Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ IN!HEWIND By Papa Wealey e Fred Merkel (Hon) and Giancarlo Falappa (Due) split wins in ro und tw o o f th e World Champ ionship Su perb ike Series in Donington Park, England, on April 16. Merkel topped Raymond Roch e (Duc) and Stephane Mertens (Hon) in the first leg, whil e Falappa beat Roche and Merkel in the second leg. After two rounds, Roche lead s Merkel in the point standings, 74-67. Falappa is third with 57 points. SBK - the body whi ch runs th e World Championship Superbike Series - issued a statement at Donington Park denying rumors that the Brazilian round of the road race series scheduled for May 20 had been canceled. However, canceled or not, several of the major teams were known to be weighing up whether the cost of attending the Interlagos round would be worth the expense. Road racer Randy Mamola underwent surgery on his dislocated wrist on April 9, and doctors discovered that pinning the bone would not be necessary. Marnola, who injured the wrist while making a miraculous save late in the 500cc U.S. GP, is recovering at home and will be out of action three to four weeks, according to his manager Jim Doyle. Kevin Schwantz, meanwhile , should be able to compete in the May 6 Spanish GP at Jerez, according to his father Jim. Schwantz, who broke one bone in his wrist and chipped another in his U.S. GP crash, was en route via car back to his Austin, Texas, home from Laguna Seca when we spoke to Jim Schwantz on April 13. " He 's going to see Dr. Costa (the doctor who travels the GP circuit) on the 26th on his way to Spain," Jim Schwantz said . " T hey said he could wrap it and be able to ride." Don't think that Kevin Schwantz can 't afford a plane ticket home from the U.S. GP. The Team Lucky Strike Suzuki rider was only driving back to Texas because he'd purchased a speed boat in California and needed to trailer it home. The boat's a 22-foot Stoker powered by two 2.4-liter Mercury outboards. "I ran it at Lake Havasu on Monday, the day after Laguna, and it ran 100 mph, no problem," Schwantz said after returning to Texas. With Kevin Magee o ut du e to injury, his spot on the T eam Lu cky Strike Suzuki team will hav e to be filled by th e Italian GP on May 20. Most GP team s' spo nso rshi p contracts call for two bikes to be o n th e gr id at all th e GPs, so Magee's spot will have to be fill ed until he is fit to return. At presstim e a decisi on had yet to be mad e regarding the rider wh o will team with Kevin Schwantz. Earl y reports indica te, how ever, that it will either be Brit Roger Burnett, who a lready has a cont ract with Suzuk i to ride superbikes, or Scot land's Niall Mackenzie, who has no co n trac t and has been compe ting on a Yamaha TZ250 in 250cc GPs. Both hav e 500cc GP experience. After four years of competing in southern California, speedway racer ,Sco tty B row n has returned to Ohio where he 'll help promote and compete in speedway races that will run along with micro -midgets at a track near Camden. The April 28 Mexicali Gran Prix, round two of Baja Promotions' Gran Prixs de Baja Series, will be run on a course that will take participants into and around a dormant volcano that is located just off Highway 5, 18 miles south of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Registration will be held at the Holiday Inn in Mexicali on Friday, April '27, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. J ohn Little, a Junior class dirt tracker in the '70s, was .serio usly injured in an auto accident near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on March 31. Little is hospitalized with head, back and internal injuries. Cards and letters can be sent to Little, c/o University Hospital, 410 West 10th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210. Highly-touted rookie Expert dirt tracker Larry Pegram suffered a broken left leg and left arm in a getoff on the mile oval at Sacramento's Cal-Expo on Thursday, April 12. Pegram was taking part in a press day practice session when he tangled with Dan Ing r am with both going down. B r ian T illson, who was behind Ingram and Pegram, also went down. Ingram escaped injury and Tillson was taken to the hospital for treatment of facial injuries and then released. Pegram is hospitalized at U.C. Davis B Quits World SUl1erbike Series imota A 2 ccording to correspondence sent to Birnota importers worldwide, Bimota has pulled out of th e World Championship Superbike Series, thus ending speculati on th at three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer would sign with the team . The decision a lso leaves multi time AMA Ch ampion Mike Baldwin (at right) without a World Superbike ride for 1990. " We are very sorry having to inform you that we have decided to stop our co llabora tio n with Alstare team and with Mr. Francis Barta (Alstare's team manager)," Birnota's Giusep pe Mor ri said in the letter to importers dated April II , 1990. "T he Belgian team manager practically didn 't resp ect any condition of the contract and created :'fJ.'Lr&.!!~:::::;~::::l only confusio n and rumors by negotiating with ~ many riders, amo ng them F. Spencer. Practically, notwithstanding all hi s promises and assurances, hi s team was inexistent ...considering Mr. Barta's behavior, we hav e taken the serious decision to stop the operation. " Baldwin received a FAX from Bimota just prior to flying to England for the second round of the series at Donington Park on April 15. "T hey FAXed me and said, 'Don 't come ,' " Baldwin said from his home on April 12. " I had a feeling they'd signed up somebody else. I guess I'm not going to race now. They were all set, supposedly." Rumors began circulating at the opening round of the World Superbike Series in Spain that the Birnota team would sign Spencer. Word at the recent U.S. GP was that Spencer and his manager had indeed flown to Italy to sign a contract. Neither Spencer or his manager were available for comment at presstime, Dy-mond calls it Q,_uit----=----s _ wo-time 125cc MX National Champion Micky Dymond, 25, has retired from racing in order to continue his edu cation. Dymond's last race was in the 250cc Ultracross class at the February 24 Mickey Thompson OffRoad Championship Gran Prix in San Diego, California, and he hasn't been seen on a motorcycle since then. " I hav en't been on a bike for months," said Dymond during a telephone co nversa tio n on April 6. "I took a big vacation and now I'm back in school. " Dymond is attending College of the Desert near his Palm Desert, California, home where he plans to obtain his high school diploma before studying English in order to pursue a writing career. Dymond 's hobby is writing poetry and short stories. Dymond dropped out of high school to pursue a racing career, one that saw him win back-to-back 125cc National Championships as a factory Honda rider in 1986 and '87. After being dropped from the Honda team at the end of the '87 season, Dymond joined Team Yamaha in 1988. Injuries slowed Dymond's progress that year and again in '89, with his best finish , a second, coming at the Meadowlands Supercross last year. Dymond planned to campaign a privateer Kawasaki in the 1990Camel Supercross Series, but a shoulder injury kept him out of action, once again. "I've thought about doing some races occasionally, if I miss it too much," says Dymond. T Medical Center in Sacramento, expecting to be released soon at whicfi time he'll return to this home in Ohio. Pegram was set to ride the Johnny Goad/Ed Fisher Honda this season and was aboard it when he crashed at Sacramento. " I met Larry for the first time just one hour before the acci dent," said Goad. " We had talked on the phone throughout the winter as I was getting the bike ready . The ride is his, but I'll put someone - but not just anyone - on it until he's ready . But I'm afraid the arm will keep him out for the year. " A spokesman for Northern Ca lifor' n ia 's Lodi Cycle Bowl says that starting April 28, the track's Saturday night short track program will get underway two hours earlier than in the past. Gates will open at 3:00 p .rn., signup held from 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m., practice running from 4:00 p.rn, to 5 p .m., and racing getting underway at 6:00 p.m. This year's Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan-hosted, Honda and Dirt Rider magazine-sponsored S ix Days of M ichigan, which is billed as "The Ultimate Trail Ride," will take place August 12-18. This year's ride will offer riders the choice of regular trails or an alternate route for dual-sport bikes . For an information package, send your name, address and $1 (to cover postage and handling) to: CCC of Michigan, 2537 Shirley Dr., Jackson, MI 49202. BLM sued over race :golicy T _ he AMA and its southern California affiliate, Sports Committee District 37, AMA, Inc., have sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to halt the implementation of a policy barring point-to-point racing in the California Desert . On March 6, 1990 the policy was used to deny the District's, permit application for the 1990 Barstow to Vegas (B-to-V) motorcycle race. The policy was also used to deny a permit to the Checkers Motorcycle Club for their 1990 Check Chase event. Under provisions of th e existing California Desert Plan, four specific routes have been included to accommodate point-to-point events for off-road recreational vehicles - the Barstow to Vegas, Johnson Valley to Parker, Parker 400 and the Johnson Valle y to Stoddard Valley routes. On February 13, 1990 the BLM implemented a pol icy to " pursue a plan amend ment( s) to eliminate the four co mpe titive event cour ses and corr idor s until th e amendment process is complete. " The AMA and District 37 have challenged the policy contending that it co nstitues a de facto amendment of the Desert Plan. According to the National Environmental Pol icy Act (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FL P MA), any changes to the existing plan must be subjected to public review of a meaningful enviro nme nta lly assessment . The BLM 's failure to provide for public participation and comment o n the Policy Paper violates the intention of these law s. Attorneys for the AMA and District 37 have asked the court to order the BLM to recon sider the 1990 Bvto- V permit application and to declare the policy ill egal. The plaintiffs are also seeking to prohibit th e BLM from implementing any policy affecting the existing racecourses contained in the Desert Plan without first meeting the requirements of NEPA and FLPMA. They have also asked [or reimbursement of lega l fees and court costs. Robert Rasor, AMA's vice president for government relations, expressed his frustration by stating, " T he District and the AMA have made every effort to comply with the laws and stipulations' imposed on them in order to conduct a responsible event. As organizers and sponsors we have a right to expect the BLM to comply with the rules a lso. We hope this lawsuit will require them to do that. " Ken Boyd, president of District 37 said, "This lawsuit alone won't get the events back, but until we beat this policy we can't even apply for the permits. We had to draw the line in the dust somewhere to begin the fight for our riders' interests. This is just the starting point. " , An expedited hearing on the lawsuit has been requested in recognition of the time constraints necessary to conduct point-to-point events . No hearing date has been set at this date .

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