concentrated effort. I met Bob at lhe Pontiac Supercross and found him lO be a great PR man. He has a wonderful personality. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him and Suzuki for the wonderful help. 2201 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806, P.O. Box 198. Long Beach. CA 90801-0198 (213) 127-7133; 213/636-8814. FAX (213) 127-6685 ORVILLE A. BECKER Jeddo, MI . eeotem Office 4190 First Ave., Tucker, CA, M084; mailing add,... P.O. Box 805. Tuck.... GA 30085.-5. (101) 931-7850. FAX (401) 934-3112 Cycle News (USPS 141·540) is published weekly except the first and last week of the calendar YC"M for $50.00 per year by Cycle News, Inc., 2201 OIerry A\'t:nue. Long Btach, CA 90806. Second daM poslage paid at Long Beach, CA, and additional mail ing ol£ices. _ POSTMASTER: $end Ionn 3579 to Cycle News. P.O. Box 49B. Long Beach. CA 90801.049B. To _ ... tile of your aubocripllon. _ tile four numbon on tile lim line of YOU' _ l o b o " The lim two digib tile _ . - you'" . - . . ond tile two chonc:twa ind_ the Y'N' of the iaue. ind_ 0""'_ _ SubJCription rates: Rates for the United uu:es and its possessions for one yar. (SO issues), $50.00; two years(IOO isrucs). $95.00; six months. (25 issues), $26.00; u-ial sub (IS issues). $19.00. Canada and Foreign, one year (.!)() issues), $90.00; twO yean (100 issun), $175.00; six months (25 issun), $45.00; trial sub (15 issues), $38.00. Cycle News welcomes unsolicited editorial material inciudinfS stories, cartoons, photos, etc. Such material, IC published, becomes the exclusive property oC Cycle News. Such accepted material is subject to revision as is necessary in the sole discretion oC Cycle News. Unsolicited material which is not used will be returned iC accompanied by a selC addressed stamped envelope. All unsolicited malerial wi.ll be handled with reasonable care, however, Cycle News assumes no responsibility Cor tbe saCety, loss or damage to such material. ReprInting in whole or pan only by permission of the publisher. Adveru ing rates and circulation IOformation will be sent upon request. See S.R.D.S. YSPA AUDITED CIRCULATION Copyrigh.. Cycle - . Inc. 1989. T _ rnofIi eye" _ .....- Office. AI rights _ . 4 U.S. _ Jail? I am wondering what the Honorable Senator Hatch has in mind for all the pregnant women not covered by health insurance. Abortion? Off to jail maybe? B. WILLIE OVERK Bridgewater, NJ Laguna Seca aftermath After viewing the U.S. GP at Laguna Seca, I was. appalled at the gross lack of maturity and lOtal lack of professionalism displayed by Yamaha rider Kevin Magee on lhe cool-down lap. Just what was the man trying to prove? Was he trying to impress some of the spectators by showmg them he could do a better burnout? It was evident by the smoking rear tire that the Yamaha did not suffer any mechanical difficulties nor did it run out of gas as earlier diagnosed. Racing is a gamble at most, but it sickens me to realize lhe well b~ing of Bubba Shobert wa's put in jeopardy by such a stupid stunt. I feel the FIM should intervene in this matter and some action should be taken. Ironically, it was such a rewarding weekend for the Kenny Roberts Lucky Strike team (that it was unfortunate it had) to be overshadowed by this tragedy. Maybe Kenny could use some of his overwhelming GP knowledge and enlighten his rider as to lhe purpose of lhe cooldown lap. KENNETH E. O'BRIEN JR. Albany, NY I watched the U.S. GP at Laguna Seca from the hillside over turn two. lt was hard to tell the cause of lhe post-race crash involving Kevin Magee and Bubba Shobert. After watching the replays on NBC's coverage and MotoWorld, it is obvious that Kevin Magee should have his license revokedl I watched in horror and disbelief and still can't believe that Magee would pull such an amateurish stunt as a burnout. Even in my AFM racing lhey taught us to never stop on lhe race track for any reason. Kenny Roberts has long been the personification of proper and professional racing. He and Team Lucky Strike should seriously consider the dismissal of Kevin Magee from their team. "Amateurs" have no place on a Grand Prix teaml The FIM should also consider Magee' worthiness to continue racing_ There is no excuse for his behavior. Let's pray for Bubba. RAY WOOLDRIDGE Plymouth, CA The accident Bubba Shobert was involved in was as unfortunate as it was bizarre. But nothing is more outrageous lhan lhe cover-up taking place in lhe aftermath of lhe crash. I saw videotape taken of the accident and it is a fact that (Kevin) Magee had completely stopped to execute a burnout. It is a lie that he "ran out of gas and slowed ... when he (Bubba) rammed the slowing Magee." It is a sad day when someone as God-loving, decent, kind and honest as Bubba is hurt in such a senseless accident, but it is so much worse when the politics lead to misinformation. KENT RAY HILDING Plano, TX After reading your article on Laguna Seca, I have a real problem wilh lhe statement, " ... Magee ran out of gas and slowed heading up the hill towards turn six ..." Come on, guys, tell it like it really happened. Magee was fooling around doing a rear wheel burnout and Shobert is lhe one who has to pay for it. This type of stupid behavior has no place in motorcycle racing let alone the World Championship. Personally, I think Kevin Magee should receive some type of suspension for stupidity. And I also think you guys need to get some guts to tell it like it really happened. TIM ALLEN Madison, WI By now we trust you've seen the In The Wind item in the May 3 issue in which we stated that our tkscrip- One moment in time On March 12, my wife Karen and I said goodbye to our only child, Christopher Allan Jensen. He died after having heart surgery to correct a defect he was born with on October 19, 1986. We will always love and miss him. I have been riding and racing motorcycles for 22 years. I love this sport. I always dreamed of teaching my son to ride bikes and showing him the fun you can have in this sport. Even though he was only a little over two years old, he already had the love for bikes lhat you rarely see this young. I always had to fight with him over who would get to see lhe newest issue of Cycle News first. Of course, he always won. It was always "Cycles, Dee. Cycles, Dee (Dee is what he called me). We would always watch MotoWorld on TV and he loved that a lot. His favorite show was the '88 year-end show when they played lhe song "One Moment in Time" to the highlights of the racing year. So, of course, eve.ry time he heard that song it was, "Cycles, Dee. Cycles, Dee." We are going to miss our son very much and I just wanted to let the motorcycling world know that we lost a young boy woo I think would have been a good man for our sport. Chris would have gotten his name in Cycle News at sometime in lhe future, but now he's getting it in earlier that I had thought. Now I won't have to fight wilh him over lhis issue, it will be all mine forever. Chris, now you have your one moment in time. We love you. DAVE JENSEN Fontana, CA Tell them I imagine the mail must be pouring in on the U.S. GP again this year. I wasn't able to attend lhe race, but after waiting a week to find out lhe results, I think a few observations might be in order. Why is it lhat an event that draws 55,000 spectators and is of utmost interest to fans around the world does not even rate a mention on ESPN Sportseenter or for lhat matter; in lhe local paper? What, if anything, does lhe AMA do anyway? I would think lhey would publicize lhe heck out of the race in an effort to gamer interest in our sport. PAUL McKENDRY Tacoma, WA The AMA supplies results of major races to - the wire services. ESPN obviously opted to fill its half-hour Sportscenter show with mostly stick and ball sports results, as did your local newspaper. In cqntrast, the Los Angeles Times printed thousands of words on the GP, in the form of articles prior to the event, the following day's report, and updates on Bubba Shobert's condition for several days after the event. We suggest you write to the sports editor of your local newspaper and express your desire to see coverage of major motorcycle races. And drop a line to ESPN Sportscenter, ESPN Plau, 935 Middle St., Bristol, CT 06010 as well . .. Editor. ~

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