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/127200
who had scored well in his first two rides, had to lay his machine down to avoid hi tting a fallen rider during , his third race and was then struck by the rider following him, Swede Henrik Gustafson. Ermolenko suf fered a broken femur, two fractures of the lower leg, a broken kneecap, broken wrist, broken nose and facial inj uries. Earlier in the week, American Ronnie Corey suffered a broken wrist while competing in a U.S. vs. England test match which America won by one point, 53 to 54. ~y 'P~p~ Wf~LfY Defending World Champion Eddie Lawson (Hon) won the 11th round , of the World Championship Road Race Series at Le Mans, France, on July 16, Lawson topped Texan Kevin Schwantz (Suz) by .77 of a second in the 500cc GP with cham- , pionship leader Way ne Ra i n ey (Yam) finishing third. Frenchman Christian Sarron (Yam) was fourth with Australian Kevin Magee (Yam) fifth. Randy Mamola (Cag) finished 11th ; Freddie Spencer (Yam) DN F due to illness. Rainey leads Lawson 165.5 to 157-in the championship chase. The Belgian G P's results remain under protest. Spaniard Carlos Cardus (Ho n ) won his first-ever Grand Prix in the 250cc round of the championship at Le Mans on July 16. Cardus beat Switzerland's Jacques Cornu (Hon) by .35 of a second with World Champion Sito Pons (Hon) third. Toshihiko Honma (Yam) and J .P. Ruggia (Yam) rounded out the top five finishers. Pons still holds a commanding lead in the championship. 196 to 137. over Cornu. The Human Race Team's Kurt Hall, Andy Fenwick, Tim Morrissey, Ray Yoder and Jim Tribou (Yam) overcame a crash-induced 40-minute pit stop in the sixth hour to win the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges at Garretsville, Ohio, July 15-16. The Human Race -Team logged 2104 miles (1052 laps at an average speed of 87.66 mph), a new 24-hour course record at the two-mile lo ng Nelson Ledges Road Course. They broke the previous record of 2036 miles tha t they set in 1987. Team Suzuki (Suz) was second overall in the race, the eighth round of the WERAIEBC Brakes National Endurance Road Race Series, with Heavyweight Production-class winner TBA Racing (Suz) third. The Mediumweight Superbike class win went to Team Mach ine (Han), with Mediumweight Production falling to We're Human Too (Suz) and the Lightweight win going to RKN Racing (Yam). The Human Race Team leads the series point standings over Team Suzuki Endurance, 834.14 to 776.86. 2 Ca lifornia Assembly Bill 8. which would require that all motorcycle riders wear he lmets. was approved in amended form by the Assembly on Thursday. July 13. by a 41 -20 vote. Passed by the Senate last week. the bill contains an amendment wh ich would requi re the Ca lifornia Highway Patrol to repo rt annually whether helmets reduced inj u r ies and deaths. If approved by t he gover- nor. the helmet requ irement would expire in 1 994 un less the Legislature extended it. Assemblyman Richard Floyd (D- Garson). who authored the bill. told the Los Angeles Times that he estimated his chances of getting Governor George Deukmejian to sign the bill as being " one in 99 : ' The governorvetoed a similar bill last year. Motorcyclists opposed to the bill should call Governor Deukmejian 's office (213/736 -2373 or 415/557-3326) and request that he veto AB8. AMA Championship Cup Series and Harley-Davidson have annou nced the formation of U.S. Twin Sports, an entry-level road racing program utilizing H ar ley-Da vid so n 883cc Sportster machines. A Hl-race schedu le beginning at Blackhawk Farms in Rockton, Illinois, on August 1920, will conclude with the finale to be held in conjunction with the AMA/CCS National Finals at Daytona Inter n a tio na l Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, October 2829. Strict technical rules for the series are designed to control costs and to provide the most competitive possible racing. With over 30,000 standard or deluxe 883cc Sportsters sold in the U.S. since its introduction in 1986, readily-avai lab le machinery is assured. Competition will be open to any rider licensed to compete in the AMAlCCS program. Spokesmen from AMA and Harley-Davidson indicated that expansion of the program, possibly to include events in co njunction with National Championship weekends, is envisioned for the 1990 or '91 seasons. Key regulations for U.S . Twin Sports racing will include a virtual prohibition on engine modificat ions excapt for the use of specif ied replacement pistons (maximum .0 1 5-inch overbore), DOT- ' approved t ires will be required . And on ly specified components such as instruments. brake pads/ lines. exhaust system. f inal drive sprockets. rear drive chain . handlebars. rearsets. carb jets and , needles. clutch and throttle cables• . rea r shock absorbers. front fork springs. oil. lubricant s and fluids. and spark plugs/wires can vary from the stock parts. For more information contact AM A/ CCS at P.O . Box 447. Skyland. NC 28776. Speedway racer Sam Ermolenko underwent a six-hour operation in a West German hospital on Sunday night, July 16, to rebuild his right leg" which was fractured in three places in a long track race at Herxheim that afternoon. Ermolenko, Georgie Price (W-R) swept all three races in both the 250cc and Open Amateur classes at the AMA Amateur/Youth Dirt Track National Championships in Illinois. Price started off by winning both times out at the July 9 Henry Half Mile. repeated that performance at the July 12 Peoria Short Track. and completed his sweep at the July 15 Peoria TT. Four-time Camel Pro Series champ Bubba Shobert, who suffered serious head injuries in a post-race accide nt at the April 16 U.S. GP at Laguna Seca, has returned to his Carmel Valley, Ca lifornia, home after a stay at his parent's horne in Texas. Shobert has played severa l rounds of ~ol£ in the past couple of weeks, mcluding one in Texas with Wayne Rainey, who ' made the trip from Europe to visit his friend between G P races. Shobert is continuing a physical therapy program at his nothern Ca lifornia home. Harold Murrell will oversee track preparation for the August 6 Albuquerque Mile round of the Camel Pro Series at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds. John Wyckoff. importer of Hein Gericke Leathers and a resident of the Albuquerque area. said. "Because they conduct horse rac ing on the t rack. the New Mexico Fair Board didn't want calcium chloride used on the track. Being a resident of the area. I wanted the race to happen. so. working with Chris Agajanian . I contacted the proper officials and got permission to use calcium chloride . Murrell will grade the top eight inc hes of soil off the track. prep the surface using the chemical which retains moisture. and after the race put the soil he removed back on the track." Murrell is known as a wizard when it comes to track construction and preparation. having been responsible for building dirt tracks such as the ones , used at t he Houston Astrodome. rejuvenating the Atlanta Mile in t he early seventies. and, of co urse. prepping the San Jose Mile oval. Shirley An n Clark Br o wn , 53, . mother of former Camel Pro Series com petitor Fra n Brown, died on July 8 as a resu lt of injuries suffered in a traffic accident in Shelby, Montana. Shirley, a grade school teach er since 1974, often traveled wit h her son when he was racing, m ade leathers for many racers, and opened her home to them on many occasions. She is survived by her h usband, Melvin Brown, sons Fran and Clark, parents, a sister, brother, aunt and uncle, and many nieces and nephews. Memorial services were conducted in King Ferry, New York, on July 14. Contributions may be made to the Shirley Clark Bro wn Memorial Award Fund, c/o A. Edward DiMicel i , South Cayuga Central School District, Poplar Ridge, NY 13139. Godspeed, Shirley. Danny Sullivan. the defending CART Indy car champ. recently pu rchased a Buell RR1200. Su llivan's Buell. which was delivered to his Aspen. Colorado. home. is painted pearlescent white. Pat Owens, the former Triumph ,facto ry race team mechanic and current instructor at Los Angeles Trade-Tech, was elected to a seat on the Los Angeles Community Co llege Board of Trustees last mont h. O wens will be sworn into office on Wednesday, J u ly 19, at I p.m. in the Grand Theatre at Trade-Tech, 400 W. Washington Bo ul evard in Los Angeles. Canadian road racer Miguel DuHamel recently broke his femur at Suzuka City. Japan. while tire testing on ; a Honda Racing RVF750 in preparation for the prestigious Suzuka Eight-Hour. DuHamel underwent surgery to . insert a metal rod in the broken bone. and will be out of racing for about six months, DuHamel. son of legendary 1970's road racer Yvon. was previously riding a Yamaha TZ250 for John Lassak Racing in the U,S. MOVED: Next to You Leathers, to 4150 Latham St., Suite F, Riverside, CA 92501; the new phone number is 714/682-4337. The seven-round 1989 CMC/ Dodge Truck Trans-Cal MX Nationals will get underway on September 2-3 at Prairie City SVRA in Rancho Cordova. California . Subsequent rounds will be held at San Bernardino. Chowchilla. Dixon . Marysville. and Adelanto. Last year's opening round drew over 800 riders and the series averaged 541 competitors per round . Major sponsors of the series in addition to the title sponsor. Dodge Truck Division of Chrysler Motors. are NGK. Pirelli. Torco. AXO Sport. Sunstar Engineering. Body Fuel and Shoei. If your travels take you to J ap an over the next 12 months, you'll probably see Team Kawasaki's Jeff Ward starring in an advertising campaign fo r FUJi Electric Co., Ltd. Ward, a five-time National Champion rnotocrosser, will be featured in television, radio and print ads as part of a Fuji image campaign. The 30-second and one-minute TV spots were filmed at LakeMead and the Grand Canyon, and they'll run on eight Japanese stations, d uring prime time baseball broadcasts and ot her popular shows. Ra dio spots will be aired on FM stations in the Tokyo market. The print campaign is targeted to younger, college-level audie nces. Ward's agreement with Fu ji runs for one year. D irt trackers planning on competing in the September 10 Camel Pro Series Syracuse M ile or the Junior or Novice support races should send the promoter a photo and information such as racing experience. sponsors. etc. for possible use in the Syracuse program. Sh ip it all off to New Hampshire Int ernat io nal Speedway. Attn: Camby Young. P,O . Box 7888. Loudon. NH 03301 . American Trampas Parker, who now calls Italy home and is currently leading the Wor ld Championship l25cc MX Series" was injured in a practice crash three days before the July 2 British GP. "I should have known better," Parker told Eng- (Continued to page 4)