Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

T 12 here's nothing quite like the sight an d sou nd of 40 500cc two-stroke motocross motorcycles, th undering down a lo ng start ch u te and then squeezing into a sweeping, 180-degree turn, being ridden by the bestM'X racers in the world. As m ud flies and elbows tangle, it's probably the ultimate and most excitin~ scene motocross has to offer, and It only happens in the United States once a year. On June 18, 1989, the seventh round of the World Championship 500cc MX Series, a series which is now in its 31st year , takes place in the U.S. as it invades the quiet and scenic rolling hills of Hollister, California. The Hollister Hills MX facility first hosted the 500cc U.S. GP last year and the estimated crowd of 10,000 spectators witnessed fast and close racing. Belgian Eric 'Geboers won the event and went on to capture the 500cc World Championship title, becoming the first rider in motocross history to 'win at least one World Championship title in all three classes - 125, 250 and 500cc. The name Geboers is a familiar one in GP motocross racing. Eric is the younger brother of Sylvan Geboers, the famous 250cc GP contender in the late 1960sand early '70s. Sylvan now manages Team Suzuki's efforts on the l25cc GP circuit, This year's race at Hollister will again see Geboers go for the gold, but standing in his way are 39 other riders, one of whom is Geboers' most repected rival, his Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) teammate Dave Thorpe, who many feel would 've clinched th e 500cc World Championship title in 1987 and in 1988 had not it been for late season crash- related injuries (see Thorpe interview elsewhere in this issue). World Championship motocross is the most prestigous type of motocross racing in the world. In Europe, it's not uncommon for up to 100,000 . spectators to attend a 500cc MX G P. Many of the top G P contenders are household names in Europe. One of th e biggest differences between GP racing and National MX in the U.S. is that the top factory team riders will be mounted on true works machinery. Works motorcycles in the U.S. MX Nationals were banned four years ago and rep laced by production-based motorcycles. Some of the trickest of all the Aust ralian Jeff Leisk won t he second mota in last year's U.S . GP at Hollister . Leisk captured his fir st overall victory of his caree r this year in Finland. motorcycles racing at Hollister will be the HRC RCSOO Hondas piloted by Geboers and Thorpe. These motorcycles are some of the most technologically advanced and expensive MXers in the world. They are basically test bikes for next year's production C R500 Hondas, and feature high-tech swingarms, gear boxes, cranks, cylinders, chassis, forks, shocks, etc. Australian J eff Leisk, who won the second moto at Hollister last year, will ride an HRC support Honda. His Honda is basically a 1989 production CR500, but he has the option to use 1988 works parts on his Honda. Probably the single most exotic motorcycle you'll see at Hollister is Frenchman Jacky Vimond's Honda. Formerly a factory Yamaha rider and 250cc World Champion, Vimond is now a privateer racer riding an unusual-looking Innovation Sportsmodified CR500. Vimond's Honda features lightweight carbon-fiber parts such as frame pieces, the exhaust silencer, seat base, airbox and gas tank. The gas tank is also mounted beneath the upper main frame tube to lower the motorcycle's center of gravity. The motorcycle, which looks like no other bike on the track with its motor almost entirely enclosed by vacuum-formed Lexan plastic side panels, was built by Innovation Sports' Jim Castillo and is reportedly worth over $40,000. Other Honda riders include Great Britain's Mark Banks and Belgians Dirk Geukins and Georges Jobe. They will ride production CRs. Honda is also importing two riders from Japan to race at Hollister, Takashi Yasui and Izumi Yoshida. They race for the Mugen H onda team back home. At Hollister, they will ride production-based CRs. Kurt Nicoll will pilot the only works Kawasaki , a KX500, while American Billy Li les, from Georgia, will ride a production Kawasaki KX500 from the Italian importer. He is the only American rider contesting the entire GP season. However, poor finishes in the early half of the season have all bu t ended his hopes for a top finish in the overall standings. Last' year Yamaha had three factory riders at Hollister: Finland's Kurt Ljungqvist, Vimond and American Broc Glover. Ljungqvist and Vimond rode water-cooled YZM500s, while Glover rode a modified YZ490. It featured a YZ490 air-cooled motor tucked inside a YZ250 chassis. How ever, we won't see any factorysupported Yamaha . riders this year at Hollister because Yamaha pulled out of 500cc GP ra cing following th e 1988 season. G lover is now competing on a works KTM in the 250cc GP series . , The Austrian-based KTM team will feature two ' facto r y riders , Holland's Kees Van der Yen and Britain's J acky Martens. . With busy outdoor National motocross and supercross schedules here in the U.S., many top-ranked American riders are choosing not to participate in this year's Hollister U.S. GP. Those who are , such as Kawasaki 's Ron Lechien, the former l25cc National champ and 500cc class winner at last year's Motocross des Nations in France, and Honda's

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